Five Blue Jays among MLB All-Star ballot finalists

Photo: Toronto Blue Jays/Twitter

June 27, 2021

Official Major League Baseball News Release

FINALISTS ANNOUNCED FOR 2021 GOOGLE MLB ALL-STAR BALLOT

Giants Teammates Yastrzemski, Crawford Come Back in Final Days to Advance;

Guerrero Jr. Becomes Youngest to Lead Majors in Voting; Acuña Jr. Paces NL;

Twenty Major League Clubs Represented in Second Phase of Voting;

Four-Day Window of Phase Two Voting Begins Monday at 12:00 p.m. (ET);

ESPN to Unveil Starters on Thursday, July 1st at 9:00 p.m. ET

Finalists for the 2021 Google MLB All-Star Ballot were announced earlier this afternoon exclusively on MLB Network’s 2021 Google MLB All-Star Ballot Finalists Show.

The second phase of voting, which begins Monday at 12:00 p.m. (ET), features the top three vote-getters at each position (and the top nine outfielders) in each League based on vote totals from Phase 1, which ran from June 3rd-24th.

Phase 2 voting, which is available exclusively online and via mobile devices at MLB.com, all 30 Club sites, the MLB App and on Google Search (U.S. and Canada only) will give fans the opportunity to vote among the finalists at each position during a four-day window that concludes at 2:00 p.m. (ET) on Thursday, July 1st. Later that night, the winners will be announced at 9:00 p.m. (ET) on the 2021 Google MLB All-Star Starters Reveal on ESPN.

During this second phase of voting, in which fans can vote once daily on MLB platforms and submit up to 17 unique player votes on Google per day, vote totals will reset (i.e., vote totals from Phase 1 do not carry over) and the winner at each position (including three outfielders per League) will be named a starting position player for the 2021 Midsummer Classic. During the Phase 2 voting period, MLB will provide daily updates on MLB.com and Twitter (@AllStarGame), and will also deliver a final update on MLB’s Twitch channel on Thursday, July 1st at 12:00 p.m. (ET).

In the National League, San Francisco Giants teammates Mike Yastrzemski and Brandon Crawford each came from behind in the final week of voting to advance to Phase 2. Yastrzemski, who ranked 16th among NL outfielders on Monday, passed seven players to secure the ninth outfield spot (474,521 votes), while Crawford (646,535) surpassed Corey Seager of the Los Angeles Dodgers (624,839) on the final day of balloting to finish less than 22,000 votes ahead for the third and final spot among NL shortstops.

Yastrzemski is joined in the NL outfield by fellow finalists Ronald Acuña Jr. of the Atlanta Braves, who led all NL players with 2,510,041 votes, as well as Cincinnati Reds teammates Nick Castellanos (1,797,818) and Jesse Winker (1,493,296); four-time All-Star Mookie Betts (1,327,177) and Chris Taylor (690,277) of the Dodgers; Juan Soto of the Washington Nationals (561,982); six-time All-Star Bryce Harper of the Philadelphia Phillies (495,841); and 2015 NL All-Star Joc Pederson of the Chicago Cubs (493,269).

Accompanying the two-time All-Star Crawford at shortstop is Fernando Tatis Jr. of the San Diego Padres (2,052,642), who ranked fifth overall in the Majors in voting during Phase 1, and two-time All-Star Javier Báez of the Cubs (830,649). The third base candidates joining that trio on the left side of the infield include three-time All-Star Kris Bryant of the Cubs (1,526,186), five-time All-Star Nolan Arenado of the St. Louis Cardinals (939,315) and 2017 NL All-Star Justin Turner of the Dodgers (784,934).

Competing for a starting job across the diamond, a star-studded trio includes 2019 NL All-Star Max Muncy of the Dodgers (1,276,688), four-time All-Star and reigning NL Most Valuable Player Freddie Freeman of the Braves (1,156,966) and three-time All-Star Anthony Rizzo of the Cubs (745,595). Joining that group on the right side of the infield are 2018 NL All-Star Ozzie Albies of the Braves (1,109,983), Adam Frazier of the Pittsburgh Pirates (740,717) and Gavin Lux of the Dodgers (660,797). Rounding out the NL candidates are catchers six-time All-Star Buster Posey of the Giants (1,845,042), nine-time All-Star Yadier Molina of the Cardinals (934,413) and two-time All-Star Willson Contreras of the Cubs (693,063).

In the American League, 22-year-old Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (Montreal, Que.) of the Toronto Blue Jays finished first among all Major Leaguers with 2,704,788 total votes, joining José Bautista (2011, 2014) and Josh Donaldson (2015) as Blue Jays to finish atop the Majors in All-Star balloting. Guerrero became the youngest player ever to lead the Majors in All-Star Balloting since the process was returned to the fans in 1970, surpassing Cody Bellinger, who was 23 during the voting period in 2019. He is joined among the AL first base contenders by Yuli Gurriel of the Houston Astros (679,557) and three time All-Star and reigning AL Most Valuable Player José Abreu of the Chicago White Sox (441,892).

Guerrero’s Blue Jays teammate Marcus Semien (1,810,230) heads up a group of AL second basemen, which also includes six-time All-Star Jose Altuve of the Astros (1,298,554) and three-time All-Star DJ LeMahieu of the New York Yankees (533,957), to advance to Phase 2. Rounding out the AL infield candidates are third basemen Rafael Devers of the Boston Red Sox (1,569,381), two-time All-Star Alex Bregman of the Astros (832,175) and Yoán Moncada of the Chicago White Sox (563,708), as well as shortstops Xander Bogaerts of the Red Sox (1,570,467), Bo Bichette of the Blue Jays (986,228) and 2017 AL All-Star Carlos Correa of the Astros (781,400).

Los Angeles Angels phenom Shohei Ohtani paced all AL designated hitters with 1,961,511 votes, and he is accompanied in Phase 2 by three-time All-Star J.D. Martinez of the Red Sox (755,663) and Yordan Álvarez of the Astros (691,218). Behind the plate, six-time All-Star Salvador Perez of the Kansas City Royals drew the second-most votes in the AL and third-most in the Majors with 2,150,968 votes. He is joined by fellow backstops Martín Maldonado of the Astros (644,173) and two-time All-Star Yasmani Grandal of the White Sox (504,850).

Rounding out the AL candidates is an outfield group paced by eight-time All-Star Mike Trout of the Angels, who received the third-highest vote total in the AL and fourth-highest in the Majors with 2,084,542 votes. He is joined among the AL outfield contenders by two-time All-Star Aaron Judge of the Yankees (1,569,640); Byron Buxton of the Minnesota Twins (1,065,227); four-time All-Star Michael Brantley of the Astros (891,522); rookie Adolis García of the Texas Rangers (879,989); Teoscar Hernández of the Blue Jays (809,287); Cedric Mullins of the Baltimore Orioles (729,543); Alex Verdugo of the Red Sox (702,560); and Randal Grichuk of the Blue Jays (637,273).

Overall, 20 of the 30 Major League Clubs, including 10 in the AL and 10 in the NL, are represented among the players who have advanced to Phase 2 of 2021 Google MLB All-Star Balloting (compared to 17 Clubs in 2019). In addition, 22 of the 51 players who have advanced will be bidding for their first career All-Star assignment.

The NL All-Star Team, which will be managed for a third consecutive time by Dave Roberts of the defending World Series Champion Los Angeles Dodgers, will have eight elected starters via the fan balloting program, while the AL All-Star Team, led by Kevin Cash of the defending AL Champion Tampa Bay Rays, will have nine fan-elected starters. The pitchers and reserves for both squads – totaling 24 for the NL and 23 for the AL – will be determined through a combination of “Player Ballot” choices and selections made by the Commissioner’s Office. The balance of the All-Star rosters will be announced at 5:30 p.m. (ET) on July 4th during the 2021 Google MLB All-Star Selection Show on ESPN.

During each phase of voting, the 2021 Google MLB All-Star Ballot is available when fans search in English and Spanish. The ballot at MLB.com and Club sites also offers audio CAPTCHA functionality for visually impaired fans. Banco BHD León will once again sponsor online All-Star balloting in the Dominican Republic, making Spanish-language ballots available to fans in the D.R. via LasMayores.com, the official Spanish-language web site of Major League Baseball.

Fans will once again have the opportunity to participate in the official voting for the Ted Williams All-Star Game Most Valuable Player Award presented by Chevrolet. During the Midsummer Classic, fans can vote exclusively at MLB.com and the 30 Club sites – online or via their mobile devices – with the 2021 All-Star Game MLB.com MVP Vote, and their collective voice will represent 20 percent of the official vote determining this year’s recipient of the Arch Ward Trophy.

MLB All-Star Week includes the MLB All-Star Game presented by Mastercard (July 13th), Gatorade All-Star Workout Day featuring the T-Mobile Home Run Derby (July 12th), All-Star Sunday featuring the SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game and All-Star Celebrity Softball Game (July 11th), the MLB Draft (July 11th-13th) and PLAY BALL PARK at the Colorado Convention Center (July 9th-13th), plus a lineup of additional events taking place around the city. The 91st Midsummer Classic will be televised nationally by FOX Sports; in Canada by Rogers Sportsnet and RDS; and worldwide by 70 partners in 15 languages across 223 countries and territories. FOX Deportes will provide Spanish language coverage in the United States, while ESPN Radio and ESPN Radio Deportes will provide exclusive national radio coverage of the All-Star Game. MLB Network, MLB.com and SiriusXM also will provide comprehensive All-Star Week coverage. For more information about MLB All-Star Week, including ticket information and updates, please visit www.allstargame.com and follow @MLB and @AllStarGame on social media.