All-Stars.
There was a time in Major League Baseball's history when you simply said those two magical syllables and in your mind you saw their faces. Ozzie Smith. George Brett. Rickey Henderson. Rod Carew. Often you didn't think twice about it. Once the ballots came out, many of the starters were foregone conclusions.
Cal Ripken Jr. was going to be there at shortstop in the All-Star Game, the way Ernie Banks and Luis Aparicio once were. Same with Gary Carter and Carlton Fisk behind the plate, just like Yogi Berra before them. Albert Pujols at either third or outfield or first, just like Pete Rose back in a halcyon time.
Barry Bonds, Tony Gwynn and Reggie Jackson were going to be starting in the outfield, the same way Willie Mays, Frank Robinson, Stan Musial, Hank Aaron and Mickey Mantle were a July fact of life before them.
These are things fans just came to expect, and punching someone else on that paper ballpark ballot was fun and yet seemingly futile in places. No matter what, the big names were going to be in the Midsummer Classic. It was the All-Star Game. It was an exhibition designed after the Great Depression so that fans could see what it looked like to have Babe Ruth on the same field as earls and lords among a king.
So you accepted it, because that is just the way it was. And you punched and you punched and you punched, and Steve Garvey was still there at first, and then Darryl Strawberry was still there in the outfield. Sometimes there was ballot-stuffing, and at one point the vote had be taken away from the fans, who eventually took it back and kept right on putting seemingly the same people there over and over.
Welcome to 2008, a world where you have to work for an All-Star starting assignment harder than any Major Leaguer had to before.
With little exception (read: fans who will keep e-mailing complaints here about American League shortstop), it's not like that anymore. Fixtures are becoming rare. It is the day when a rookie named Geovany Soto of the Cubs can start behind the plate for the National League, when a second-year outfielder named Ryan Braun of the Brewers is the voting rage, when youngsters like Joe Mauer of the Twins and Hanley Ramirez of the Marlins make bold moves late in the balloting and wait for the word.
There are two days left to make a difference in the Monster 2008 All-Star Game Online Vote exclusively at MLB.com. It is online only at this point, right up until the 11:59 p.m. ET deadline on Wednesday. You can submit up to 25 ballots per e-mail address. Millions more votes will be cast between now and that deadline, demolishing fan balloting records at MLB.com. The final volume, including all of those final ballpark ballots that are thrown into the mix, will be staggering, reflecting a massive voting power.
Starting rosters will be announced during the 2008 All-Star Game Selection Show presented by Chevrolet on TBS on Sunday. Then the mayhem simply continues. Baseball fans around the world will then be able to select the 32nd and final player on each team via the Monster 2008 All-Star Final Vote at MLB.com.
In this collective process today is the increasing removal of error, of doubt, and if you have a problem with that, then you have those 25 votes and you have a free blog of your own to campaign for your guy all over the Internet. You have the benefit of not only watching the games in person or on TV/radio, but also watching them live over your computer with MLB.TV and on your mobile phone and soon your new iPhone.
Fans are watching closer than they used to for many reasons, ranging from the most common -- love for a team -- to hero-worship to fantasy managing. It is going to be harder than ever to just show up on a ballot now and be an automatic, the way those guys were for so many years before technology grew and grew. That is not to take anything away from those legends of the past -- the Hall of Famers who made a tradition what it is -- but anyone watching closely can see the modern transformation.
Each year, there are stories about what a new-looking class of All-Stars this is. The same stories will be written this time. When the time comes for that MLB All-Star Game Red Carpet Parade presented by Chevrolet, those trucks carrying players to Yankee Stadium on July 15 will be filled with some barely recognizable faces.
All-Stars.
It is not your parents' All-Star ballot, definitely not your grandparents' ballot. It is a time when a 100,000-vote lead entering the final two days is definitely changeable. If anything, it is cause for fans of a leading player to worry just a bit and keep pouring it on. Here is a look at some of the closest races you will decide:
AL outfield: This one is really interesting, and it's another example of once-stalwart All-Stars having to work for it. Take Ichiro Suzuki, for instance. He has been one of those quintessential All-Stars for much of this decade, and last year he was the Midsummer Classic's MVP. But he is barely hanging onto the third and final spot here, behind Manny Ramirez of the Red Sox and Josh Hamilton of the Rangers. It is actually a six-way battle for third, because only 338,475 votes separate Ichiro from that sixth contender, Milton Bradley of the Rangers. Vladimir Guerrero of the Angels is 210,187 behind Ichiro, Bobby Abreu of the Yankees is only 45,655 behind Guerrero, J.D. Drew of the Red Sox is only 6,960 behind Abreu, Johnny Damon of the Yankees is only 29,668 behind Drew and then Bradley is only 46,005 behind Damon.
What a pack. And right at the top of it, for what it's worth, Hamilton -- despite struggling this month (.277 in June, with six hits in his last 28 at-bats during the longest homerless streak of his season) -- is right on Manny's heels and could wind up as the top AL outfield vote-getter.
AL second base: Ian Kinsler of the Rangers is getting a lot of late support, and it will be interesting to watch this battle down to the wire. Leader Dustin Pedroia has the notoriety of a big 2007 postseason in helping the Red Sox to the World Series, and he has that big Red Sox Nation fan base. But Kinsler has the numbers. Will anything change? Two days to decide. Pedroia has 1,669,216 votes, Kinsler 1,485,530.
AL catcher and first base: Mauer roared past Boston captain Jason Varitek in last week's voting update. Yes, Twins fans have spoken. But when you are this far over 100 million total votes cast in online voting -- a milestone passed in record time -- it is the collective voice of a great majority. Will the usual voting power of Red Sox Nation be enough to make up the difference for him? And will it be enough to keep Kevin Youkilis out in front of Justin Morneau at first base? Youkilis -- left off the ballot last year because there was no designated hitter and teammate David Ortiz was listed at first -- was leading with 1,915,376 votes. Morneau had 1,641,467.
NL shortstop: Hanley Ramirez is bidding to become the first Marlins player in history to start a season with Florida and be elected to start an All-Star Game (Gary Sheffield started the 1993 season with San Diego.) Ramirez has 1,483,875 votes, and two weeks after his leapfrogging of Miguel Tejada, he leads the Houston shortstop by 168,635 votes.
NL outfield: Braun is gaining faster with each week's voting updates, and now it is crunch time for the Brewers slugger. Two last days to vote. Will he make it? Chicago's Alfonso Soriano now leads with 2,120,635, followed by Junior Griffey of the Reds at 1,917,739 and Kosuke Fukudome of the Cubs at 1,783,983. Braun has 1,751,058, so the difference between Fukudome and him is now a rounding error. It's a late battle between Cubs and Brewers fans, just like it was during the last pennant race.
Other projected starters in the NL are Lance Berkman of the Astros at first, Chase Utley of the Phillies at second, Chipper Jones of the Braves at third and Soto behind the plate. In the AL, those with leads that can be considered safe are Ortiz at DH, Alex Rodriguez at third and Yankees teammate Derek Jeter at short.
That was a short paragraph. Never before in this decade have so few projected starters been clear with only two days remaining in the balloting. But that's the state of All-Star voting in 2008. It's much different than it used to be.
The voting does not stop after the All-Star rosters are determined. Fans have the annual opportunity to participate in the official voting for the Ted Williams Most Valuable Player presented by Chevrolet at the All-Star Game via the Monster 2008 All-Star Game MVP vote at MLB.com.
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