The first 2011 MLB All-Star AL voting results have been released, and baseball fans should be alarmed. Read this stat line: 2 HR, 16 RBI, .264 AVG, .326 OPB through 51 games. Does that sound like an All-Star to you? Well it's almost guaranteed to be one, as that spectacular line belongs to Derek Jeter, just one of six New York Yankees to claim a top positional spot in the American League All-Star fan voting. Let the proclamations of New York bias begin.
Yet, despite all the pinstripes, a Blue Jay somehow took the top prize. Outfielder Jose Bautista has been crushing it north of the border, and fans apparently took notice, propelling the Toronto star as the top vote-getter in the MLB with 1,261,659 votes.
Texas Rangers stud Josh Hamilton claimed the only other non-Yankee spot on the list. The 2010 AL MVP (748,240) is beating out Seattle Mariners star Ichiro Suzuki (674,406) for the last starting outfield spot on the AL squad.
It will be interesting to see how the numbers change once word of this outrageously pro-Yankees lineup reaches fans. Red Sox nation in particular seems to be feeling the slight, as they have teamed up with the San Francisco Giants in an ‘you scratch my back, I scratch yours' situation that should make for compelling theater.
The starting AL lineup as of June 1st:
C: Russell Martin, Yankees: 843,459 (Joe Mauer, Twins: 593,949)
1B: Mark Teixeira, Yankees: 827,247 (Adrian Gonzalez, Red Sox: 685,262)
2B: Robinson Cano, Yankees: 1,185,952 (Dustin Pedroia, Red Sox: 586,361)
SS: Derek Jeter, Yankees: 931,410 (Asdrubal Cabrera, Indians: 672,105)
3B: Alex Rodriguez, Yankees: 945,127 (Adrian Beltre, Rangers: 755,551)
OF: Jose Bautista, Blue Jays: 1,261,659 (Ichiro Suzuki, Mariners: 674,406)
OF: Curtis Granderson, Yankees: 994,315 (Nelson Cruz, Rangers: 514,006)
OF: Josh Hamilton, Rangers: 748,240 (Jacoby Ellsbury, Red Sox: 494,721)