Races start with Sandoval and Kinsler narrowly leading as voting enters second
day
NEW YORK, July 6 /PRNewswire/ -- Pablo Sandoval of the San Francisco Giants
and Ian Kinsler of the Texas Rangers are the clubhouse leaders after the
opening 24 hours of online fan voting in the 2009 All-Star Game Sprint Final
Vote, held exclusively on MLB.com, the official Web site of Major League
Baseball, and the individual Club sites.
Sandoval currently owns a very small lead over the other four players on the
ballot for the final roster spot on the 2009 National League All-Star Team,
followed closely by Shane Victorino of the Philadelphia Phillies; Matt Kemp of
the Los Angeles Dodgers; Mark Reynolds of the Arizona Diamondbacks; and
Cristian Guzman of the Washington Nationals.
On the American League side, Kinsler leads the very close race among the five
candidates for the final roster spot, followed by Brandon Inge of the Detroit
Tigers; Chone Figgins of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim; Adam Lind of the
Toronto Blue Jays; and Carlos Pena of the Tampa Bay Rays.
The eighth annual All-Star Game Sprint Final Vote ballot commenced exclusively
on MLB.com and the individual Club sites at 2 p.m. (EDT) yesterday and will
continue until the voting concludes at 4 p.m. (EDT) on Thursday, July 9, 2009.
Mobile voting is available exclusively on Sprint capable mobile phones and
fans can send the word "Vote" to 1122 to receive the 2009 All-Star Game Sprint
Final Vote ballot. Standard text rates apply. In Canada, fans should text the
word "Vote" to 88555.
The All-Star Sprint Game Final Vote program has seen nearly 140 million votes
cast since its inception in 2002, including last year's record-setting total
when fans chose Evan Longoria of the Tampa Bay Rays and Corey Hart of the
Milwaukee Brewers. Previous winners of the All-Star Game Sprint Final Vote
are: Hideki Okajima (AL, 2007); Chris Young (NL, 2007); A.J. Pierzynski (AL,
2006); Nomar Garciaparra (NL, 2006); Scott Podsednik (AL, 2005); Roy Oswalt
(NL, 2005); Hideki Matsui (AL, 2004); Bobby Abreu (NL, 2004); Jason Varitek
(AL, 2003); Geoff Jenkins (NL, 2003); Johnny Damon (AL, 2002); and Andruw
Jones (NL, 2002).
The 80th Major League Baseball All-Star Game will be televised nationally by
FOX Sports, in Canada by Rogers Sportsnet and Sportsnet HD and televised
around the world by Major League Baseball International, with pregame
ceremonies beginning at 8:00 p.m. (EDT)/7:00 p.m. (CDT).
SOURCE MLB.com
Matthew Gould, +1-212-485-8959, cell, +1-908-892-3143, matthew.gould@mlb.com
