MLB.com Columnist
Anthony Castrovince
Final Vote: Marte grabs lead in tight NL race; Saunders paces AL
Map shows intriguing trends in county breakdowns of support
With less than 24 hours left in the Esurance MLB All-Star Game Final Vote, Pirates outfielder Starling Marte (#VOTEMARTE) made his move in a National League race that is shaping up to be the closest finish in history, dating back to 2002. And with the Twitter world about to get involved in the polling proceedings, anything can happen in either league.
As of 4:45 p.m. ET Thursday, Marte had leapt ahead of Giants first baseman Brandon Belt (#VoteBelt) in the NL, and Blue Jays outfielder Michael Saunders (#VoteCaptainCanada) was maintaining his place in the top spot in the AL. Voting continues exclusively on MLB.com and the individual club sites until 4 p.m. ET Friday.
• Cast your Esurance Final Vote
The Marte par-tay had garnered 5.3 million votes at last count, giving him the slimmest of leads over both Belt and Rockies shortstop Trevor Story (#StoryTime), who led all NL candidates in votes via the mobile ballot. D-backs third baseman Jake Lamb (#VoteLamb) and Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun (#VoteBraun) were just behind the top three.
• As Final Votes pour in, players make their cases
In the AL, Saunders had passed 11 million votes to hold a first-place edge over Astros outfielder George Springer (#VoteSpringer), who had the most mobile votes of any of the 10 players, Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia (#VotePedey), Tigers second baseman Ian Kinsler (#VoteKinsler) and Rays third baseman Evan Longoria (#VoteLongo).
Take note of those hashtags. They're about to play a major role in the results.
From 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. ET on Friday, any tweet that includes a designated player hashtag will be tabulated as part of the official vote total used to determine the AL and NL winners. Voters also can use their mobile devices to cast ballots at MLB.com/vote or via text message. To receive the ballot, text the word "VOTE" to 89269. To vote for a specific player, fans can text the choice to 89269. Text "A1" to vote Kinsler, "A2" to vote Longoria, "A3" to vote Pedroia, "A4" to vote Saunders, "A5" to vote Springer, "N1" to vote Belt, "N2" to vote Braun, "N3" to vote Lamb, "N4" to vote Marte or "N5" to vote Story. Message and data rates may apply. Text "STOP" to end and "HELP" for information. Mobile voting in Canada also is available and fans should text their choices to 101010.
On the final day in which performance could potentially impact the voting, Marte didn't play in the Pirates' game in St. Louis (too busy campaigning, perhaps?), and Braun's Brewers, Belt's Giants, Lamb's D-backs and Pedroia's Red Sox were all idle.
How to #VoteLongo into the @AllStarGame:
— #VoteLongo (@RaysBaseball) July 6, 2016
��: Text A2 to 89269
��: https://t.co/xd21pMdb0F#FinalVotehttps://t.co/E5tYJ3i1FR
Fans can look at the county-by-county breakdown using our interactive map, which shows where fans are being supported. As expected, each player is performing well in and around their home city. But here are a few interesting trends beyond that in each league.
NL
• Marte made a strong surge Tuesday night, and the map shows he has solid support east of the Mississippi. In addition to Pennsylvania, he's also carrying the majority of counties in Indiana (where the Pirates' Triple-A club resides), Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, North and South Carolina and Florida (including Manatee County, where the Pirates spend their spring).
A message from the man himself @starlingmart#VOTEMARTE Text N4 to 89269 all day!https://t.co/5HoN7w6gyM
— #VOTEMARTE (@Pirates) July 7, 2016
• It's a battle for Texas, as Story is faring well in his native Dallas County and Belt is doing well in his native Nacogdoches County. Belt is also leading in Henderson County, which contains the mathematical midway mark between the home cities of Story and Belt. However, second place in Henderson belongs not to Story but to Lamb, who has the lead in the nearby counties of Navarro, Anderson and Cherokee. Lamb also has the lead in Houston and surrounding areas. Lamb is getting beat by Belt in his home state of Washington, but he's making his presence known in Texas.
• Belt is carrying every county in California. Braun is carrying every county in Wisconsin. Lamb is carrying every county in Arizona. The scant counties not throwing the bulk of their support at the player whose home games are in their state? In Pennsylvania, Marte leads everywhere but Wyoming and Pike counties, which have leaned toward Belt, and Monroe, which has sided with Story. In Colorado, it's a single county -- those rebels in Mineral -- backing Belt over Story.
Remember, #FinalVote is a marathon, and a sprint. TEXT N5 to 89269: https://t.co/XWILpkmbvu
— #StoryTime (@Rockies) July 7, 2016
Let's go! #StoryTime pic.twitter.com/LTiJ9VFFUX
AL
• Kinsler is carrying Michigan, leading in every single county of the Tigers' home turf. But he could use some help in his actual home state of Arizona. Kinsler, who grew up in Tucson, is carrying his home county of Pima, with just a 34.5 percent to 25 percent lead over Pedroia. And as was the case in his collegiate career, Kinsler is trailing Pedroia in Maricopa County, where Arizona State is. The two both showed up there in 2002 hoping to play shortstop. Pedroia got the job, and Kinsler wound up transferring to Missouri. Kinsler can at least take comfort that he's faring very well in Boone County, where Mizzou is located, garnering 54.7 percent of the vote there to Pedroia's 16 percent.
"A combo of freakish talent + character." - @JamesMcCann34
— #VoteKinsler (@tigers) July 7, 2016
��: Text A1 to 89269
��: https://t.co/JrsIBfbC4ehttps://t.co/bChX3w6c6X
• Given the number of New Englanders who infiltrate the Sunshine State, it would be difficult for Longoria to carry all of Florida. Sure enough, Pedroia has strong support on the southern tip. But there are two counties throwing their weight another way -- Springer leads in Walton County with more than half the vote there, and Kinsler is faring well in Okeechobee.
• Pedroia is dominating the Northeast and he's dominating his home state of California. But he's also got a commanding lead across Hawaii. See what happens when you win a World Series alongside Shane Victorino?
Fans can vote for the 2016 Esurance MLB All-Star Game Final Vote until 4 p.m. ET on Friday. The winners, as chosen exclusively by online fan voting totals, will be announced during a Final Vote-themed telecast of "MLB Now" featuring commentary from political analyst Jeff Greenfield, live on MLB Network and MLB.com from 4-5 p.m. ET. MLB Network will provide extensive coverage across all of its studio programming during the Final Vote, including interviews with the candidates, frequent updates, heat maps indicating the cities where votes are being cast for each candidate, news on player and club campaigns and a running countdown clock leading up to the announcement.
Baseball fans have cast nearly 600 million online votes for Final Vote candidates since the program's inception in 2002. In addition to MLB.com and the official club websites, fans can use their mobile devices to cast votes at MLB.com/vote or via text message. To receive the ballot, text the word "VOTE" to 89269. To vote for a specific player, fans can text their choice to 89269. EXAMPLE: Text "A3" to vote for AL Player 3 or "N3" to vote for NL Player 3. Message and data rates may apply. Text "STOP" to end and "HELP" for information. Mobile voting in Canada also is available and fans should text their choices to 101010.
For the fifth consecutive year, the Final Vote will include social balloting, as Twitter support for the 10 candidates over the last six hours of balloting will count toward their vote totals. From 10 a.m.-4 p.m. ET on Friday, any tweet that includes a designated player hashtag will be tabulated as part of the official vote total used to determine the winners.
On Tuesday, July 12, watch the 2016 All-Star Game presented by MasterCard live on FOX, and during the game visit MLB.com to submit your choice for the Ted Williams Most Valuable Player Award presented by Chevrolet via the 2016 MLB All-Star Game MVP Vote. The 87th All-Star Game, in San Diego, will be televised nationally by FOX, in Canada by Rogers Sportsnet and RDS, and worldwide by partners in more than 160 countries via MLB International's independent feed. ESPN Radio and ESPN Radio Deportes will provide national radio coverage of the All-Star Game. MLB.com, MLB Network and SiriusXM will also provide comprehensive All-Star Week coverage. For more information, please visit allstargame.com.
Anthony Castrovince has been a reporter for MLB.com since 2004. Read his columns and follow him on Twitter at @Castrovince. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
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