NewsSanchez needs late All-Star push
Fans have until Thursday to vote for second baseman, Bucs
By Jenifer Langosch / MLB.com
06/29/09 1:00 PM ET
PITTSBURGH -- With the All-Star Game but two weeks away, Pirates fans are going to have to collectively make a late push if any Pittsburgh position players are going to make a late run up the vote totals.
Major League Baseball released the updated vote totals for National League players on Monday, and still, no Pirates representatives dented the Top 5 in any position. That includes Freddy Sanchez, whose numbers as a second baseman rival any of his counterparts.
In-stadium voting has ended, but fans can still vote online for starters up to 25 times with the 2009 All-Star Game Sprint Online Ballot at MLB.com and all 30 club sites until Thursday at 11:59 p.m. ET.
Starting rosters will be announced during the 2009 All-Star Game Selection Show presented by Pepsi on TBS on Sunday. Baseball fans around the world will then be able to select the final player on each team via the 2009 All-Star Game Sprint Final Vote at MLB.com.
And the voting doesn't end there. Fans will have the opportunity to participate in the official voting for the Ted Williams Most Valuable Player Award presented by Chevrolet at the Midsummer Classic via the 2009 All-Star Game Sprint MVP Vote at MLB.com.
The All-Star Game will be televised nationally by FOX and around the world by Major League Baseball International. ESPN Radio will provide exclusive national radio play-by-play, while MLB.com will offer extensive online coverage.
At the beginning of the day on Sunday, Sanchez's .317 batting average was the best such mark among second basemen in the Majors. His 24 doubles trailed only Houston's Miguel Tejada in that category, and his 91 hits were the fifth-highest total in the NL.
Sanchez, who was an NL All-Star in 2006 and '07, has also been one of the best defensive second basemen through the first half. Sanchez has committed just one error all season, which has his fielding percentage at a Major League-best .997.
Jenifer Langosch is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
