NL All Star Voting Update

Hanley Ramirez of the Florida Marlins has reclaimed first place among National League shortstops, swapping places with Miguel Tejada of the Houston Astros, in the latest balloting results for the 79th All-Star Game, to be played on Tuesday, July 15th at Yankee Stadium.

Ramirez, who has totaled 1,123,516 votes, led balloting for the first two weeks before Tejada (1,052,852 votes) took hold of the lead in the third and fourth weeks of balloting. Ramirez is batting .295 with 16 home runs, 33 RBI, 19 stolen bases and 64 runs scored, while Tejada is hitting .294 with 10 home runs, 43 RBI, 18 doubles and 53 runs scored. Chase Utley of the Philadelphia Phillies continues to lead all Major League Baseball players in All-Star balloting with 2,179,006 votes. Utley, who ranks second in the Majors with 22 homers, is up by more than one million votes over Chicago’s Mark DeRosa, who is second among N.L. second basemen with 940,404 votes.

Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun, who ranks fourth among N.L. outfielders with 1,241,843 votes, has continued to trim the deficit behind Cincinnati’s Ken Griffey, Jr., who remains third with 1,417,019 votes. Cubs teammates Alfonso Soriano (1,736,434) and Kosuke Fukudome (1,454,257) continue to rank first and second, respectively, rounding out the National League outfield.

Other players who have set the pace throughout the balloting process have remained in first place. Atlanta Braves third baseman Chipper Jones, who is batting .393 and has led the Major Leagues in batting average since the beginning of balloting, has maintained his lead with 1,916,829 votes. Across the diamond, Lance Berkman of the Houston Astros leads N.L. first basemen with 1,682,362 votes. Behind the plate, Geovany Soto of the Cubs remains in first place at catcher with 1,497,579 votes.

The 2008 American League and National League All-Star Teams will be revealed on Sunday, July 6th on the “MLB All-Star Game Selection Show presented by Chevy,” televised exclusively on TBS at 2 p.m. (EDT) with Ernie Johnson (host) and Hall of Famer Cal Ripken (analyst). Following the show, “Sunday MLB on TBS” will continue with a match-up between two N.L. Central rivals when the Chicago Cubs visit the St. Louis Cardinals at 3 p.m. (EDT). Chip Caray (play-by-play) and Buck Martinez (analyst) will call the action.

The American League All-Star Team will have nine starters elected via the fan balloting program, while the National League All-Star Team will have eight fan-elected starters. The pitchers and reserves for both squads - 23 for the N.L., 22 for the A.L. - will be determined through a combination of “Player Ballot” choices and selections made by the two All-Star managers - American League skipper Terry Francona of the Boston Red Sox and National League manager Clint Hurdle of the Colorado Rockies - in conjunction with Major League Baseball.

Immediately following the announcement of the American League and National League All-Star rosters, fans will have the opportunity to select the final player for each League’s 32-man roster at MLB.com. The Monster 2008 All-Star Final Vote will provide fans the opportunity to cast their votes from a list of five players from each League over a four-day period. For the fourth year, fans will be able to vote for their Final Vote selections on their mobile phone. Both winners of the Monster All-Star Final Vote will be announced after the voting has concluded on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, fans once again will have the opportunity to participate in the official voting for the 79th All-Star Game’s Ted Williams Most Valuable Player presented by Chevrolet via the Monster All-Star Game MVP Vote on MLB.com.

The 79th Major League Baseball All-Star Game, being held at Yankee Stadium in its final season, 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 p.m. (EDT). ESPN Radio will provide exclusive national radio coverage that will also be available on XM Satellite Radio, while MLB.com will provide extensive online coverage.  -Courtesy MLB