Official Final Vote Blog

Congratulations to Longoria and Hart

2008-07-10T21:34:53Z

Tampa Bay Rays rookie third baseman Evan Longoria and Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Corey Hart were chosen by fans as the winners of the Monster 2008 All-Star Game Final Vote in record-shattering voting exclusively on MLB.com, joining as 32nd men for the 79th All-Star Game on Tuesday at Yankee Stadium. The announcement was just made in the last five minutes on MLB.com.

Baseball fans supported the 10 candidates named by All-Star managers Terry Francona and Clint Hurdle in unprecedented fashion by casting a record 47.8 million votes since the program commenced on Sunday, July 6 at 3:00 p.m. (EDT). This year's record number of votes represents an increase of 107 percent from the previous mark of 23.1 million set in 2007. Since its inception in 2002, the Monster All-Star Game Final Vote has now recorded nearly 130 million votes.

The American League winner, Longoria, received the highest total number of votes ever and led all vote-getters with nine million en route to becoming the second consecutive rookie to win the balloting, following Boston's Hideki Okajima last year. He was followed by Jermaine Dye of the Chicago White Sox; Jason Giambi of the New York Yankees; Brian Roberts of the Baltimore Orioles; and Jose Guillen of the Kansas City Royals.

On the National League ballot, Hart became the second Milwaukee player to win the Monster All-Star Game Final Vote by holding off a late charge from David Wright of the New York Mets to claim the final spot on the National League All-Star roster with a final tally of eight million votes. Hart and Wright were followed by Pat Burrell of the Philadelphia Phillies; Aaron Rowand of the San Francisco Giants; and Carlos Lee of the Houston Astros.

Previous winners of the Monster All-Star Game Final Vote include: 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). More >

Thank you for voting, and voting, and voting

2008-07-10T20:55:51Z

It's over.

Thank you for voting! You can relax a little bit now.

The Monster 2008 All-Star Game Final Vote began at 3 p.m. ET on Sunday and balloting concluded at 5 p.m. today. What a week. There will be more than twice as many total votes as last year announced when the winners are revealed.

Those two winning nominees in the American and National League will be announced anytime now on MLB.com.

Fans will have the opportunity to participate in the official voting for the Ted Williams Most Valuable Player presented by Chevrolet at the 79th All-Star Game through the Monster 2008 All-Star Game MVP Vote on MLB.com.

The Final Hour - don't stop voting

2008-07-10T20:15:34Z

It's 4:16 p.m. ET at this writing, and the Monster 2008 All-Star Game Final Vote balloting ends at the top of the hour. Who will it be? Last chance to keep clicking by computer or sending in your mobile vote. The winners will be announced on MLB.com shortly thereafter.

At 10 a.m. today, MLB.com announced the the orders of player standings were unchanged but that it had evolved into a two-man race in each league at that point. Evan Longoria of the Tampa Bay was narrowly leading Jermaine Dye of the White Sox, while Corey Hart of Milwaukee was still holding off David Wright of the Mets.

Keep voting!

Thursday schedule; predict the record total

2008-07-09T21:38:58Z

The next Monster 2008 All-Star Game Final Vote update tentatively is scheduled for around 10 a.m. ET on Thursday at MLB.com. Here are the leaders in the latest update.

The ballot closes at 5 p.m. ET on Thursday. A winner from each league will be announced on MLB.com shortly thereafter, bringing to 32 the total number of filled roster spots for the American and National Leagues.

It's going to be an incredible Thursday in Major League Baseball. What is your prediction for the final record vote total? You surpassed last year's four-day record total of 23.2 million HALFWAY through this year's Final Vote. It was more than 33 million after the last update at 3 p.m. ET on Wednesday. Leave your predictions here as comments.

Keep voting and stay tuned.

Taking the pulse of Final Voters

2008-07-09T21:15:23Z

Emails have come to MLB.com constantly throughout the process. We pulled many email addresses from the Final Vote database randomly late Tuesday night and emailed them, just to see what was on people's mind during this four-day process. The result was this story that has been up on MLB.com since Wednesday morning.

There wasn't room to include everyone, so here are other responses that have continued to come in -- as a quickie snapshot of what an MLB.com user out there is thinking:

I have been voting for David Wright about 100 times/day via the web and my cell phone. I have voted for him because he is the best 3rd basemen in the league and he deserves to be in there. I am probably about the craziest Mets fanatic you will meet. I wear Mets stuff almost everyday and my toenails are painted blue and orange from March-October. Go Mets and D-Wright you will get in cuz you are Da-Man!!!!

I love the Final Vote because it gives the players who should have been voted into the All-Star Game in the first place the chance to still get in and it gives the fans even more say.

Wendy Payne
Erie, PA

Meanwhile, Matt Geiman of Wellsville, Pa., wrote:

"I voted for Brian Roberts because I think out of all the candidates, he is the most deserving not because of being glamorous or showy, but because when it comes down to who is dependable, hardworking, you can always count on B-Rob. What impresses me the most is that he still looks up to others even though he is a veteran himself. I voted about 10-15 times.

"We love the final vote because it gives us a chance to make sure the person that truly deserves a spot gets one. The voting process was extremely easy and hassle free. I truly believe Brian Roberts deserves this spot on the team; no one deserves it more. I hope Brian wins!"

Final 24 hours: Tight races, record voting

2008-07-09T21:12:07Z

With more than 33 million votes cast, and everything from fake mustaches to candy hearts to club alliances and fan pacts becoming all the rage, the Monster 2008 All-Star Game Final Vote approached the final 24 hours Wednesday, and there was no change in the latest nominee standings. However, wild three-way races are emerging in both leagues.

As of 3 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Tampa Bay third baseman Evan Longoria continued to hold off the charges of his closest two competitors in the American League, Jermaine Dye of the White Sox and Jason Giambi of the Yankees, as each had totaled more than 3.75 million votes. Brian Roberts of the Orioles and Jose Guillen of the Royals round out the current standings in fourth and fifth place, respectively.

On the National League side, Brewers outfielder Corey Hart remained atop the standings despite significant challenges from David Wright of the Mets and Pat Burrell of the Phillies. The top three candidates, who have each accumulated nearly 4 million votes, are followed by Aaron Rowand of the Giants and Carlos Lee of the Astros. More >

Grab the Final Vote Widget

2008-07-09T21:03:08Z

There are 24 hours left. Do you have this new Final Vote Widget on your own social media pages? If you have a free MLBlog here, just drop the Embed code into your text entry, using the Edit HTML icon on the right of your toolbar. Or just click a logo for one of the social networks included on the widget. You all know the ropes. It's 2008.

Brewers wearing their Hart on their field

2008-07-09T20:13:17Z

Note the candy "Hart" behind home plate...

An update from the Burrell campaign

2008-07-09T17:53:17Z

White Sox lobby-ists

2008-07-09T13:21:56Z

Is it a political campaign office? No. It's the lobby of the Chicago White Sox headquarters at U.S. Cellular Field. It's hard to tell if Jermaine Dye is running down baseballs or running for office, but that is typical of the scene for 10 campaigns in the Final Vote. Let us know about any Final Vote campaign pic you might be posting.

Time for some serious campaigning

2008-07-09T13:11:51Z

In Milwaukee, Ryan Braun and the Racing Sausages are making surprise visits to TGI Fridays and the Milkwaukee Airport terminal on Wednesday to greet people with "Hart-shaped" candies and "Vote Hart" cards -- in support of Corey Hart.

In Philadelphia, the "Go to Bat for Pat" campaign heated up with an endurance contest between fans to outvote each other at Citizens Bank Park.

In Chicago and San Francisco, an outfielder alliance was announced so that the White Sox are endorsing former home-teamer Aaron Rowand of the Giants while the Giants are repaying that public support by endorsing Chicago's Jermaine Dye. So far a lot of fans are voting a Dye-Rowand ticket.

And that kind of thing is going on everywhere there are 10 Final Vote candidates for the All-Star Game. Yes, it's that time of year. Grassroots campaigning is getting serious. More >

Congratulations

2008-07-09T11:06:27Z

You just did a couple of amazing things as Final Vote participants.

On Tuesday night, someone cast the 100 millionth vote in the history of the Monster All-Star Game Final Vote, now in only seventh year. When you consider that this usually coincides with the Fourth of July holiday, that's pretty amazng.

At roughly the halfway point of this year's Final Vote, on Tuesday, fans already had surpassed last year's total of 23.2 million votes cast over four days. It is going to be incredible to see the final 2008 tally. That's going to be hard to top next year, especially if the Fourth of July falls again during the voting period, but you all tend to break online balloting records year over year.

Congratulations to the fans.

Fans the story so far in Final Vote

2008-07-08T08:07:00Z

At the halfway point of the Monster 2008 All-Star Game Final Vote announced at 3 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Milwaukee outfielder Corey Hart and Tampa Bay third baseman Evan Longoria were holding slim leads while baseball fans were on the brink of destroying last year's four-day record of 23.2 million votes in exclusive balloting on MLB.com.

In the American League, the three leaders, Longoria, Jermaine Dye of the White Sox and Jason Giambi of the Yankees, all have more than two million votes each and are separated by just over 10 percent. They are followed by Brian Roberts of the Orioles and Jose Guillen of the Royals.

On the National League side, the top three candidates also each have registered more than two million votes and are apart by approximately 10 percent. Hart is followed closely by David Wright of the Mets, Pat Burrell of the Phillies, Aaron Rowand of the Giants and Carlos Lee of the Astros.

Fans already are toppling last year's total -- 23,153,777 votes -- which were cast from a record 13,815,790 ballots. More >

Record voting as Longoria, Hart lead first update

2008-07-07T19:21:45Z

More than 11 million votes were cast exclusively at MLB.com in the opening 24 hours of the Monster 2008 All-Star Game Final Vote, with rookie third baseman Evan Longoria of Tampa Bay and second-year outfielder Corey Hart of Milwaukee at the top of the early returns.

After one day, they are so tightly bunched that the most noteworthy development is not so much the order of positioning as it is the volume of overall balloting. This record-setting vote total for the first day of balloting represents an increase of 115 percent compared to the same period in 2007. Balloting will conclude at 5 p.m. ET on Thursday, and one nominee from each league will get to suit up for the 79th All-Star Game on July 15 at Yankee Stadium.

Longoria is followed in a tightly packed American League group by outfielder Jermaine Dye of the White Sox, first baseman Jason Giambi of the Yankees, second baseman Brian Roberts of the Orioles and outfielder Jose Guillen of the Royals.

In the National League, Hart has a narrow lead over third baseman David Wright of the Mets, who is closely followed by three outfielders: Pat Burrell of the Phillies, Aaron Rowand of the Giants and Carlos Lee of the Astros. More >

PUT THIS ON YOUR MLBLOG OR SOCIAL MEDIA PAGE:

The Final Vote is on.

2008-07-07T19:00:15Z

Welcome to the blog for all things Final Vote.

Here are your candidates:

AL nominees are outfielder Jermaine Dye of the White Sox, first baseman Jason Giambi of the Yankees, outfielder Jose Guillen of the Royals, Longoria of the Rays and second baseman Brian Roberts of the Orioles.

NL nominees are outfielder Pat Burrell of the Phillies, outfielder Corey Hart of the Brewers, outfielder Carlos Lee of the Astros, outfielder Aaron Rowand of the Giants and third baseman David Wright of the Mets.

You can campaign for your choice by putting the Final Vote widget in your blog or social network profile.

Keep an eye on this space during the campaign. The voting ends at 5 p.m. ET on Thursday, July 10.