The Giants are second in the league in attendance. Ratings are as high as they've ever been. Road attendance is the tops. America just can't seem to get enough of these San Francisco Giants! What a popular franchise. We don't even need to vote for any All-Stars because the huge, engaged fanbase is going to overwhelm the voting process either way.
Well, uh, about that. The first update of the National League All-Star voting is out, and the Giants don't have a single player leading the voting. We've come a long way since Pablo Sandoval started the All-Star Game after missing a month with injury. The leaders, with Giants in bold.
Catcher
1. Yadier Molina - 859,520
2. Buster Posey - 759,187
3. Miguel Montero - 347,329
4. A.J. Pierzynski - 347,094
5. Derek Norris - 275,067
1B
1. Adrian Gonzalez - 929,016
2. Anthony Rizzo - 489,255
3. Paul Goldschmidt - 480,019
4. Matt Adams - 420,771
5. Joey Votto - 384,285
2B
1. Dee Gordon - 934,249
2. Kolten Wong - 582,238
3. Howie Kendrick - 385,427
4. Brandon Phillips - 337,146
5. Joe Panik - 333,853
SS
1. Jhonny Peralta - 595,791
2. Starlin Castro - 571,574
3. Troy Tulowitzki - 525,917
4. Zack Cozart - 431,365
5. Brandon Crawford - 417,604
3B
1. Matt Carpenter - 1,113,060
2. Kris Bryant - 583,583
3. Todd Frazier - 424,035
4. David Wright - 327,319
5. Nolan Arenado - 309,823
OF
1. Bryce Harper - 1,116,582
2. Matt Holliday - 979,008
3. Giancarlo Stanton - 746,926
4. Norichika Aoki - 441,407
5. Angel Pagan - 413,843
6. Joc Pederson - 390,885
7. Jason Heyward - 388,838
8. Matt Kemp - 375,172
9. Justin Upton - 368,868
10. Corey Dickerson - 354,252
11. Andrew McCutchen - 339,566
12. Jon Jay - 333,040
13. Yasiel Puig - 322,756
14. Dexter Fowler - 311,908
15. Jorge Soler - 291,658
A couple of things to note:
- The voting is all online now, and there are statistics next to each player on the new ballot. This would explain the GOOD LORD factor that's boosting Dee Gordon up.
- Cardinals fans are probably e-stuffing this thing, and you can tell by Jason Heyward. But they're doing it the right way, at least.
- Based on some of the inclusions and omissions, like Brandon Belt being completely off and Matt Kemp still ranking highly, it looks like there's at least a two- or three-week gap between on-field results and this update.
If you don't vote Giants in, National League, you will unleash the wrath of the dude who gets to pick the rest of the team. They'll fly Casey McGehee in from Sacramento for the game if they need to. If no Giants start, the potential for serious homer-selection mockery madness exists. That's not a threat, just an educated guess.