BOSTON (AP) -Both David Ortiz and Kevin Youkilis will appear on the All-Star ballot used by players to choose the reserves in next month’s game.
Ortiz is leading the fan voting at first base even though he plays almost exclusively at designated hitter, which is not being used for the July 10 game in San Francisco. Youkilis, the regular Red Sox first baseman, is not on the fan ballot even though he’s fifth in the AL in batting.
With Ortiz likely to be voted in by fans, the Red Sox asked Major League Baseball on Wednesday to substitute Youkilis for Ortiz on the ballot distributed to players when they vote for their peers. The team was told on Thursday that the ballot traditionally offers two options for AL teams when a designated hitter is also listed at a position.
Ortiz is the leader among AL first basemen with 1,055,260 fan votes. Justin Morneau of Minnesota is second with 519,432.
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