Gunnar Henderson advances in MLB All-Star Game voting

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Gunnar Henderson advances in MLB All-Star Game voting

Updated: Jun. 28, 2024, 12:52 a.m.|Published: Jun. 27, 2024, 6:59 p.m.

4–5 minutes

Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper and New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge will be in the starting lineups at the 94th annual Major League Baseball All-Star Game on July 16, and Baltimore Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson might be, too.

Harper in the National League and Judge in the American League earned their starting spots as the leading vote-getters in Phase 1 of fan balloting for the all-star lineups. Judge collected 3,425,309 votes, and Harper garnered 3,277,920, MLB announced on Thursday.

The other starting spots (except for the pitchers) will be decided in Phase 2 of the fan voting, which will match the top two vote-getters at each spot in each league.

Fans will choose between Henderson and the Kansas City Royals’ Bobby Witt Jr. as starting shortstop for the American League.

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Henderson was Alabama’s Mr. Baseball for 2019 while playing for Morgan Academy, and the Orioles selected him from his Selma high school in the second round of the draft that year. In 2023, Henderson won the Jackie Robinson Rookie of the Year Award by unanimous vote and took home the Silver Slugger Award for utility players in the American League. Last season, Henderson split time between shortstop and third base. This season, Henderson has kept his glove at shortstop.

Entering Thursday’s game, Henderson had a .288 batting average, .387 on-base average and .618 slugging percentage. He led the Major Leagues with 70 runs and had hit 26 home runs. Witt had a .311 batting average, .361 on-base average and .537 slugging percentage. Witt led the American League with 102 hits and had stolen 21 bases.

Online fan voting in Phase 2 will begin at 11 a.m. Sunday and conclude at 11 a.m. Wednesday. The winners of this portion of the balloting will be the starters for the All-Star Game.

The other players on the Phase 2 ballot are:

American League

Catcher: Adley Rutschman, Baltimore Orioles; Salvador Perez, Kansas City Royals.

First base: Ryan Mountcastle, Baltimore Orioles; Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Toronto Blue Jays.

Second base: Jose Altuve, Houston Astros; Marcus Semien, Texas Rangers.

Third base: Jose Ramirez, Cleveland Guardians; Jordan Westburg, Baltimore Orioles.

Outfield: Juan Soto, New York Yankees; Steven Kwan, Cleveland Guardians; Anthony Santander, Baltimore Orioles; Kyle Tucker, Houston Astros.

Designated hitter: Yordan Alvarez, Houston Texans; Ryan O’Hearn, Baltimore Orioles.

National League

Catcher: William Contreras, Milwaukee Brewers; J.T. Realmuto, Philadelphia Phillies.

Second base: Ketel Marte, Arizona Diamondbacks; Luis Arraez, San Diego Padres.

Third base: Alec Bohm, Philadelphia Phillies; Manny Machado, San Diego Padres.

Shortstop: Mookie Betts, Los Angeles Dodgers; Trea Turner, Philadelphia Phillies.

Outfield: Jurickson Profar and Fernando Tatis Jr., San Diego Padres; Christian Yelich, Milwaukee Brewers; Teoscar Hernandez, Los Angeles Dodgers; Brandon Marsh and Nick Castellanos, Philadelphia Phillies.

Designated hitter: Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Dodgers; Kyle Schwarber, Philadelphia Phillies.

The starting lineups will be announced at 6 p.m. July 3 on ESPN.

The pitchers and reserves – a total of 23 players – will be chosen via player voting and the Commissioner’s Office. Those selections will be announced at 4:30 p.m. July 7 on ESPN.

The MLB All-Star Game will be played at 7 p.m. July 16 at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. FOX will televise the game.

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.

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