Bay, Youkilis lead voting at their positions

By Gary Dzen

June 2, 2009

1 minute to read

Jason Bay leads all American League outfielders in the latest round of All-Star voting released this afternoon, while Red Sox teammate Kevin Youkilis is the leading vote-getter at first base. Dustin Pedroia is second behind the Rangers’ Ian Kinsler at second base.

In the tightest race — and one that’s sure to be the focus of Red Sox and Yankees fans — Youkilis (600,175 votes) leads the Yankees’ Mark Teixeira (506,339) at first base. Justin Morneau of the Twins is third with 483,226 votes.

Bay (729,590) received the most votes among AL outfielders for the second consecutive week, edging Josh Hamilton (685,463) of the Rangers and Ichiro Suzuki (481,263) of the Mariners. Bay (.288, 15 home runs, 49 RBIs) has thrived in Boston since taking over for Manny Ramirez in left field.

Pedroia (641,281 votes) faces stiff competition at second base this season, with Kinsler (787,619) having a stellar season for the Rangers. Kinsler has 56 hits, 13 home runs, and 10 stolen bases.

Other Sox players receiving strong vote totals include Jason Varitek, who is in second place at catcher. But Varitek (406,788) trails Minnesota’s Joe Mauer by more than 350,000 votes. Jacoby Ellsbury is 12th among AL outfielders.

Fans can cast their votes for starters up to 25 times at MLB.com and all 30 club sites until July 2 at 11:59 p.m. ET. The MLB All-Star Game will be July 14 in St. Louis.