Wong Remains in Second Place in NL All-Star Voting

Time is running out for Kolten Wong to earn a guaranteed spot in next month’s Major League Baseball All-Star Game.

Wong, a Hilo native who plays second base for the St. Louis Cardinals, remains behind Miami Marlins second baseman Dee Gordon in fan voting for the All-Star Game, held at Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati, Ohio. Those who have received the most fan votes at each position earn the right to start for their league.

Gordon has been in first place throughout the voting process. He holds a 1.58 million vote advantage over Wong, who has fallen farther behind in each of the last three weeks. It’s helped that the Marlins’ second baseman continues to hold a sizable lead in the hits category in the National League. Gordon also leads the NL with a .353 batting average and is second in the league with 26 stolen bases.

If Wong is not able to win the fan vote, he may have a few chances to get a spot on the NL roster. Bench players are determined by the team’s manager, which is Bruce Bochy of the San Francisco Giants. Bochy’s decision isn’t simply determined by fan voting. It is based on who he wants on his roster that will give his team the best chance of winning home field advantage in the World Series.

A last resort could be in the Final Vote, where the fans choose from a list of choices to determine the final roster spot in each league.

All-Star starters will be announced Sunday afternoon at 1:30 p.m. on ESPN. Each league’s reserves, pitchers, and final vote participants will be announced on Monday, July 6 at 1 p.m., also on ESPN.

Voting for each league and position ends on July 2 at 5:59 p.m. Hawai’i time.

The annual MLB All-Star Game will be held on Tuesday, July 13 at 2 p.m. Local FOX affiliate KHON2 will televise the game, and ESPN Radio affiliates AM 850 in Hilo and AM 790 in Kailua-Kona will broadcast the game on radio.