Ohtani and Judge Lead All-Star Game Starters Based on Fan Vote

Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees were the first players selected for the upcoming All-Star Game. The game is scheduled for July 15 at Truist Park in Atlanta. The players were chosen as starters by fan vote on Thursday.

Aaron Judge received the most votes in the first round of fan balloting, with a total of 4,012,983. This will be the outfielder's seventh American League start in eight All-Star Games. He was also the leading vote-getter in the first phase of voting in both 2022 and the previous year.

Shohei Ohtani led the National League and placed second overall in the major leagues with 3,967,668 votes. He will be the first designated hitter to start in five consecutive All-Star Games.

The selection process, which began in 2022, grants starting positions to the top vote-getters in each league during the first phase of online voting. This initial phase commenced on June 4 and concluded on Thursday. The second phase of voting, which will determine the remaining starters, will run from Monday to July 2. Votes from the first phase do not carry over. Fans can vote once every 24 hours.

The remaining starters will be announced on July 2. Pitchers and reserve players will be revealed on July 6.

Seven players from the World Series champion Dodgers advanced to the second phase of voting. Additionally, three players each from the Chicago Cubs, Detroit Tigers, and New York Mets, along with two players each from the Cleveland Guardians, New York Yankees, and Toronto Blue Jays, also moved on to the second phase.