Texas Rangers righthander Yu Darvish and St. Louis Cardinals third baseman David Freese will be the final members of the All-Star game according to MLB.com. The fans have spoken and the two are going to be joining the elite of the American League and National League All-Star teams at the 34th mid-season dance.
This is the first year that voting was actually allowed through Twitter. Designated hashrags bearing the players names were put together for the vote. The voting for this round began Sunday afternoon and ended today at 4pm EST for the final two slots.
In the National League voting, Washington Nationals center fielder Bryce Harper, Atlanta Braves center fielder Michael Bourn and Arizona Diamondbacks second baseman Aaron Hill will be staying home in place of David Freese.
In the American League it came down to four pitchers, Chicago White Sox starter Jake Peavy, Kansas City Royals closer Jonathan Broxton, Los Angeles Angels closer Ernesto Frieri and Baltimore Orioles starter Jason Hammel were among the choices but it was the rookie Darvish who landed the spot. .
In 75 games this season, Freese is hitting .285 with 13 homers, 50 RBIs and a .333 on-base percentage.
Darvish is 10-5 with a 3.59 ERA in 16 starts this season. He has 117 strikeouts in 102 2/3 innings. The Rangers intend to skip Darvish’s next start so he will be able to pitch in the game.
This year’s All-Star Game will be played Tuesday evening in Kansas City. It marks the halfway point through the season and the winning division gets to have home field advantage during the World Series.
