© Kelley L Cox | 2021 Jun 6
One member of the NL-leading San Francisco Giants is getting a ton of love from the fans. Another, not so much.
Buster Posey is leading all National League catchers in early All-Star Game fan voting, the first tally released on Monday morning. Posey’s 511,221 votes are nearly double that of second-place vote getter Yadier Molina (273,515) and miles ahead of Willson Contreras (194,550) and Will Smith (181,054).
It’s an impressive fact for the 34-year-old Posey to be pacing the group by such a significant margin. A six-time All-Star in his own right, Posey hasn’t made the team since the 2018 season, but is putting together the best season of his career at the plate, slashing (.329/.400/.571).
2018 was the same season as Brandon Crawford’s last All-Star appearance, and that fact may continue beyond this year if the fans have their say. Despite having the best season of his career and the best OPS among National League shortstops while playing Gold Glove level defense, Crawford finds himself fourth in voting at the position, with 122,536 total votes. San Diego’s Fernando Tatis Jr. leads the group with 701,251. Javier Báez of the Cubs (233,644) and Corey Seager of the Dodgers (153,863) stand in the way of Crawford getting onto the final ballot.
Aside from Posey and Crawford, no other Giants position player (the fan voting only includes position players, not pitchers) is close to sniffing a top three spot at their position. Evan Longoria is having a standout season at third base, but is sixth in voting and is likely to miss all of the remaining games before the All-Star break on July 13.
Braves outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. is the leading vote getter in the NL with 834,287 votes. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. of the Toronto Blue Jays leads all Major League players 857,956 votes.