MLB President of Business & Media Bob Bowman said that there have been "no irregularities, no improprieties" in the All-Star voting process that currently has seven Royals players leading at their respective positions, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOXSPORTS.com. Bowman said of potential vote fixing, "We check on it. We look for programs. We look at IP addresses. We do all that. I would say over the last 12 to 15 years we've seen isolated instances (of tampering), more in the Final Man vote than in the All-Star vote. But if we see efforts like that, we always disallow it." He said of the Royals, "If you watch a game or go out there, they have been pushing it hard from Day 1. During their TV broadcasts, during their radio broadcasts, they've got everyone in their infrastructure pushing Kansas City players." Bowman did stress that it is still early in the voting process and "nobody's assuming this is the way it's going to end." But he added, "It's kind of exciting." Bowman: "There are no shenanigans going on, just the involvement and energy of the Kansas City fans. Not just in Kansas City, but nationwide. They kind of charmed the nation last year. They didn't win, but they kind of got the A-plus in the charm and modeling category" (FOXSPORTS.com, 6/10). In K.C., Blair Kerkhoff noted the latest All-Star vote totals put 1B Eric Hosmer and DH Kendrys Morales "into the lead for the first time at their positions." Other Royals leading their positions are C Salvador Perez, SS Alcides Escobar, 3B Mike Moustakas and OFs Lorenzo Cain and Alex Gordon. Perez "leads all AL vote getters at 4,419,620, and the two others who have received more than 4 million votes are Cain and Moustakas." One team having seven All-Star Game starters "would be a first." The '57 Reds had seven players voted in by fans, but then-Commissioner Ford Frick "intervened and replaced two of the Reds" (K.C. STAR, 6/9).
THE ROYAL TREATMENT: Denver Post columnist Woody Paige said it would be "great for the game" if the Royals had as many as seven starters in the All-Star Game. He noted it would be "something different" and would garner a "lot of talk and a lot of controversy." ESPN’s Israel Gutierrez said noted having one team dominate the starting lineup would be a “change of pace” and asked, “How much have they had to cheer for in Kansas City up until last year?” But the Washington Post's Kevin Blackistone said it would be "absolutely horrible” if the Royals dominated the lineup. The N.Y. Daily News’ Frank Isola: “If you want to see the Royals, get the MLB package and watch them play” ("Around The Horn," ESPN, 6/9). ESPN's Michael Wilbon noted MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred should not repeat what Frick did 58 years ago, but he should instead re-install “voting at the ballpark.” Wilbon: “It should not be exclusively online. ... You want to vote, come to the ballpark. You can stuff the ballot in the old, traditional sense. ... You’re not going to get 35 votes per e-mail address.” But ESPN's Tony Kornheiser said, "We live in an online world. They’re not going to just have it in the ballpark” (“PTI,” ESPN, 6/9).
