Meet the two newest additions to the 2018 MLB All-Star Game. After three continuous days of voting, baseball fans have decided that Milwaukee Brewers first baseman Jesús Aguilar and Seattle Mariners shortstop Jean Segura are worthy of making the trip to Washington DC.
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Aguilar and Segura were announced as the winners of Major League Baseball’s Final Vote during Wednesday’s edition of MLB Network Tonight. Both players will now officially join their respective league’s All-Star teams for MLB’s summer showcase next Tuesday at Nationals Park.
Voting Results
Aguilar received 20.2 million votes, which is the second highest vote total since the Final Vote began in 2002, trailing only Justin Turner’s 20.8 million last season. Aguilar beat out Brandon Belt of the San Francisco Giants, Max Muncy of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Matt Carpenter of the St. Louis Cardinals and Trea Turner of the Washington Nationals.
Segura received 13.6 million votes, topping Andrew Benintendi of the Boston Red Sox, Giancarlo Stanton of the New York Yankees, Eddie Rosario of the Minnesota Twins and Andrelton Simmons of the Los Angeles Angels.
Jesús Aguilar — Milwaukee Brewers
Aguilar was widely considered to be the most deserving of the NL candidates. The first-time All-Star has come out of nowhere to author an unexpected breakout during the first half of the season, and has helped Milwaukee to the NL’s best record.
The 28-year-old veteran entered Wednesday with 23 home runs, which is tied with Colorado Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado for the NL lead, 64 RBIs, which is third in the league behind Eugenio Suarez and Javier Báez.
Not bad for a player who was plucked off waivers from the Cleveland Indians prior to the 2017 season, and who was presumed to fill only a bench role in Milwaukee. Aguilar has not only played his way into an All-Star selection, he’s also firmly in the MVP conversation as well based on his production so far.
.@JAguilarMKE received the good news from Manager Craig Counsell in a special pregame meeting with his teammates: pic.twitter.com/ZpahPKU5ol
— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) July 12, 2018
Aguilar is Milwaukee’s fourth All-Star selection, joining outfielders Christian Yelich and Lorenzo Cain, along with reliever Josh Hader.
Jean Segura — Seattle Mariners
It’s the second All-Star selection for Segura, who first earned the nod with the Milwaukee Brewers in 2013. It’s also well deserved after Segura’s superb first half helped to anchor the Mariners infield and offense. Segura entered play Wednesday in the majors with a .329 batting average and second in hits (116), trailing only reigning AL MVP Jose Altuve (124).
Segura’s consistent production has helped ease the loss of second baseman Robinson Cano, who first suffered a broken hand and was then hit with an 80-game suspension for a positive PED test.
The moment the guys found out.
This is all you, Mariners fans. All you. pic.twitter.com/lM6KAp0yAZ
— #SentSegura (@Mariners) July 12, 2018
Segura will be Seattle’s fourth All-Star, joining designated hitter Nelson Cruz, outfielder Mitch Haniger and closer Edwin Diaz.
There’s still a chance
For the eight players not selected in the Final Vote, the All-Star dream is not officially over. As we’ve seen in years past, there tends to be a lot of roster shuffling that goes on between the Final Vote announcement and the All-Star Game itself due to injury issues or other reasons. A handful of these deserving could still be added in the coming days.
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