First 24 Hours of 2011 All-Star Game Final Vote Sponsored By Sprint Marked By Creative Campaigns, 10 Million Votes and Close Races

NEW YORK, July 4, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The annual rite of creative campaigning for the 2011 All-Star Game Final Vote Sponsored by Sprint (#FinalVote) has spurred fan and teammate support of the 10 candidates to the tune of more than 10 million votes in the opening 24 hours of online balloting, available exclusively on MLB.com, the official Web site of Major League Baseball, and the individual Club Web sites.

Clubs have launched campaigns and alliances to lend support for their candidates, including the Dodgers and White Sox, also Spring Training neighbors in Glendale, Ariz., co-promoting Phoenix natives Andre Ethier and AL day one leader Paul Konerko (aka PaulStar). The Nationals and Orioles joined forces on the "Beltway Ballot," rallying together for Mike Morse and Adam Jones, while the two 1998 expansion brethren Arizona and Tampa Bay are jointly promoting their respective players, Ian Kennedy and Ben Zobrist. Philadelphia and Detroit have aligned again, debuting "Victor-Victorino" for Victor Martinez and Shane Victorino, after the 2009 campaign "Bran-Torino" propelled Brandon Inge and Victorino to victory.

With three days remaining until the balloting concludes at 4 p.m. (EDT) on Thursday, July 7, five players have received more than one million online votes, leaving each race up-for-grabs among the 10 candidates. Here are the current standings after the first 24 hours of online balloting at MLB.com:

American League
1. Paul Konerko (CWS) - #PaulStar
2. Victor Martinez (DET) - #VoteVictor
3. Alex Gordon (KC) - #VoteAlex
4. Adam Jones (BAL) - #VoteAdam
5. Ben Zobrist (TB) - #helpZogo

National League
1. Shane Victorino (PHI) – #voteforshane
2. Andre Ethier (LAD) - #VoteAndre
3. Todd Helton (COL) - #VoteHelton
4. Mike Morse (WAS) - #VoteMorse
5. Ian Kennedy (ARI) - #VoteIanIn

MOBILE VOTING
U.S. residents can send "VOTE" to 89269 to receive the 2011 All-Star Game Final Vote Sponsored by Sprint ballot. In Canada, fans should text "VOTE" to 65246. Msg&Data rates may apply.

FINAL VOTE CAMPAIGN MANAGER
Fans can campaign for their favorite player on the Final Vote ballot through MLB.com's Final Vote Campaign Manager program, tallying points by getting their friends, family and co-workers to vote through social networking, and competing to be recognized as an "official" Final Vote Campaign Manager for any player they helped support.  

FINAL VOTE MLB.TV FREE TRIAL OFFER
MLB.com is giving eligible voters a 10-day free trial of MLB.TV from July 9-19, 2011. Fans will receive an e-mail notifying them of the instructions for redeeming this All-Star Final Vote offer.

FINAL VOTE JIBJAB STARRING YOU® VIDEO
MLB.com and Jib Jab debuted a specially-created Starring You® campaign featuring each League's five Final Vote candidates in a humorous, animated video of the traditional seventh-inning stretch song, "Take Me Out to the Ballgame." Fans can watch the candidates' Starring You® videos and then cast their online votes for the 2011 All-Star Game Final Vote Sponsored by Sprint here.

The 82nd Major League Baseball All-Star Game will be televised nationally by FOX Sports, in Canada by Rogers Sportsnet and Sportsnet HD and Le Reseau des Sports, and around the world by Major League Baseball International, with pregame ceremonies beginning at 8:00 p.m. (EDT)/5:00 p.m. (local). For more information, please visit allstargame.com or dbacks.com/asg.

SOURCE MLB.com

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