Tigers could have multiple players start 2025 All-Star Game
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This story was excerpted from Jason Beck's Tigers Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
DETROIT -- The Tigers haven’t had multiple players in the All-Star Game starting lineup since Miguel Cabrera and Max Scherzer played for All-Star manager Jim Leyland in 2013. They haven’t had three All-Star starters, or multiple players voted into the starting lineup, since Iván "Pudge" Rodriguez, Magglio Ordóñez and Placido Polanco made it from the defending American League champions in 2007. This year’s Tigers have a legitimate chance.
The first All-Star balloting update released earlier this week brought good news for Detroit fans. Gleyber Torres held an 85,986-vote lead over Baltimore’s Jackson Holliday among American League second basemen, while Riley Greene ranks second among AL outfielders, trailing only Aaron Judge. Meanwhile, Javier Báez ranks fifth, just 53,923 votes behind Mike Trout for the third outfield spot.
It’s the most encouraging All-Star balloting the Tigers have seen in years. And with the current format, it has a chance to get even better. The first phase of voting runs until noon ET next Thursday, June 26. Then, the top two vote-getters at each position -- plus the top six outfielders -- move on to the second phase of voting to determine the starters.
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Not only could Báez join Greene among the outfield finalists, Kerry Carpenter sits seventh, just 35,873 votes behind Cody Bellinger. However, that six-man group of outfield finalists could become just four if Judge holds on to the overall vote lead, which would guarantee him one of the three starting outfield spots.
Dillon Dingler is within 54,059 votes of Alejandro Kirk for second among AL catchers, both well behind Seattle’s Cal Raleigh for the top spot. Spencer Torkelson and Zach McKinstry sit fourth in balloting at first and third base, respectively, both needing to make up a sizable gap to crack the top two.
Torres has a chance to become the Tigers’ first All-Star starting second baseman since Polanco. The only other Tiger elected by fans to start at second base is Lou Whitaker, who started three in a row from 1984 to ‘86.
Amazingly, Greene is vying to become just the fifth Tigers outfielder voted into the All-Star lineup since fan balloting returned in 1970, joining Ordóñez, Chet Lemon (1984), Ron LeFlore (1976) and Rusty Staub (1976).
Fans can continue voting up to five times per every 24-hour period in the current phase. Once the finalists are determined, Phase 2 of voting to determine the starters from the finalists runs from noon ET on June 30 to noon ET on July 2. Fans can vote once per day during this phase, and votes from the previous round don’t carry over, so finalists start from scratch. Winners will be revealed that evening at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN.