Read our story on the balloting format, which includes two phases of fan voting to determine the All-Star starters.
At the time of the most recent All-Star fan vote update, an unexpected name sat atop the leaderboard of American League shortstops.
Jacob Wilson's roughly 40,000-vote lead over Bobby Witt Jr. was a surprise not because it was undeserved -- far from it, given that entering Friday’s action, he ranked second in the Majors with a .359 average and racked up nine homers and just 19 strikeouts over 71 games – but because of the circumstances.
Wilson, the A’s rookie shortstop, would be the first Athletics player to win the fan vote at his position in over a decade, since Josh Donaldson won at third base in 2014. An A’s shortstop hasn’t received the honor in almost 50 years -- Wilson would be the first since Bert Campaneris in 1975.
“To be in the spot where I am a part of the fan vote is something that I’m super blessed to have,” said Wilson in a Friday appearance on MLB Network Radio. “[But] you can’t just take it and be satisfied with all the fan votes. You’ve got to keep going out there and keep playing, keep performing, and keep showing the fans [the All-Star Game] is where I want to be and that’s where I want to play one day.”
But while he has the potential career milestone on his mind, the 23-year-old is more concerned with what’s immediately in front of him. The A’s first season in West Sacramento has already had its highs and lows. They climbed to four games over .500 on May 5 -- just a game out of first place in the AL West -- but not long after, just one victory separated an 11-game losing streak from May 14-24 and a nine-game losing streak that ran from May 27 through June 4.
That 1-20 run left them in last place in the division, where they remain as of June 20. But it would appear that it hasn’t caused too much concern in the clubhouse.
“I think right now, since we’re all really young, we’re kind of just focusing on going out there and having fun, playing the game with our teammates, and obviously the main goal is to go out there and win,” Wilson said. “I think a couple of years down the road now we’re going to have a good team [that can] go out there and put wins together.
“I’m just super excited to be a part of this group right now. Hopefully we can stay together for some time and go up there and push for those playoff spots.”
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