Baseball

Shohei Ohtani and Ronald Acuña Jr Elected to Start in MLB All-Star Game

AP
Los Angeles Angels’ Shohei Ohtani (17) waits to bat during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Anaheim, Calif., on Wednesday.

8:49 JST, June 23, 2023

NEW YORK (AP) — Two-way star Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Angels and Atlanta Braves outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. were elected Thursday to start in the July 11 All-Star Game at Seattle’s Safeco Field.

Ohtani led the AL with 2,646,307 votes and make his third straight All-Star start at designated hitter. He also was the American League’s starting pitcher in 2021.

Acuña led all players with 3,082,600 ballots and was elected to start for the fourth time. Acuña topped the NL for the third straight year, while Ohtani received the second-most votes of any player.

The pair were chosen under rules that began last year and give starting spots to the top vote-getter in each league in the first phase of online voting, which began May 31 and ended Thursday. Others advanced to the second phase, which runs from noon EDT on Monday to noon EDT on June 29. Votes from the first phase do not carry over.

An individual can vote once per 24-hour period.

Remaining starters will be announced on June 29. Pitchers and reserves will be revealed on July 2.