ft
Host of Braves
^ >■- making cases for all-
star selection
Major League
Baseball’s All-Star
Game is set for July 9 in Cleveland,
and fans have been voting for their fa
vorites since late May.
This year, the powers-that-be de
vised a brand new way of voting for
the starters in each league in the Mid
summer Classic.
Yes, you could still punch the little
chads on an actual ballot if you attend
ed a major league game and, yes, you
could have gone online and cast your
votes at MLB.com and Google.com.
You could - but you can’t now.
The way it works this year, fans
were allowed to vote between May 28
and June 21 for the all-star starters
in both the American and National
leagues, then that so-called “primary”
voting was shut down.
The top three vote-getters at each
infield position and the top nine out
fielders, plus top three at designated
hitter in the AL, all were advanced
to a second phase of voting, cleverly
termed the “Starters Election.”
That phase begins at noon Wednes
day and runs till 4 p.m. Thursday.
Don’t ask me why.
During that 28-hour period, anyone
and everyone can go online and vote
for the starters - but only once per
valid email address.
Host of Braves making cases
for all-star selection
By Dave Jordan
Keep in mind, this is just for the
position players who will start the All-
Star Game, and those “winners” will
be announced later Thursday on the
alphabet sports network.
The pitchers and reserves for each
league will be announced Sunday.
So let’s see how baseball fans did in
the Primary phase. Here are the top
vote-getters at each position, begin
ning with the junior circuit:
American League
Catcher: Gary Sanchez, Yankees
First base: Luke Voit, Yankees
Second base: Tommy La Stella,
Angels
Shortstop: Jorge Polanco, Twins
Third base: Alex Bregman, Astros
DH: J.D. Martinez, Red Sox
Outfield (top 3): Mike Trout, An
gels; George Springer, Astros; Michael
Brantley, Astros
National League
Catcher: Willson Contreras, Cubs
First base: Freddie Freeman,
Braves
Second base: Ozzie Albies, Braves
Shortstop: Javier Baez, Cubs
Third base: Nolan Arenado, Rockies
Outfield: Cody Bellinger, Dodgers;
Christian Yelich, Brewers; Ronald
Acuna, Braves.
To say the all-star voting process
is a glorified popularity contest would
be correct, but baseball fans do get it
right sometimes. Bellinger, Yelich and
Trout are heads and shoulders above
every other MLB player at present, re
gardless of position, and those three,
respectively, received the most votes.
And you can make a case for San
chez, Voit and Bregman being No. 1 at
their positions this season in the AL,
along with Trout, and likewise in the
NL, Contreras, Freeman and Arenado
are statistically at or near the top at
their positions, along with the afore
mentioned Bellinger and Yelich.
Nice job, fans.
In addition to the Atlanta trio of
Freeman, Albies and Acuna leading
at their positions, four other Braves
made the top three at their spots and
are still on the ballot for the final
Election: Brian McCann at catcher,
Dansby Swanson at shortstop, Josh
Donaldson at third base, and Nick
Markakis in the outfield.
Worthy or not, is there any reason
all seven can’t be voted in by fans to
start the game?
Ladies and gentlemen, start your
computers.
Dave Jordan is a native of Mable-
ton, a University of Georgia graduate,
and a diehard St. Louis Cardinals fan.
Calendar
The Coastal Photographers GuThe
Coastal Photographers Guild (CPG)
will host its 11th annual “Big Photo
Show” in the gallery at Glynn Visual
Arts, 106 Island Dr. St. Simons Island
June 25 through August 2. Opening
Reception June 27, 5:00-7:00 pm. Re
freshments will be served.
June 24, 2019, The Islander, Page 13
SGHS launches on line
appointment system for
Immediate Care Centers
Southeast Georgia Health System
has launched “Save Your Spot,” an on
line appointment reservation system,
at their three Immediate Care Centers
in Brunswick and St. Simons Island.
To reserve a spot in line at one of the
Immediate Care Centers, visit sghs.
org/save-your-spot to select a preferred
time. Because the Immediate Care
Centers treat patients based on the se
verity of illness or injury, reservation
times are not guaranteed, but patients
will be seen as close to their reserved
time as possible.
Save Your Spot is available at
all three Immediate Care Center
locations:
Glynn Immediate Care Center
3400 Parkwood Drive
Brunswick 912-466-5800
Glynco Immediate Care Center
15 Gable Court
Brunswick 912-466-5400
St. Simons Immediate Care
Center
5000 Wellness Way
St. Simons Island 912-466-5900
The Immediate Care Centers treat
all of life’s bumps, bruises and pains
that aren’t life-threatening but need
prompt attention, such as minor inju
ries—sprains, cuts, burns, bee stings,
sunburns and foreign objects in the
eye—and minor illnesses, including
cold and flu, respiratory infections, uri
nary tract infections, fever, sore throat,
ear ache, upset stomach and allergies.
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