McGwire tops NL All-Star team
Braves Jones, Weiss also win starts, but Sosa falls short
Posted: Thursday July 23, 1998 02:47 PM
| |
Rock the vote: McGwire earned 93,809 votes per home run AP |
NEW YORK (CNN/SI) - Not only is Mark McGwire
first in the race to break Roger Maris' home run record, but he's also
first in the hearts of National League fans - at least those voting for the
All-Star team. The St. Louis slugger, leading the majors with 36
homers, was the overwhelming choice to start at first base in results
announced Monday, topping all other vote-getters. McGwire, who
started at first five times for Oakland, now switches sides for next
Tuesday night's game at Coors Field in Denver. "I think it's
going to be great," McGwire said during the weekend. "It's been great that
I've been able to play in the All-Star game so many years for the American
League, and now I get to do it for the National League."
Meanwhile, Sammy
Sosa, whose 19 home runs in June set a major league record for most
homers in any month, will have to hope he's picked as an NL reserve. The Chicago Cubs star
finished sixth among outfielders, and 12th overall in the fan voting.
New York
Mets catcher Mike Piazza, the
NL's top vote-getter the past two years while with Los Angeles, earned
another starting spot. He was the first Mets player picked to start since
Darryl
Strawberry in 1989. Larry Walker of
the host Colorado
Rockies will start in the outfield, along with San Diego's Tony Gwynn and
San Francisco's Barry Bonds.
Atlanta third baseman Chipper Jones,
Atlanta shortstop Walt Weiss and
Houston second baseman Craig Biggio
make up the NL's starting infield.
|
A .326 average helped Atlanta's Weiss earn his first All-Star start Brian Bahr/Allsport | |
The AL starters will be
announced Tuesday. The pitchers and reserves for both leagues will be
released Wednesday. McGwire, whose power is expected to
highlight the home-run derby a day before the game, will make his eighth
All-Star appearance. His 3,377,145 votes put him far ahead of runner-up Andres
Galarraga (880,142) of Atlanta. Piazza was second overall
in NL voting at 2,731,079, enough to get him his sixth All-Star appearance.
He finished in front of Charles
Johnson (811,813), who took Piazza's place behind the plate in Los
Angeles. In close votes, Weiss earned his first All-Star
appearance by edging Cincinnati's Barry Larkin,
1,159,960 to 997,591. Jones (1,574,512) beat out Colorado's Vinny
Castilla (1,343,129) to make his second All-Star game. In
the outfield, Gwynn (2,485,229), Bonds (1,897,156) and Walker (1,744,949)
finished ahead of Colorado's Dante
Bichette (1,213,700), Houston's Moises Alou
(1,205,369) and Sosa (1,112,234). Gwynn will be playing in his
13th All-Star game, while it will be the eighth for Bonds and third for
Walker. Biggio (2,298,691) beat out New York's Carlos Baerga
(744,568) for his seventh appearance. The best finish for any
player from the stripped-down World Series champion Florida Marlins was
eighth by shortstop Edgar
Renteria. Florida's Jim Leyland will manage the NL team.
Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
|
