All-Star Final Vote

All-Star Final Vote
2007 National League All-Star Final Vote winner Chris Young warming up in the Wrigley Field bullpen.
Awarded for	Yearly final Major League Baseball All-Star Game selection
Country	United States & Canada
Presented by	Esurance and Major League Baseball
First awarded	2002
Last awarded	2016
Currently held by	Michael Saunders (AL) and Brandon Belt (NL)
Official website	http://vote.mlb.com/

All-Star Final Vote is an annual Internet and text message ballot by Major League Baseball fans to elect the final player for each team that participates in the Major League Baseball All-Star Game after all other selections have been made and announced on national television. The first 33 players are selected by a combination of procedures. The sponsorship changes annually, but the contest remains similar from year to year. Each league presents a 5-man ballot and gives the fans a few days to choose one final All-Star.

The All-Star Game managers selected the entire lineups from 1933 to 1946. In 1947, the fans were given the ability to select the starting lineups. This continued until 1957, when Cincinnati Reds fans stuffed the ballot box and selected seven Reds and Stan Musial. This forced Baseball Commissioner Ford Frick to step in and replace Wally Post and Gus Bell with Willie Mays and Hank Aaron that season and to turn over the starting lineup selection to players, coaches and managers for several subsequent seasons. Since 1970, the fans have elected the starting lineup of one player for each baseball position (except the pitcher) for both the National League and American League teams.

In 2003, the major league players began electing a reserve for each position as well as five starters and three relievers, although the All-Star game managers performed this duty once. Now, the "Player ballot" includes coaches, managers and players across both leagues who participate in choosing eight reserves and eight pitchers for each All-Star team. Now, the managers only select the starting pitcher from among those pitchers already elected by the players. The managers also select the remainder of the roster spots except for the final spot while ensuring that each team has at least one representative. The All-Star game manager, guided by the baseball commissioner's office, then selects a list of five nominees for the fans to choose from for the remaining roster spot for each league's team.