All you need to know about 2018 ASG rosters

The 2018 All-Star Game rosters have finally been announced, and both the American League and National League will be sending talent-laden teams to Washington, D.C., for the Midsummer Classic on July 17.
The biggest superstars in baseball will be there -- from D.C.'s own Bryce Harper to the Angels' Mike Trout to the Yankees' Aaron Judge to the Astros' Jose Altuve. Some of the game's most exciting young players, like the Cubs' Javier Báez, the Braves' Ozzie Albies and the Yankees' Gleyber Torres, will be making their first career All-Star appearances. So, too, will some well-deserving veterans, like Atlanta's Nick Markakisand Texas' Shin-Soo Choo.
For a full breakdown of the rosters, click here. Here are some others important (and amazing) facts to impress your friends with regarding this year's All-Star rosters.
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Who received the most votes?
That honor went to the reigning American League MVP and World Series champion Altuve. The Astros' second baseman is having another stellar season, leading the Majors in hits with 122 through Sunday, and he topped all players with nearly 5 million All-Star votes. Here are the top five vote-getters:
1. Altuve (AL, 2B): 4,849,630

2. Betts (AL, OF): 4,286,994
   
3. Freeman (NL, 1B): 4,039,219
   
4. Trout (AL, OF): 3,682,164
   
5. Markakis (NL, OF): 3,556,469
   Who had the biggest margin of victory at his position?
   No surprise here -- it's Altuve again. The five biggest margins in this year's All-Star voting:
   1. Altuve (AL, 2B): 3,588,944 over Torres
   
6. Freeman (NL, 1B): 2,023,945 over Anthony Rizzo
   
7. Martinez (AL, DH): 1,619,065 over Evan Gattis
   
8. Crawford (NL, SS): 1,406,247 over Addison Russell
   
9. Judge (third AL, OF): 1,164,993 over Springer
   What was the closest race?
   At AL shortstop, Machado finished with 1,740,645 votes, just 56,629 ahead of Carlos Correa. Lindor and Didi Gregorius also topped the 1 million mark. Lindor made the roster as a reserve.

In the NL, the catcher position saw an impressive five players record at least 1.2 million votes. Contreras (2,172,682) beat out Posey by just over 250,000 votes, with Kurt Suzuki, Yadier Molina and Realmuto following behind. Both Posey and Realmuto were selected as reserves.

Who was waiting the longest for his first All-Star honor?
Markakis, a 13-year veteran voted in as an NL starter, led all active players in career games without making an All-Star team before getting the nod on Sunday. He also ranked in the top 10 all time in that category, going back to the inaugural Midsummer Classic in 1933.

Now that Markakis is an All-Star, he has made history. According to Elias, no player has ever played more games than Markakis (1,928 through Sunday) before his first All-Star selection -- breaking a record previously held by Ron Fairly. When Fairly finally participated for the first time in 1973, he had played in 1,866 regular season games. Third on the list is Adrián Beltré, who had 1,766 games to his credit before making his first All-Star roster in 2010.
Also worth mentioning is Choo, who will be on his first career All-Star team as an AL reserve after 14 MLB seasons and 1,408 career games through Sunday.

Who are the other first-time starters?
Besides Markakis, the Cubs duo of Baez and Contreras will also make their first All-Star Game starts in their first appearances. Others who had previously made an All-Star team but were picked as starters for the first time are Abreu, Martinez and Ramos in the AL, and Crawford in the NL.
Who else just made their first All-Star team?
Not counting the starters above, the AL has five other first-time All-Star position players and six pitchers. The position players: Bregman, Moreland, Torres, Choo and Haniger. The pitchers: Bauer, Berrios, Diaz, Happ, Jimenez and Treinen.
The NL has six additional first-time All-Star position players, and five pitchers. The position players: Realmuto, Albies, Gennett, Suarez, Story and Yelich. The pitchers: Foltynewicz, Hader, Mikolas, Phillies Nola and Vasquez.
Which starter has made the most All-Star Game starts?
Harper is 25 years old, and Trout is 26. Yet, both are now set for their fifth All-Star Game starts -- more than any other players voted in this year. Trout also started each year from 2013-16 and was voted in last season but didn't play due to injury. Harper, playing in his home stadium, will be making his fourth consecutive start. (This is Trout's sixth election by the fans, compared to Harper's fifth).

Willie Mays holds the all-time record of 18 All-Star Game starts -- although that includes eight in a four-year period from 1959-62, when there were two games per year. The active leader in that category is Albert Pujols (eight).
Who is the most experienced All-Star?
Four players have been selected as All-Stars for the seventh time: Trout, Kimbrel, Sale and Verlander. Meanwhile, this is the sixth All-Star nod for Altuve, Cruz and Perez of the AL, as well as Goldschmidt, Harper, Posey, Scherzer and Votto of the NL.
Hank Aaron is the all-time leader with 25 All-Star game selections, and Warren Spahn leads all pitchers with 17. Among active players, Miguel Cabrera (11) ranks first, while the trio of Kimbrel, Sale and Verlander move into a tie with Clayton Kershaw for the top spot among pitchers.
Who is the youngest All-Star?
Albies edges out Torres for that distinction by less than a month. Both are 21 years old, but Torres was born on Dec. 13, 1996, compared to Jan. 7, 1997, for Albies. They are two of only seven position players who have suited up in the Majors this season at age 21 or younger.

Albies' All-Star teammate, Harper, holds the all-time record for youngest position player to participate in a Midsummer Classic, as he was 19 when he came off the bench as a rookie in 2012. Dwight Gooden (also 19) was 31 days younger than Harper when he pitched in relief in 1984.
Who is the oldest All-Star?
Cruz, who just turned 38 on July 1, is one of just seven position players that age in MLB this season. He also has more than two full years on any of his peers. His closest AL teammates are Choo (who turns 36 on July 13) and pitchers Happ and Verlander (both 35). Votto (34) is the elder statesman of the NL roster, months ahead of Markakis and Lester.

Cruz has nothing on Satchel Paige, however. Paige is the oldest player to have made an All-Star Game, as he was a week past his 47th birthday in 1953. The oldest position player in the history of the event is Pete Rose, who was 44 in '85.
Who has the most impressive All-Star Game resume?
Unsurprisingly, that would be Trout, who has dominated in the Midsummer Classic just as much as he has in the regular season. The Angels superstar is a two-time All-Star Game MVP, taking the honors in both the 2014 and '15 All-Star Game. Trout has a .462 batting average in All-Star Games (6-for-13 with two doubles, a triple and a homer), ranking fourth all-time behind Charlie Gehringer, Ted Kluszewski and Derek Jeter. And his 1.000 slugging percentage in All-Star Games is tied with Alfonso Soriano for the best ever.
Trout's biggest All-Star Game hit? Take your pick from his MVP performances. It's either his leadoff home run against Zack Greinke to open the 2015 game, or his tiebreaking fifth-inning double off Pat Neshek in '14, which held up as the difference-making hit in the AL's win.
Which team has the most starters?
Three teams have multiple players in the All-Star starting lineups: the Red Sox, Cubs and Braves. Boston sends Betts and Martinez to the game as AL starters. On the NL side, Atlanta sends Freeman and Markakis, while the Cubs provide Contreras and Baez.
In the starting lineups, eight different AL teams are represented: the Angels, Astros, Orioles, Rays, Red Sox, White Sox and Yankees. The NL starters come from six teams: the Braves, Cubs, Dodgers, Giants, Nationals and Rockies.
What about overall representation?
In the AL, the teams with the most All-Stars are the heavyweights of the league. The Astros, Indians and Red Sox -- the three division leaders -- have five All-Stars apiece. And the Yankees are just behind them, with four All-Stars.
For the Senior Circuit, the NL East co-leading Braves have four All-Stars, the most of any NL team. Behind them are the Brewers, Cubs, Nationals, Reds and Rockies with three All-Stars each.
How many international players are there?
This year, there are 21 All-Stars born outside the 50 U.S. states. Those places and players:
Venezuela -- Altuve, Contreras, Perez, Ramos, Suarez, Torres, Vazquez
Puerto Rico -- Baez, Berrios, Diaz, Jimenez, Lindor
Dominican Republic -- Cruz, Ramirez, Severino
Cuba -- Abreu, Chapman
Curacao -- Albies, Jansen
Canada -- Votto
South Korea -- Choo
Fans can cast votes for the final player on each league's roster -- on computers, tablets and smartphones -- exclusively online as part of the 2018 Camping World MLB Final Vote, as well as via the MLB At Bat and MLB Ballpark mobile apps, until Wednesday at 4 p.m. ET.
Then on Tuesday, July 17, while watching the 2018 All-Star Game presented by Mastercard live on FOX, fans can submit their choices for the Ted Williams Most Valuable Player Award presented by Chevrolet with the 2018 All-Star Game MLB.com MVP Vote.
The 89th Midsummer Classic, at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C., will be televised nationally by FOX Sports; in Canada by Rogers Sportsnet and RDS; and worldwide by partners in more than 180 countries. FOX Deportes will provide Spanish-language coverage in the United States, while ESPN Radio and ESPN Radio Deportes will provide exclusive national radio coverage of the All-Star Game. MLB Network, MLB.com and SiriusXM also will provide comprehensive All-Star Week coverage.
For more information about MLB All-Star Week and to purchase tickets, visit AllStarGame.com and follow @MLB and @AllStarGame on social media.