Boston Red Sox outfielder Mookie Betts leads all Major League players in fan balloting for the 2018 MLB All-Star Game presented by Mastercard. The first American League balloting update was announced earlier today on MLB Network. The 2018 Camping World MLB All-Star Ballot, which is available exclusively online and via mobile devices at MLB.com, all 30 Club sites and the MLB At Bat and MLB Ballpark mobile apps, will be accessible until the voting period ends on Thursday, July 5^th at 11:59 p.m. (ET).
Betts, an All-Star in each of the last two seasons, has received 748,872 votes to pace the Majors ahead of Houston Astros second baseman and reigning AL Most Valuable Player Jose Altuve (701,236) and 2016 AL MVP Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels (639,822). The 25-year-old Betts, who is currently on the disabled list with an abdominal strain, leads the Majors with a .359 batting average to go along with 17 home runs, 37 RBI, 19 doubles, 13 stolen bases and 52 runs scored. Betts, who was a fan-elected starter in 2016, would become the first Red Sox outfielder since Manny Ramirez to earn multiple fan elections.
Altuve, who has started each of the last three Midsummer Classics, is bidding for his sixth All-Star selection overall. The 28-year-old native of Venezuela would join Hall of Famer Rod Carew (six straight, 1970-75), Hall of Famer Roberto Alomar (four straight, 1991-94; five straight, 1996-2000) and Robinson Canó (five straight, 2010-14) as the only AL second basemen to win four consecutive fan elections. Altuve, who is followed at second base by rookie Gleyber Torres of the New York Yankees (279,810), is batting .342 on the season with five home runs, 34 RBI, 16 doubles and a Major League-best 93 hits. 
Trout, an All-Star in each of the last six seasons, is in line for his sixth consecutive fan election. The last AL outfielder to earn six straight fan elections was the aforementioned Ramirez, who won eight consecutive fan elections from 1999-2006. The 26-year-old New Jersey native, who leads the Majors with 54 walks and 54 runs scored, is hitting .304 with 21 home runs, 41 RBI, 15 doubles and 13 stolen bases. Joining Betts and Trout among the AL outfield leaders is 2017 AL Rookie of the Year and MVP runner-up Aaron Judge of the Yankees (541,983). The 26-year-old Judge, who has 18 home runs and 45 RBI on the season, is followed by Michael Brantley of the Cleveland Indians (238,659).
The remaining AL leaders include: first baseman José Abreu of the Chicago White Sox (267,812), who is bidding to become the first White Sox player to win a fan election since Hall of Famer Frank Thomas in 1996; third baseman José Ramírez of the Indians (443,234); shortstop Manny Machado of the Baltimore Orioles (321,887); catcher Gary Sánchez of the Yankees (336,280); and designated hitterJ.D. Martinez of the Red Sox (513,415). Abreu is followed closely at first base by Boston's Mitch Moreland (241,889), while Ramírez is followed by Yankees rookie third baseman Migual Andújar (219,691). Indians shortstop Francisco Lindor (211,756) trails Machado at shortstop and Tampa Bay Rays backstop Wilson Ramos (320,969) is chasing Sánchez in the AL's tightest race. The 2017 NL MVP Giancarlo Stanton, now of the Yankees, ranks second at designated hitter behind Martinez with 231,885 votes.
For the fourth consecutive season, MLB's All-Star Balloting Program will be conducted exclusively online and via mobile devices at MLB.com, all 30 Club web sites and the MLB At Bat and MLB Ballpark mobile apps. Beginning on Friday, June 1^st, fans around the world can cast their votes for starters a total of 35 times with the 2018 Camping World MLB All-Star Ballot, including a maximum of five valid ballots cast in any 24-hour period. Additionally, when fans vote they have a chance to win a 2019 Freedom Elite Motorhome, valued at over $85,000. During the voting period, the 2018 Camping World MLB All-Star Ballot will be available in English, Spanish and Japanese, and will offer audio CAPTCHA functionality for visually impaired fans. Banco BHD León will once again sponsor online All-Star balloting in the Dominican Republic, making Spanish-language ballots available to fans in the Dominican Republic via LasMayores.com, the official Spanish-language web site of Major League Baseball.
Details regarding the unveiling of the 2018 American League and National League All-Star Teams will be available in the coming weeks. The AL All-Star Team will have nine elected starters via the fan balloting program, while the NL All-Star Team will have eight fan-elected starters. The pitchers and reserves for both squads - totaling 23 for the NL and 22 for the AL - will be determined through a combination of "Player Ballot" choices and selections made by the Commissioner's Office. The AL squad will be managed by AJ Hinch of the defending World Series Champion Houston Astros, while the NL team will be led by Dave Roberts of the defending NL Champion Dodgers.
Following the announcement of the American League and National League All-Star rosters, fans will begin voting to select the final player for each League's 32-man roster via the 2018 Camping World MLB All-Star Final Vote. Fans will cast their votes from a list of five players from each League over the balloting period. Now in its 17^thseason with over 760 million votes cast, fans again will be able to make their Final Vote selections on MLB.com, the Club sites and on their mobile devices.
This year's final phase of All-Star Game voting again will have fans participating in the official voting for the Ted Williams All-Star Game Most Valuable Player Award presented by Chevrolet. During the Midsummer Classic, fans can vote exclusively at MLB.com and the 30 Club sites - online or via their mobile devices - with the 2018 All-Star Game MLB.com MVP Vote, and their collective voice will represent 20 percent of the official vote determining this year's recipient of the Arch Ward Trophy. 
MLB All-Star Week includes the MLB All-Star Game presented by Mastercard at Nationals Park (July 17^th), Gatorade All-Star Workout Day featuring the T-Mobile Home Run Derby (July 16^th), All-Star Sunday featuring the SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game and All-Star Legends & Celebrity Softball Game (July 15^th), GEICO All-Star FanFest at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center (July 13^th-17^th), plus a lineup of additional events taking place around the city. The 89^th Midsummer Classic 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, please visit www.allstargame.com and follow @MLB and @AllStarGame on social media.