ZERO Mariners Are Leading All-Star Voting, And That's The Real Problem

Alright, fam, listen up. We're well into June, the sun's (mostly) out, and our M's are grinding, right? We just took down the Orioles at T-Mobile Park, 3-1, a solid win! But then I saw the early All-Star fan voting results drop on Monday, and seriously, my blood pressure went through the roof. The numbers are out, and guess how many Mariners are leading their positions? Go on, guess. If you said zero, you'd be tragically correct. How in the world are we supposed to showcase the Emerald City's finest when the fans out there are voting for popularity contests instead of actual performance?

The AL Ballot Is a Wild Ride, But Where Are Our Guys?

Over in the American League, this ballot is a trip. Shea Langeliers from Oakland is way out front at catcher, crushing it by more than 400,000 votes, and honestly, the dude's been the best at his spot. Good for him. Dillon Dingler from Detroit has also had an almost equally good first half, and he's right there too. But then you look at first base and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is leading Ben Rice by about 90,000 votes, even with a "disappointing first half." Seriously? Ben Rice and Nick Kurtz are the most deserving, but Kurtz is sitting 330,000 votes behind Guerrero. Blue Jays fans are really showing out, because Ernie Clement is somehow over 600,000 votes ahead of Ezequiel Duran at second base. Six hundred THOUSAND! Bobby Witt Jr. is running away with shortstop, as he should. Junior Caminero and rookie Kazuma Okamoto are 1-2 at third. And Yordan Alvarez is the rightful DH leader. But here's the thing: while these guys are battling it out, our Mariners, the heart and soul of our summer, are nowhere to be seen at the top. Not a single one mentioned as a leader or even close. It's frustrating when you see players who might not even be having the best year getting the fan vote push.

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National League: Popularity Wins, Performance Takes a Backseat

The National League isn't much better in terms of just rewarding pure performance, though at least some of the leading guys are actually tearing it up. Take Drake Baldwin from the Braves at catcher. The dude is leading Will Smith by about 310,000 votes, and he’s been straight fire, slashing .303/.389/.543 with 13 dingers in 48 games. He's been the best, so that makes sense. Freddie Freeman is also up there at first base, trailing Matt Olson, who's been the best, by about 70,000 votes. But then you get to second base, and Ozzie Albies leads, while Brice Turang and rookie JJ Wetherholt have actually been the best. Shortstop sees CJ Abrams leading, and he actually *has* been the best. Max Muncy at third? Yeah, he's killing it at the ballot box and is absolutely the best at his position. Shohei Ohtani leading DH? Deserved, no question. But the outfield? That's where it really gets messy. Andy Páges, Ronald Acuña, and Brandon Marsh are 1-2-3 in the voting, but the best performers by Fangraphs WAR are Pete Crow-Armstrong, James Wood, and Corbin Carroll. None of *those* guys are even in the top seven, with Wood still 230,000 votes behind third place. It's a popularity contest, plain and simple, and it means truly deserving players get overlooked. Makes you wonder if our guys, even if they were quietly putting up monster numbers, would ever get the love from voters outside of the 206.

So, what do we do about this, 12s? We keep cheering on our Mariners, obviously! We just beat the O's, 3-1! Let's keep that energy going. These early All-Star voting results are a gut punch, sure, but it's early, and the M's still have plenty of baseball to play. Let's make some noise at T-Mobile Park and remind everyone what real baseball looks like. Go M's!

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.