Elite Sports: Record Vote

Jose Bautista Dept: That tally was 7,454,753 votes the highest ever in baseball for a fan voted all-star and the number likely wasn t possible without the advent of the digital age, according to The Star. Part of the equation, though, was the previous record 6,069,688, by Ken Griffey Jr. in 1994. That total stood for 17 years, but was obliterated by a perfect storm of Bautista s rise, and a full frontal assault on the ballot process from three countries Canada, where he plays, the Dominican Republic, where he was born, and the U.S., where his breakthrough has been duly noted and jose Bautista thanked all-star voting fans for being the ones who sat in front of their computers and cast all the votes that vaulted him to a record setting all-star selection Sunday. The biggest part of Bautista s record vote equation was Bautista himself. His major league leading 54 homers a year ago, and his major league leading 27 this year have propelled him from an unknown for much of 2009, to elite sports celebrity status, with television commercials and feature stories in every prominent publication covering the game. As reported in the news.
@t ken griffey jr, full frontal assault