Ryan Braun 3rd in NL all-star voting in outfield

Brewers left fielder Ryan Braun, the leading vote-getter among all National League players for the 2011 All-Star Game, is third in the voting among NL outfielders in the first balloting released by MLB on Tuesday.

Los Angeles' Matt Kemp, the runner-up to Braun for 2011 NL MVP, is the leading vote-getter among all NL players with 1,952,910 vortes thus far. St. Louis' Carlos Beltran is next among NL outfielders with 1,212,030 votes, followed by Braun with 1,112,971 votes. The top three vote-getters will form the staring outfield for the NL.

Braun has been elected to four consecutive All-Star Games, a franchise record for the Brewers. But, after leading all vote-getters in 2011, some wondered how Braun would fare this year after his tumultuous off-season in which a positive drug test became public as well as his successful appeal of a pending 50-game suspension.

Braun has been booed on the road in several cities, most notably in Los Angeles on the last trip by Dodgers fans who thought Kemp should have been the MVP last year. Braun also heard considerable booing in Arizona at the start of that trip. The Brewers eliminated the Diamondbacks in the NLDS last fall, with Braun playing a prominent role.

Despite nagging injuries, Braun is off to a strong start this season, batting .308 with 14 home runs and 36 RBI. That performance, as well as his track record as one of the top hitters in the NL, is enough to put him third among NL outfielders in all-star voting in the initial results.

In NL balloting at other positions, Brewers catcher Jonathan Lucroy is fifth, as are third baseman Aramis Ramirez and shortstop Alex Gonzalez, who is out for the year with a knee injury. Second baseman Rickie Weeks is fourth in the balloting at his position.

The All-Star Game will be played on July 10 in Kansas City. Weekly updates in the balloting will be announced each Monday for the AL and each Tuesday for the NL throughout June.

Voting in the ballparks concludes on June 22 but fans can cast ballots on mlb.com and the club web sites until June. 28.


(jsonline.com)