Atlanta Braves third baseman Chipper Jones, whose .407 batting average leads Major League Baseball, and Houston Astros first baseman Lance Berkman, who ranks in the top three in the National League in batting average, home runs and RBI, have extended their leads in balloting results for the 79th All-Star Game, to be played on Tuesday, July 15th at Yankee Stadium. 

The five-time N.L. All-Star Jones has drawn 708,515 votes, leading his closest competition, two-time N.L. All-Star David Wright of the New York Mets, by nearly 250,000 votes. In the first base race, the four-time N.L. All-Star Berkman, who has garnered 585,369 votes, is up by nearly 100,000 votes over six-time N.L. All-Star Albert Pujols of the St. Louis Cardinals and almost 110,000 over two-time N.L. All-Star Derrek Lee of the Chicago Cubs. Philadelphia Phillies second baseman Chase Utley, Major League Baseball’s home run leader with 21, remains the N.L.’s top overall vote-getter with 847,628 votes. Florida Marlins shortstop Hanley Ramirez is locked in the tightest contest as he aims for his first appearance in the Midsummer Classic. Ramirez has drawn 418,197 votes, less than 8,000 votes ahead of Houston Astros shortstop Miguel Tejada, who has drawn 410,553 votes.

The Cubs have been the National League’s most popular attraction in balloting thus far, with three players currently penciled in the starting lineup and a player in at least the top four at every position. Geovany Soto has built his lead behind the plate with 594,309 votes, while Alfonso Soriano (635,013 votes) and Kosuke Fukudome (552,287) are the N.L.’s two leading outfielders. The Chicago tandem is joined in the outfield by 13-time All-Star Ken Griffey, Jr. of the Cincinnati Reds. 

The 2008 American League and National League All-Star Teams will be unveiled on Sunday, July 6th on the 2008 MLB All-Star Game Selection Show Presented by Chevrolet, televised nationally on TBS following the weekly Sunday MLB on TBS match-up. The American League All-Star Team will have nine starters elected via the fan balloting program, while the National League All-Star Team will have eight fan-elected starters. The pitchers and reserves for both squads – 23 for the N.L., 22 for the A.L. – will be determined through a combination of “Player Ballot” choices and selections made by the two All-Star managers – American League skipper Terry Francona of the Boston Red Sox and National League manager Clint Hurdle of the Colorado Rockies – in conjunction with Major League Baseball.

See the latest voting results for the American League released June 2nd  

Immediately following the announcement of the American League and National League All-Star rosters, fans will have the opportunity to select the final player for each League's 32-man roster at MLB.com. The Monster 2008 All-Star Final Vote will provide fans the opportunity to cast their votes from a list of five players from each League over a four-day period. For the fourth year, fans will be able to vote for their Final Vote selections on their mobile phone. Both winners of the Monster All-Star Final Vote will be announced after the voting has concluded on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, fans once again will have the opportunity to participate in the official voting for the 79th All-Star Game’s Ted Williams Most Valuable Player presented by Chevrolet via the Monster All-Star Game MVP Vote on MLB.com. 

The 79th Major League Baseball All-Star Game, being held at Yankee Stadium in its final season, will be televised nationally by FOX Sports, in Canada by Rogers Sportsnet and Sportsnet HD and televised around the world by Major League Baseball International, with pregame ceremonies beginning at 8:00 p.m. (EDT). ESPN Radio will provide exclusive national radio coverage that will also be available on XM Satellite Radio, while MLB.com will provide extensive online coverage.

The remaining updates will be released as follows:

Select the image above to see the details of the National League All-Star voting to date (PDF)

Source: Major League Baseball, Press Release

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Maury Brown is the Founder and President of the Business of Sports Network, which includes The Biz of Baseball, The Biz of Football, The Biz of Basketball and The Biz of Hockey. He is contributor to Baseball Prospectus, and is available as a freelance writer.

Brown's full bio is here. He looks forward to your comments via email and can be contacted through the Business of Sports Network.

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