CLEVELAND — Editor's note: the video in the player above is from the June 27 episode of The Ultimate Cleveland Sports Show.
The 2022 MLB All-Star Game is less than a month away. And as voting for the 'Midsummer Classic' winds down, it appears that the Cleveland Guardians could be well represented in the game's starting lineup.
On Monday, Major League Baseball released an update on the first phase of this year's voting, which is set to close at 2 p.m. ET on Thursday, June 30. In doing so, the league revealed that the Guardians' José Ramírez is now the leading vote-getter at third base for third basemen in the American League, while Cleveland's Andrés Giménez ranks third among A.L. second basemen.
Following the conclusion of Phase 1 of voting, the top two vote-getters at each infield position and top six vote-getters in the outfield will be entered into a run-off vote to determine the All-Star Game starting lineups in both leagues. Currently, Ramírez (1,219,704 votes) leads Boston Red Sox third baseman Rafael Devers (1,185,906 votes) for first place, with Matt Chapman of the Blue Jays (696,556 votes) ranking third. Meanwhile, Giménez (819,163 votes) trails the Houston Astros' Jose Altuve (1,156,474 votes) and the Blue Jays' Santiago Espinal (943,125) in voting at second base.
Phase 2 of voting will last from 12 p.m. ET on Tuesday, July 5, through 2 p.m. on Friday, July 8. For the first time since the voting phases began in 2019, the top-vote getters in each league through Phase 1 will bypass Phase 2 and automatically be inserted into the starting lineup for their respective leagues.
Following the conclusion of Phase 2, the starting lineups for the 2022 MLB All-Star Game -- which will be played at Dodgers Stadium in Los Angeles on July 19 -- will be announced on July 8 at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN, with the full rosters revealed at 5:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, July 10. Those looking to cast their votes for this year's All-Star Game can do so five times per every 24 hours by visiting https://www.mlb.com/all-star/ballot.