With MLB All-Star balloting open for the 95th Midsummer Classic in Philadelphia on July 14, Mike Trout’s 10 fan-selected All-Star starter nods put him on the verge of an 11th. The list traces decades of how voting rules evolved—from early fan influence and lat
For a fan, it’s the most familiar kind of power in baseball: clicking a ballot and seeing a name move closer to the starting lineup.
That power returns again with balloting open for the 95th Midsummer Classic, set for July 14 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. And if this year’s votes break the right way, one of the game’s most consistent stars could climb even higher.
Mike Trout is already on track for history in his own right. He has been selected as an All-Star starter 10 times in his career, and fans could make that 11 this year.
Trout’s place on the fan-vote list is built on more than popularity. He led the list with 17 appearances in an All-Star starting lineup. the article notes. and his record streak of stamina—he played in a record 2. 632 consecutive games—matches the way his career has shown up in mid-summer showcases. The details underline how steady he’s been: he was an All-Star every year from 1983-2001. missing the starting lineup only in 1983. when the Brewers’ Robin Yount was the American League starter. and in 2000. when Derek Jeter started.
Before you reach the modern names, the list carries the story of how baseball decided who got to stand in those starting spots.
Fans voted for All-Star starters in the first two MLB All-Star Games in 1933 and ’34. The crowd’s power disappeared later, replaced by player, manager and coach selection from 1958-69 after accusations of ballot stuffing. Then, in 1970, Commissioner Bowie Kuhn returned voting for All-Star starters to the fans.
Since then, the fan-selected starting lineup has become a kind of public scoreboard—one that rewards careers, reputations, and the sheer staying power of players who keep showing up long after the first wave of hype.
Cal Ripken Jr. is there twice as a leading vote-getter, in 1992 and ’95. He was also an MVP of the Midsummer Classic twice, in 1991 and 2001. In the 1991 game, he went 2-for-3 with a three-run homer in a 4-2 AL win in Toronto. A decade later, he launched a homer in his final All-Star Game in Seattle.
Rod Carew’s record reads like durability made visible: he was an All-Star in 18 of his 19 MLB seasons and was selected to represent his league in the Midsummer Classic each year from 1967-84. He started in 15 of those—every year except 1970 and ’82—and holds the distinction of being the only player to hit two triples in an All-Star Game. doing so in the 1978 Midsummer Classic.
Ken Griffey Jr. owns the 1990s in this lineup of favorites. “The Kid” was a starter in the All-Star Game every time he was selected. Griffey was an All-Star every year from 1990-2000, and again in 2004 and ’07. He was MVP of the 1992 Midsummer Classic in San Diego. going 3-for-3 with a double and an opposite-field homer off fellow Hall of Famer Greg Maddux in the AL’s 13-6 victory.
Barry Bonds and Alex Rodriguez appear as reminders that fan selection doesn’t always follow the shape of a normal career timeline. Bonds was a 14-time All-Star, and started in all but two—his first in 1990 and again in 2000. He homered in the 1998 Midsummer Classic at Coors Field in Colorado. taking Bartolo Colon deep in the fifth inning for a three-run shot. The NL lost, though, 13-8.
A-Rod was a 14-time All-Star too. starting in the Midsummer Classic in all but two of the seasons he was selected. The single instances where he was selected but not in the starting lineup were 1996, 2000 and 2010. He was elected as a starter by the fans in 2000 but was unable to play due to injury. Though he launched 696 home runs during his 22-year MLB career. Rodriguez had only one homer during All-Star play—that came during the 1998 game at Coors Field. He was voted as a starter for 12 of his 14 All-Star selections. didn’t start in the 1992 game in San Diego. which was his first. and wasn’t elected as a starter in 2005. when Red Sox backstop Jason Varitek got the nod. Over 21 Major League seasons, Rodriguez was also a 13-time Gold Glove Award winner behind the plate and the 1999 AL MVP.
Defensive legends also land in the mix. One of the greatest defensive shortstops of all time. Alan Smith was a 15-time All-Star and started in all but three of them—in 1993. ’95 and ’96. In those seasons, the Reds’ Barry Larkin was the starter for the NL squad. Smith made a tremendous diving play to get a force out in the 1994 game in Pittsburgh. receiving a standing ovation from the crowd as he neared the twilight of his Hall of Fame career.
George Brett was a 13-time All-Star during his Hall of Fame career. and he was elected by the fans as a starter in each of those years but two—1980 and ’86. In the 1984 Midsummer Classic at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. Brett launched a solo home run to center field off Charlie Lea in the second inning for the only AL run in a 3-1 NL victory.
Tony Gwynn’s pace is described through frequency: he made 15 All-Star teams during his 20-year MLB career. The Hall of Famer and eight-time NL batting champ started in each of those All-Star Games except in 1987, ’93, ’96 and ’99. He was central to one of the great moments in All-Star Game history in 1994 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh. when Gwynn singled and scored the winning run for the NL on a 10th-inning double by Moises Alou.
Reggie Jackson’s All-Star memories aren’t limited to October. Though he is known as “Mr. October,” Jackson had his moments in July, too. The 14-time All-Star started 11 times in the Midsummer Classic. including in 1971. when he hit a mammoth blast off a transformer atop the roof in right field at Tiger Stadium off NL starter Dock Ellis in the third inning. Jackson’s only at-bat in that game became one of the most memorable in All-Star Game history.
Mike Piazza started in 11 of the 12 All-Star Games for which he was selected during his 16-year Hall of Fame career. His most memorable moment came in 1996 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia, when the Norristown, Penn. native crushed a long home run and also doubled to take home MVP honors in a 6-0 NL victory.
Johnny Bench is included with the kind of numbers that don’t fade easily. A Hall of Famer who won 10 Gold Glove Awards and belted 389 career home runs with the Reds. Bench started in 10 of his 14 career All-Star Games. and he launched home runs in three of them. going deep in the Midsummer Classic in 1969. ’71 and ’73.
Rounding out the list is Wade Boggs. selected as an All-Star 12 times and a starter in all but two of those. His most memorable All-Star moment came in 1989 in Anaheim. when he slugged a home run for the AL squad right after Bo Jackson launched his famous leadoff homer off the Giants’ Rick Reuschel with President Ronald Reagan in the TV booth with legendary play-by-play broadcaster Vin Scully.
It’s the modern end of that same story where Trout fits. The five-tool center fielder has been an All-Star 11 times in his incredible career. which also includes a Rookie of the Year Award. three AL MVP Awards and nine top-five MVP finishes. He was named MVP of the Midsummer Classic in back-to-back years in 2014 and ’15. and he was the leading vote-getter for the All-Star Game in 2019.
With balloting open for the 95th Midsummer Classic in Philadelphia on July 14. the question isn’t whether Trout belongs in the conversation. It’s whether the fans—still deciding the starting lineups since Commissioner Bowie Kuhn returned the power in 1970—will decide he belongs even closer to the very top this time.
All-Star voting Mike Trout Citizens Bank Park 95th Midsummer Classic Bowie Kuhn fan selections MLB All-Star starters