The 2010 All-Star game is set to be played at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California on Tuesday, July 13. Voting sponsored by Sprint is underway and will continue until the official closing of balloting on July 4th. Fans have the opportunity to start their voting online July 1 but early voting for some fans is already open. The good news for Rays fans is that 2 rays players are already in. The better news is that other rays players are on the edge and with just a little help can make the AL team a Rays dominate team.

The surprise contender for the rays is Longoria, who is only in his third season but is currently leading the rays both on the field and in the voting. He has the top spot among the rays for RBI’s and as of Monday when the first tally took place he had with 2,534,967 votes putting him 963,136 votes ahead of the Yankees’ Alex Rodriguez. Carlos Pena who at first looked like an odds on favorite ended up as of Monday ranked fifth in the first-base voting, carrying a total of 620,001. This places him well behind the position leader Justin Morneau of the Minnesota Twins who so far has 1,752,276 votes under his belt.

Last year MVP of the all star game Crawford, also looks like he will be hanging another commemorative All-star Jockstrap in his locker this year. He currently is in second place among the outfielders of the American League with over 1,445,615 votes. The leaders American leagues tradition of starting the top three players in the votes means that Crawford will be suiting up beside the Seattle Mariners’ Ichiro Suzuki who is in first with 1,567,788 votes, and the Rangers’ Josh Hamilton, who was in third place with 1,431,013 votes.

Fans are able to start voting with their sprint smart phones on certain plans beginning on Monday and all fans can cast up to 25 votes for their favorite teams via the MLB.com website or any of the 30 club sites for the individual teams. Online voting closes t the same time as text voting on July 4th during the All-Star Selection Show, which will be broadcast on the TBS superstation. During the show the fans all over the world will be given a chance to cast “the final vote” to help set the teams and the starting lineup. All voting is being sponsored by Sprint, who is also sponsoring the Game. The all-star selection showed being broadcast via satellite worldwide courtesy of TBS and co-sponsored by Sprint and Pizza Hut/Taco Bell.

For an additional level of interactivity this year fans will also be allowed to vote for the Ted Williams Most Valuable Player Award presented by Chevrolet. This is a great opportunity for the fans to be involved with the MVP selections and get to have a say as to who they feel was the best player in the game. The All-Star Game will be televised by FOX nationwide and additional coverage will be available on the web at MLB.com ESPN Radio will be providing official Play-by-Play coverage across all of north America on AM, FM and XM bands as well as HD radio.

Author Bio: Ivan Jamison is a big sports fan. You can check out his Tampa Bay Devil Rays Watch or his Miami Hurricanes Watch or his Oregon Ducks Watch

Category: Sports
Keywords: Tampa Bay Devil Rays