Crawford, Posey named All-Stars, Belt awaits final vote

Two or potentially three players will represent the San Francisco Giants on the National League roster for the 89th annual All-Star Game in Washington.

Brandon Crawford won the fan vote as starting shortstop, while Buster Posey was elected as a reserve catcher, and Brandon Belt has the opportunity to make the roster by way of the final vote.

Crawford earned 3,212,103 fan votes to earn his roster spot. This will be his second All-Star Game; he was selected as a reserve in 2015, when Bruce Bochy managed the National League squad.

Crawford said being a starter makes this year’s selection all the sweeter:

“I think whenever you get that much fan support it’s special, so I’m excited. I definitely appreciate all the votes from the fans whether it’s Giants fans or from around the country. It should be a lot of fun.”

Posey was overtaken in the fan vote in the eleventh hour by Cubs catcher Willson Contreras, but in a poll of his peers, Posey was recognized as All-Star caliber, and made the list of reserve players. This will be his sixth All-Star Game and the first time he was not elected as a starter.

Of his selection, Posey said:

“Obviously any time you’re selected it’s a huge honor. It’s definitely a humbling gesture to be voted on for anything by your peers and I’m definitely grateful for it.”

This season marks the second time Belt has been a competitor in the final vote, in which fans vote for one of five players from each league to fill the final slot on their respective rosters. He is the only Giant of five nominated since the final vote’s inception in 2002 to have made the team, in 2016. Justin Turner won the NL final vote in 2017.

Belt is going against Brewers first baseman Jesús Aguilar, Los Angeles Dodgers corner infielder Max Muncy, St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Matt Carpenter, and Washington Nationals shortstop Trea Turner. Fans can submit their final votes from Sunday evening until Wednesday at 4 p.m. 

When asked if he’s be leading the campaign to get Belt elected, Posey joked:

“Of course, yeah! Do they do paper ballots still? I don’t know how to work those technological things.”

The Giants skipper said Crawford, Posey and Belt all deserve to be All-Stars this year:

“If you look at the body of work, the numbers they speak for themselves. Craw’s just had a terrific first half and you know Buster’s numbers, he has had to deal with a lot of nagging injuries and he’s still hovering around .290-.300 [batting average]. Belt [has] had his best first half and really has done a great job. I’m not surprised [about any of their selections], they’re well deserved.”

Bochy intimated last week that Gorkys Hernández should also be considered for a reserve position. Hernández was overlooked by MLB on the ballot and fans would have had to write his name in to vote for him despite his consistent position in center field for San Francisco. 

Bochy said:

“I think he’s gonna be considered this year. You look at the home runs — he’s in double figures now — and the way he’s been playing, you never know. I can tell you probably [NL All-Star manager] Dave Roberts, when he gets some picks he’ll do all his homework. He’ll notice the numbers on what Gorkys has been doing. You look at the outfield, there’s not a lot of guys having huge years out there, so he’s gonna get considered.” 

The All-Star Game takes place at Nationals Park on July 17 in Washington D.C. and will be televised on Fox. 

Up Next

The Giants open a three-game series with the Chicago Cubs Monday. Andrew Suárez (3-5, 3.92 ERA) will take on Kyle Hendricks (5-8, 4.27 ERA). First pitch is set for 7:15 p.m.

Julie Parker is SFBay’s San Francisco Giants beat writer. Follow @SFBay and @InsideThePark3r on Twitter and at SFBay.ca for full coverage of Giants baseball.