Royals third baseman Mike Moustakas is the people’s choice
The people have spoken.
Mike Moustakas is an All-Star.
His addition to the American League team managed by Ned Yost was made official Friday afternoon following Major League Baseball’s “Final Vote” process, through which fans selected one last player for both the AL and National League squads.
Kansas City fans voted in incredible numbers on Friday, especially, when Twitter hashtags of #VoteMoose were counted as additional nods for the Royals’ third baseman. Moustakas garnered more than 19 million votes — fans were allowed to vote as many times as they liked, with each #VoteMoose hashtag representing another vote — to outdistance fellow AL candidates Brian Dozier, a second baseman for the Minnesota Twins, outfielder Yoenis Cespedes of the Detroit Tigers and shortstop Xander Bogaerts of the Boston Red Sox.
Moustakas’ addition as the Royals’ seventh 2015 All-Star capped a hectic week for the 26-year-old player. In his fifth season with the big-league club, he departed the Royals on Bereavement/Family Medical Emergency leave early last Sunday, missing all four games against Tampa Bay to be with his ailing mother in California.
He returned to the Royals on Friday, the same day his selection to the AL All-Star team was announced.
All-Star snapshot
Baseball Reference compares players with others in history at their current age. For Mike Moustakas, who is 26, those players include: Ken McMullen, Gary Gaetti and Don Money.
.301
Moustakas’ batting average through Thursday
.152
Moustakas’ average when he was demoted to Omaha in May 2014
31
Moose’s 2015 RBIs for the defending American League champs
This story was originally published July 11, 2015 at 4:44 PM with the headline "Royals third baseman Mike Moustakas is the people’s choice."