Blue Jays’ Jose Bautista takes over AL All-Star Vote Lead from Mike Trout

Sure, the Major League Baseball All-Star Game is a glorified and perhaps overblown popularity content where they allow fans to cast votes for players before there is any discernible evidence as to who is the most deserving. However, wherever there is a vote going down, there has to be a campaign.

Toronto Blue Jays right fielder Jose Bautista is working hard on the campaign trail, piling up the accomplishments while also pandering to the audience for votes.

Are you on Twitter? Chances are Jose Bautista is following you, your own personal connection to the candidate.

Thanks for all the #ASG votes and putting me in the lead! Lets keep at it! #BestFans
Gracias por todos… http://t.co/1IvZ8HbkDP

— Jose Bautista (@JoeyBats19) June 9, 2014

Got a date for the prom? No problem, Jose Bautista will go out of his way to help get you one.

And Jose knows how to spot his supporters and make sure they get their just desserts…errr, souvenirs.

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All of this hard work on the campaign trail is paying off for Jose Bautista. According to the latest release of the American League All-Star balloting, Jose Bautista has overcome an early deficit and overtaken Los Angeles Angels golden boy Mike Trout for the overall lead in the American League. Bautista now has 2,135,223 votes, leads Trout by a cool 190,053.

The selection would be far more earned than a simple popularity vote though. The Blue Jays slugger is slashing a very cool .309/.435/.548 with 15 home runs and 44 RBI. He’s also shown a propensity for nailing runners this season, as he has 6 outfield assists on the year, including nailing runners on the 9-3 put-out on back-to-back nights.

The All-Star game will be played in Minnesota on July 15th, and voting will carry on until July 3rd. Be sure to vote. Vote Jose Bautista!