Blue Jays fans just put Ernie Clement into Shohei Ohtani territory

Much has been made about the ridiculousness of the results of the All-Star voting so far this year. Toronto Blue Jays fans have practically hijacked the whole process and are getting their favourite home town players to the very top of the list, even if there seems to be more deserving candidates.

For instance, Alejandro Kirk is second in catcher voting, despite only playing in 12 games this season (as of Jun. 23). Vladimir Guerrero Jr. leads all first basemen with 1.4 million votes, but only has four home runs through his first 78 games of the year. Andrés Giménez and George Springer are both second at shortstop and DH respectively, and neither guy has even a .320 OBP or a wRC+ over 100.

However, the most ridiculous, yet awesomely-deserving, result of this whole process has been the love and attention Blue Jays' second baseman Ernie Clement has been getting. The 30-year-old has not only received enough votes to lead all American League second baseman, but he's one of only two players two receive over two million votes to this point. That list includes the "Ern-Dog" and Shohei Ohtani. That's it.

Clement deserves an All-Star spot and Blue Jays fans are making sure he gets it

It's no surprise that Ohtani is one of the leading vote getters. He's not only one of the most popular players in the league but he's widely regarded as one of the most popular athletes in the entire world. The two-way superstar is having another mind blowing seasons.

The 31-year-old has hit at a .296/.418/.558 clip with 17 home runs in 75 games. He's also pitched to a 1.47 ERA and 2.65 FIP, he's allowed only 12 earned runs in 73.2 innings pitched this season in 12 starts with ten of those outings being quality starts. So yeah, the guy is good and everyone knows it and there's an obvious reason to why he leads in voting.

Clement on the other hand isn't as well known, but his playoff performance and continued success into 2026 has certainly put him on the map. During the 2025 postseason, Clement set the record with 30 hits in 18 games, the most hits in a single playoff run in MLB history.

Through 76 games in 2026, Clement has posted a .293/.314/.439 slash line with a 107 wRC+ and seven home runs. His batting average leads all qualified AL second basemen, and he tops that group with 86 hits, 58 singles and 20 doubles as well, while he's second in home runs behind the 11 that New York Yankees second baseman Jazz Chisholm has hit. Meantime, his 32 strikeouts are the least in that group.

While the team has taken a while to really turn things around offensively, Clement has been a consistent, steady presence since Opening Day. He hasn't had more than two consecutive starts in which he's failed to record a hit.

For a guy that was DFA'd four years ago at 26-years-old, it's been a remarkable turn around for Clement who continues to beat the odds.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow