Bautista voted starter on AL all-star squad

Jose Bautista is pleased to have been named to his third AL all-star team, but he’s also miffed that one of his Blue Jays teammates may not be joining him.

The Toronto outfielder was voted to start for the American League for the second straight season when final rosters for the upcoming 83rd All-Star Game in Kansas City were announced on Sunday.

Following a slow start to the season, Bautista caught fire in June, belting a team-record 14 home runs, while posting a 1.158 OPS. Entering play Sunday, he led the majors in home runs (26), was tied for second in RBIs (62) and tied for fourth in runs scored with (56).

Bautista finished third in AL voting among outfielders with 4,971,155 votes. In 2011 Bautista set a record with 7,454,753 votes. That total was eclipsed this year by Texas Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton with 11,073,744.

"Again, huge support from the fans, all those votes, it’s amazing that I see myself in that position," Bautista said prior to Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. "And so many people following me (on Twitter), showing me the love, so I appreciate it again. All my thanks go out to everybody who voted."

Not named to the AL squad however was Bautista’s teammate, designated hitter and first baseman Edwin Encarnacion. The 29-year-old Dominican — in the midst of a career season –- entered play Sunday fifth in the AL with 22 home runs while posting a line of .289/.365/.570/.936.

"Hopefully a door cracks open for Edwin, I know he’s deserving," said Bautista. "When I wasn’t doing so well he put the team on his back, driving in a ton of runs. To have the numbers that he has, the batting average, home runs, RBIs, to me it’s a disappointment that he didn’t get voted in and it’s a bigger disappointment that we didn’t select him as players.

"I’m basically a little upset that he wasn’t in the 34th man choice, but again, hopefully there’s another way for him to get in."

Between now and July 5 at 4 p.m. ET, fans can vote on who they would like to see take up the 34th and final roster spot on each team. Five nominees from each league were submitted by NL manager Tony La Russa and AL skipper Ron Washington in conjunction with MLB.

AL choices include Royals closer Jonathan Broxton, Angels closer Ernesto Frieri, Orioles starter Jason Hammel, White Sox starter Jake Peavy and Rangers starter Yu Darvish.

"Pretty good strategy by Ron Washington to try to get Darvish in there," said Bautista. "The whole country of Japan is going to vote for him, so my congratulations go out to Darvish because he’s going to make it for sure."

Blue Jays manager John Farrell also felt Encarnacion deserved a spot on the AL squad.

"Edwin’s very much deserving," he said. "He’s had an outstanding year for us. When you look at the first six weeks of the season, he was our guy."

So barring an injury, it appears Bautista will be Toronto’s lone representative at the Mid-Summer Classic, but his presence should be a large one since he expressed a desire to participate Monday night’s home run derby for the second straight year.

"The invitation has been sent my way but I’m 99 per cent sure that I will (participate)," he said. "I gotta run it by the team, make sure it’s fine with them, but if it was up to me, right now I’d say yeah."

And whether it’s in the game itself, the home run derby, or dealing with the national American media, Bautista said he’s more than willing to once again assume the role of unofficial Blue Jays ambassador.

"I have to say what’s on my mind and just be honest. That’s what I’ve been doing ever since I got here," he said. "I truly enjoy playing here in Toronto. I like Canada and it’s a great place to play. Somebody’s gotta make sure that people understand and know that. I’m in the position that I can do it. As much as I can I’m going to."

Toronto native and Cincinnati Reds first baseman Joey Votto was voted to start at first base for the National League. It will be his third all-star game, first time as a starter.

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