NEW YORK, June 1 (UPI) -- Power-hitting outfielder Jose Bautista of the Toronto Blue Jays had the lead Wednesday in the first round of balloting for the American League all-star team.
The New York Yankees dominated the AL balloting, but Bautista led in the first official returns with 1,261,659 votes.
Going into Wednesday's games, Bautista led the majors in home runs (20) and runs scored (45). His batting average (.363) was second to Tampa Bay's Matt Joyce and his RBI total (36) was among the top five in the league.
Bautista is trying to become the first Toronto player to lead the league in all-star voting. No Toronto player has started an MLB All-Star Game since first baseman Carlos Delgado in 2003.
Bautista was joined by Curtis Granderson (994,315) of the New York Yankees and 2010 AL MVP Josh Hamilton (748,240) of the Texas Rangers as the top three vote-getters among outfielders. Ichiro Suzuki of Seattle was fourth (674,406).
All four of the infield positions, plus the catcher's spot, were being led by players from the Yankees.
Second to Bautista in overall AL voting was New York second baseman Robinson Cano with 1,185,952. The other infield positions were all led by Mark Teixeira at first base with 827,247, Derek Jeter at shortstop with 931,410 and Alex Rodriguez at third base with 945,127.
New York catcher Russell Martin had received 843,459 votes to lead Minnesota's Joe Mauer (539,949). Mauer, who led all balloting for last year's game, has barely played this season because of his slow recovery from off-season knee surgery.
The MLB All-Star Game will be played July 12 in Phoenix. The teams for both leagues will be revealed on July 3.
