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Jun 26, 2026

MLB All-Star 2026: Shohei Ohtani and Ernie Clement receive automatic spots after winning Phase 1 of fan vote

Story byYahoo SportsYahoo SportsVideo Player CoverJack BaerStaff writerThu, June 25, 2026 at 11:18 PM UTC·2 min read

The 2026 MLB All-Star teams officially have their headliners: Shohei Ohtani and Ernie Clement.

The Los Angeles Dodgers’ two-way star and the Toronto Blue Jays’ second baseman automatically qualified for the Midsummer Classic by winning each league's Phase 1 of fan voting. Ohtani will start at DH for the NL, and Clement will take second base for the AL.

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Ohtani received 3,341,257 votes, and Clement got 3,232,932. Second in each league were Ohtani's teammate Max Muncy (2,890,181) and Houston Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez (2,911,655 votes).

Clement's inclusion is certainly a surprise, fueled by a potent combination of fans of the Blue Jays and fans of chaos. That said, it's not like he isn't a deserving All-Star. He leads the AL in doubles with 20 and is currently hitting .292 while playing a premium defensive position. Plus, there was that breakout last October, when he broke the record for hits in a single postseason.

Ohtani was to be expected. He's having another season that would be unprecedented in a world without him and is currently the overwhelming favorite to win a third straight NL MVP award. This will be Ohtani's sixth straight All-Star appearance and the 30-year-old Clement's first.

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The rest of the starters will be decided by run-offs between the top two players at each position after Phase 1. Winners of those races, along with pitchers and reserves, will be announced July 4 on Fox. All but one race features a member of the Blue Jays or Dodgers, as both fan bases apparently had plenty of vigor following the 2025 World Series.

MLB All-Star 2026 Phase 2 voting candidates

American League

National League

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