Jun. 30—When the Pittsburgh Pirates hosted the MLB All-Star game 15 years ago, Freddy Sanchez was en route to the National League batting title.
Eager to have a representative on the field at PNC Park, the Pirates pulled out all the stops to get out the fan vote.
Ushers at the ballpark, for example, wore “Vote Freddy” buttons.
Twitter wasn’t widely in use yet in 2006. If it was, perhaps the Pirates instead would have temporarily rebranded their official Twitter account in honor of Sanchez. That’s what they’ve done this week for another popular second baseman who has been among the NL’s best hitters.
In lieu of “Pittsburgh Pirates,” the @Pirates handle has gone by “Adam Frazier Stan Account” this week. “Stan” is millennial slang for “a crazed or obsessed fan,” per urbandictionary.com.
The Pirates’ Instagram, Facebook and TikTok social-media platforms also flooded their feeds with Frazier photos, videos and highlights.
Even the background for manager Derek Shelton’s video conference calls with media featured messages urging fans to “Vote4Fraz.”
Be it the Pirates’ campaign blitz, a grassroots movement among the Pirates fanbase or perhaps even nationwide recognition of Frazier’s impressive season, something is working in regards to getting Frazier into the All-Star Game starting lineup. In voting released Tuesday afternoon, Frazier was atop Phase 2 of the voting for NL second basemen.
“I think it’s great,” Shelton said via Zoom on Tuesday evening as he pointed to the “#Vote4Fraz” message behind him. “It shows how passionate our fans are and how aware they are of how good a year Adam Frazier is having. And I would encourage them to continue to vote to put him in that spot because he deserves it.”
Voting ends 2 p.m. Thursday. Among the three finalists at his position in the NL, Frazier was getting 46% of the vote, followed by the Atlanta Braves’ Ozzie Albies with 36% and the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Gavin Lux with 18%.
Voting began Monday and is exclusively online. The winners will start in the July 13 Midsummer Classic at Denver’s Coors Field, the same venue at which the Pirates are playing a series against the Colorado Rockies this week.
Final voting will be announced 9 p.m. Thursday, and Frazier would appear to have a good chance to win.
“It’d be great,” Shelton said. “He’s the guy (who) should be there, so I’m really happy that people are voting that way. I hope they continue to vote that way. We’re excited and encouraging people to do that. I’m biased, but I think he should be the starting second baseman.”
Frazier (.330) entered Tuesday’s games second behind the Cincinnati Reds’ Nick Castellanos in the NL batting race. Frazier also was second to Castellanos in hits with 98 and doubles (tied) with 24. Frazier led the league in times on base (133), is third in on-base percentage (.399) and eighth in offensive Wins Above Replacement (2.7).
Though Josh Bell started the most recent MLB All-Star Game in 2019, it was at designated hitter. Andrew McCutchen (2014, ’15) is the only Pirates player to start an All-Star Game in the field since Jason Bay at PNC Park in 2006.
No player on the Pirates’ current roster has played in an All-Star Game. Frazier remembered being eager to ask Bell about his experience at the 2019 All-Star Game in Cleveland.
“He’s got some stories,” Frazier said.
A Georgia native who played at Mississippi State, Frazier made his MLB debut five years ago this week. He has played with and against scores of All-Stars and some future Hall of Famers, but Frazier recognizes that the multi-day All-Star festivities provide a unique opportunity to more intimately rub elbows with the sport’s biggest names.
“You play against these guys a lot, but you don’t really know them,” Frazier said. “So you might get to know them a little bit and make a connection that might be a lifetime connection.”
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Chris Adamski is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Chris by email at cadamski@triblive.com or via Twitter .