2013 MLB All Star Game: Selection Show to Air Tonight on FOX

Voting for this summer’s MLB All Star Game concluded late Thursday night and the time has come to learn which players will be representing their organizations in this year’s Midsummer Classic. Rosters for both the American League and National League will be revealed later tonight, as Major League Baseball has once again joined with FOX for a full Selection Show. The program will air nationally tonight at 6:30 PM EST on FOX. It will also be available throughout Canada on Rogers Sportsnet.

The actual game itself will be played on Tuesday, July 16th at Citi Field in New York.

Fan voting will ultimately be the determining factor in the the game’s starters at each position on the diamond (as well as the designated hitter spot in the AL). The rest of the roster, however, will be comprised of selections by each league’s managers and players. MLB rules stipulate that there is to be a representative from each team in each league, always making for some interesting discussion and reaction once rosters are revealed in full.

As of the last update offered by MLB before fan voting closed, the tightest races in each league appeared to be for the final spot in the outfield. Jose Bautista of the Toronto Blue Jays held a slim margin (fewer than 150,000 votes) over Nick Markakis of the Baltimore Orioles in the AL. The race in the NL was ever closer, with Bryce Harper of the Washington Nationals trailing Carlos Gonzalez (Colorado Rockies) and Justin Upton (Atlanta Braves) by fewer than 30,000 votes.