The dedicated effort paid immediate dividends. With 4.6 million votes as of Thursday morning, Belt (#VoteBelt) was the leader among the NL's five candidates in the Esurance MLB All-Star Game Final Vote (#FinalVote), held at MLB.com and through social media platforms.
However, by the Thursday afternoon update, Belt had been overtaken for the top spot by Pirates outfielder Starling Marte. Belt is followed by Colorado's Trevor Story, Arizona's Jake Lamb and Milwaukee's Ryan Braun.
Winning the Final Vote would enable Belt to make his first All-Star team and send him to San Diego with teammates Madison Bumgarner, Johnny Cueto and Buster Posey for next Tuesday's Midsummer Classic at Petco Park.