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Unsurprisingly, Los Angeles Angels' two-way phenom Shohei Ohtani is leading MLB All-Star voting for designated hitters. However, in far more surprising fashion, Brandon Belt is second in MLB All-Star voting for the DH position. Belt hilariously blasted Ohtani after learning of the voting results so far, per Paige Leckie of MLB.com.
“Yeah, that's how you know it's rigged, I should be number one,” Belt said. “And everybody knows I'm a better hitter than he (Ohtani) is. Better DH better leader. But here we are.”
Belt wasn't done there. He was then asked if he's a better pitcher than Shohei Ohtani, and the Blue Jays' veteran gave another hilarious answer, per Leckie as well.
“No question. I got a high school video for days that'll prove it.”
Ohtani leads the charge with 1,885,144 votes, per MLB.com. Belt is second with 497,887 votes. Rounding out the top five for DH voting are Robbie Grossman (Texas Rangers, 270,223 votes), Harold Ramirez (Tampa Bay Rays, 269,941 votes), and Corey Julks (Houston Astros, 206,059 votes).
For those who may have missed it, Brandon Belt was obviously being sarcastic when discussing the voting and Shohei Ohtani. However, he's having a decent season. Belt is currently slashing .263/.378/.434 with an .812 OPS and four home runs in 48 games. He last made an All-Star game in 2016 with the San Francisco Giants, which is his only career All-Star game appearance. Perhaps he can add another appearance in 2023.
That said, there's no question that Shohei Ohtani will be the American League starting DH as long as he remains healthy. From a voting standpoint, Ohtani holds a very commanding lead.