Vote Red

The Boston Red Sox and the Cincinnati Reds have formed an alliance to co-promote their respective first basemen and 2010 All-Star Game Final Vote ballot nominees Kevin Youkilis of the Red Sox and Joey Votto of the Reds.

Youkilis, who is on the American League ballot and is a native of Cincinnati, is a 1997 graduate of Sycamore High School and a 2-time All-American at the University of Cincinnati. For the Sox in 2010, Youkilis is hitting .299 (83-for-278) with 17 HR and 55 RBI.

Youkilis leads the Major Leagues in runs scored (66) and ranks among American League leaders in HR (T-7th), RBI (T-8th), total bases (9th, 163), walks (2nd, 51), on-base percentage (3rd, .416), slugging percentage (4th, .586) and extra-base hits (5th, 41).

Reds First Baseman Votto, who is on the National League ballot, leads the National League in HR (21), total bases (173), on-base percentage (.418), slugging percentage (.599), hitting vs RHP (.347) and home run ratio (1hr/13.8ab). He ranks third in the league in hitting (.318), ranks among the NL leaders' Top 5 in 11 offensive categories and ranks among the NL leaders' Top 10 in 15 categories.

The Red Sox and the Reds are collaborating in a variety of ways to encourage fans to support Youkilis and Votto with the hope of getting both of these deserving players in to the All-Star Game and getting fans excited for the Midsummer Classic. This includes joint online activations on the two teams’ websites, outreach through the teams’ social networking pages on Facebook and Twitter, and cross promotion on television and radio game broadcasts.

There is no limit to the number of times fans can vote for Youkilis and Votto at www.redsox.com, www.reds.com and www.mlb.com. The 2010 All-Star Game Final Vote ends at 4:00 p.m. Thursday, with the results to be announced later that day.

Major League Baseball's 81st All-Star Game will be played Tuesday, July 13 at Angel Stadium of Anaheim. It will be televised nationally by FOX Sports, in Canada by Rogers Sportsnet and Sportsnet HD and Le Reseau des Sports, and around the world by Major League Baseball International, with pregame ceremonies beginning at 8:00 p.m. (EDT)/5:00 p.m. (PDT). ESPN Radio will provide exclusive national radio coverage. MLB Network, MLB.com and Sirius XM also will provide comprehensive All-Star Game coverage.

--RED SOX COMMUNICATIONS--