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CNN Live At Daybreak

Baseball's All-Stars Stir Controversy

Aired July 10, 2001 - 07:55   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Major League Baseball's All-Star game is tonight in Seattle. But there's a controversy over the way the players are selected.

CNN's Lillian Kim tells us why some fans are unhappy.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LILLIAN KIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: When it comes to selecting the All-Star team, it's the fans who decide the starting lineup.

BRETT BOONE, SEATTLE MARINER ALL-STAR: As long as you give it to the public, and it's there game, they're going to vote for who they want to see.

KIM: This year, more ballots were cast then ever before, and no one received more votes than Seattle Mariner sensation Ichiro Suzuki.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ichiro hits a fly ball to deep right field.

KIM: The Japanese rookie led by a whopping 800,000 votes. What helped? More ballots sent overseas to countries like Japan, causing some controversy in the states.

MARK SMITH, BASEBALL FAN: I'd rather it be just the people coming to the games, filling out a ballot, and that's it. I think the numbers would be a lot lower, and I think it would be a more just system.

KIM: The push to get fans to cast ballots online also boosted votes to record numbers, giving even more worldwide access to the voting process.

(on camera): It's a system Major League Baseball says caters to all the games fans, fans who are becoming more international every year.

TIM BROSNAN, EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL: Forty percent of the professional baseball players, players on a contract to Major League Baseball, come from outside of the United States. So our game is global. Our fans are global, and we want to connect with our fans wherever they reside.

KIM (voice-over): Making this year's All-Star game in Seattle an international event, one that brings out the true spirit of baseball fans from around the world.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think fans vote for what they believe in their heart. That's what baseball fans are all about.

KIM: In Seattle, Lillian Kim reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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