Give the fans a hand for an All-Star performance.

Albert Pujols, absolutely. Joe Mauer, right on the money. Chase Utley and Evan Longoria, no doubt about it.

Fan balloting for All-Star game starters has been a contentious issue in baseball for years. Some complain the process is merely a popularity contest that often puts big names on the field at the expense of more deserving players.

This season, however, a look at the numbers shows fans were hitting for their highest average in years.

When vote counts were released early in the week, with only...

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