What if participants in Major League Baseball’s 2015 All-Star Game were determined by Facebook mentions?
The Facebook Data Science Team calculated which MLB players were mentioned most in conversations on the social network from April 29 through July 2, the league’s voting period for All-Stars.
The 2015 MLB All-Star Game will be held Tuesday (July 14) at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati.
Here were Facebook’s American League starters, with the actual starters listed in parentheses afterward:
- Catcher: Salvador Perez, Kansas City Royals (Perez)
- First Base: Miguel Cabrera, Detroit Tigers (Cabrera)
- Second Base: Jose Altuve, Houston Astros (Altuve)
- Shortstop: Jose Reyes, Toronto Blue Jays (Alcides Escobar, Royals)
- Third Base: Josh Donaldson, Blue Jays (Donaldson)
- Outfield: Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim; Torii Hunter, Minnesota Twins; Carlos Beltran, New York Yankees (Trout; Lorenzo Cain, Royals; Alex Gordon, Royals)
- Designated Hitter: Alex Rodriguez, Yankees (Nelson Cruz, Seattle Mariners)
Here were Facebook’s National League starters, with the actual starters listed in parentheses afterward:
- Catcher: Buster Posey, San Francisco Giants (Posey)
- First Base: Adrian Gonzalez, Los Angeles Dodgers (Paul Goldschmidt, Arizona Diamondbacks)
- Second Base: Brandon Phillips, Cincinnati Reds (Dee Gordon, Miami Marlins)
- Shortstop: Brandon Crawford, Giants (Jhonny Peralta, St. Louis Cardinals)
- Third Base: David Wright, New York Mets (Todd Frazier, Reds)
- Outfield: Bryce Harper, Washington Nationals; Andrew McCutchen, Pittsburgh Pirates; Giancarlo Stanton, Marlins (Harper; Matt Holiday, Cardinals; Stanton)
The Facebook Data Science Team also prepared the fandom map below, illustrating AL and NL fandom at the county level.
Readers: Are you ready for the 2015 All-Star Game?
