Blog

The fan vote for the MLB All-Star Game is still going on, and if one group has its way the starting lineups will be comprised entirely of Latino players.

According to ABC 15, Dr. Rebecca Alpert, who wrote a book about baseball and is a professor at Temple University, wants fans to stuff the ballot box for Latino players.

Last summer, calls for a boycott of the All-Star Game spread across the country in the weeks after the immigration law was passed. The fervor has fizzled in recent months as the law remains tied up in federal court.

An overall boycott failed. Officials said that the game has sold more than 40,000 tickets

But Alpert said the idea is to bring Senate Bill 1070 back into discussion.

"I'm not trying to block the game," she said. "I'm trying to shine a light on it."

Alpert told News-Talk 92.3 KTAR that the push is working.

"I've been getting a lot of people saying 'yes, I'm going to go vote for Latino players just to call attention to this,'" she said.

That is something Alpert wants because she is against SB 1070, which was passed last year.

"I think that there's a serious problem with the law that has been passed in Arizona, even though I know it's on hold for now, and I think the All-Star Game is a great opportunity to draw attention to this problem because of the importance of Latinos in Major League Baseball," she added. READ MORE