Vying for his second straight appearance, Rangers second baseman Ian Kinsler continues to rank among the A.L. leaders with 2,170,100 votes, but his advantage over last year's starter, Dustin Pedroia of the Red Sox, has dwindled from 200,238 votes two weeks ago to 58,390 last week and now to 6,830 in the closing days. Pedroia, the 2008 A.L. Most Valuable Player, has collected 2,163,270 votes. Meanwhile, Pedroia's teammate, first baseman Kevin Youkilis, has reclaimed the top spot over Mark Teixeira of the Yankees in a classic race at first base, where the leader has changed in each of the last four weeks. The 1,915,303 votes for Youkilis, the 2008 A.L. starter, have once again pushed him ahead of Teixeira, a 2005 A.L. All-Star who has drawn 1,875,256 votes. The American League's two top vote-getters are on the left side of the infield, where Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter has garnered 3,046,813 votes in his bid for his 10th All-Star appearance and Rays third baseman Evan Longoria, in his first year on the ballot, has notched 2,988,363 votes as he attempts to become an All-Star for the second time in his two Major League seasons. Behind the dish, two-time A.L. All-Star Joe Mauer of the Twins has jumped into contention for the overall number one spot with 2,851,819 votes. In the outfield, Jason Bay of the Red Sox is in front with 2,609,913 votes as he aims for his first A.L. All-Star berth and his third Midsummer Classic invitation overall. Bay is joined by Mariners eight-time A.L. All-Star Ichiro Suzuki, who has drawn 1,802,826 votes. Rangers center fielder Josh Hamilton, the 2008 A.L. All-Star who is currently on the disabled list, is hanging on to third place with 1,635,781 votes, but a pair of two-time A.L. All-Stars, Torii Hunter of the Angels of Anaheim is fourth with 1,490,800 and Carl Crawford (.319, 7 HR, 37 RBI, 40 SB) of the Rays ranks fifth with 1,442,175.