The votes are in: How leagues pick All-Stars
Here are the voting procedures used to select rosters for all-star games by the major sports leagues.
Major League Baseball
Starters: Eight position players chosen by fan balloting.
Reserves: The first eight reserves, five starting pitchers and three relievers are chosen by the players, coaches and managers' balloting. The manager then picks five more pitchers and three position players with input from the commissioner's office. In doing so, he must be certain that each team has at least one representative. The 33rd and final roster spot is filled by an online vote.
NHL
Starters: Determined by fan balloting.
Reserves: Determined by the league's hockey operations department, in consultation with the team general managers.
NBA
Starters: Determined by fan balloting.
Reserves: Selected by the coaches. They are asked not to select a player from their own team but can vote for two guards, two forwards and a center plus two additional players for any position.
NFL
Starters: Cumulative voting by coaches, players and fans - each counting as a third - with top finisher or finishers at each position selected.
Reserves: Remainder of roster set by order of voting above, with a certain number of players chosen for each position.
Note: NFL was the first league to use online voting, beginning in 1995.
