The Royals had a day off as they traveled from Minnesota to Seattle for a three-game series with the Mariners. 

Another round of All-Star vote totals was announced by the American League office. George Brett was the only Royal to lead his position, with a healthy 500,000-vote lead on New York’s Graig Nettles. Catcher Darrell Porter was second to Boston’s Carlton Fisk, facing a 240,000-vote deficit. Frank White found himself in third place in the second base race, trailing Milwaukee’s Paul Molitor and California’s Bobby Grich.

In the AL division races, the Royals were running away with the pennant. At 42-28, KC held an eight-game lead over Chicago in the AL West; the White Sox were 33-35 after a win in Anaheim, so the Royals were the only team over .500 in the division. Texas was in third place at 32-37. Seattle and Oakland were tied for fourth, with both teams at 31-39. Minnesota was 29-40, and California, just a year after winning the division, found themselves in the cellar with a 23-44 mark, by far the worst in the AL.

The AL East race was little better. The Yankees had a 5.5-game advantage over Milwaukee. New York boasted the league’s best mark at 44-24. The Brewers were hanging in at 38-29. Boston, Detroit, and Baltimore were battling for third place. The Red Sox were 37-31, the Tigers stood at 35-30, and the Orioles were 37-32. Cleveland was 33-33, while Toronto was a surprisingly strong 31-35 after losing more than 100 games in their first three seasons.

Today’s birthdays: Jason Kendall (1974), Luis Hernandez (1984)