Suspended Ramirez drops to fifth in NL All-Star voting
NEW YORK -- Suspended slugger Manny Ramirez has dropped in the latest round of fan voting for the All-Star Game, falling to fifth among NL outfielders.
Ramirez was fourth last week in the first set of results, about 24,000 votes behind the New York Mets' Carlos Beltran for a starting spot. He is serving a 50-game suspension for violating baseball's drug policy. He is eligible to return July 3, 11 days before the All-Star game in St. Louis.
In results released Monday, the Los Angeles Dodgers star had received 635,530 votes. He trailed Milwaukee's Ryan Braun (908,745), Philadelphia's Raul Ibanez (817,849), the Cubs' Alfonso Soriano (775,319) and Beltran (741,875). Milwaukee's Mike Cameron was sixth, about 100,000 back.
Ramirez hit .348 with six home runs and 20 RBI in 27 games before he was suspended May 7.
Dodgers manager Joe Torre has said Ramirez should skip the game even if he's voted to start.
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