Rangers catcher Ivan Rodriguez will make his eighth start in a row for the American League.(AP)

In voting through last week, Biggio was first at 452,863, Alfonzo second at 387,893 and Kent third at 314,907.

"I was pleasantly surprised," Giants manager Dusty Baker said. "This is a prime example of a person getting what he deserves. He worked for it and earned it. Nobody gave him anything."

Dye finished second in the voting among AL outfielders and became the first Kansas City starter since Bo Jackson 11 years ago. Starting the July 11 game at Atlanta's Turner Field is especially meaningful because the Braves traded Dye to the Royals.

`I'm very blessed and excited," he said. "I left there on a good note, I think. I had a good year there. I think the fans were sad that I left."

Rodriguez, one of the few players on Texas who hasn't slumped, received the most votes (2,808,456), ending the streak of Ken Griffey Jr., the top vote-getter the previous four years and five times overall before his offseason trade from Seattle to Cincinnati.

"Maybe I opened the door for the catchers," Rodriguez said. "This will be more special for me because I got the most votes. I never expected it to be like that. It's a dream come true. I didn't realize I had so many fans."

Rodriguez, the first AL catcher to top voting, will be appearing in his ninth consecutive All-Star Game, his eighth straight as a starter.

Mets catcher Mike Piazza, elected for his seventh straight start, received the most votes among NL players, 2,780,452, marking the first time the top vote-getters in both leagues were catchers.

Piazza, who had the largest margin of victory, finishing 2,034,838 ahead of Pittsburgh's Jason Kendall, also led NL voting in 1996 and 1997 while playing for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

"It's a tremendous honor. I'm flattered at the support of the fans in New York and the rest of the country," Piazza said. "I'm flattered considering the players you're up against."

The rest of the NL lineup has Mark McGwire of St. Louis (2,347,317) at first, Barry Larkin of Cincinnati (1,593,944) at shortstop, Chipper Jones of Atlanta (1,553,944) at third, and Griffey (2,188,169), San Francisco's Barry Bonds (2,015,590) and Chicago's Sammy Sosa (1,800,444) in the outfield.

"It took me a lot of time to make the All-Star team," Sosa said. "I remember a few years ago I had a lot of good numbers to go to All-Star Game and they never took me. Now, the last couple of years I've been up there and I can appreciate it more now because I've been working so hard for that."

Griffey was elected to his 11th All-Star Game, his first in the NL. McGwire was picked for the 12th time, his eighth as a starter. Larkin was selected for the 11th time.

McGwire was angry teammate Jim Edmonds finished only fifth in the outfield voting.

"I would almost think of not going if he's not on it," McGwire said. "It would be a mockery if he didn't go."

Also elected to the AL lineup were Oakland's Jason Giambi (1,229,295) at first, Cleveland's Roberto Alomar (2,615,501) at second and Seattle's Alex Rodriguez (1,654,852) at shortstop.

"Every year getting to go to the All-Star Game is like a dream come true, whether it's your first one or not," Alomar said.

The Yankees' Derek Jeter (1,516,492) was second at shortstop, followed by Boston's Nomar Garciaparra (1,341,550). Last year, Alex Rodriguez missed the first 1½ months of the season and wasn't picked despite hitting 18 homers and driving in 48 runs before the break.

"I was upset last year and I can remember being in here and being very disappointed," he said. "I mean, the rest was good for me at the time, but I'm a competitor. And if you feel like you've earned something, you want to be there."

Baltimore third baseman Cal Ripken (2,169,993) was picked for the All-Star game for the 18th time, the 16th as a starter, but he is on the disabled list with a bad back. Cleveland's Travis Fryman (824,402) was second, followed by Anaheim's Troy Glaus (812,538).

Elected to the AL outfield were the Yankees' Bernie Williams (1,568,209), Dye (1,486,448) and Cleveland's Manny Ramirez (1,232,335).

"It's great to see Griffey go to the other league and have Bernie lead," said Joe Torre of the Yankees, the AL manager.

In the closest voting for a starting spot, Boston's Carl Everett was fourth at 1,202,637, just 29,698 behind Ramirez, who is on the DL with a strained hamstring.

Dye and Giambi were the only elected starters who have never before been on an All-Star team.

Ripken gets a $100,000 bonus for his election, while Alomar, Dye, Giambi, Griffey, Kent, McGwire, Piazza, Ramirez and Alex and Ivan Rodriguez get $50,000 each.

Pitchers and reserves for the 30-man rosters will be announced Wednesday by Torre and Atlanta's Bobby Cox, who will manage the NL.