Many Royals fans bleed blue, but something has some of them feeling blue, and it's not the losing streak. It's a new cap on how many times they can vote for the Royals for the All-Star Game.
"I was a little surprised because last year it was almost like a hobby," said Royals super fan Daniel Nelson.
Fans are now limited to 35 votes. It's a big change from last year, when much more lenient rules allowed nearly limitless voting.
"I was doing it first thing in the morning, break at work, lunch at work, after work and then as many times as I could every night," said Nelson of his voting.
The endless voting by Nelson and countless other fans sent four Royals starters to the All-Star Game, after it initially appeared as many eight Royals could start in the game.
So far this year, with the new voting rules, only three Royals lead the voting.
"That makes sense to us, it makes sense to the rest of the league," said Royals Vice President of Community Affairs Toby Cook. "I don't know if it's changed why we have fewer starters."
Cook says the team spent much of last summer fending off accusations of voter fraud. It's something the new rules have put to rest.
"We're thrilled with the results because we have a leading vote getter and we have the potential of having a handful of starters," said Cook.
Of course some fans like Nelson still get around the 35-vote limit by using multiple email addresses - whatever it takes to see plenty of blue on the All-Star Game field.
"I guess this year when they see all of our Royals in the All-Star Game, they're going to realize we weren't cheating," said Nelson.
To see the latest All-Star voting results, click here.
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Justin Wilfon can be reached at justin.wilfon@kshb.com.
