Kinsler was a 2008 AL All Star at the 79th All Star Game at Yankee Stadium. It was his most exciting moment in baseball to that point. He was a reserve voted in by his peers. In the fan balloting, Dustin Pedroia, who finished with nearly 1.3 million votes, beat him by 34,243 votes. In the game, Kinsler hit 1-for-5 and stole a base. He was called out attempting to steal another base, though replays demonstrated that the umpire had missed the call. "The Washington Post" and "ESPN" baseball writer Jayson Stark picked Kinsler as the AL MVP for the first half of the season.