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NEW YORK – Hanley Ramirez’s stance on stealing bases is unambiguous. He supports an aggressive surge in base running and vigorously opposes any plan to scale down the presence of speed on the basepaths.

The All-Star-voting public’s stance on base stealing is more equivocal. A strong majority of fans oppose it and believe engaging in it is the wrong strategy, but more find Ramirez better suited to handle base running than his shortstop rival Miguel Tejada.

“He has more experience stealing bases,” said Robert King, a registered National League voter and former Little League coach from Lincoln, Neb. “And I don’t know if I agree with his aggressive steal-the-base policy, but I think his good speed outweighs his aggressiveness.”

King represents the conflicted All-Star voter, one who is likely to be influenced by Ramirez’s base-stealing policy positions as well as his personal history as a former National League frontrunner in the stolen base race of 2007.

For Ramirez, however, there is a problem. Not all voters who perceive him as quicker on the bases say they will vote for him in the Summer Classic.

Unlike the contest of 2006, this year’s race is not shaping up as a stolen bases election. Neither the base-running speed nor the potential to bunt for hits are foremost in the fan’s mind. The need for timely hitting and RBI production are the pre-eminent issues of the day. And on those, Miguel Tejada has the edge.

In a new Associated Press poll, more than one out of five of the respondents who said they opposed stealing bases also said they support Ramirez for shortstop. Respondents said Ramirez would do a better job on bases than Tejada by a margin of 42 percent to 34 percent.

Strengthening that response is a strong sentiment that Ramirez would be a better leader of the clubhouse than Tejada. One out of three respondents said that description matched Ramirez "very well," whereas only one out of 10 said the same of Tejada, who has never arrived to ballparks early to interact with teammates.

Only six percent of those who say they will vote for Tejada say Ramirez would do a better job on the bases. But among "weak" Tejada supporters, that figure rises to 15 percent. Moreover, among undecided voters, Ramirez is preferred 25 percent to 15 percent over Tejeda on the basepaths.

Patricia Elliot, a registered All-Star voter from Houston, Tx., believes the National League rushed to base stealing, but now does not believe players should simply withdraw from the current effort. The 39-year-old fan says she has never voted for against a hometown candidate, a course she says she may take this time around.

"I do believe that he will do better on the bases," she said of Ramirez. "Because he's been there before and he has said we can’t just abandon the stolen bases before we give them ample resources for a National League win. I think we're just kind of stuck with base stealing now and we have to see it through."

Tejada has argued that the base stealing has not helped resolve the National League’s winless record since 1996. He wants to remove all speed from the bases in favor of an increased power presence at the plate, but he has said that if the American League fortifies its catcher position, he would keep speed in the starting lineup or on the bench to carry out "targeted steals."

Aware that base running is one of Ramirez’s strongest attributes, the Tejada campaign has tried to portray Ramirez’s base-stealing stance as a continuation of unsuccessful National League policy.

"As the National League fans get to know Tejada and Ramirez better, they will see that the difference is Tejada’s desire to fundamentally change National League policy on base running and Hanley Ramirez wants to continue Ozzie Smith’s losing policy of the past 12 years," Tejada spokesman Todd Lyerla said.

The Ramirez camp, however, has used an argument many say plays on the fears of voters.

“When it comes down to a squeeze play for all the marbles, who do you want at third base?” asked Ramirez advisor Howard Manion. “Do you want someone who will waffle about whether or not breaking for home is the right thing to do or a candidate who is steadfast in his resolve to take any available base?”