Nationals Launch Campaign to Host All-Star Game

The Nationals, which start their 10th season in D.C. next month, are calling on fans to help bring Major League Baseball’s All-Star Game to Nationals Park.

“Show MLB that there is no better place in America to host the national pastime’s All-Star Game than in the nation’s capital,” the Nationals said in a blog post. They’re asking fans to share on social media “why you think #DCisREADY” for the Midsummer Classic.

The District last held an All-Star Game in 1969, although the Nationals have made bids for it prior to this year.

MLB commissioner Rob Manfred, who became the league’s top executive this year, has kept mum on the likelihood of the game coming to D.C. in 2018 or later, MASN reported. But Washington Post columnist Thomas Boswell wrote that the game “almost certainly will come to Nationals Park” in 2018.

The league already has decided to hold the All-Star Game at Cincinnati’s Great American Ball Park this year, San Diego’s Petco Park in 2016 and Miami’s Marlins Park in 2017.

Manfred will be at Nationals Park on Opening Day, April 6, to throw the first pitch. The Nationals blog says the team is excited he’ll go to the stadium. But they’re “even more excited about the opportunity to host an MLB All-Star Game” and the events that come with it.

“D.C. is ready for Fan Fest. D.C. is ready for the Home Run Derby,” the Nationals said. “DC. IS. READY.”

Photo via Nationals