Although the 2018 MLB All-Star Game won’t take place for another year, the main storyline is already written in ink. This is a game all about Bryce Harper and what will likely be his final season with the Washington Nationals.
Baseball’s biggest exhibition game takes place at Nationals Park next summer. Harper has already declared his willingness to participate in the Home Run Derby festivities. This is certainly a bold declaration as there’s no guarantee he makes the team. This won’t eliminate him from competing in the Home Run Derby, but it does look a little weak to squeeze him in a year in advance just to entertain the hometown fans.
Whether he plays well or not in 2018, there are stories to tell leading up to the game.
Imagine how amazing it will be when Harper is introduced in the opening lineups. Nationals’ fans haven’t had the chance to greet him in an All-Star Game close to home.
More from Call to the Pen
- Philadelphia Phillies, ready for a stretch run, bomb St. Louis Cardinals
- Philadelphia Phillies: The 4 players on the franchise’s Mount Rushmore
- Boston Red Sox fans should be upset over Mookie Betts’ comment
- Analyzing the Boston Red Sox trade for Dave Henderson and Spike Owen
- 2023 MLB postseason likely to have a strange look without Yankees, Red Sox, Cardinals
Even more intriguing is a scenario where he fails to crack the roster. Surely, Nationals fans won’t let him get outvoted. Harper managed to accumulate more votes than any other player in 2017 even with the game taking place in Miami. Odds are in his favor. He has only once failed to make the All-Star roster in six seasons.
Harper’s performance in the Home Run Derby and the All-Star Game will provide fans a national platform to watch one of the game’s best young players. It’s also a showcase for what they may see in a ballpark near them the following year. By the time the 2018 All-Star Game rolls around, we should have a clearer picture as to which teams are in and which are out when it comes to signing Harper.
There’s no guarantee Harper leaves the Nationals. In an ideal world, he stays, finishes out his career there, and gives Washington a few championships. The Nationals’ commitment to Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg make that a lot tougher. Plus, they have other players to pay and needs they will need to fulfill. The Nationals do not have a deep farm system in the least bit which means $300-$400 million contracts are far from the ideal.
All-Star Game storylines often revolve around the hometown players involved in the game and events. This past year, Giancarlo Stanton’s Home Run Derby performance was at the top of the list. Of course, Aaron Judge stole the spotlight.
In 2015, Todd Frazier made headlines when he won the Home Run Derby in front of the Cincinnati Reds’ fans at Great American Ballpark. Harper could do the same next year at Nationals Park. He’ll also likely start in the game for what might be the last time in a Nationals’ uniform.
Next: Beckham capitalizing on fresh start
If the Nationals are out of the playoff race in July 2018, we may even see the attention shift to how many days Harper has left in Washington. It’s not as if the Nationals would benefit from keeping him for two and a half pointless months. This is an unlikely scenario considering the roster they should open next season with. However, not completely impossible.