2018 All-Star Game is coming to Nationals Park

Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred announced a short time ago that Nationals Park will host the 2018 All-Star Game.

"I am pleased the Nationals will have the opportunity to host the Midsummer Classic for the first time since Major League Baseball returned to the nation's capital in 2005," Manfred said in a statement. "The best sporting event of the summer, which will be held one decade after the opening of Nationals Park, will add a new chapter to the long and distinguished baseball tradition in Washington, D.C."

The news has been a long time coming for D.C., and the Lerner family, since Nationals Park opened in 2008. The Nationals have been eager to show off their stadium and long have been interested in hosting the All-Star Game.

"On behalf of the entire Washington Nationals organization, we are incredibly honored to have been selected to host the 2018 Major League Baseball All-Star Game," said Nats managing principal owner Theodore Lerner in a statement. "As the stewards of the national pastime in the nation's capital, hosting this event has been a goal of ours since the beginning. I want to thank commissioners Selig and Manfred, and the many people who put in countless hours to make this happen."

Video of Manfred's announcement was shown during the pregame ceremonies,and some lucky 10-year season ticket holders uncovered a banner on the facade of the Red Poch proclaiming, "Home of the 2018 All-Star Game." Another banner on the left field wall was uncovered by stadium workers.

Principal owner Mark Lerner announced that the All-Star FanFest will be held at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center.

It's been 46 years since the nation's capital last hosted the Midsummer Classic, which was held in 1969 at RFK Stadium.

It will be the city's fifth time hosting the game, with the first coming in 1937 at Griffith Stadium.

The 2018 game will mark the fourth straight year the game will be played in a National League park, followed by Cincinnati's Great American Ball Park in 2015, San Diego's Petco Park in 2016 and Miami's Marlins Mark in 2017. The American League will be the home team in the 2016 and 2018 games, Manfred said.

Speculation about the announcement was warmly received in the Nationals clubhouse. Left fielder Jayson Werth has been through the lean years and been part of National League East champions during his time in D.C., and he noted the significance of landing the All-Star Game.

"I think that's a big deal for the organization and especially for the Lerner family," Werth said. "I know they've been pushing hard to get that here for a while now. It's quite an accomplishment for what they've tried to do here. When they took over the team and built this stadium, that was one thing I know Mark (Lerner) had been talking about since I signed here. I'm happy for him on that. That's good. That's a sign to the world and to baseball that this place is for real."

First baseman Ryan Zimmerman, who inaugurated Nationals Park with a walk-off homer to beat the Braves in 2008, was happy for a fan base that has waited a long time for its turn to be the All-Star Game host. Zimmerman has been part of the club since 2005, making his debut just three months after being selected in the First-Year Player Draft.

"I think it's more exciting for the fans and the city to be able to host and kind of obviously show the ballpark off - but also(show) the city off," Zimmerman said. "A lot of people know about D.C., but unless you come here and do some of the things and get to see the city, you don't actually get to see how powerful of a city it is."