Manfred expected to announce 2018 All-Star Game at Nats Park

By Josh Land

Nationals

April 05, 2015, 7:28am

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Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred is expected to announce Monday that Washington, D.C., will host the 2018 All-Star Game, according to multiple reports. Manfred will be at Nats Park to throw out the ceremonial first pitch before the Nationals' opening day contest with the Mets tomorrow.

Tampa Bay's Tropicana Field, New York's Yankee Stadium, Philadelphia's Citizen Bank Park and Nats Park are the only MLB venues that haven't been awarded All-Star Games.

It's been 46 years since the nation's capital last hosted the Midsummer Classic. First baseman Frank Howard and left-handed pitcher Darold Knowles represented the Washington Senators at RFK Stadium in that 1969 game with Howard clubbing a home run in a losing effort as the National League won 9-3.

It's obvious to anyone who's visited Nationals Park that the surrounding area still lacks in the hospitality department. There are still few options for hotels, restaurants and bars within blocks of the ballpark. It's always been rumored that this has slowed the process. This is expected to improve dramatically in the neighborhood over the next few years and the ballpark recently passed the NHL's Winter Classic test with flying colors at the start of the year.

Manfred's expected announcement will mean a National League city will host four consecutive MLB All-Star Games: Cincinnati in 2015, San Diego in 2016 and Miami in 2017.

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

The Washington Post first reported this story.