Rachel Levitin: Respect for Harper's decision on Home Run Derby

The votes are in and it's all official - Max Scherzer and Bryce Harper are going to the All-Star Game to represent the Nationals. The 2015 game in Cincinnati is Scherzer's third game and first appearance with the Nats, while this is Harper's third appearance at the All-Star Game and festivities.

This time around, Harper will not be participating in the Home Run Derby after receiving a National League record of 13.85 million fan votes. Harper is hot this season, which is why he's landed a starting position on the National League team, but Harper's decision to not participate in the derby with 25 home runs already this season is a respectable decision.

It's understandable once you hear Harper's story. He wants to stay in his day-to-day routine, but he also wants his dad, who is recovering from rotator cuff surgery, to be there to throw to him. Dad is unavailable to pitch. So in an effort to continue his workhorse season, Harper is setting his sights on 2018's All-Star contest in Washington, D.C.

What struck me most about Harper's decision on the Home Run Derby is his desire to share this milestone moment with his father, with whom he's shared so many of his life's accomplishments. Baseball, to me, has always been a family affair and tradition. It's a game you play together or watch together, but the point is that it brings you together for a shared reason among your family, friends or friends who feel like family. Harper's decision to wait on his father's health, while pointing to the future and feeling confident in that he'll get that chance to create that perfect moment with his father further down the line, is the kind of story sports fans like myself would love to read (or write) as it unfolds.

That's why it's a good thing Harper is sitting out the Home Run Derby this year. Not because it's the right thing for his overall routine, but rather that there's bound to be a memory created in the near future that combines real-time narrative with the picture Harper already has in his mind - having his father pitch to him in a Home Run Derby when he wins it all. It won't happen this year, but who's to say it'll never happen?

Rachel Levitin blogs about the Nationals for District Sports Page. Follow her on Twitter: @RHLevitin. She will be sharing her observations about baseball in the nation's capital as part of MASNsports.com's season-long initiative of welcoming guest bloggers to our little corner of cyberspace. All opinions expressed are those of the guest bloggers, who are not employed by MASNsports.com but are just as passionate about their baseball as our roster of writers.