By 
Bryce Harper has shown interest in participating in the Home Run Derby, but it would be on one condition. He must be selected to be on the team, which is quite likely for various reasons.
He is the best-known player in the National League, having won both Most Valuable Player and Rookie of the Year awards. It’s very likely that fans will pick him as the starter, despite a bit of a down year so far.
In the rare chance that he doesn’t get the fan vote, Harper will make sure to make the team as a reserve. Not only is he serving talent-wise, but the game is being played in his home stadium in Washington.
Nearly forty years earlier, the last time the nation’s capital hosted the Summer Classic, another popular outfielder was selected to start in front of the home team crowd. If there had been a contest like the Home Run Derby back then, this guy surely would have been one of the contestants.
After all, Frank Howard of the Washington Senators had led the league with 44 home runs the year before, the first of three in which he would reach the 40-home run plateau. To the delight of home fans, Howard got one out in his first at-bat.
Unfortunately, the Senior Circuit stars had already driven in three runs before Howard sank, highlighted by a two-run homer by Cincinnati catcher Johnny Bench in the top half of the second. An inning later, another of the dozen future Hall of Famers who played in that game, San Francisco first baseman Wilie McCovey had two runs.
Stretch McCovey wasn’t done yet, as he landed another punch in his next at-bat. Not only was it impressive enough to put the game basically out of his hands, but even more so because McCovey hit it off with reigning Cy Young Award winner Denny McLain of the Detroit Tigers.C
After hitting those two home runs, the obvious choice for the game’s MVP was, in fact, McCovey. He and his fellow National League stars finished with a nine-to-three win, continuing a streak that saw the Senior Circuit win all but one Midsummer Classic in a span of seventeen years.
Fans in Washington who were disappointed their team lost back then are now hoping the American League team will lose this year. The new DC team is in the National League under a different name and a different stadium than the 1969 RFK park.
Two other aspects that are likely to differ in this contest reflect the way the sport has evolved over the last forty years. That last contest in Washington was played at two in the afternoon, taking only two and a half hours to complete.more
Expect the lights to be on for the contest on July 17 this year, and expect them to shine for at least four hours.