If you have not heard or read the news, baseball and
softball are not going to be contested in 2016 and any future summer Olympiads
(pending the status of the other Olympic sports contested in the future). They
have been removed from the 2012 games in London
because they were voted off back in 2005 in Singapore.
This vote was reaffirmed in 2006. 2008 was the last summer Olympic Games where
baseball and softball were contested. Today I am going to discuss how these two
sports may have been saved from elimination from the Olympic Program.

 Baseball and Softball won’t be contested in the near future.

These are my reasons.

1. Major League Baseball and other professional baseball
leagues (minors also) should have at least a three week hiatus for the duration
of the Summer Olympic games to allow players to play for their respective
nations. If necessary, the All Star Game would not be contested in the year of
the Olympics if the Olympic Games conflict with the All Star game. This would
allow the players to play in the Olympics and not miss any part of their
professional baseball season. I say the same thing for the professional
softball leagues too. The pro leagues should’ve tried to minimize extra events
so that the baseball players would not have to do too much over the course of
the season, if the Olympics were going on that season. This idea wouldn’t fit
well with fans, MLB owners, and the MLB commissioner himself. One of the
reasons they may not like that is because the hiatus due to the Olympics might
disrupt the Pennant race.

2. Major League Baseball, in my honest opinion should have
had a stricter anti-doping policy before 2005. Steroids unfortunately have
“tainted” the value of baseball and we are hearing or reading big named players
labeled as “cheaters.” Had MLB and other pro leagues adopted a regular
drug-screening test like the Olympics have over the years, the International
Olympic Committee would not have to pull out baseball for the concern that
baseball players are dopers. Other sports in these Olympic Games such as
canoeing and wrestling are battling performance enhancing drug issues.

3. Baseball isn’t a “global” sport just yet, as many nations
around Europe, Africa, and the Middle
East call cricket, football, and rugby their national pastime
sports. Had baseball promoters gone to those nations and promoted the sport and
the interest of it there, they would have been into that sport right now, and
same goes with softball. It’s usually popular around East Asia,
and the Americas.
Fan base isn’t really that big around the world in terms for the support of
baseball and softball.  I think baseball
and softball should make their case to the IOC again, just in case they decide
to drop another sport from the Olympic Program, which I don’t see it happening
anytime soon.

What would be a problem with sending big league players to
the Olympics?

1. Let’s say that Major League Baseball decided not to have
a three week hiatus during the duration of the Summer Olympic Games. MLB would
still allow all-star players go to the Olympic Games. There would be tons of
minor-league players called up to play in Major League Baseball, the top
prospects who have not played in the Majors all of a sudden get called up
because their best (and usually the productive players) go to the Olympic
Games. MLB would be robbed of the star power and the appeal to it because most
of their MLB teams would consist of many minor league players who usually don’t
have a lot of big league experience. MLB teams would be worried about ticket
sales going down because many fans that would root for their favorite player(s)
would not be too happy because they are playing the Olympics. TV ratings,
ticket sales, and fan interest would go down. I’m not trying to offend minor
league fans here.

2. Is winning a gold medal worth more than winning a World
Series trophy?

A gold medal a player can obtain every four years, while a
World Series trophy can be grabbed annually. I would like to say that winning a
gold medal is more worth it than a World Series trophy, but in reality, the
thought of winning a World Series is more popular than taking a gold medal
because fans generally respect teams who win “the ultimate prize in baseball.”
Sorry to say this, but winning a gold medal isn’t the “ultimate prize here”
There are three teams taking a prize, bronze, silver, and gold, whereas one
team takes the World Series trophy.

3. Keep in mind that Olympic baseball is not professional
baseball. This applies with softball and other sports in the Olympic Games. The
Olympics are considered amateur competition. Not everyone that plays in the
Olympics has professional experience in their respective sports.  You are not signing a contract to play every
four years for representing one nation; you are selected via contests and
tournaments. Your professional careers in these sports are not going to be
affected one way or the other, and the only prizes you’ll receive are the gold
medal for being number one in rank, silver medal, for number two in rank, and
bronze medal for number three in rank.

How do we cope with baseball and softball not in the Olympic
program?

1. There’s Major League Baseball, Minor League baseball,
National Pro Fastpitch (profastpitch.com). There are various baseball leagues
such as winter Caribbean baseball and Nippon
Professional Baseball in Japan.

2. For international competition, there’s the World Baseball
Classic for baseball players, (next one to start in 2013). For softball,
there’s the International Softball Federation (ISF) Women’s world championship,
held every four years (next one is 2010 in Oklahoma City).
It’s quite similar to the World Baseball Classic.

3. If you’re still looking for other Olympic sports, check
out these sports.

·       
Archery

·       
Badminton

·       
Basketball

·       
Boxing

·       
Beach volleyball

·       
Canoeing

·       
Cycling

·       
Diving

·       
Fencing

·       
Field Hockey

·       
Handball

·       
Judo

·       
Pentathlon

·       
Rowing

·       
Sailing

·       
Shooting

·       
Swimming

·       
Synchronized swimming (women only)

·       
Table Tennis

·       
Tennis

·       
Taekwondo

·       
Triathlon

·       
Volleyball

·       
Water Polo

·       
Wrestling

To end this discussion, this is our world as we know it. I say we move on and forget  Olympic baseball/softball for now and enjoy the other international competition that is offered. This year’s World Baseball Classic was successful and the ISF Women s’ softball championship is coming up next year. I see exciting moments coming ahead. This year’s MLB World Series should be fun too.

The World Baseball Classic

Major League Baseball’s World Series logo for 2009. Who will win it?

I believe there’s a NPF softball championship tournament going on too later this month.

It’s taking place in Akron, Ohio, from August 19-23. If you can’t make it, then watch the games at profastpitch.com The Chicago Bandits are the defending champions so they’re looking to repeat, but the Rockford Thunder (Illinois) Akron Racers, and the USSSA Pride (from the Tampa Bay Area, Florida) are competeing here too. 

That’s it for this topic. I wish you a happy and safe weekend.