Baseball in the Olympics

[RoughRiders99]

Let's say baseball is back in the Olympics (for 2016 or 2020 or whatever), how would you do things differently?

For example, obviously MLB won't allow their players to play in the Olympics. So how would you run things?

I suggest just send the best non-40-man roster players to the Olympics. Can be anybody from the minors or college or whatever.

I read also somewhere that they could have baseball in the Winter Olympics. They said the NBA played in the winter, and they have basketball in the Summer Olympics. Also there's tons of winter leagues all over.

This could build the case in sending MLB players?

[Kevin W.]

The only way baseball would work at the Winter Olympics would be if it was all indoors.

If it comes back as a Summer Olympic sport and somehow the MLB allowed players to go, I would guess there would have to be some kind of limit to how many players can be taken from a single MLB team to avoid depleting any rosters too much.

I know Japan's leagues run on a similar schedule to the MLB so it's not like they'd be able to send all of their best players while we'd be limited to the castoffs if the MLB keeps prohibiting their players from participating. I don't know about other leagues, though.

[pmoehrin]

I think the MLB has made it very clear that they have no intention of sending their best players to the Olympics, which was really the biggest demand made by the IOC even ahead of the cleaning up the PEDs. (Notice they still have cycling) So no I don't think baseball is coming back to the Olympics anytime soon, unless the MLB changes their current stance.

And no you could not play baseball in the winter. I know Basketball is played in the Summer games, but its an indoor sport. Baseball is meant to be played outdoors and I don't think anyone wants to see a game in Russia in the middle of January. So throw that idea out the window.

[GeorgesL]

I really think that baseball had a lot of potential being an Olympic sport, even though it isn't as popular in numerous countries as it is in Japan, Dominican Republic, or to a lesser extent, the Netherlands. But you all may be surprised to find out there are amateur leagues still going in England, France, even Russia. I don't know why they pulled it from the Olympic events schedule, but it is a summer sport, and should be played only in the Summer Games, meaning that it would be next to impossible for MLB teams to send their players to the Games.

I would run the sport like they do with basketball, send 12 teams, with each continent guaranteed at least 1 delegation. For example:

Group A: USA, South Africa, Dominican Republic, Italy, Panama, Japan

Group B: Netherlands, South Korea, Australia, Canada, Argentina, Great Britain (host nation)

Each team plays one game against anther team in each group, with the top 4 teams from each group qualify for the playoffs.

[BigBubba]

I've never gotten the whole "NBA plays in the winter, so they should be in the Winter Olympics!" idea. I know people who curl in the summer, but that doesn't mean it should be in the Summer Games. Winter Olympic sports all involve snow and ice. Essentially, if you can play it outside during the winter, it goes in the Winter Olympics. If you can play it outside in the Summer, it goes in the Summer Olympics.

[pmoehrin]

I've never gotten the whole "NBA lays in the winter, so they should be in the Winter Olympics!" idea. I know people who curl in the summer, but that doesn't mean it should be in the Summer Games. Winter Olympic sports all involve snow and ice. Essentially, if you can play it outside during the winter, it goes in the Winter Olympics. If you can play it outside in the Summer, it goes in the Summer Olympics.

It could go either or. The same argument could be applied to gymnastics as well.

I just think its a matter or the IOC not wanting to overload either the Summer or Winter Olympics. I don't think they want basketball going head to head with hockey. That's all I feel it really comes down to.

[cmm]

I had no problems with the way it was run at recent Olympics. The US team was made of up of prospects, veterans who were in the minors, at the occasional college guy (Stephen Strasburg). I don't want MLB to stop their season and I don't want the regular season to continue with star players at the Olympics. Last time around, the NPB (Japan) season wasn't suspended but teams lost players to the Olympics (Yu Darvish and Norichika Aoki were both on Team Japan).

I guess the only way I wouldn't mind seeing MLBers in the Olympics is if the Games are held in the Southern Hemisphere or somewhere near the Equator in October or November. But I don't think the IOC likes holding the Olympics that late in the year.

[HedleyLamarr]

I've never gotten the whole "NBA lays in the winter, so they should be in the Winter Olympics!" idea. I know people who curl in the summer, but that doesn't mean it should be in the Summer Games. Winter Olympic sports all involve snow and ice. Essentially, if you can play it outside during the winter, it goes in the Winter Olympics. If you can play it outside in the Summer, it goes in the Summer Olympics.

It could go either or. The same argument could be applied to gymnastics as well.

I just think its a matter or the IOC not wanting to overload either the Summer or Winter Olympics. I don't think they want basketball going head to head with hockey. That's all I feel it really comes down to.

I believe the IOC requires that a Winter Olympics event has to be performed on snow/ice.

[Saintsfan]

I don't think baseball is really international enough to be an olympic event. The range of possible champions is too small. The USA, Japan and a few Latin American and Asian countries just isn't a big enough range of countries with real medal chances.

[pmoehrin]

I've never gotten the whole "NBA lays in the winter, so they should be in the Winter Olympics!" idea. I know people who curl in the summer, but that doesn't mean it should be in the Summer Games. Winter Olympic sports all involve snow and ice. Essentially, if you can play it outside during the winter, it goes in the Winter Olympics. If you can play it outside in the Summer, it goes in the Summer Olympics.

It could go either or. The same argument could be applied to gymnastics as well.

I just think its a matter or the IOC not wanting to overload either the Summer or Winter Olympics. I don't think they want basketball going head to head with hockey. That's all I feel it really comes down to.

I believe the IOC requires that a Winter Olympics event has to be performed on snow/ice.

That is true and probably should have said that instead. Glad someone did finally bring it up though.

In terms of baeball not being international enough, what about ping pong or handball? Those sports have a pretty narrow scope in terms of who cares about them and they're in the Olympics.

The reason baseball is not an Olympic is because the best in the world do not compete and the MLB had no intention of adopting the NHL plan of changing their schedule format to allow for the top stars to compete. Which I think is an understandable argument coming from both sides, because its not a major sport at the Olympics and alot of the baseball facilities built go unused almost immediately after the Olympics, so they would want more bang for their buck. And from the MLB's side they already have the WBC, which I would say has been somewhat successful. The only downside being the lack of international exposure the Olympics can give you, but there's more control over where the money goes and its only being staged in counties that already have top baseball facilities.

[Magnus]

I don't think baseball is really international enough to be an Olympic event. The range of possible champions is too small. The USA, Japan and a few Latin American and Asian countries just isn't a big enough range of countries with real medal chances.

By that logic, hockey shouldn't be a winter Olympic sport.

[NJTank]

With the exception of Europe baseball is everywhere.

You would have good teams from Japan, Taipei and South Korea

Australia, and Curasaou (sp)

USA, Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico

Venezuela, Dominican Republic, Columbia, and several more from Central and South America.

How is this not enough countries?

More than what play Team Handball or Ping Pong.

[FiddySicks]

Olympic baseball with low level pros can't even hold a candle to the WBC, and the WBC still has yet to use every major star. As much as I'd love to see baseball back in the Olympics, the WBC is a plenty fine consolation.

[NJTank]

I rather see WBC in November, it would allow more players to compete and go all out.

[crashcarson15]

With the exception of Europe baseball is everywhere.

Those great baseball teams in Uganda, Iraq, Nicaragua, and Brazil, eh?

Curacau's only good at little league baseball, anyways.

Baseball's played in North America, Panama, Venezuela, the Dominican Republic, Cuba, Puerto Rico, and a bit of the Netherlands Antilles, China, Taiwan, Korea, and Japan, and marginally in Israel, Australia, and South Africa.

Hardly "with the exception of Europe, baseball is everywhere."

[Saintsfan]

I am not knocking baseball as a sport, plenty of fine sports have relatively narrow appeal. But the appeal of ever major league stars in the Olympics would be very limited. Even guys like Jeter or ARod would have limited appeal outside of the US. Also how seriously would MLB stars take Olympic baseball? Not that seriously I would imagine. And that's the other half of the problem.

I am not a fan of the idea of Golf being in the Rio games either btw.

[NJTank]

I think Golf in the Olympics will be awesome, too bad it was not in London with all the great courses in England.

[dfwabel]

I would have thought that

even Mark Twain would have made you anti-gold.

Remember that St. Andrews is Scottish.

Even if there was a tournament this year, Royal Lythum & St. Anne's (ENG) would be out since it was used for this years Open. Turnberry (SCO) held the Senior British and the Womens Open is at Royal Liverpool/Hoylake (ENG) in September. Royal Birkdale and Royal St. Georges would be the only English courses, aka goat ranches, which are within the Open rotation to be "available". Otherwise, it would have to be played on a modern style course.

.

Problem is that even the golf basic qualifications will make you mad at who will be there since there will only be 60 players for a 72 hole tournament.

The Men's will be US dominated, and the Women's entry list will be heavily South Korean and Taiwanese.

In both the men?s and women?s event, the top 15 world-ranked players will be eligible for the Olympic Games, regardless of the number of players from a given country. Beyond the top 15, players will be eligible based on world ranking, with a maximum of two available players from each country that does not already have two or more players among the top 15 to a maximum number of 60 players in total in the competition.

If there was a tournament this week or next week, the USA would have nine of the top 15. Michelson and Dustin Johnson would be the first two Americans left out.

[smzimbabwe]

I'd have MLB stop for 3 weeks and have the players go to the Olympics, like the NHL...

But I have a better chance of flying like Superman than for that to happen, so I'd make a dedicated Team USA of minor leaguers, but put them together in January, have them work out, play games in Spring Training against MLB teams or split squads, then tour around the US playing against minor league teams before heading off to the Olympics. That would probably be the best possible outcome to get the best team possible over there...

I'd much rather see softball put back in the Olympics than baseball anyway...

[FiddySicks]

I'd have MLB stop for 3 weeks and have the players go to the Olympics, like the NHL...

But I have a better chance of flying like Superman than for that to happen, so I'd make a dedicated Team USA of minor leaguers, but put them together in January, have them work out, play games in Spring Training against MLB teams or split squads, then tour around the US playing against minor league teams before heading off to the Olympics. That would probably be the best possible outcome to get the best team possible over there...

I'd much rather see softball put back in the Olympics than baseball anyway...

Did they take out softball only because they took out baseball? It's understandable to drop baseball because of the conflicts with the pro leagues, but after college, what do softball players do? There aren't any really strong pro softball leagues out there that would have enough power to oppose a break for the Olympics, are there?