no baseball in the olympics, why?

[ouradu]

I remember some time back when they took it out, but I read an article that an appeal yesterday failed and there will be no baseball or softball in 2012, and it will be out of the olympics indefinetly unless another appeal succeeds for the 2016 olympics.

What was the rationale for removing it in the first place? Does anyone know what the argument was?

[RacerX]

would anybody miss the olympics if they quit having them?

[AustinTXHorn]

they're commies...that's why.

This is why I was glad the WBC came around. Unfortunately, they're not doing that right either.

[ouflak]

The Olympic committee basically told told major league baseball that they had to release their best players or there was no point in having the competition. The owners said they couldn't see a way they could release their best players during the middle season and stay competitive during that period. They also seemed to scoff at the idea that the Olympics would actually drop the sport (sports actually as they've dropped softball as well, which is a shame). Push came to shove and the committee dropped Baseball from their list of sports.

I personally wish things hadn't come to this. One of the endearing memories I have from my own trip to the Athens Olympics (2004) was the excitement that some spectators from all over the world had about attending the baseball games. When they noticed I was an American (which wasn't usually that hard considering the huge flag I was toting around), it was one of the first things they'd bring up. And as far as I know, the softball players are completely collateral damage in the whole thing, which seems unfair.

[KaiserSooner]

Well, the politics of it aside, I tend to think it should be in the Olympics. It may not be popular in Europe, but it is definitely popular in much of Latin America and East Asia.

[Ike]

Well, the politics of it aside, I tend to think it should be in the Olympics. It may not be popular in Europe, but it is definitely popular in much of Latin America and East Asia.

Its slowly but surely gaining popularity in europe.

I'll illustrate this with a little anecdotal evidence: When I started working up here at Fermilab, I decided that I would find me a weekend adult baseball league to play in. I hadn't touched a baseball for 4 years and I was starting to miss it. Well anyway, word gets around at work that I'm looking for one of these leagues, and this German guy named Phillip whom I had never met before, approaches me and asks me how my search is going. I tell him about the league that I had found that was holding an open tryout/draft in a month or so, and he says that he would like to go with me.

So anyway, the league I found was divided into 3 sub-leagues, based on ability/competitiveness. highest one was for the ultra competitive types, lowest one for the beer-leaguers. anyway, long story short, this german guy gets picked up for by one of the beer league teams, and manages to have himself a nice little season as a lefty pitcher/first baseman. Apparently, he had played for a few years in a league in Germany and absolutely loved the game. The fact that he got picked up was really more of a credit to him than it sounds. there were maybe 100 or so people there...only about 20 or so wound up getting picked up.

anyway, baseball's influence is spreading. taking it out of the olympics was stupid, IMHO. However, maybe its possible that this new World Baseball Classic will fill the void that the olympics left in promoting baseball around the world.

[royalfan5]

Its slowly but surely gaining popularity in europe.

I'll illustrate this with a little anecdotal evidence: When I started working up here at Fermilab, I decided that I would find me a weekend adult baseball league to play in. I hadn't touched a baseball for 4 years and I was starting to miss it. Well anyway, word gets around at work that I'm looking for one of these leagues, and this German guy named Phillip whom I had never met before, approaches me and asks me how my search is going. I tell him about the league that I had found that was holding an open tryout/draft in a month or so, and he says that he would like to go with me.

So anyway, the league I found was divided into 3 sub-leagues, based on ability/competitiveness. highest one was for the ultra competitive types, lowest one for the beer-leaguers. anyway, long story short, this german guy gets picked up for by one of the beer league teams, and manages to have himself a nice little season as a lefty pitcher/first baseman. Apparently, he had played for a few years in a league in Germany and absolutely loved the game. The fact that he got picked up was really more of a credit to him than it sounds. there were maybe 100 or so people there...only about 20 or so wound up getting picked up.

anyway, baseball's influence is spreading. taking it out of the olympics was stupid, IMHO. However, maybe its possible that this new World Baseball Classic will fill the void that the olympics left in promoting baseball around the world.
I agree I think the World Baseball Classic has more potential. I think it can be like soccer. What's a bigger deal to soccer fans, winning the World Cup or the Olympics. I also don't like the idea of disrupting the MLB season for the olympics. Baseball players already have a long enough season, and if I were a manager I wouldn't want my pitchers going to the Olympics to let some other guy abuse their arms for their own gain.

[Big Red Ron]

Well, the politics of it aside, I tend to think it should be in the Olympics. It may not be popular in Europe, but it is definitely popular in much of Latin America and East Asia.Unfortunately, it's not that popular here in the US of A.

[Ike]

Unfortunately, it's not that popular here in the US of A.

I don't think I'd go that far. Baseball certainly isn't that popular in Oklahoma, but since I've moved out of Oklahoma, I've come to realize that baseball's popularity in oklahoma in no way meshes with the national popularity of baseball. Oklahoma is an oddity in that regard.

[AustinTXHorn]

If you don't think baseball is popular in America, go take a trip up to New England, New York, St. Louis, Chicago, etc.

[Big Red Ron]

I don't think I'd go that far. Baseball certainly isn't that popular in Oklahoma, but since I've moved out of Oklahoma, I've come to realize that baseball's popularity in oklahoma in no way meshes with the national popularity of baseball. Oklahoma is an oddity in that regard.I've lived on both coasts and Oklahoma. I can tell you the East is where people like it but in the west and midwest, it isn't popular with the kids.

I honestly think the sport is dying. Kids are playing Basketball, Football, skate boarding and (bleh) soccer more than baseball.

[Ike]

I've lived on both coasts and Oklahoma. I can tell you the East is where people like it but in the west and midwest, it isn't popular with the kids.

I honestly think the sport is dying. Kids are playing Basketball, Football, skate boarding and (bleh) soccer more than baseball.

I can understand basketball. especially in big cities where there isn't much room, basketball courts are easier to build than baseball, football or soccer fields, and thus its gaining in popularity there. But living here in Chicago, baseball's popularity isn't dwindling at all. there are fields everywhere, even though most park district fields are crap, and nearly every time I've driven by them in the summer, there are kids playing ball. pickup games or leagues, it doesnt matter. they play a lot. there are at least 4 major weekend adult leagues here, with the one I am playing in having over 50 teams participating in 3 sub leagues. every time I go to the cages anywhere here, there are tons of kids either just getting some cuts in or taking lessons from some third party...even in the dead of winter. as another indicator, there are batting cages all over the place, and I have yet to see a batting cage establishment go out of business. maybe its different here than in places on the west coast and some places on the east coast, but I really don't see baseball dying here at all. Its crazy compared to what I was used to in Oklahoma.

as an interesting aside: compare the response in Oklahoma when OU won a baseball championship in 1994 to when OU won a football championship in 2000. Apples to Oranges as far as the impact of those two events had on Oklahoma.
Yet if you were to compare the response in Chicago to the white sox winning the WS to the 1985 Bears super bowl victory, the only difference in the magnitude of appreciation shown by people here was due to the fact that the city has 2 baseball teams, and many cubs fans can't stand to root for the Sox....but leaving that aside, those two events had a roughly equal impact upon the city.

granted, thats not a great comparison, but in this city, and in many other places, baseball is far from dying.

[Big Red Ron]

The strike man. I lost all respect for baseball at that time. I will never go back to pro baseball, NHL either.

[Ike]

The strike man. I lost all respect for baseball at that time. I will never go back to pro baseball, NHL either.

I can understand that, and I also understand that you aren't the only one that feels that way, still, that was 10 years ago. and for most people (especially here) the bad taste has left. I won't argue that it did lasting damage, but slowly, that damage has mostly been healed.


the bigger problem now is the effect of 'roids. fewer kids will want to play any sport if they feel that juicing is the only way to get ahead in it. hopefully, that one gets solved pretty quick.

[royalfan5]

I've lived on both coasts and Oklahoma. I can tell you the East is where people like it but in the west and midwest, it isn't popular with the kids.

I honestly think the sport is dying. Kids are playing Basketball, Football, skate boarding and (bleh) soccer more than baseball.
Not in Nebraska it's not. Baseball is the second sport here after football.

[Big Red Ron]

Not in Nebraska it's not. Baseball is the second sport here after football.All 200 of ya, eh?;)

I would say in Oklahoma it goes...
1) Football
2) Basketball
3) Wrestling
4) *gag* Soccer
5) Baseball

[royalfan5]

All 200 of ya, eh?;)

I would say in Oklahoma it goes...
1) Football
2) Basketball
3) Wrestling
4) *gag* Soccer
5) Baseball
If soccer is more popular than baseball in Oklahoma, then y'all are failing as Americans. Soccer is the favorite sport of terrorists, and wrestling is probably second.

[Big Red Ron]

If soccer is more popular than baseball in Oklahoma, then y'all are failing as Americans. Soccer is the favorite sport of terrorists, and wrestling is probably second.Wrestling is not second. I wrestled, I know. With OU, OSU, Tulsa and the Hornets. Basketball is easily number two. Soccer is huge in N. OKC and Tulsa. So much so, that both cities are tying to get the next pro soccer team, when they expand again.

pee wee baseball is still fun but all or most of the best move on to other sports.

Heck in 10 years, Hockey will likely pass baseball.

[royalfan5]

Wrestling is not second. I wrestled, I know. With OU, OSU, Tulsa and the Hornets. Basketball is easily number two. Soccer is huge in N. OKC and Tulsa. So much so, that both cities are tying to get the next pro soccer team, when they expand again.

pee wee baseball is still fun but all or most of the best move on to other sports.

Heck in 10 years, Hockey will likely pass baseball.What I was saying is wrestling is really big in Iran. wrestling is pretty big in Nebraska too but not as big as baseball. Nebraskan's love the hell out of baseball.

[Cam]

Soccer is the favorite sport of every country in the world not named USA.
Fixed it for ya.

[suncoastsooner7]

Where do I start?

The Olympics did not get rid of Baseball for a lack of popularity around the globe it got rid of it because of a lack of support for it in the Olympics itself. MLB can't really expect the Olympics to grow its popularity around the world while in the same breath slighting it. Baseball facilities are not cheap to build and serve virtualy no purpose after the event in cities, such as London, who are future hosts of the games. Hockey finds a way to allow its elite players to participate in the Olympic games. Why can't baseball do the same? Two weeks is how long it takes for the entire Olympics to be held. What would be the overall impact on the league if once every four years they played a 152 game schedule instead of a 164 game schedule. Very little is what I think. Even in worse case scenario they could cram one extra series each month by taking away 3 off days a month once every four years and using them for series that would normally be played during the Olympics. MLB has really missed the boat on this one and they will discover that as Soccer's popularity continues to grow in the States.

I am also excited about the prospects of the World Baseball Classic and in time it might grow to a scale comparable to the World Cup of Soccer but not for atleast another two decades and that doesn't help the sport grow NOW. Growing NOW is what it needs to continue to be succesful.

I'd also like to make note that comparing the Olympic soccer compition to that of the World Cup is not fair. The Olympics is basically the Junior World Championships with a professional flavor thrown in. The Olympics are pretty much all about developing future World Cup atheletes. The Olympic teams that compete are basically the Junior National teams from around the globe with three "stars" from their country thrown into the group. All but three of your players must be under the age of 21 at the start of the games to compete. The three allowances are basically for the countries three premeir players to compete along side the Junior National team.

[SicEmBaylor]

Why no American football in the Olympics?

Oh lord what I wouldn't give to see an American linebacker knock some candy *** European in pads to the ground.