As the 2024 Paris Olympics came to an end on Sunday, the United States looks ahead to the 2028 Games which are being held in Los Angeles, Calif.
With the U.S. hosting, baseball and softball are making their return after appearing at the 2020 Tokyo Games with a limited number of teams qualifying.
However, the biggest question facing the United States delegation is directed at Major League Baseball. Will MLB players be allowed to participate in the Olympic Games?
As of right now, players on MLB 40-man rosters are not eligible for the Olympics.
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Several people want that to change including Casey Wasserman, the chairman of the L.A. 2028 Olympic Committee. Wasserman happens to be the CEO of Wasserman Sports, a talent agency that represents a horde of MLB stars.
Wasserman made a presentation at the MLB owner’s meetings in February in which he pushed for MLB participation in the 2028 Games. Baseball was first an Olympic sport in 1992 and only amateur players were eligible until 2000.
However, MLB declined to pause the season or release its big leaguers. The same thing happened for the Tokyo Games that were played in 2021. Japan paused its domestic league and won the Olympic tournament with a stacked roster. The United States won silver with a roster full of prospects and has-beens.
“I remain open-minded on that topic,” Manfred told a room of reporters at the All-Star Game. “Maybe the thing that I found most persuasive that [Casey said]: Forget about what’s gonna happen with baseball in the Olympics long-term, because I think we all know when you’re in Paris, they’re probably not gonna build a baseball stadium, but when you’re in L.A., it is an opportunity that we need to think about.”
If MLB can follow the precedent set by the National Basketball Association then the best players in the world will be competing on an international stage. It could also ensure the future of the sport in the Olympics.
In July 2005, IOC President Jacques Rogge walked out of a conference room in Singapore and told the bat and ball sports to get lost. He had a good reason. There was a lack of talent in baseball and there was no competition for softball as the U.S. and Japan dominated every year.
“In the case of baseball, the best athletes are not competing,” Rogge said in 2005 after announcing the sport’s removal from the Olympic program. “And the major athletes perform in an environment where doping controls are not what we have in the Olympic world.”
For Wasserman to move forward, he needs buy-in from three parties: Manfred, the 30 MLB owners, and the MLB Players Association.
If enough players voice their opinions about playing then the union will listen.
All baseball needs to do is look at the NBA and the All-Stars who played for their countries over the past two weeks. It put the sport and the league on an international stage.
The same can happen for baseball and a larger international audience will only make the league stronger. Whether it stays in the Olympics or not beyond L.A. shouldn’t be a huge factor. There is an opportunity for MLB to take advantage of and show why it is the best league in the world.
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