Five Reasons Olympic Baseball is Necessary

August 23, 2008.  That was the last time a pitch was thrown in a baseball game in the Summer Olympics.  It seems so long ago, yet it’s only been removed for two Olympic games.  A vote had crossed baseball off of the list for both London in 2012 and Rio this past August.  However, with the upcoming Tokyo games came baseball’s reinstatement—and it couldn’t have come at a batter time.  Now because baseball hasn’t been involved with the summer games for nearly a decade, many spectators have written it off as an unnecessary addition.  In my opinion, they’re wrong.  Here’s why:

5. The World Baseball Classic has experienced success.

(Tom DiPace/MLB)

One of the major issues with baseball in the Summer Olympics was the fact that it was, of course, in the summer, right in the middle of the season.  Countries, particularly the United States, wouldn’t allow major league players to compete in the games.  Ten years ago, the World Baseball Classic was established to allow these players to compete with the tournament being held in March during MLB spring training.  The most recent WBC in 2013 saw record numbers in both attendance and viewership.  The official MLB press release noted a total attendance of 885,212 that surpassed the 2009 tournament by over 10%, while countries such as Japan and the Dominican Republic generated a significant amount of viewership.  Additionally, the tournament’s website drew traffic from over 220 territories and countries.  What does all this mean?  People LOVE international baseball.  Well, honestly, they love international sports in general but having a sport like baseball once again blossom on the Olympic stage is such a relatively unique event  The Olympics only further establishes baseball as a sport that can provide international entertainment for everyone.

4. It is THE summer sport.

The summer Olympics are supposed to have games that are typically played in the summer, right?  So why doesn’t baseball have its own place in the games? After all, it essentially runs the table with soccer during the summer since no other sports are really in season.  If basketball, a winter sport, can gain such a large Olympic following then baseball can do the same. The return of one of the biggest team sports on the largest international stage should only add to the popularity of the summer games.

3. Olympic baseball would promote talent on a larger platform.

(Elaine Thompson/AP)

Stephen Strasburg.  Daisuke Matsuzaka.  Yu Darvish.  Many of baseball’s most notable names from the 2000s and 2010s first made their mark on the international stage at the Olympics.  While the World Baseball Classic has helped to promote even more recent names like Yoenis Cespedes and Jose Abreu, it is still it’s own event and does not capture the same audience that a Summer Olympics would.  Unfortunately the timing of the summer games does not allow many MLB superstars to compete, but the next generation of players would gain significant exposure, whether it may be from national pride or a collective international interest in baseball.  While the 2016 Olympic viewership was down 18% from 2012, the games still pulled in 25.4 million viewers as Josef Adalian notes.  That’s a far cry from the 2013 WBC viewership, which TOTALED just 3.4% of that number.  Simply put, more viewers will often times lead to more exposure.

2. It could strengthen international relations.

(Ramon Espinosa/AP Photo)

While any international sport has the ability to build up ties between nations, perhaps no sport would be more significant than baseball.  Last March, an improbable scene took place that illustrated a great deal of progress.  For the first time in nearly twenty years, a major league team visited Cuba to play a game.  Both President Obama and Raul Castro sat side-by-side to watch the Tampa Bay Rays defeat the Cuban national team 4-1.  The event took place to help ease American relations with Cuba, which have been strained for half a century.  Moments like these could help promote healthier relations between different nations on a platform as large as the Olympics. 

1. Bottom line: baseball is way too popular.

(Dave Fayram/Flickr)

Baseball is played in a lot of countries.  A lot.  With heavy influence in the Americas and Eastern Asia, its no surprise that baseball is ranked as the eighth most popular sport in the world, based on criteria including TV viewership, internet popularity, and access to the general public.  Of the seven sports ranked ahead of baseball, six are currently part of the Summer Olympics: ping pong, volleyball, tennis, field hockey, basketball, and of course, soccer.  The sport has its roots in so many different nations, as seen in the World Baseball Classic, that its Olympic return is vital for its continued global growth.