ACOG - Baseball - IBM

Olympic Baseball Overview

Until 1992, the boxscore read 0 for 7.

Seven times baseball appeared as an Olympic demonstration or exhibition sport, and seven times the game was sent back to the dugout. But after an 80-year road trip that included Stockholm, Berlin, Helsinki, Melbourne, Tokyo, Los Angeles and Seoul, the game finally crossed the plate as an official medal sport in Barcelona.

The boys of summer now belong to the Summer Games.

In the history of the Games, there has been no sport quite like baseball. The game itself has always been a hit with Olympic fans. Crowds of more than 100,000 watched single exhibition games in Berlin in 1936 and Melbourne in 1956 and huge crowds packed Dodger Stadium to watch the 1984 tournament in Los Angeles. However, Olympic officials always have sought global representation before fully adding a new sport to the Olympic Programme. In the Centennial Olympic Games, the sport may now be as prosperous as it is popular.

Once considered "America's favorite pastime," baseball is quickly rising as one of the world's favorite sports. Ninety-nine countries currently belong to the sport's governing federation, the International Baseball Association (IBA), and the 1996 Olympic tournament features a diverse mix of continental powers from North and Latin America, Asia, Europe and Australia.

International baseball has become so competitive, only four teams from the 1992 Olympic tournament qualified to return to the Games in 1996. However, one of those teams may have the makings of the sport's first Olympic dynasty.

With a roster deep in world-class talent, Cuba cruised to the 1992 gold medal while winning eight of the last nine world championship titles. Potential Major League players have remained in the Cuban lineup rather than defecting to professional leagues, and have made the Cubans virtually unbeatable for the past decade. The veteran squad swept through potential Olympic opponents in the International Cup and America Baseball Cup tournaments, and remains the favorite to return to the victory podium in 1996.

While Cuba continues to dominate international competitions, other teams also have emerged as serious medal contenders. Japan captured a bronze medal at the 1992 Games and won the Asian qualifying tournament over a top field that included 1992 silver medalist Chinese Taipei and Olympic rival Korea. The Koreans finished second at the 1994 world championships while Nicaragua could capture its first-ever Olympic medal after earning a second-place finish at the America Baseball Cup.

The Netherlands and Italy have finished either first or second in 19 of the last 20 European championships with the Dutch winning 13 titles during the streak. Australia won the inaugural Oceania continental championship while the host United States enters a young team of college-aged hopefuls looking to improve on 1992's fourth-place finish.

While the level of international play continues to rise, the game's popularity and worldwide appeal may never dwindle. It is played and followed with religious zeal all over the globe and its appeal now stretches from the littlest of leagues to the Olympic Games. No other sport has appeared as many times in demonstrations and exhibitions before earning its spot on the Olympic Programme. But then again, there is no sport quite like baseball.

This is an official publication of the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games Sports Publication Department. Written by Howard Thomas.


Olympic Factoid
The Mother Nature was kind to Olympic athletes and spectators. The average high temperature during the Games was 89 degrees with an average low of 72 degrees. Highest temperature registered (20 July) - 99 degrees. Lowest high temperature registered is 79 degrees (28 July).