| Olympic Baseball 2008 finds the United States in a | | | | - 2004 Athens Cuba Australia Japan |
| mammoth struggle to thwart the emerging | | | | - 2008 Beijing South Korea Cuba USA |
| dominance of Japan and Cuba for baseball | | | | - Baseball competition has been discontinued for |
| supremacy around the globe. | | | | future Olympic Games with the conclusion of the |
| "ONE WORLD ONE DREAM" All Just Like The | | | | 2008 games until further notice. |
| "Boys Of Summer" And BaseballFarming Growing | | | | Cuba is the current reigning champion by winning |
| In A Field Of Dreams. | | | | the baseball crown at the 2004 Olympic games. |
| The XXIXth Olympiad of the Modern Era of the | | | | Japan is the "odds-on-favorite" to take this 2008 |
| Olympic Baseball 2008 Games may let the curtain | | | | coveted baseball championship during this XXIXth |
| fall on the game of baseball. | | | | Olympiad of the Modern Era. |
| The IOC meeting on 11th of July 2005 softball and | | | | (Special Note: South Korea took the Gold from |
| baseball have been voted out of the 2012 London | | | | Cuba) |
| summer Olympics; the first sport to be voted out | | | | Cuba has nevertheless won three of the four |
| of the Olympics since 1936 in which Polo was | | | | Olympic Baseball gold medals since baseball |
| eliminated. | | | | became a medal sport in 1992 -- settling for silver |
| The Buzz or talk of the town from henceforth | | | | only in 2000, when it was upset by the United |
| until October 2009 meeting of the IOC will be | | | | States. |
| centered on allowing Baseball back into the | | | | Especially significant is that Americas game of |
| Olympic games. | | | | baseball once proudly hailed as Americas Pastime |
| Boy howdy! does the United States Major League | | | | has relegated the United States as a contender |
| Baseball Team Owners have its plate full on this | | | | during the Olympic Baseball 2008 games as |
| one. Major League Baseball has its pitchfork | | | | opposed to being the dominant team to beat. |
| loaded with items stuck on every prong of the | | | | The Olympic baseball 2008 Competition Schedule |
| fork. | | | | preview shows scheduling for the baseball games |
| (1) They own Major League Baseball of the United | | | | from Wednesday August 13, through Saturday |
| States, | | | | August 23, 2008. |
| (2) They instituted the formation of the World | | | | Scheduled coverage for the games must take |
| Baseball Classic and its renewal starting 2009, | | | | into account time zone differences. Beijing is 13 |
| (3) They have a time and distance as well as | | | | hours ahead of Central time in the United States. |
| scheduling conflict USA baseball and the Olympics, | | | | A very unique/strange and controversial rule has |
| (4) They are faced with losing control of the | | | | been inserted in the rules for the Olympic Baseball |
| Money stream, | | | | 2008 baseball games. |
| (5) They are being held hostage by words being | | | | The new baseball rules for the 2008 Beijing |
| published from the lips of the President of the | | | | Olympics has team Japan manager Senichi |
| IOC. | | | | Hoshino very upset. The new rules state that |
| The next twelve (12) months will be very | | | | during the 11th inning, each team will begin with a |
| interesting for the game of baseball. George | | | | runner on first and second base. This was done |
| would probably ask the question, "What is the | | | | to prevent long drawn out games. |
| Golden Rule?" | | | | Olympic Baseball 2008 USA team events |
| REVIEW | | | | schedule: Date and opponent is shown below. |
| Although little was recorded, Olympic baseball first | | | | - Aug. 13 Korea Wukesong Baseball Stadium |
| appeared in 1904 St. Louis. Eight years later in | | | | Beijing, China 6:00 a.m. USA lost 8-7 |
| 1912 Stockholm, an United States team played | | | | - Aug. 13 Netherlands Wukesong Baseball Stadium |
| against host Sweden, winning 13-3. In 1936 Berlin, | | | | Beijing, China 10:30 p.m. USA Won 7-0 |
| two United States teams played each other. The | | | | - Aug. 14 Cuba Wukesong Baseball Stadium |
| 1952 Helsinki event was a modified form of the | | | | Beijing, China 11:30 p.m. USA lost 5-4 The game |
| sport, Finnish baseball, played by two Finnish | | | | used the new Olympic game rule whereby two |
| teams. Australia played a one-game exhibition | | | | runners are put on base to help scoring to |
| against the United States in 1956 Melbourne and | | | | shorten long playing tied games. American player |
| Japan did the same in 1964 Tokyo. With a crowd | | | | Jayson Nix of Dallas, Texas was seriously injured |
| of nearly 114,000 spectators, this game at the | | | | while attempting a bunt when he fouled the ball |
| Melbourne Cricket Ground held the record for the | | | | off and it hit him in the face about the eye. |
| highest attended baseball game ever until a 2008 | | | | - Aug. 15 Canada Wukesong Baseball Stadium |
| American exhibition game in Los Angeles. | | | | Beijing, China 10:30 p.m. USA Won 5-4 |
| After a twenty-year hiatus, Olympic baseball | | | | - Aug. 18 China Wukesong Baseball Stadium |
| (labeled an exhibition sport/event by the IOC) | | | | Beijing, China 7:00 a.m. USA Won 9-1 Game |
| returned but with tournament formatting (1984 | | | | turned a litle rough with hit batters and collisions at |
| Los Angeles). In 1988 Seoul, it was termed a | | | | home plate. Umpire called managers to the plate |
| demonstration sport. Japan defeated the United | | | | for conference trying to quell the rough and nasty |
| States in the inaugural tournament finale in 1984. | | | | contest. |
| However, in 1988, the United States won over | | | | - Aug. 19 Chinese Taipei Wukesong Baseball |
| Japan. | | | | Stadium Beijing, China 7:00 a.m. USA Won 4-2 |
| Baseball became an official sport at the 1992 | | | | - Aug. 20 Japan Wukesong Baseball Stadium |
| Summer Olympics, with the familiar eight team | | | | Beijing, China 7:00 a.m. USA Won 4-2 |
| tournament. Players were required to be | | | | - Aug. 22 Olympic Semifinals Wukesong Baseball |
| amateurs. The tournament consisted of a | | | | Stadium Beijing, China USA Lost To Cuba 10-2 |
| round-robin, in which teams played each of the | | | | - Aug. 23 Olympic Medal Round Wukesong |
| other teams, followed by semifinals and finals. The | | | | Baseball Stadium Beijing, China USA Won 8-4 |
| format of the competition has remained the | | | | beating Japan and finished third in the 2008 |
| same since then, with the only major change | | | | Oympic Games and brings home the Bronze |
| being that starting in 2000 players were not | | | | medal. South Korea Won 3-2 beating Cuba for the |
| required to be amateurs. | | | | Gold medal in baseball for the XXIXth Olympiad of |
| Because the Olympics are played during the Major | | | | the modern era. The Olympic Baseball Games of |
| League Baseball season, the players on the | | | | 2008 sees the elimination of Baseball from the |
| Olympic baseball team are generally top | | | | Olympic Games. however, the consensus of public |
| minor-league prospects who have not made it | | | | opinion is that Baseball competition will be |
| stayed and played extensively in the major | | | | reinstated sometime in the future for inclusion |
| leagues yet during their playing careers. | | | | back into the Olympic Games. South Korea Won |
| Olympic Games Baseball Medalists: | | | | the Gold 3-2 over Cuba---thus dethroning Cuba as |
| Year Games Gold Silver Bronze | | | | the reigning previous Gold Medalist Team. South |
| - 1992 Barcelona Cuba Chinese Taipei Japan | | | | Korea is now the Olympic 2008 Gold Medal |
| - 1996 Atlanta Cuba Japan USA | | | | Winner. |
| - 2000 Sydney USA Cuba South Korea | | | | |