Article by Alexis Brudnicki, for Baseball America.
When the International Olympic Committee approved a new bidding process in December—abolishing the limitation on sports and allowing host cities to propose the inclusion of one or more additional events—it opened the door for baseball and softball to return to the Games in Tokyo in 2020.
One issue with baseball’s previous place in the Games was that it included only men. To solve that problem, the World Baseball Softball Confederation was formed, the two sports bidding together to return to the pinnacle of international competition.
“The bid is in conjunction with IOC direction,” said Justin Huber, the sole baseball athlete representative on the WBSC Executive Board. “It’s not a publicity stunt; it’s legit. … They’ve got support from all of the professional leagues, including Major League Baseball, (which) wants baseball reinstated into the Olympic Games.”
As the host country for the Games in question and a baseball nation, Japan is doing everything possible to see the bid come to fruition, setting a new standard for campaign management.
“It (revolves) around Japan’s involvement,” Huber said. “They really want baseball and softball in, and they’ve got the infrastructure, they’ve got the fan base, and they’ve got the TV networks ready to go.
“They’ve even gone so far as Prime Minister (Shinzo) Abe put together a focus commentary group dedicated to trying to help the campaign—help the bid … it’s quite unprecedented really. So there’s an awful lot of support and it makes sense in a lot of ways, and it’s not without foundation.”
Everything about the initiative makes it seem as though baseball and softball are on the right track to return, but Huber is quick to caution people not to get too presumptuous. The general manager of the Melbourne Aces in the Australian Baseball League acknowledges that baseball has addressed the issues the IOC brought forward, but there is no guarantee that any sports will be added, though there should be a decision made in July at their next meeting.
“It’s definitely not guaranteed, and baseball or softball are not saying, ‘This is in the bag and we’re going to be there,’” Huber said. “That would be really arrogant and shortsighted. It wouldn’t be in line with the Olympic movement.
“They’re very conscious of that and the whole focus is around the core values of the Olympic Games, because that’s what it’s all about. It’s about life through sport, and this is a great opportunity for baseball and softball to be on the world’s biggest stage again.”
Article by Alexis Brudnicki, for Baseball America.
When the International Olympic Committee approved a new bidding process in December—abolishing the limitation on sports and allowing host cities to propose the inclusion of one or more additional events—it opened the door for baseball and softball to return to the Games in Tokyo in 2020.
One issue with baseball’s previous place in the Games was that it included only men. To solve that problem, the World Baseball Softball Confederation was formed, the two sports bidding together to return to the pinnacle of international competition.
“The bid is in conjunction with IOC direction,” said Justin Huber, the sole baseball athlete representative on the WBSC Executive Board. “It’s not a publicity stunt; it’s legit. … They’ve got support from all of the professional leagues, including Major League Baseball, (which) wants baseball reinstated into the Olympic Games.”
As the host country for the Games in question and a baseball nation, Japan is doing everything possible to see the bid come to fruition, setting a new standard for campaign management.
“It (revolves) around Japan’s involvement,” Huber said. “They really want baseball and softball in, and they’ve got the infrastructure, they’ve got the fan base, and they’ve got the TV networks ready to go.
“They’ve even gone so far as Prime Minister (Shinzo) Abe put together a focus commentary group dedicated to trying to help the campaign—help the bid … it’s quite unprecedented really. So there’s an awful lot of support and it makes sense in a lot of ways, and it’s not without foundation.”
Everything about the initiative makes it seem as though baseball and softball are on the right track to return, but Huber is quick to caution people not to get too presumptuous. The general manager of the Melbourne Aces in the Australian Baseball League acknowledges that baseball has addressed the issues the IOC brought forward, but there is no guarantee that any sports will be added, though there should be a decision made in July at their next meeting.
“It’s definitely not guaranteed, and baseball or softball are not saying, ‘This is in the bag and we’re going to be there,’” Huber said. “That would be really arrogant and shortsighted. It wouldn’t be in line with the Olympic movement.
“They’re very conscious of that and the whole focus is around the core values of the Olympic Games, because that’s what it’s all about. It’s about life through sport, and this is a great opportunity for baseball and softball to be on the world’s biggest stage again.”