Olympics or Bust

Is anybody else bummed that with the Olympics just days away that baseball, America's pastime and now popular all over the world, won't be featured?

Baseball and softball won't be a part of the Olympics this year or in 2016, however efforts are being made to get them reinstated for the 2020 games. The two sports have united under one banner to try to convince the IOC to let them back in. They will be competing with other sports to fill one vacancy. The baseball and softball tournaments would theoretically last anywhere from 6 days to two weeks. One of the biggest sticking points is if Major League Baseball will allow their players to participate, as the Olympics fall in the middle of their regular season.

Call me crazy, but it's my personal belief that being picked to represent your country, win a gold medal, and hear your national anthem as you stand shoulder to shoulder with fellow American athletes ranks higher than anything MLB can offer. They tried to recreate these feelings with the World Baseball Classic, which, although a very successful event, doesn't compare with the Olympics. And with Japan now demanding a higher percentage of that event's receipts, maybe Major League Baseball should join the fight to reinstate baseball as an Olympic sport. But the problem remains. How do you pull America's best athletes out of the middle of their season and send them to an international tournament? And not just the Americans, but Dominicans, Cubans, Japanese, etc.

Take a page from the NHL. Hockey may have problems, but how they compensate for the Olympics isn't one of them. For baseball, the timing for the Olympics couldn't be better. They take place right around the trading deadline every four years. So here is what I propose. Skip the All-Star game every Olympic year and take a two week break for professional players to represent their countries in the Olympics. I know baseball traditionalists will go berserk without the annual popularity contest, and I'm as conservative as most people in baseball, but MLB can afford to skip its Midsummer Classic every four years. It will also give MLB fans something to focus on over the break: the trade deadline. It will almost be an additional off-season of wondering who will land where. Two weeks also gives a lot of time for those players being dealt to acclimate to a new home. Also a plus for the two week break idea is coaches for the Olympic teams will have enough time to play with that if they use their players wisely, they can use their whole roster without compromising a player's availability for their MLB team (unlike the All-Star game where multiple pitchers can't participate due to needed rest). The break also won't adversely affect the schedule. The games missed during the Olympics can be played at the "All-Star break" and tacked on to the end of the season. The break will also add some excitement creating a sense of urgency for teams knowing there's less than two months left in the season.

At the end of the day, I just want baseball back in the Olympics, but that may not happen without MLB support. In 8 years, I'd much rather be watching my favorite sport in the world than karate, squash, wushu, roller sports, climbing, or wakeboarding. Those are the other sports vying for the open slot in 2020. If you're reading this blog, then you probably agree that baseball is a way better option than those.