With the spotlight on the Olympic Games in 2024 hosted in Paris, baseball will not be among the sports featured. However, there was a time when this sport held a place in the Olympics, with the New York Yankees making their mark. This history raises the possibility of the Yankees being represented again in 2028 when the Games are hosted in Los Angeles. Here’s why.
Baseball’s olympic history
Baseball has had an intermittent presence in the Olympics. It last appeared in the 2020 Tokyo Games (held in 2021) after being left out of the 2012 and 2016 editions. There’s speculation that the sport will return for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles potentially featuring MLB players, as host countries with strong baseball traditions tend to include it. This was evident in 2020 when Japan hosted the Games, but it’s not the case for France. The U.S., with its deep ties to baseball, is an ideal candidate to bring the sport back to the Olympics, potentially marking its seventh appearance as an official medal event.
MLB players in the Olympics
Major League Baseball players have never participated in the Olympics, but there is growing momentum for this to change in 2028. During recent All-Star week events, both Commissioner Rob Manfred and MLBPA head Tony Clark expressed openness to the idea of major-league players competing in the Olympics. Manfred mentioned a productive conversation with L.A. Games CEO Casey Wasserman. Via Baseball America:
“(Wasserman) did a really nice job, and he was very persuasive,” Manfred said. “I sat with Casey last week. We’re discussing what can be done. What exactly it would look like, and what compromises we would need to make regarding our season. I remain open-minded on this topic.”
On the players’ side, stars like Bryce Harper have shown strong support for MLB participation in the Olympics. During a series in London, Harper shared his enthusiasm:
“There’s nothing more global than the Olympics,” Harper told reporters in London. “I watch the most random sports in the Olympics because it’s the Olympics, and that’s really cool. I love hockey. It’s one of my favorite sports to watch. Seeing the NHL take that three-week break and let those guys go play is another big goal we should have in Major League Baseball.
“I’ve spoken to numerous people in MLB about it. I would love to be a part of that. We have the WBC, but it’s not the same. The Olympics is something you dream about playing in.”
To raise the stakes, The Athletic revealed in February that MLB clubs are open to having major league players in the tournament.
If this plan goes through, the dream of seeing stars like Aaron Judge and Juan Soto on the field could actually come true.
Yankees’ Olympic legacy
Since the first official Olympic baseball tournament in 1992, several Yankees players have participated, mostly as future members of the team. With baseball possibly returning to the Olympics, it’s worth looking back at when Yankees players have competed.
The first Olympic baseball event awarding official medals was in Barcelona in 1992. The U.S. team included briefly-tenured reliever Ron Villone and, notably, Jason Giambi. Giambi, despite not hitting many home runs, had one of the highest on-base percentages (.462) on the team, drawing six walks. Additionally, current Yankees third base coach Phil Nevin was on the U.S. roster and tied for the team lead in home runs with two. The team finished fourth after losing the bronze medal game to Japan.
Cuba won gold that year, with Orlando Hernández on their roster. Unfortunately, he didn’t perform well, starting in a group stage game against the U.S., lasting just 0.1 innings, allowing five runs, and ending the tournament with a 135.00 ERA.
In the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, Cuba again won gold, this time with future Yankees pitcher José Contreras. Contreras performed better than “El Duque,” but still posted an ERA over six in eight innings. The U.S. team in 1996 included Jeff Weaver, who didn’t allow a run in his few innings, although the team faltered in the later rounds.
The U.S. team’s only gold medal came in the 2000 Sydney Games, featuring future Yankee first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz, who scored a run in the gold medal game. The U.S. defeated Cuba, which again included Contreras. The future Yankee was Cuba’s ace in 2000, but having pitched in the semifinal against Japan, he was unavailable for the gold medal game.
In 2000, the Netherlands’ team included former Yankees Robert Eenhoorn and Hensley Meulens, who narrowly missed advancing to the medal round.
In 2004, the U.S. team was famously upset in the qualifying tournament and did not participate in the Athens Games. Nonetheless, several former and future Yankees took part. Cuba returned to the gold medal position by defeating Australia, which featured two-time World Series reliever Graeme Lloyd. Hiroki Kuroda helped Japan to bronze with a 0.00 ERA, and a young Chien-Ming Wang picked up a win for Chinese Taipei. Greece, hosting in 2004, featured a roster mostly of American-born players with Greek ancestry, including Clay Bellinger, who hit a home run in Greece’s lone win over Italy.
The last Olympic baseball tournament before 2021 was in 2008, won by South Korea. The U.S. team, featuring Stephen Strasburg, Jake Arrieta, Dexter Fowler, and future Yankee Jayson Nix, earned bronze. Nix hit a home run as the U.S. went 5-2 and defeated Japan for the bronze.
In Japan, Hideki Matsui, who won a World Series with the Yankees, only held an Olympic torch in Tokyo. However, his counterpart and former Yankee, Masahiro Tanaka, participated in his second Olympics at the Tokyo Games. Tanaka had previously played for Japan in the 2008 Olympics, where he pitched seven scoreless innings. Competing as a host in 2020, he won a gold medal.
While baseball may not attract the biggest names in sports like some other Olympic events, many notable Yankees have played on that stage over the years.
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