What to take away from the 2020 Olympic baseball and softball tournaments?
First, a total sporting success for host nation Japan. Both the softball and baseball teams claimed gold, each defeating the Americans. While the tournament featured just six teams, it was a phenomenal success in terms of television broadcasts. In France, we didn’t feel this impact as our channels barely aired the matches. This is understandable since no French teams qualified.
Baseball is the national sport in Japan, even the king of sports, and the entire country rallied behind its players. The best from domestic and international leagues competed. This contrasts sharply with the Americans, who couldn’t field their top players. Just like in football or basketball, sports business interests don’t play by Olympic rules, preventing contracted players from competing.
Beyond the media success of baseball and softball, the Japanese brought a fun approach, including a small cart to bring relief pitchers onto the field without running.
In seven years, baseball and softball will return to the Olympics with the U.S. hosting in Los Angeles. The Americans will surely aim to avenge their losses at home against Japan and claim both gold medals. The tournament will likely feature more qualified teams, possibly eight to ten.
Controversy is brewing again over Paris 2024, not so much about baseball but karate. Tony Estanguet and his organizing committee chose four additional sports, dropping karate and baseball in favor of surfing, climbing, skateboarding, and breakdancing.
After France’s gold medal in karate, the decision to exclude it seems less wise. The committee defends its choice by prioritizing youth and social media success. It’s not certain that karate or baseball are less popular among youth on social media. While surfing in Tahiti for 2024 will be historic, skateboarding had a modest start in Japan with mixed media success. Even officials in that sport feel uncomfortable within the Olympic framework. So why only four additional sports and not five, and why not continue with Japan’s sports like baseball and karate, similar to skateboarding and climbing? Surfing is undoubtedly a great idea…
It’s clear that rational arguments aren’t the priority, and decisions likely hinge on hidden financial guarantees. In 2018, the World Baseball Federation officially stated that if baseball were included in Paris, a brand-new stadium would be co-financed in France. As for karate, there was also the chance to win medals.
We’ll regret that these two sports won’t be in Paris. Now that our Baseball Federation President, Didier Séminet, has become the Secretary General of the National Olympic Committee, the regret is even greater.
Let’s be patient and wait for Los Angeles in 2028 to see baseball and softball return in Olympic form.
DC
