MLB Office Reluctant to Allow Major Leaguers to Participate in Olympics Due to League Schedule
(Los Angeles=AP/Newsis) Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers steals third base in the bottom of the third inning during the 2024 Major League Baseball game against the Milwaukee Brewers at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California, U.S. on the 7th (local time). Ohtani succeeded in stealing two bases in the third inning alone, achieving his third career 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases. Ohtani recorded 1 hit and 2 stolen bases in 5 at-bats that day, and the team lost 2-9. 2024.07.08.
(Seoul = Newsis) Reporter Heejun Kim = Major League Baseball (MLB) superstar Shohei Ohtani (30, LA Dodgers) has expressed his intention to compete in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
At a press conference on the eve of the 2024 MLB All-Star Game held at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, USA on the 16th (Korean time), when asked about his thoughts on competing in the 2028 Olympics, Ohtani answered, “Of course I want to go.”
He continued, “International competitions are special, and the Olympics are even more so. The Olympics is a stage where even people who are not normally interested in baseball can watch baseball,” and emphasized, “I think the Olympics are very important to baseball.”
Baseball, which was first played as an official Olympic sport at the 1992 Barcelona Games, disappeared after the 2008 Beijing Games.
It returned at the 2020 Tokyo Games in 2021, but was excluded again from the 2024 Paris Olympics, but will be contested as an official event at the 2028 LA Olympics.
As the Olympics are being held in the United States, the birthplace of baseball, attention is focused on whether major league players will participate.
In the case of Los Angeles, it is also the home of the LA Dodgers and the LA Angels.
The Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee is hoping to have major leaguers participate in order to boost the event. They even made a presentation at the MLB owners’ meeting in February asking for big leaguers to participate.
But MLB is skeptical.
Commissioner Rob Manfred also said, “It’s difficult for athletes to compete in the Olympics because games are played every day. The Olympic schedule overlaps with the All-Star Game.”
Even when baseball, which does not have a wide global base, competed in the Olympics, MLB’s top stars did not participate in the competition because the MLB office did not allow them to compete in the Olympics because the season was in full swing.
Due to opposition from team owners, MLB does not send its major leaguers to international competitions except for the World Baseball Classic (WBC), which it leads.
There are also opinions that MLB should actively send league players to the Olympics.
The LA Times reported on Ohtani’s intention to participate in the Los Angeles Olympics, saying, “While international baseball competitions like the WBC are limited to baseball fans as viewers, the Olympics have a broader scope,” and argued, “The Olympics are an opportunity for MLB, which is being neglected by fans, to overcome its crisis.”
He added, “The National Basketball Association (NBA) expanded its reach to the world by sending its ‘Dream Team’ to the Olympics. At the time, the NBA had to persuade Michael Jordan to join the Dream Team, but now the MLB doesn’t have to do that. Top star Ohtani has expressed his desire to go to the Olympics.”
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Source: www.newsis.com
