The International Olympic Committee recently approved five new sports for inclusion in the 2020 Tokyo Games. A couple of them probably should have never gone away.
Baseball and softball (considered one sport) will return to the Olympics for the first time since San Diego State ace Stephen Strasburg helped the USA win a bronze medal in the 2008 Beijing Games. The IOC is also adding karate, skateboarding, sport climbing and surfing as medal events.
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred released a statement praising the decision:
“Baseball and softball are global sports that belong in the Olympics,” said Manfred. “We are grateful to the IOC Executive Board, the Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee and the World Baseball Softball Confederation for their collective efforts, which will allow fans throughout the world to again enjoy baseball and softball on the Olympic stage.”
However, since the Summer Olympics take place during the summer it means the best players in the game will not be available. They’ll be in the middle of their regular season. So it will be the top prospects and college kids that make up the Olympic rosters, much like Padres outfielder Travis Jankowski did for Team America during the 2015 Pan-Am Games in Canada.
Jankowski helped the U.S. win a silver medal and told NBC 7 SportsWrap it was one of the most memorable experiences of his life:
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In the next Olympic baseball tournament several other Padres prospects will likely be involved. Through the draft and international signings Padres General Manager A.J. Preller has added more than 50 players from six different countries that will likely be eligible to play for their teams in Tokyo.
