Baseball Boss Cool on MLB Stars Competing at Tokyo 2020

(ATR) Tokyo’s hopes of bringing the best baseball players to the Olympics were dented Tuesday following remarks made by Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred.

Speaking at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan, Rob Manfred revealed he had not been involved in any substantive discussions with the World Baseball Softball Confederation about the participation of MLB stars at the Tokyo Games.

"I’m sure that those conversations will take place. We have not even been informed about what exactly the format of the event is going to be, how many days would be involved," he was quoted in the Japan Times.

"Even in the absence of that information, no matter how you put the event together there would be a significant amount of major league players who would be away from their teams.

"It would alter the competition in our everyday game. I do not believe our owners would support some sort of a break in our season. Continuity is really important to our competition."

Baseball and softball will be held at the Yokohama Stadium for the sports’ return to the Olympics.

Discussions around using a venue in Fukushima Prefecture for some preliminary games are ongoing. The region was hit by an earthquake and tsunami in March 2011 which sparked a nuclear disaster at the Fukushima power plant.

Manfred, who was in the Japanese capital to attend a World Baseball Classic Pool B game between Japan and Cuba at Tokyo Dome, said he was open to the possibilities for baseball at the 2020 Olympics. But he was pessimistic that MLB owners would be prepared to release players for the Games.

A spokesman for the World Baseball and Softball Confederation tells Around the Rings that talks with Major League Baseball will take place.

"WBSC is both optimistic and determined to ensure that baseball/softball at the Tokyo 2020 Games is a full success and engages audiences in Japan and globally as intended by Agenda 2020," he said.

The federation governing softball and baseball worldwide has yet to finalize the format and other technical details for the Olympic competition, he added.

"WBSC is in discussions with Tokyo 2020 and awaiting confirmation of the final proposed venue plan for Olympic baseball and softball events, and this will shape the tournament format," he said.

"There is also the staging of a game in Fukushima to consider – to see if that’s possible or not without long travel days negatively affecting the athletes."

He added: "WBSC’s 2020 bid was to keep Olympic baseball as compact as possible – reducing it from two weeks in past Games to five or six days – to facilitate player availability.

"All our sport’s stakeholders and professional leagues are awaiting the confirmation of these key details because they share the Olympic vision."

2020 Olympic organisers maintain hope that Major League Baseball will send its top players.

"Tokyo 2020 will remain committed to supporting the IF and the NF [national federation] in their negotiation with the MLB. Baseball and sport fans around the world would be excited to see MLB stars play at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games," a spokesperson said.

Developments on the baseball/softball venue and tournament format could come next week when Tokyo 2020 organizers report to the IOC Executive Board meeting in PyeongChang.

Reported by Mark Bisson

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