Baseball became a medal sport at the Olympics in 1992. (Getty Images)(ATR) Booted from the 2012 Olympics, baseball faces a crucial test this week at the IOCin its campaign to return to the Games.
Leaders of baseball will meet with the IOC Program Commission in Lausanne, along with leaders of six other sports also vying to join the Olympics in 2016.
Baseball and the other Olympic ball-and-bat sport, women’s softball, were cut from the 2012 Olympics program by the IOC three years ago.
In 2005 when the IOC cut baseball, doping was a major issue for the sport, especially for Major League Baseball.
Even though major leaguers don’t compete at the Games, doubts persisted about whether they were clean cast a pall over the Olympic-side of the sport. Ironically, the absence of MLB stars from the Olympic tournament was another strike against the sport. And some say that baseball’s American patrimony was the proverbial third strike in the eyes of IOC members.
Since then the International Baseball Federation has moved on to new leadership. Harvey Schiller, elected president in 2007, is well-connected to sport in the U.S., especially with MLB and the U.S. Olympic Committee where he served once as secretary general.
Schiller has made the return of baseball to the Olympics a cornerstone of presidency. He has developed an extensive plan for the sport aimed at restoring Olympic credibility.
Among the elements of Schiller’s agenda: growing the sport in parts of the world where baseball isn’t played; forging a close relationship South Korea won the Beijing Olympics gold medal in baseball. (Getty Images) with MLB and other professional leagues; establishment of an anti-doping program; developing a discipline for disabled athletes.
The IBAF consists of 126 member federations on each continent.
Other officers for the federation include vice presidents Masatake Matsuda of Japan and Martin Miller of Germany. Secretary General is Australian John Ostermeyer.
The IBAF website is www.ibaf.org.
Written by Ed Hula
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