HOW CAN THEY HAVE A SUMMER OLYMPICS…

…without baseball?

The IOC has voted baseball off the island. How can this be? How can you have a sport that is international, played in both: North and South America, Asia and Europe, and not have it as part of the international competition?

There are issues with Major League Baseball in that there is no recess during the baseball season, so that the professionals can compete for their country. The world stage and a chance for more individuals to appear to the world and be discovered, and the IOC said: “No baseball!”

Does the need to have professional players rule the sport in the Summer Olympics? Is it possible that the world could field amateur and semi-professionals, not part of the MLB world?

Powerhouse teams like The Dominican Republic, Japan, Korea, Cuba and Mexico have some great talent which appears on the field every year. The opportunity for unknown kids, kids who practice everyday to become well known, and maybe be discovered by the world and Major League Baseball is thrown away. With all due respect to the committee: Are you kidding me!

Another issue with MLB is their drug testing policies, they have not stepped up, and the IOC feels that that would leave the other countries non-professionals at risk of being cheated. MLB has been slow in policing themselves, and only since Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens have the changes they did make seem to take effect.

If I had my way, there would be NO professionals competing in any sport. Hockey, basketball or soccer, and of course baseball. Let the amateur shine in the spotlight. Let the pros get paid. Being the best in the world mean self-dedication without the smudge of money in the Olympic venue.

Of course where baseball goes, so goes softball. Think of the thousands of young women who would like to take the fields in international competition and show their skills. They practice hard and play everyday, is that fair to them? There is NO other international stage, or world stage, or even big enough stage for women to show their softball talents, and so some exciting talents and games are lost on the world forever.

That’s all I wrote, folks!