Baseball Preview
At the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, baseball will return to the Olympic program for the first time since Beijing 2008. The sport had previously been part of the program since 1992. In total, baseball has been on the official Olympic program at six Games (with Tokyo 2020 being the seventh) and has been contested as a demonstration sport at an additional seven Games.
Team USA will look to win its second official Olympic gold medal in baseball, having won gold at Sydney 2000. In the last edition of baseball at the Games in 2008, the U.S. won the bronze medal. Falling to Cuba in the semifinals, the U.S. team bounced back to claim a decisive 8-4 victory against Japan to secure third place in the tournament. Combined with a bronze medal from 1996, the U.S. has earned three official medals in baseball at the Olympic Games, second only to Cuba in the sport’s medal chart. Though still only a demonstration sport at the time, the U.S. also unofficially earned second in Los Angeles in 1984 and first in Seoul in 1988.
The U.S. hopes to continue this story of success and is looking to qualify for Tokyo 2020.
Updated on July 20, 2020. For more information, contact the sport press officer here.