Drop baseball, softball from Games? It just shouldn't be so

Say it ain't so ... somebody! Baseball and softball will go on a four-year disabled list and may face career-ending injuries as part of the Olympic Games.

Both sports are out of the Olympics as of the 2012 London Games. That decision was made by the International Olympics Committee in 2005, an organization dominated by Europeans. They'll be the first sports dropped since polo was axed in 1936 and the flimsy excuse offered is that they don't have enough world appeal.

Whoa, now. In Olympic competition, men play baseball and women compete in softball (which aficionados now like to call fastpitch since there's nothing soft about the game). Granted, since softball became part of the Olympics in 1996, American women have won all three available gold medals and their 2004 victory capped a 79-game winning streak in international play. Maybe it's just sour grapes on the IOC's part.

This particular Olympic sport is dominated by American women because they are very good. The American men, on the other hand, have won only one gold medal in baseball, in the 2000 games in Sydney, Australia. Baseball joined the Olympics in 1992.

But does domination by any country mean a sport should be doomed to elimination?

Well, the Chinese men and women aren't too shabby in gymnastics, either.

As for baseball, it may be America's pastime, but it certainly is no longer just America's game any more than basketball. Look at Major League Baseball today and you'll see a reflection of worldwide representation perhaps exceeded only by soccer. Besides the U.S., there are players from Canada, Mexico, Latin America, the Caribbean and South America. Japan is well represented and you'll also find players from Korea and Australia.

Let's cut to the nitty-gritty and see if we have this straight. There are 34 event categories in the Olympic competition, including 15 different medal events for shooting alone. There also gold, silver and bronze for rhythmic gymnastics and synchronized diving and swimming. There's even the chance for Olympic glory in table tennis, and some weird game that doesn't resemble handball as we know it.

Heck, if they're Olympic events, why not include square dancing? It's Washington's state dance and you can work up a sweat if you're good at it.

Cut baseball and softball from the Olympics? Surely they jest.

Baseball in particular is eying a quick comeback. Bob DuPuy, Major League Baseball's president and chief operating officer, said Wednesday that the organization is working with the IOC to restore baseball for the 2016 Summer Games.

We would agree that both have earned permanent status, especially given the limited appeal of some of the other events billed as competition of Olympic proportions.

* Members of the Yakima Herald-Republic editorial board are Michael Shepard, Sarah Jenkins, Bill Lee and Karen Troianello.

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