My Thoughs on IOC's Announcement

Neither baseball nor softball will be included in the programme for the 2016 Olympic Games as the 15 members of the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) Executive Board decided Thursday at a meeting in Berlin. One of the seven sports in contention for the 2016 Games, baseball and softball were passed over in favor of golf and rugby as the list of possible additions was narrowed down to a final two candidates.

It's indeed a sad day for people who enjoy these two sports like I do. Though I wouldn't say it's a total surprise. With a sport that is seemingly dominated by Asian countries and USA, judged by a 15 member committee who has no representatives from any of these countries, you do the odds. What bothered me the most was not the fact that these two sports got excluded, but the reason they were given.

IOC said that the sport should help with gender balance of athletes. Baseball is a male sport, fast pitch softball is a female sports. Each of them introduce at least 15 players of each team. I've seen female golfers, but I don't remember seeing female rugby players. I seriously doubt these two (golf and rugby sevens) could do a better job than softball / baseball on this matter.

IOC said that the sport should be globally growing. Baseball has been strong and has kept on growing. The only area they are a bit weak is Europe. Softball has grown in over 130 countries and is still growing. Europe also has their own tournaments in softball. Golf has been a somewhat elite game, and rugby!? I know some countries are big in rugby but I don't think it grows nearly as much compared to baseball and softball. Even not talking about golf and rugby. If this is a valid reason, why are weight-lifting and other never-heard-of-it-outside-Olympics sports still in it?

IOC said that the players should be the best in the game. I know MLB has concerns on sending their aces to Olympics. But aren't the players of softball teams the best their countries can offer?

IOC said that the history of the game should be clean. I feel sorry for baseball on this matter. But softball has been one of the sports that has no reported positive drug test in its history. You cannot ask anything cleaner than that.

IOC said that the sports cannot favor certain country. USA has not been dominating in baseball. As for softball, USA did dominated 3 Olympics, but Japan got the last one in Beijing, isn't it? Netherlands, Italy, and some other European countries are also strong. USA just has a better overall system and many girls growing up playing it. Should they be punished for trying too hard? If this is a valid reason, why are gymnastic, diving, and other items dominated by China and Russia still in it?

IOC said that the sports should introduce more "value". What more value do golf and rugby introduce? For golf, I can understand that it probably introduces more money from sponsoring companies. What more value does rugby introduce?

It is a sad day for baseball and softball. On top of that, guitar legend Les Paul passed away at the age of 94.