BEIJING // The International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Jacques Rogge watched baseball say farewell to the Olympics yesterday and warned the sport would not be back until Major League players were allowed to take part. South Korea beat Cuba 3-2 to claim a surprise gold medal, but will not be able to defend their title for at least eight years. Rogge made a brief appearance at Wukesong Field to watch the US beat Japan 8-4 in the bronze medal game.
He said IOC were prepared to play hardball with Major League Baseball over the problematic issue of their top players in the Olympics. "We have [Roger] Federer, [Rafael] Nadal in tennis, LeBron James in basketball," he said. "We have the best cyclists. Ronaldinho is here in football. We want these guys at the Games. We're not saying it should be an entire Major League team, but we want the top athletes here at the Olympics."
MLB have rejected any proposal linked to the league shutting down for the Games while the IOC have made it clear they want the worlds best on the Olympic diamond if the sport is to have any chance of returning to the line up. Baseball and softball have been dropped from the Olympic programme. Both will be considered for reinstatement, along with five other sports golf, squash, rugby, karate and rollersports for a return to the Olympic roster in 2016.
The International Baseball Federation (IBAF), along with the MLB, maintain they are eager to remain part of the Games and say they are working to end the stalemate. The IBAF president Harvey Schiller said earlier in the week he believed major league players would appear in 2016 if the sport is reinstated. * Reuters
