Baseball doesn’t let rejection get in the way of an Olympic bid for the 2016 Games. After International Softball Federation President Don Porter said no to a joint-bid, the International Baseball Federation (IBAF) looked for a women’s sport elsewhere. In a desperate-looking and somewhat insincere pretense to get baseball back onto the map, the IBAF decided to align with women’s baseball to further increase its reinstatement allure. Former Chief Executive Officer of the Women’s Sports Foundation, Donna Lopiano, was named chair of the women’s baseball committee.
Women’s baseball is few and far between in the United States, has roughly 400,000 worldwide participants, and is played in over 30 nations. It’s a good quantity, but not exactly comparable to softball’s 8.5 million participants in 127 nations. Yes, it is mildly disconcerting to be someone’s last resort as a date to the prom, but at least women’s baseball will have the chance to grow and advance. Even though it is unlikely the women’s side will be added to the Olympic Program.
Baseball was voted out of the 2012 Olympics due in part to doping scandals and lack of participation by the best major leaguers. In an effort to correct this, Major League Baseball officials have proposed to extend the All-Star break to fit the Olympic schedule.
The International Olympic Committee will shortlist 2 of the 7 sports up for bid in August before the final vote in October.
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