With the Los Angeles 2028 Summer Olympics less than two years away, momentum is building to allow Major League players to participate.
Baseball will be back as an Olympic sport for the Los Angeles Games after it was not apart of the festivities during the 2024 Pairs Summer Olympics. The sport was last played during the 2021 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, where the U.S. Men’s Olympic Baseball Team won the silver medal after falling short in the gold medal game.
According to Jeff Passan of ESPN, there is genuine support for allowing established Major Leaguers to participate in the Olympics for the first time if unresolved details are worked out.
Major League Baseball has gathered support from owners to allow big league players to participate in the Olympics for the first time, but disagreements with the MLB Players Association over hotel rooms, tickets and a mandatory-participation agreement have complicated their involvement in the 2028 Los Angeles Games, sources told ESPN.
Perhaps MLB’s biggest historical roadblock to participation in the Olympic Games has been the scheduling conflict, with the Opening Ceremony on July 14, 2028, falling right in the middle of the season.
However, MLB plans to create a break in the schedule to allow players to participate in what would be a landmark decision.
Emails and documents obtained by ESPN illustrate the conflict between the parties that has spanned months and left officials at LA28 seeking a prompt resolution. MLB likewise has pushed for clarity, sources said, as it plans to shut down the sport for 11 days to accommodate an All-Star Game on the West Coast that would precede the six-team tournament scheduled to be played at Dodger Stadium.
Despite some logistics seemingly being worked out, there are other factors still in the way before MLB players will officially be part of the 2028 Olympic Games.
Potential complications have arisen during negotiations, which involve a complex web of issues that include hotel rooms, tickets, insurance, NIL rights and the mandatory-participation agreement proposed by the league that would place players who run afoul of requirements on the restricted list, without pay or service time, from July 12 to Aug. 3, according to a copy of the league’s proposal obtained by ESPN.
Given the growth MLB has experienced in recent years, it is encouraging to see the league attempting to tear down roadblocks that would slow its momentum. Hopefully a similar attitude will prevail during the upcoming CBA negotiations and a full season will be played in 2027.
Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts has thrown his hat into the ring for the opportunity to coach the United States baseball team in the 2028 Summer Olympics.
Rob Manfred optimistic MLB will participate in Olympics
The prospect of MLB and the Players Association being open to the idea of participating in the 2028 Olympics came up earlier this year.
MLB commissioner Rob Manfred shared that the upcoming Olympics present a special chance to grow baseball even more, both locally and internationally. He expressed confidence both sides will get a deal done to make it happen.
Though for his part, Max Muncy noted the challenges he believes could arise from MLB players taking part in next year’s Olympics.
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