For the first time in 13 years, baseball and softball will be contested at the Olympics.
Thanks to Japan’s ardent love of both sports, baseball and softball are back in the Games after being voted out in 2005 as permanent Olympic offerings. The criticisms then were that the sports weren’t global enough and, in baseball’s case, the best players in the world didn’t participate. Baseball, played by men in the Olympics, had officially joined the Games in 1992 and softball, played by women, in 1996.
This summer is a long time coming for several athletes.