YOKOHAMA, Japan — Back after a 13-year absence from the Olympics, the baseball gold medal came down to a showdown between the two biggest baseball countries in the world: the United States and Japan.
And in a close contest on Saturday night, top-ranked Japan prevailed, 2-0, to claim an award that was curiously missing from its list of accomplishments. It was the baseball mad archipelago’s first gold medal in the six trips to the Olympics since 1992, when the sport was first officially played in the Summer Games.
Before now, Japan had come close just once — winning a silver medal in 1996 — and claiming bronze medals in 1992 and 2004.