Bryce Harper says MLB should pause season for Olympics, wants to play in 2028: ‘Something you dream about’

June 9, 2024
4 mins read
Bryce Harper says MLB should pause season for Olympics, wants to play in 2028: ‘Something you dream about’



MLB’s 2024 international schedule concludes on Sunday with the New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies playing the second game of the two-game London Series at London Stadium (GameTracker). The Phillies, thanks in part to a Bryce Harper home run, achieved a 7-2 victory in Saturday’s opener. Taijuan Walker and Jose Quintana are Sunday’s starting pitchers.

Before Saturday’s game, Harper expressed interest in competing in the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. Baseball and softball will return as Olympic sports in 2028 after being played on a trial basis in 2020 and not being played in 2012 and 2016. Harper wants MLB players in the Olympics to arrive in 2028. From the USA today:

“There’s nothing more global than the Olympics,” Harper told reporters in London. “I watch the most random sports at the Olympics because it’s the Olympics, and that’s really cool. I love hockey. It’s one of my favorite sports to watch. Seeing (the NHL) take a three-week break and let these guys go play , that’s another big goal we should have as Major League Baseball.

“I’ve talked to a lot of people at MLB about it. I’d love to be a part of it. We have the WBC, but it’s not the same. It’s not. The Olympics is something you dream about playing in.”

Currently, only amateurs and professional players who are not on the 40-man roster can participate in the Olympics. The 2020 U.S. roster featured minor league journeymen, some top prospects and several undrafted free agent veterans. Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball and the Korean Baseball Organization paused their regular seasons so professionals could play in the 2020 Olympics. Japan beat the U.S. in the gold medal game.

As Harper noted, the National Hockey League has paused its regular season and allowed players to participate in the Olympics in the past, though it has not done so in either of the last two Olympics due to insurance concerns. In 2028, traveling to Los Angeles would be easy for MLB players. The question is whether the league would pause the season for two weeks in July. The 2028 Olympics are scheduled for July 14-30.

Harper would have turned 35 by the 2028 Olympics. He committed to play for the U.S. in last spring’s World Baseball Classic but had to withdraw following Tommy John surgery in November 2022. As an amateur, Harper played on the 16-and-under team. under USA Baseball in 2008 and on the 18 and under team. in 2009, and was the best player on the field in both tournaments.

Baseball was a full-time Olympic sport from 1992-2008. Cuba has won three gold medals (1992, 1996, 2004) and South Korea (2008), Japan (2020) and the USA (2000) have one gold medal each. As a minor leaguer, former Milwaukee Brewers ace Ben Sheets threw a game-tying complete game against favored Cuba in the 2000 gold medal game.





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