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The US team won this event at the 2000 games in Sydney but surprisingly did not qualify for competition this year. Cuba is tipped at the Olympics Baseball Gold Medal this year in the absence of the US team. China and Chinese Taipei will represent the Asian region as will Japan. Other teams competing include Australia, Greece, Italy, Canada and the Netherlands.
Professionals were first allowed to participate in the 2000 Sydney Games, which the United States won, but major league baseball does not allow players on 40-man major league rosters to participate, causing the IOC to periodically say it will review baseball's status as an Olympic sport. The U.S. team was eliminated by Mexico with a 2-1 loss in the semifinals of regional qualifying last Nov. 7. Japan and Cuba are the favorites.
We'll update our Baseball Medal and Results page as they come to hand - in the mean time check out all our Olympic Baseball News in our Baseball News Archives
