Baseball at the 2008 Summer Olympics

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Baseball
at the Games of the XXIX Olympiad
Baseball 2008.png
Pictogram used to identify baseball at the 2008 Games
Venue Wukesong Baseball Field
DatesAugust 13–23, 2008
Teams8
Medalists
Gold medal icon.svgFlag of South Korea (1997-2011).svg  South Korea
Silver medal icon.svgFlag of Cuba.svg  Cuba
Bronze medal icon.svgFlag of the United States.svg  United States
  2004
2020  
Competing teams 2008 Summer Olympics - baseball.PNG
Competing teams

Baseball at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing was held from August 13 to August 23. All games were played at Wukesong Baseball Field, a temporary venue constructed at the Beijing Wukesong Culture & Sports Center. For the third time in Olympic competition, professional baseball players were eligible to participate, though no active players from Major League Baseball were available.

This was the last Olympic baseball tournament before the International Olympic Committee voted to remove baseball from the program in the 2012 Olympics. [1] Along with softball, baseball was rejected for inclusion in the 2016 Summer Olympics at the IOC's meeting in October 2009. [2] However, following a 2016 IOC vote, baseball was again included for the 2020 Games. [3]

This was also the first time that the IBAF's new extra-innings rule was officially in effect, allowing each team to start with two base runners from the 11th inning on. [4] South Korea won the gold medal in a 3–2 final victory against Cuba. The United States won bronze.

Medalists

GoldSilverBronze
Flag of South Korea (1997-2011).svg  South Korea  (KOR)
Hyun-Jin Ryu
Ki-Joo Han
Jin-Man Park
Hyuk Kwon
Taek-Keun Lee
Dae-Ho Lee
Seung-Hwan Oh
Jung-Keun Bong
Young-Min Ko
Jong-Wook Lee
Keun-Woo Jeong
Min-Jae Kim
Kab-Yong Jin
Jin-Young Lee
Won-Sam Jang
Seung-Jun Song
Kwang-Hyun Kim
Yong-Kyu Lee
Dong-Joo Kim
Min-Ho Kang
Hyun-soo Kim
Seung-Yeop Lee
Tae-Hyon Chong
Suk-Min Yoon
Manager: Kyung-Moon Kim
Flag of Cuba (3-2).svg  Cuba  (CUB)
Ariel Pestano
Yoandry Urgellés
Alfredo Despaigne
Luis Rodríguez
Alexei Bell
Yadier Pedroso
Jonder Martínez
Adiel Palma
Luis Navas
Giorvis Duvergel
Alexander Mayeta
Eriel Sánchez
Rolando Meriño
Héctor Olivera
Michel Enríquez
Yuliesky Gourriel
Vicyohandry Odelín
Pedro Luis Lazo
Eduardo Paret
Norberto González
Norge Luis Vera
Frederich Cepeda
Elier Sánchez
Miguel La Hera
Manager: Antonio Pacheco
Flag of the United States.svg  United States  (USA)
Brett Anderson
Blaine Neal
Matt Brown
Nate Schierholtz
Jeremy Cummings
Michael Koplove
Terry Tiffee
Kevin Jepsen
Brian Duensing
Dexter Fowler
Brandon Knight
Mike Hessman
Casey Weathers
Jason Donald
Jayson Nix
Taylor Teagarden
Stephen Strasburg
Jake Arrieta
Lou Marson
Matt LaPorta
Trevor Cahill
Brian Barden
John Gall
Jeff Stevens
Manager: Davey Johnson

Competition format

Eight teams are competing in the Olympic baseball tournament, and the competition consists of two rounds. The preliminary round follows a round robin format, where each of the teams plays all the other teams once. Following this, the top four teams advance to a single elimination round culminating in the bronze and gold medal games.

Qualification

EventDateLocationVacanciesQualified
Host nationFlag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China
American Qualifying Tournament Aug 25 – Sept 7, 2006 Flag of Cuba.svg Havana 2Flag of the United States.svg  United States
Flag of Cuba.svg  Cuba
European Championship Sept 7 – Sept 16, 2007 Flag of Spain.svg Barcelona 1Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands
Asian Baseball Championship Nov 27 – Dec 3, 2007 Flag of the Republic of China.svg Taichung 1Flag of Japan.svg  Japan
Final Qualifying Tournament Mar 7 – Mar 14, 2008 Flag of the Republic of China.svg Taichung and Douliou 3Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada
Flag of South Korea (1997-2011).svg  South Korea
Flag of Chinese Taipei for Olympic games.svg  Chinese Taipei
TOTAL8

^1 Chinese Taipei is the official IOC designation for the state officially referred to as the Republic of China (ROC), commonly known as Taiwan.

Team squad

TeamQualification criteriaAppearance
Canada 1st place of Final Qualifying Tournament 2nd
China Automatic as host nation of the Olympics 1st
Chinese Taipei 3rd place of Final Qualifying Tournament 3rd
Cuba 2nd place of American Qualifying Tournament 5th
Japan 1st place of Asian Baseball Championship 5th
South Korea 2nd place of Final Qualifying Tournament 3rd
Netherlands 1st place of European Championship 4th
United States 1st place of American Qualifying Tournament 4th

Group stage

All times are China Standard Time (UTC+8)

PosTeamPldWLRFRARDPCTGBQualification
1Flag of South Korea.svg  South Korea 7704122+191.000Advance to knockout round
2Flag of Cuba.svg  Cuba 7615223+29.8571
3Flag of the United States.svg  United States 7524022+18.7142
4Flag of Japan.svg  Japan 7433014+16.5713
5Flag of Chinese Taipei for Olympic games.svg  Chinese Taipei 72529334.286 [a] 5
6Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada 7252920+9.286 [a] 5
7Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands 71695041.143 [b] 6
8Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China (H)716146046.143 [b] 6
Source: [ citation needed ]
(H) Hosts
Notes:
  1. 1 2 Chinese Taipei defeated Canada 6–5.
  2. 1 2 Netherlands defeated China 6–4.
TeamGWLRSRAWIN%GBTiebreaker
Flag of South Korea (1997-2011).svg  South Korea 77041221.000
Flag of Cuba.svg  Cuba 7615223.8571
Flag of the United States.svg  United States 7524022.7142
Flag of Japan.svg  Japan 7433014.5713
Flag of Chinese Taipei for Olympic games.svg  Chinese Taipei 7252933.28651–0
Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada 7252920.28650–1
Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands 716950.14361–0
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China 7161460.14360–1

August 13

August 14

August 15

August 16

August 17

August 18

August 19

August 20

Knockout stage

 
SemifinalsGold Medal Match
 
      
 
2008-08-22 - Beijing
 
 
Flag of Japan.svg  Japan 2
 
2008-08-23 - Beijing
 
Flag of South Korea (1997-2011).svg  South Korea 6
 
Flag of South Korea (1997-2011).svg  South Korea 3
 
2008-08-22 - Beijing
 
Flag of Cuba.svg  Cuba 2
 
Flag of the United States.svg  United States 2
 
 
Flag of Cuba.svg  Cuba 10
 
Bronze Medal Match
 
 
2008-08-23 - Beijing
 
 
Flag of Japan.svg  Japan 4
 
 
Flag of the United States.svg  United States 8

Semifinals

Bronze medal match

Team123456789 R H E
Flag of Japan.svg  Japan 103000000461
Flag of the United States.svg  United States 01304000X890
WP: Brett Anderson (1-0)   LP: Kenshin Kawakami (0-1)
Home runs:
JPN: Masahiro Araki (1), Norichika Aoki (1)
USA: Matt LaPorta (2), Matt Brown (2), Jason Donald (1)

Gold medal match


23 August 2008 18:00
WKB Main Field
Team123456789 R H E
Flag of South Korea (1997-2011).svg  South Korea 200000100340
Flag of Cuba.svg  Cuba 100000100251
WP: Hyun-Jin Ryu (2-0)   LP: Norberto González (0-1)   Sv: Tae-Hyon Chong (2)
Home runs:
KOR: Seung-Yeop Lee (2)
CUB: Michel Enríquez (2), Alexei Bell (2)

Final standings

Notes

  1. Michaelis, Vicki (2005-07-08). "Baseball, softball bumped from Olympics". USA Today. Retrieved August 17, 2008.
  2. "Olympic Leaders Approve Golf and Rugby for 2016 Summer Games". Fox News . Associated Press. August 13, 2009. Retrieved 2010-02-16.
  3. Victor Mather (August 3, 2016). "Baseball and Softball Returning to Olympics in 2020". The New York Times .
  4. "IBAF changes rules for extra-inning games in time for Beijing". ESPN. Associated Press. 2008-07-25. Archived from the original on 1 August 2008. Retrieved 2008-07-31.

References