Baseball returns to the Olympics on Tuesday, July 27.
This is the first time that baseball has been an Olympic sport since 2008. Baseball will not be an Olympic sport in the 2024 Paris Olympics, but there is still a chance it could be added to the 2028 Los Angeles Games.
Without Major League Baseball players available, the host nation Japan is the favorite at +175 in the six-team field. Defending gold medalist South Korea (albeit from 2008) has the second shortest odds at DraftKings at +300, followed by Team USA at +350.
Olympic Baseball Schedule
All times ET.
Tuesday, July 27
| Game | Time | TV |
|---|---|---|
| Japan 4, Dom. Republic 3 | 11 p.m. | NBC Sports App |
Thursday, July 29
| Game | Time | TV |
|---|---|---|
| South Korea 6, Israel 5 | 6 a.m. | NBC Sports App |
| Dominican Republic 1, Mexico 0 | 11 p.m. | NBC Sports App |
Friday, July 30
| Game | Time | TV |
|---|---|---|
| USA vs Israel | 6 a.m. | NBC Sports App |
| Japan vs Mexico | 11 p.m. | NBC Sports App |
Saturday, July 31
| Game | Time | TV |
|---|---|---|
| South Korea vs USA | 6 a.m. | USA |
Olympic Baseball Group Standings
There are two groups of three teams in Olympic Baseball. No team will be eliminated after the group stage ends, but teams who finish at the top of their group will have a better chance of advancing to the gold medal game because they get a bye to the quarterfinals.
Group A
| Team | Points |
|---|---|
| Japan | 2 |
| Dominican Republic | 2 |
| Mexico | 0 |
Group B
| Team | Points |
|---|---|
| South Korea | 2 |
| USA | 0 |
| Israel | 0 |
Olympic Baseball Bracket
All times ET.
Games with an asterisk (*) will have the home and away teams decided after Group play has concluded.
Round 1
Saturday, July 31
Game 7*: Group B third place vs Group A third place – 11 p.m.
Sunday, August 1
Game 8*: Group A runner up vs Group B runner up – 6 a.m.
Round 2
Sunday, August 1
Game 9: Game 7 Winner vs Game 8 Winner – 11 p.m.
Monday, August 2
Game 10*: Group B Winner vs Group A Winner – 6 a.m.
Round 1 (repechage): Tuesday, August 3
Game 11: Game 8 Loser vs Game 9 Loser – 6 a.m.
Round 2 (repechage): Tuesday, August 3
Game 12: Game 11 Winner vs Game 10 Loser – 11 p.m.
Semifinals
Wednesday, August 4
Game 13: Game 9 Winner vs Game 10 Winner – 6 a.m.
Thursday, August 5
Game 14: Game 12 Winner vs Game 13 Loser – 6 a.m.
Finals
Friday, August 6
Bronze Medal Game: Game 12 Loser vs Game 14 Loser – 11 p.m.
Saturday, August 7
Gold Medal Game: Game 14 Winner vs Game 13 Winner – 6 a.m.
Olympic Baseball Odds
| Team | Odds | Probability |
|---|---|---|
| Japan | +175 | 36.4% |
| South Korea | +300 | 25% |
| USA | +350 | 22.2% |
| Mexico | +500 | 16.7% |
| Dominican Republic | +550 | 15.4% |
| Israel | +3000 | 3.2% |
Roster Format
Because we are in the swing of baseball season, Major League Baseball players will not be competing in the Olympics. Thus there are only six teams in the field compared to the 20-team format of the World Baseball Classic.
With some older baseball players unable to previously compete in the Olympic games, a handful of former MLB All-Stars will be participating.
Some former All-Stars include Adrian Gonzales (Mexico), Jose Bautista (Dominican Republic), Melky Cabrera (Dominican Republic), Ian Kinsler (Israel), and Masahiro Tanaka (Japan). The USA also has four former All-Stars: Todd Frazier, Scott Kazmir, Edwin Jackson, and David Robertson.
South Korea, the defending Gold Medal champs from 2008, is the only team without an All-Star on its roster.
While there are a handful of former major leaguers sprinkled in, the majority of players on these rosters are either minor league players or players in other professional leagues.
Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball league is the second-best league in the world, and the home favorites will have the Olympics’ most talented roster full of NPB players.
The South Korean team will be without star players like Hyun-Jin Ryu as he and others are currently playing in the major leagues, but they are still favorites to medal as they have access to the top players in the Korea Baseball Organization, the third-best league in the world.
