Baseball at the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

was held on two separate diamonds within the Helliniko Olympic Complex, from 15 to 25 August. For the second time in Olympic competition, professional baseball players were eligible to participate, though no active players from Major League Baseball were available. The competition consisted of a preliminary round with each team playing all the other teams once, for a total of seven games. The top four teams at the end of this round advanced to the medals round. The medals round consisted of two semifinal games with the winners advancing to the gold medal game. The losing teams of the semifinals would play in the bronze medal game.

Team squads

Controversy

Despite being the home of baseball and the defending gold medalists, the United States did not make it to Athens after losing a qualifying game to Mexico, 1–0. The Americas Tournament, which decided which two teams from North America, South America and the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

went to Athens, was single-elimination, when almost all other baseball tournaments are double-elimination. Canada eventually defeated Mexico to advance to the Olympics. The qualifying rounds were also scheduled in such a way that the United States could not even use minor-leaguers and had to rely on collegians instead. Many American ballplayers made it to Athens anyway, as members of the nascent Greek team, which featured only one player actually born in Greece. Others took issue with the fact that three of the eight slots in the Olympics (including the hosts) were European, while the Americas and Asia (with much stronger baseball nations) got only two slots apiece. The absence of such teams as the USA, Mexico, the Dominican Republic and South Korea led to much media discussion. The 2008 tournament changed the qualifying procedure; the United States qualified, as did Cuba and the host country,

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

Bracket

Results

Preliminary round

The top four teams (Japan, Cuba, Canada and Australia) advanced to the semifinals. To determine the seed ranking of teams tied in the standings, the result of the two teams' game against each other was used. Japan therefore received first place due to the win over Cuba. In the semi-finals, Japan (#1) played Australia (#4) and Cuba (#2) played Canada (#3). The higher ranked team in each game was the home team. ;August 15

;August 16

;August 17

;August 18

;August 20

;August 21

;August 22

Semifinals

Bronze medal match

Final

Final standing

References

External links

Official result book – Baseball
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baseball At The 2004 Summer Olympics 2004 Summer Olympics events

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...

Men's events at the 2004 Summer Olympics