SafekipediaBaseball at the 2008 Summer Olympics
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Baseball at the 2008 Summer Olympics
Baseball at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing was held from August 13 to August 23. All games took place at Wukesong Baseball Field, a temporary venue built at the Beijing Wukesong Culture & Sports Center. For the third time in Olympic history, professional baseball players could join, but no active players from Major League Baseball were able to play.
This tournament was special because it was the last time baseball would be part of the Olympics for a while. The International Olympic Committee decided not to include baseball in the 2012 Olympics or the 2016 Summer Olympics. But later, in 2016, they brought baseball back for the 2020 Games.
During the 2008 tournament, a new rule was used for the first time ever in extra innings. Starting from the 11th inning, each team began with two runners already on base. South Korea won the gold medal after beating Cuba 3–2 in the final. The United States team took home the bronze medal.
Venues
 Beijing | |
|---|---|
| Wukesong Baseball Main Field | Wukesong Baseball Field 2 |
| Capacity: 12,000 | Capacity: 3,000 |
Medalists
Competition format
Eight teams played in the Olympic baseball tournament. The tournament had two parts. In the first part, each team played every other team once. Then, the top four teams played in a single-elimination round. This round ended with games for the bronze and gold medals.
Qualification
The qualification process decided which teams could play in the baseball events at the 2008 Summer Olympics.
^1 Chinese Taipei is the official IOC name for the state called the Republic of China (ROC), which is commonly known as Taiwan.
See also: Political status of Taiwan
| Event | Date | Location | Vacancies | Qualified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Host nation | China | |||
| American Qualifying Tournament | Aug 25 – Sept 7, 2006 |  Havana | 2 |  United States Cuba |
| European Championship | Sept 7 – Sept 16, 2007 |  Barcelona | 1 |  Netherlands |
| Asian Baseball Championship | Nov 27 – Dec 3, 2007 |  Taichung | 1 |  Japan |
| Final Qualifying Tournament | Mar 7 – Mar 14, 2008 | Taichung and Douliou | 3 |  Canada South Korea Chinese Taipei |
| TOTAL | 8 | |||
Team squad
| Team | Qualification criteria | Appearance |
|---|---|---|
| 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).
Source: [citation needed]
(H) Hosts
Notes:
August 13
August 14
August 15
August 16
August 17
August 18
August 19
August 20
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | RF | RA | RD | PCT | GB | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  South Korea | 7 | 7 | 0 | 41 | 22 | +19 | 1.000 | — | Advance to knockout round |
| 2 | Cuba | 7 | 6 | 1 | 52 | 23 | +29 | .857 | 1 | |
| 3 | United States | 7 | 5 | 2 | 40 | 22 | +18 | .714 | 2 | |
| 4 | Japan | 7 | 4 | 3 | 30 | 14 | +16 | .571 | 3 | |
| 5 | Chinese Taipei | 7 | 2 | 5 | 29 | 33 | −4 | .286 | 5 | |
| 6 | Canada | 7 | 2 | 5 | 29 | 20 | +9 | .286 | 5 | |
| 7 | Netherlands | 7 | 1 | 6 | 9 | 50 | −41 | .143 | 6 | |
| 8 | China (H) | 7 | 1 | 6 | 14 | 60 | −46 | .143 | 6 |
| Team | G | W | L | RS | RA | WIN% | GB | Tiebreaker |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Korea | 7 | 7 | 0 | 41 | 22 | 1.000 | – | – |
| Cuba | 7 | 6 | 1 | 52 | 23 | .857 | 1 | – |
| United States | 7 | 5 | 2 | 40 | 22 | .714 | 2 | – |
| Japan | 7 | 4 | 3 | 30 | 14 | .571 | 3 | – |
| Chinese Taipei | 7 | 2 | 5 | 29 | 33 | .286 | 5 | 1–0 |
| Canada | 7 | 2 | 5 | 29 | 20 | .286 | 5 | 0–1 |
| Netherlands | 7 | 1 | 6 | 9 | 50 | .143 | 6 | 1–0 |
| China | 7 | 1 | 6 | 14 | 60 | .143 | 6 | 0–1 |
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Knockout stage
Semifinals
The semifinals were the last games before the finals. Teams played to see who would go to the gold medal match.
Bronze medal match
The bronze medal match was for the teams that lost in the semifinals. The winner of this match got the bronze medal.
Gold medal match
The gold medal match was the final game. The teams that won their semifinal games played here. The winner got the gold medal, and the loser got the silver medal.
Final standings
Here are the final standings for baseball at the 2008 Summer Olympics:
- South Korea
- Cuba
- United States
- Japan
- Chinese Taipei
- Netherlands
- Italy
- China
Related articles
This article is a child-friendly adaptation of the Wikipedia article on Baseball at the 2008 Summer Olympics, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
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