LATHAM, Ill. (WAND) — Baseball is back.
America's pastime is once again on the world stage at the Tokyo Olympics. The sport was last played in the Olympics at the 2008 games in Beijing. Its return is great news for up-and-coming baseball players like 13-year-old Gabe Koenig and his friends.
"I think it will be good because there will still be fundamental baseball," he said.
His teammate, 14-year-old Ben Sellmeyer, agreed.
"I think that it's kind of cool that they brought it back," Ben said. "I think it'd be cool to just watch it."
Olympic baseball is just like the baseball fans watch almost every day during the summer months in Major League Baseball. The only rule changes are meant to speed up the pace of play. Pitchers will only have 12 seconds between pitches (unless runners are on base) and teams will need to switch sides each half inning in 90 seconds or less.
All of that may make it a little more challenging for umpires in Tokyo, but that won't deter 18-year-old Braden Matthews, an umpire in his own right, from watching or umpiring.
"[Umpiring] is fun," he said with a smile. "It feels like I'm playing again — just on the other side of it."
Like the kids he calls balls and strikes for, Matthews is excited to see baseball return to the Olympics. Team U.S.A. won't feature any current MLB players since they're still midseason. But former all stars like Todd Frazier, Scott Kazmir and David Robertson all made the squad — as did U.S. flagbearer Eddy Alvarez.
But baseball's biggest draw to young athletes like 14-year-old Elijah Clark is how it creates bonds around the world.
"It's good to see baseball going through the world because it's a good sport to bring people together," he said.
Team U.S.A. will take on Israel in its first game of the Olympics Friday (7/30) morning at 5:00.
