Dodgers' Mookie Betts wants to play in Los Angeles Olympics
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Baseball’s return to the Olympic Games in 2028 could hardly come at a more opportune time, and one Los Angeles Dodgers star wants in.
Enthusiasm is at a high point for the Winter Olympics this year, and next month, we’ll see the World Baseball Classic unfold across the globe. But the Olympics as a whole have never seen the inclusion of Major League Baseball players, due to the timing coinciding with the middle of the baseball season.
In 2028, that all appears set to change, and on Tuesday, Dodgers eight-time All-Star shortstop Mookie Betts said he wants in on the action.
“Absolutely,” Betts said, via DodgersNation and Sportsnet LA. ““I would’ve done the WBC if it wasn’t for the timing of having a child. Kids are always a blessing, but yeah, if I get the opportunity to play in the Olympics, absolutely.”
Betts was a member of the Team USA squad that lost to Team Japan in the championship game of the 2023 WBC, grounding into a double play with the tying run on first base in the ninth inning against now-teammate Shohei Ohtani. Getting his revenge on Team Japan and Ohtani would just be one potential perk of getting to suit up in the stars and stripes in Betts’ adopted home city.
While there hasn’t been an official announcement as of Tuesday that MLB players will be allowed to play in the LA 2028 games, commissioner Rob Manfred has said he feels confident it will happen.
It’s hard to know much of anything about where MLB is headed once the expected lockout arrives in December, but assuming all goes well, Betts could have his Olympic moment in under 900 days.
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