Take me out to the ball game...at the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics?!
Maybe! Baseball and softball (as a joint bid) are on the shortlist of sports to be considered for addition to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games! Per NBC Sports, Games organizers said Monday that bowling, karate, roller sports, sport climbing, squash, surfing and the martial art of wushu are also finalists for inclusion.
The sports are each expected to make presentations in Tokyo in early August, and Tokyo 2020 organizers will recommend which sports to add (if any) by Sept. 30. Based on this, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) will make a final decision in August 2016.
Tokyo 2020 organizers said, per NBC Sports, these added sports will promote "the Olympic Movement and its values, with a focus on youth appeal" and engage "the Japanese population and new audiences worldwide, reflecting the Tokyo 2020 Games vision."
Baseball and softball were part of the Olympics from 1996 to 2008. World Baseball Softball Confederation President Riccardo Fraccari welcomed the news that baseball and softball have been included on the shortlist to be evaluated for potential inclusion in the 2020 Games.
"This is a great day for our sport," said Fraccari in a statement. "Today baseball and softball–and the millions of athletes and fans who call it their sport–reached first base. And on behalf of WBSC and the entire baseball and softball world, I would like to thank Tokyo 2020 and its evaluation panel for this opportunity to move into phase II. Being considered for the Olympic Games is a tremendous honour for baseball and softball, and the possibility of our athletes playing for their countries on the Olympic stage is a shared point of hope and excitement within our sport."
Monday was not a day of celebration for all Olympic hopefuls, though. Per NBC Sports, the following sports applied for inclusion in Tokyo 2020 but did not make the finalist list: Air sports, bowls, bridge, chess, dance sport, floor ball, flying disc, football, korfball (which is somewhat like basketball and volleyball combined), netball, orienteering, polo, racquetball, sumo, tug of war, underwater sports and waterski and wakeboard.
There's always 2024!
(E! and NBC are both part of the NBCUniversal family.)