Baseball
The United States, which had barely missed medalling in the first official Olympic baseball tournament, tried again in 1996. This time, they were successful. In the preliminary round, they defeated six of their seven opponents, losing only to the undefeated Cubans. The Americans were second place in the round, pitting them in a semifinal match against the third-place Japanese team. In a game much more reminiscent of the Japanese victory in the 1992 bronze medal game than the American win in the 1996 preliminary round, the United States was defeated and found itself playing in their second bronze medal game in as many Olympiads. This time, however, they defeated Nicaragua to win their first baseball medal.
Men's Team Competition:
- United States (7-2) — Bronze Medal
Read more about this topic: United States At The 1996 Summer Olympics
Famous quotes containing the word baseball:
“Compared to football, baseball is almost an Oriental game, minimizing individual stardom, requiring a wide range of aggressive and defensive skills, and filled with long periods of inaction and irresolution. It has no time limitations. Football, on the other hand, has immediate goals, resolution on every single play, and a lot of violence—itself a highlight. It has clearly distinguishable hierarchies: heroes and drones.”
—Jerry Mander, U.S. advertising executive, author. Four Arguments for the Elimination of Television, ch. 15, Morrow (1978)
“Spooky things happen in houses densely occupied by adolescent boys. When I checked out a four-inch dent in the living room ceiling one afternoon, even the kid still holding the baseball bat looked genuinely baffled about how he possibly could have done it.”
—Mary Kay Blakely (20th century)
“One of the baseball-team owners approached me and said: “If you become baseball commissioner, you’re going to have to deal with 28 big egos,” and I said, “For me, that’s a 72% reduction.””
—George Mitchell (b. 1933)