2020 Tokyo Olympics will feature return of baseball, softball

It has been announced that baseball and softball will both make their official returns at the 2020 Olympics, which will take place in Tokyo.

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With the 2020 Olympics four years away in Tokyo, news has arrived that five sports have been approved for inclusion in the next Summer Games. Baseball, softball, karate and sport climbing are among the sports which will be seen when the next edition of the Olympics takes place, according to a WCPO report on Wednesday.

All five sports had been proposed for inclusion at the Summer Games last year via Tokyo organizers. All five were approved unanimously by the International Olympic Committee in a vote held Wednesday, which will bring a total of 18 more events and 474 athletes to the Tokyo Games in 2020.

The baseball and softball events last appeared at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing and were subsequently removed from the 2012 program in London. The United States won a bronze at the 2008 baseball event with a team that included well-known players Stephen Strasburg and Jake Arrieta on the roster. The U.S. softball team took home the silver in their event that year.

Wednesday’s vote will increase the number of total sports at the Tokyo Games from 28 to 33, and total athletes from 10,500 to 11,000, approximately. It will also be welcome news for fans of these sports, as baseball and softball had been in limbo with regards to whether or not they’d ever return to the Summer Games.

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