Leading off the 2028 Olympic Games: Shohei Ohtani, at Dodger Stadium. On deck: The lighting of the Olympic torch.
That is how the Los Angeles Games could look, based on the revised schedule announced Wednesday by LA28 organizers. In another sign that Major League Baseball is headed toward an agreement to allow its players to participate in the 2028 Games, LA28 adjusted its baseball schedule after discussions with the league.
Under the new schedule, the baseball competition would start on Thursday, July 13, 2028 — the day before the opening ceremony, rather than the day after.
That would give MLB the option to hold the 2028 All-Star Game on its traditional Tuesday date — most likely in San Francisco — with the Olympic baseball competition starting two days later in Los Angeles and ending on Wednesday, July 19. The major league schedule could resume the following weekend.
In past Olympic baseball tournaments, MLB has declined to stop its season, so minor league and college players have populated the rosters of many countries, including the United States. For 2028, MLB had no interest in canceling its All-Star Game and replacing it with the Olympic competition.
However, on the heels of a dramatic World Series that attracted record worldwide attention, and with a highly anticipated World Baseball Classic four months away, MLB would be passing up a global marketing bonanza by skipping the Olympics.
No final deal among LA28, MLB and the Major League Baseball Players’ Assn. has been reached, but MLB commissioner Rob Manfred all but telegraphed this resolution in July, one day after LA28 said its baseball competition would begin on the day after the opening ceremony.
“They put out a schedule,” Manfred said then. “They tell you it’s not going to move. We’ll see whether there is any movement on that.
“It is possible to play the All-Star Game in its normal spot, have a single break that would be longer, but still play 162 games without bleeding into the middle of November. It would require significant accommodations, but it is possible.”
And now, it appears likely.