The full U.S. Olympic delegation of athletes headed for China in three weeks is now up to 580 of 590 spots to be filled, thanks to the announcement Wednesday of the baseball team that will try to win gold in the Summer Games. Many of the names on the USA roster will be recognizable to baseball fans -- some of them currently on Major League clubs' 40-man rosters and some with past MLB service. Most of them will become even more recognizable after the team opens against Korea on Aug. 13 at Wukesong Baseball Stadium in Beijing. USA Baseball revealed 23 of the 24 members on a team that will be led by Davey Johnson, who won World Series championships as a player (Orioles) and manager (Mets). His team features 12 pitchers and 11 position players, and the final roster spot will be filled in the coming days -- ahead of Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad's cut-off date next Tuesday.
Team USA will be together on the field for the first time with four exhibition games against Canada in North Carolina from Aug. 1-4. Johnson said he will have a better idea of his lineup and five-man rotation at that point. Then the team will depart for Beijing, where Opening Ceremonies are scheduled for Aug. 8 -- portending good fortune, according to Chinese proverb. The Olympic Medal Round will be on Aug. 23, a day before the Closing Ceremonies, and only then will anyone know just how powerful this team is on a global stage where so many nations seem to be getting better and better at baseball. The U.S. Olympic Baseball Team's roster is stockpiled with bright prospects, including 14 players currently at the Triple-A level and multiple players who are on Major League 40-man rosters. Any athlete not on a 25-man roster at the time of selection is eligible to compete.
Headlining the group are such prized prospects as outfielder Matt LaPorta (Indians, Double-A Akron) and San Diego State right-hander Stephen Strasburg. LaPorta was recently dealt by the Brewers to the Indians as the key piece of a trade that brought 2007 American League Cy Young Award winner CC Sabathia to Milwaukee. Baseball America ranks LaPorta as the top prospect in Cleveland's farm system, and the slugger was also a member of the 2005 collegiate USA Baseball National Team. He had one of the US Team's three hits in its 3-0 loss to the World Team during Sunday's XM All-Star Futures Game at Yankee Stadium. Strasburg, who turns 20 on Sunday, is considered a possible high first-round pick -- maybe even a No. 1 overall selection -- in next year's First-Year Player Draft. He made national headlines with a 23-strikeout performance against Utah on April 11, part of a breakthrough sophomore season. He is currently anchoring the pitching staff on the 2008 USA Baseball National Team. The team of collegiate all-stars is fresh off a first-place finish at Haarlem Baseball Week in the Netherlands, including two victories over the Cuban National Team.
Those A's, for the record, are represented by left-hander Brett Anderson and right-hander Trevor Cahill -- both pitchers on the organization's Double-A Midland affiliate in the Texas League. That's a respectable chunk of a Minor League club. In addition to the 14 players currently a step away from the bigs, the 23-man USA roster features seven players in Double-A, one in Class A and one at the collegiate level. When asked about that Class A pitcher -- righty Jake Arrieta (Orioles, Class A Frederick), Johnson said he got a good look at him and had no doubt.
The 2008 Olympic Games will be the ninth time USA Baseball has utilized Major League-affiliated professional players for international competition, including the 1999 Pan Am Games, the 2000 Olympic Games, the 2001 World Cup, the 2003 Olympic Qualifier, the 2005 IBAF World Cup, the 2006 COPABE Olympic Qualifying Tournament and the 2007 World Cup.
Team USA did not qualify for the Olympics in 2004. Cuba will be back again in its customary role as one of the favorites, having won three of the four Olympic gold medals since baseball became a medal sport in 1992. The lone exception was settling for silver in 2000 when it was upset by the U.S., which won gold on Ben Sheets' three-hit shutout.
It's almost time for Beijing 2008. Final participants are still to be announced for women's volleyball, female gymnastics, men's soccer and the dressage team in equestrian. But now, with one lone exception at the end of the roster, the United States has its baseball team. The world will be watching.
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