To view nbcolympics.com fully make sure you have Macromedia Flash Player version 7 or higher. Click here to download.
Eight teams will enter the Olympic baseball competition from Aug. 13-23. Though most squads won't be fully named until June or July, here's a quick look at who will be representing the sport for the last time before it's taken off the Olympic program in 2012.
Canada
America's neighbors to the north were the last team to qualify at the Final Olympic Qualifying Tournament in early March. But, with a large pool of former major league players and current minor league talent (anyone on a 25-man MLB roster is not eligible for the Olympics) to choose from, Canada remains one of international baseball's worst kept secrets. "They're one of the sleepers, if there are sleepers," China coach Jim Lefebvre said. "You might not think it, but everyone who knows the game knows that Canada (can contend)."
China (host nation)
Coached by former major leaguer Lefebvre, the Chinese enter as the only team that didn't qualify for a spot. As the host nation, China is guaranteed a slot for the Games. Just because they're being given the spot doesn't mean Lefebvre and company are taking it lightly: "Whether you like it or not ... we didn't qualify, but let's just go out and battle," and see what happens.
China will actually spend its preparation for the Beijing Games in Arizona, working with MLB's Extended Spring Training program. While China won't be able to match the power of some other teams, Lefebvre is planning to utilize his team's own strengths instead of play catch up in the power game.
Chinese Taipei
When Lefebvre describes that Chinese Taipei will bring strong arms to the Olympics; its stats at the Final Olympic Qualifier certainly back that statement up. Chien-Fu Yang and Chih-Chia Chang posted earned run averages of 0.64 and 0.71, respectively, in two starts apiece. In fact, in the eight-team, seven-game round-robin tournament, only two teams -- Korea and Canada -- managed more than three runs against Chinese Taipei.
Cuba
After a controversial gold-medal win in Athens, Cuba's armor may be showing kinks. It won gold at the 2007 Pan American Games, Cuba came up short in the 2006 World Baseball Classic and has lost twice to the United States in the past three years (2006 Olympic Qualifier, 2007 World Cup).
Of course, all three of those "disappointments" were actually silver medals, so it's only because the Cuban team set the bar so high -- three Olympic gold medals in four Games, 25 World Cup gold medals -- that they are judged with such high expectations.
The man to likely watch on the Cuban team should be third baseman Yulieski Gourriel. A utility infielder of sorts -- he played second in the 2006 WBC -- Gourriel is described by Lefebvre as, "the best looking amateur I've ever seen. ... I know scouts are drooling over him."
Japan
The winners of the 2006 World Baseball Classic and bronze medalists at the Athens Games, "Japan has a lot of swagger," Lefebvre said. And rightfully so, he pointed out. They rolled through the 2007 Asian Olympic Qualifying Tournament to win their continent's lone quota. "They've got strong arms like (Boston Red Sox pitcher Daisuke) Matsuzaka. At the World Baseball Classic, I totaled up their team's home runs (from the previous season); they had 328 home runs. We (China) had 12 for the year. Japan has a finesse game as well as great pitching, but they're playing with more of a power game than before. ... They have it all."
South Korea
The Final Olympic Qualification Tournament was a block party of sorts for Korea. Aside from two 4-3 games against Chinese Taipei (won) and Canada (lost), the Koreans were relentless at the plate, averaging 10.6 runs in the other five games they played. What might be the scariest stat from the tournament is that of their 60 runs in seven games, they had only hit two homers, both by Seung Yuop Lee. In fact, Korea had six players hit over .320, including three over .400.
Netherlands
The Dutch baseball team, with 20 gold medals in the European Baseball Championships, has certainly established its dominance within its continent. With two consecutive fourth-place finishes in World Cup play and three-straight Olympic qualifications, the Netherlands seems as though they're on the cusp of breaking out internationally. The 2007 World Cup may have been a sign they are ready for the medal stage as the Dutch upset the Cubans in pool play; the win snapped Cuba's 32-game winning streak in the World Cup.
United States
Coached by former major leaguer Davey Johnson, who was hired in 2005, the United States had plenty to atone for from the 2004 Olympic Games -- namely because the U.S. didn't qualify for the Games. So, with a change in attitude and approach, the 2000 Olympic champions avenged the embarrassment of not being able to defend their crown in Athens and not only qualified for the Beijing Games by beating Panama in the 2006 Americas Olympic Qualifier, but they also beat Cuba in Havana in the gold medal game. "Going down to Cuba, there was a lot of pressure on that team," Johnson said. "They felt the pressure of not making it (in '04)." The U.S. would also go on to win the 2007 World Cup.
The U.S. team will be named sometime in the summer. It is not allowed to include anyone on an MLB 25-man roster on its 24-man roster.
Off the Olympic schedule in 2012, baseball will feature an 8-team round-robin schedule to determine who qualifies for the medal bracket.
