Manfred downplays possibility of big leaguers in Olympics

FILE - In this April 15, 2015, file photo, Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred talks during a news conference prior to a baseball game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Seattle Mariners on Jackie Robinson Day in Los Angeles. Manfred said Thursday, April 23, 2015, that Pete Rose will play some role during this summer's All-Star Game in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Alex Gallardo, File) FILE - In this April 15, 2015, file photo, Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred talks during a news conference prior to a baseball game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Seattle Mariners on Jackie Robinson Day in Los Angeles. Manfred said Thursday, April 23, 2015, that Pete Rose will play some role during this summer's All-Star Game in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Alex Gallardo, File)

By Associated Press April 23, 2015 1 min read

NEW YORK (AP) – Don’t expect to see big league baseball players at the 2020 Olympics, even if the IOC reinstates the sport for the Tokyo Games. And new Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred says the sport’s international governing body should demand a long-term pledge from the International Olympic Committee before agreeing to return.

Baseball was an Olympic medal sport from 1992-2008, It was dropped after the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The World Baseball Softball Confederation hopes both events will be reinstated for Tokyo in five years, and the inclusion of new sports for 2020 will be voted on at the IOC session in Rio de Janeiro on the eve of the 2016 Games.

Speaking Thursday with the Associated Press Sports Editors, Manfred says “the Olympics are a challenge because of the calendar. They are particularly a challenge when the site is halfway around the world and the date falls in the middle of our regular season.”