Baseball at the 2000 Summer Olympics was the third time an Olympic baseball tournament had been held as a full medal sport, and the ninth time it had been part of the Summer Olympic Games in any capacity. It was held in Sydney, Australia from 17 September through to the bronze and gold medal games on 27 September. Two venues were used for the Games: the Sydney Baseball Stadium and Blacktown Olympic Park. For the first time in Olympic competition, professional baseball players were eligible to participate, though no active players from Major League Baseball were available.[1][2][3]
In the gold medal game known as the "Miracle on Grass",[4] the United States became Olympic Champions for the first time in its baseball history by defeating Cuba 4–0.[5][6] Since becoming a medal sport, it was the first time Cuba had not won the gold medal. The gold medal game was also only the second game Cuba had lost in Olympic baseball, having lost to the Netherlands earlier in the tournament.[1]South Korea won their first Olympic baseball medal, beating Japan in the bronze medal match 3–1.[6]
The eight teams met in a round-robin series, facing each other once. The top four teams from this then met in the finals, with the first and fourth placed teams playing against each other in one semi final, and the second and third placed teams in the other. The losers of these semi finals competed in the bronze medal game, while the winners met in the gold medal game.[1]
^ abcSydney Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (2001). Official Report of the XXVII Olympiad(PDF). Vol. 2: Celebrating the Games. Canberra, Australia: Paragon Printers Australasia. pp. 176–9. ISBN0-9579616-0-X. Archived from the original(PDF) on 27 March 2009. Retrieved 15 September 2010.
