and hockey during the Summer? Baseball and hockey players have the worst luck when it comes to international competition because the most important tournaments happen during the season of their professional careers. Basketball and soccer players get away with it.

Unfortunately sending the best of the best really isn't an option here...you can't take weeks off in the middle of the MLB season without outright shortening the schedule, which will never happen. MLB isn't like the NHL where they can just bunch games together since the whole MLB season games are bunch together.

Setting aside the logistics of needing an indoor facility, I'm raising this idea purely on the thought that it would allow the world's best to perform without shutting down either league. I wonder if the baseball union will fight for this, the biggest danger is sending the pitchers maybe there's a way around it.

Baseball is a tough one for the Olympics...it's either really popular or non-existent depending on where you go and even where it is really popular it's hard to attract much of a buzz for a tournament that isn't best on best. We all know the story of the Athens baseball stadium and how it sat empty after use until it finally became a refugee camp.

I could see them doing some sort of temp stadium that leave behind really good fields after with say 500-1000 permanent seats. Olympic baseball/softball only require the 1 field each for the games. If Brazil can put up temp stands for rugby, France and Italy can do the same for baseball.