We might just be heading toward one of the most exciting international mashups baseball has seen in decades. That’s right — the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles are creeping into view, and the buzz around Major League Baseball players representing their countries on the Olympic stage is getting loud.
MLB Big Names Could Wear National Colors on the World Stage
This isn’t a done deal yet. There are a lot of moving parts, schedules to wrangle, and calendars to contort. But there’s momentum, and that’s the key. According to MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred met up with the LA28 organizers down in Atlanta this week — not for a quick coffee chat, but to start hammering out real logistics. The next big voice at the table? The MLB Players Association. And guess what, they’re into it.
MLBPA executive director Tony Clark laid it out in a Q & A session before the All-Star Game: players want to play. Whether it’s for Team USA, the Dominican Republic, Japan, Venezuela — name a country with a deep baseball bench, and you’ve got a lineup of stars itching to suit up. We have already seen the energy and emotion behind the World Baseball Classic and the Olympics. That stage is even bigger.
Dodger Stadium Becomes the Center of the Baseball Universe
Here’s where it gets interesting: the Olympic baseball games are scheduled for July 15-20 at Dodger Stadium — right in the heart of MLB’s summer rhythm. So what’s the workaround? Manfred floated an intriguing solution: treat that week like an extended All-Star break. Yep, stretch it out, give players the space to go for gold, and still get a full 162-game season in. No extra November frostbite required.
Of course, that means some shuffling. The Dodgers could be on a long road trip in July, making room for Olympic chaos and international buzz to take over their home turf. But come on — if you’ve ever seen an Opening Day crowd at Chavez Ravine, imagine the energy when Shohei Ohtani’s launching moonshots for Japan on Olympic soil.
A Schedule Shake-Up Could Make Room for History
So yes, there’s still a lot to finalize — player logistics, insurance, scheduling gymnastics — but we’re not just talking about a pipe dream here. We’re talking about the potential for the biggest baseball showcase on Earth to hit the biggest sports stage in the world.
