Bryce Harper Has Talked to ‘Numerous People in MLB’ About 2028 Olympics

The 2028 Los Angeles Summer Olympics are still four years away, but Bryce Harper is already hoping for the opportunity to represent Team USA.

Harper said he would love “a chance to put on [his] nation’s colors” at the Olympics, according to Roshane Thomas of The Athletic, who is with the Phillies and Mets as they prepare for the MLB London Series.

“Yes, absolutely and I’ve spoken to numerous people in MLB about it,” he said. “I would love to be part of that. We have the [World Baseball Classic] but it’s not the same. People can say as much as they want but the Olympics is so worldwide. The WBC is great and brings a lot of people together, but the Olympics is something you dream about playing in.”

Harper, who will be 35 when the 2028 games come around, is no stranger to representing the United States. He played for the USA Under-18 team that won the 2009 Pan Am junior world championships. Manny Machado and three other future first-round picks were also on that team.

Baseball will not be a part of the 2024 Paris Olympics, but will return in LA. Japan won the 2020 Gold Medal, while the United States won silver. Team USA has not won the gold in baseball since the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

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Some MLB Owners Want Players to Participate

In the past, Major Leaguers have stayed away from the Olympic games due to its conflict with the MLB regular season, but that might change in 2028.

The Athletic’s Evan Drellich reported in February that owners “are increasingly supportive” of sending players to the 2028 games. Wasserman CEO and LA28 chairman Casey Wasserman presented a proposal to owners over the winter that would condense the Olympic baseball schedule and create a “minimal” disruption to the regular season, Drellich said.

In the proposal, baseball’s portion of the Olympics would happen around the MLB All-Star break, which could easily coincide with the games running from July 14 to July 30. The proposal suggested either canceling the All-Star Game for a year or adding it to the Olympic festivities in Los Angeles. If the regular season needs to be shortened, it can be knocked down to 158 games for a year and the World Baseball Classic can serve as a qualifying event.

MLBPA president Tony Clark and MLB commissioner Rob Manfred both indicated, per Drellich, that they were open to the idea.

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Bryce Harper Aims to Help Grow the Game Globally

Harper also took time to laud baseball for the work it’s done in making the game “younger,” attracting new fans who can draw on the emotion that players show on the field — something once taboo per baseball’s unwritten rules.

Now, he says, the goal is to expand the game globally, and the Olympics are as big a stage as there is.

“My biggest thing is the Olympics, when you have sports in the Olympics, and understanding the sports, there is nothing more worldwide than that,” he said. “Not having baseball in the Olympics is really tough.”

Though Manfred stressed the “integrity of the regular season” in a conversation with reporters prior to the 2023 World Series, Harper pointed to the NHL as a league that hits pause while its athletes compete in the Olympics.

“I love hockey and it’s one of my favorite sports to watch and seeing that in the Olympics is one of the coolest things ever,” he said. “They take that three-week break and let those guys go and go play. That’s another big goal we should have in Major League Baseball.”

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