The Olympic Rewind Baseball series, presented in collaboration with the Olympic Channel, takes us today to the Games of the XXVI Olympiad Atlanta 1996.
The tournament was played from 20 July through 2 August at the Fulton County Stadium. At the time it was the home of the Major League Baseball (MLB) Atlanta Braves. The club moved to Turner Field at the start of the 1997 season and Fulton County was demolished exactly one year after the Olympic Baseball gold medal game.
The format of the tournament was exactly the same of the 1992 Games: an eight-team round robin with the top four advancing to the medal round.
Defending champions Cuba, the United States and Nicaragua qualified from the Americas; Japan and Korea qualified from Asia; Italy and the Netherlands from Europe; and Australia won a playoff series between Oceania and Africa.
The third episode of the Olympic Rewind Baseball series is the debut game for Korea and Italy in the 1996 Olympics.
Italy's manager Silvano Ambrosioni handed the ball to Roberto Cabalisti, a veteran of the Italian Baseball League. Italy fielded an experienced team. Leadoff hitter and right fielder Claudio Liverziani, a 21-year old prospect, would go on and sign for the Seattle Mariners. Umpire Davis Yeast (USA) called playball.
Choong Nam Kim was the manager of a Korean National Team. He handed the ball to right-hander Dong Hwan Moon, at the time pitching for the Yonsei University. Dong Hwan Kim would go on to pursue a Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) career after the Olympics.
Related article: Italy's Luigi Carrozza the best hitter of the 1996 Olympics
OLYMPIC Rewind-Baseball
- 29/7 Barcelona 1992 - Opening Round: USA v Spain
- 30/7 Barcelona 1992 - Gold Medal Game: Cuba v Chinese Taipei
- 21/7 Atlanta 1996 - Opening Round: Italy v Korea
- 01/8 Atlanta 1996 - Gold Medal Game: Cuba v Japan
- 02/8 Sydney 2000 - Opening Round: Netherlands v Cuba
- 03/8 Sydney 2000 - Gold Medal Game: Cuba v USA
- 04/8 Athens 2004 - Semi-Final: Australia v Japan
- 05/8 Athens 2004 - Gold Medal Game: Cuba v Australia
- 06/8 Beijing 2008 - Opening Round: Korea v China
- 07/8 Beijing 2008 - Semi-Fina: Cuba v USA
- 08/8 Beijing 2008 - Gold Medal Game: Korea v Cuba
The OLYMPIC Rewind-Softball series features past games from the 1996, 2000, 2004 and 2008 Games.