Baseball - Harvey Schiller To Work On Getting Baseb

Harvey Schiller just got elected as the president of the International Baseball Federation. He defeated Reynaldo Gonzalez of Cuba by 58 votes to 29. This election had taken place after Aldo Notari of Italy passed away and the unfinished term of the president had to be filled.

Schiller is a former executive director of the US Olympic Committee and head of Turner Sports and YankeeNets. His main task after being elected president would be to ensure that baseball and softball return to the Olympics. After 2008 Beijing Games, baseball and soft will be dropped from the Olympics, and International Baseball Federation is hoping that they can convince the International Olympic Committee to put the games back for the 2016 Olympic games.

After getting elected, Schiller said that the International Baseball Federation has to ensure that baseball and softball events at the Beijing Olympics are a success so that IOC would be convinced not to drop the events. Major League Baseball just allows minor league players to play at the Olympics and IOC officials have complained that because of this policy best players from baseball do not come for the games because they are all playing in the Major League.

Schiller hopes to be able to send a few good players for the Beijing Olympics because International Baseball Federation does realize that it is not possible to send entire teams.

The other thing that IOC officials want the International Baseball Federation and MLB to concentrate on is introducing more stringent rules against steroids and performance enhancing drugs. Schiller said that he would working along with MLB to ensure that the players are selected for Olympics would comply with the WADA rules.