"At the IOC meeting on July 7, 2005, baseball and softball were voted out of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, England, becoming the first sport voted out of the Olympics since polo was eliminated from the 1936 Olympics.[1] The elimination excised 16 teams and more than 300 athletes from the 2012 Olympics."
"July 8 2005 was a dark day for two Olympic sports – as baseball and softball were voted out of the Games from 2012. The International Baseball Federation would be forced to reapply in order to get back into the Games at the IOC assembly in Copenhagen in October 2009 - a huge blow for proponents of both sports in countries where they tend to fly under the radar. It was especially painful for the British Baseball Federation; two days earlier we had learnt that London, not Paris, would follow Beijing as an Olympic host city, meaning that GB would've had an automatic place in both baseball and softball for the first time, likely leading to increased funding and a spike in popularity. Instead the golden springboard was swiped from under their feet."
Two articles that sum things up for me. Those of us who are involved in grass roots baseball in the UK & care passionately about the game were betrayed. IOC & BOC were only too happy to see our game dropped. We haven't forgotten or forgiven. . From an unapologetically bitter Englishman, Brit & Londoner, the London Olympics 2012 means nothing to me.
Go Dodgers!