Catching Up With IBAF President Harvey Schiller
Former USOC Secretary General Harvey Schiller was elected president of the International Baseball Federation last year, making this his first Olympics since taking over the international federation. Baseball kicks off what could be its final Olympics Wednesday in Beijing. The sport was eliminated from the 2012 Olympic program in 2005. Schiller sat down with SportsBusiness Journal staff writer Tripp Mickle to talk about the state of baseball and its future in the Olympics.
Where did you just come from?
Schiller: I came from a meeting with all the teams. We passed a new game-ending rule. Wait until after the 10th inning and then you put a man on first and second base. You can start the roster anywhere you want. You can start with the fifth man, first man, third man, any man. It’s up to you. You decide in the lineup which people go on base. Then it’s the normal lineup after that. It’s going to be real fun.
How do you think American fans will react to that?
Schiller: I think they’ll react very positively. We’re doing it for a lot of reasons. We have four games a day here. The logistics — you can’t have a game go four or five hours without it affecting the other games.
What impresses you the most about Beijing so far?
Schiller: The way they’ve changed the city. From housing to construction to roads to flowers, they’ve completely transformed it. They even changed the price of laundry. I found an old slip in my room and it was 50 percent lower than what they charge me this week.
How is the organization of the Games from your perspective?
Schiller: For our venue and baseball, we’re very pleased. Things are very well organized. It wasn’t just because the test event last year, but also the Padres-Dodgers game this year. They got very accustomed to dealing with important guests and athletes. I’ve also found the organizing committee to be much more flexible than 12 months ago.
Why is that?
Schiller: It’s part of getting the job done. One of their transportation requirements was that you had to give them six hours notice in order to be taken somewhere. Well, what happens if something changes in that six hours. They didn’t know. They’ve changed it. Now, you can let them know about things within that (six-hour) window.
What surprises you the most about these Games so far?
Schiller: The air quality has not been an issue in spite of pre-event concerns. I’ve always said the success of Games have to do with three things. First, field of play because that’s where it happens and that’s going well. Second, security, and with the exception of the tragic, random accident over the weekend, they’re doing a tremendous job with that. Third is how well organizers deal with media because they tell the story.
How would you describe the state of baseball in the Olympics today?
Schiller: We’re anxious. Our competition starts tomorrow and we’re ready to play ball. A year from now we come back to the schedule for a potential vote into 2016. We’ve been working with Rio, Tokyo, Madrid and Chicago about having plans for baseball. They all currently have plans for it. We have to work with all four cities, so we’re very encouraged by that.
What are you doing about winning enough votes to get back into the Games?
Schiller: Obviously, part of my responsibility is to tell the story of baseball to IOC members. We’re here to let them know that we’re trying to bring baseball to help the Olympic movement. Some sports need the Olympics to grow. We don’t, but we think we can help the Olympics grow. Baseball’s now played in every country in the world. We’re doing a lot of things with new media. I believe we can help the movement.
Will coming back be contingent on MLB players participating?
Schiller: I don’t know whether you can say that. We have two MLB players on the squad now. Brandon Knight pitched for the Mets 10 days ago. We’ve had those players. What we’re hoping for is for at least the finals games that we’re open about who can be available and not.
Is the World Baseball Classic an inhibitor at all?
Schiller: No. The World Baseball Classic is doing a few things. We’re starting out internationally. The first rounds are Tokyo, San Juan, Mexico City and Toronto. It shows the strength of the game in terms of media and new media. And it shows the effort to do (performance-enhancing drug) testing. We’ve increased the testing by four or five fold around the world. By doing that, we’re going to catch the positives because you’re increasing the number of people tested. We don’t want to have positives, but the odds are you’re going to find something when you start testing more people.
What’s the legacy of these Games?
Schiller: Several fold. For China, it’s obviously a chance for the world to take an introspective look at their culture. For the Chinese, it’s a chance to look at the rest of the world and how they react to their culture. There are things they’ve taken for granted like Internet access restrictions that they would never have noticed. It probably has a greater effect on the Chinese than the rest of the world.
