No, silly, not that Fay, but Fay Vincent. Vincent was baseball's best ever commissioner (which, given those who preceded and followed him is not saying a whole lot). He took over when Bart Giamatti died suddenly in 1989 and held the post until 1992. During that time Vincent always struck me as (a) a sensible man and (b) a fan of the game, not an owners' lackey.
In today's NY Times, Vincent has a column about the IOC's decision to drop baseball and softball. Sure, I'm disappointed by the decision, but I hardly think it's a big issue for baseball. Vincent seems to think this is a big blow, but the only real losers are those less able minor leaguers (& the Cubans) for whom an Olympic tournament is the pinnacle of their career. Sure baseball fans like Olympic baseball, but we can survive with the 162 games of our favorite MLB team (not to mention the post-season, minor league and college baseball that can fill up even the most ardent baseball fan's schedule).
It's a bigger blow for the Olympics than it is for the sport of baseball. I'm sure the value of the television rights decreased with the loss of baseball and softball. {It's definitely a big blow to the women who play softball.}
Vincent wants to see a "Dream Team" in an international tournament. Leaving aside for the moment that the All Star Game tonight will feature a load of great players from outside the US, I think Vincent will find that the World Baseball Classic has the potential to be the big-time, major league, international tournament that he wants, if Major League Baseball makes the effort.
Soccer at the Olympics is not as good as the World Cup and nobody seems to believe that the game of soccer is suffering due to its failure to field the best players at the Olympics. Baseball can build something similar with the WBC and forget about the Olympics.
