against this.) Others saw the move as an anti-American slap delivered by the Europeans on the IOC. Women's softball was particularly hit hard by this ruling, as there are few other venues where female softball players have a chance to show their talents in front of such a large audience. Baseball was open only to male amateurs in 1992 and 1996. As a result, the Americans and other nations where professional baseball is developed relied on collegiate players, while Cubans used their most experienced veterans, who technically were considered amateurs, as while they nominally held other jobs, they in fact trained full-time. In 2000, pros were admitted, but the MLB refused to release its players in 2000, 2004, and 2008, and the situation changed only a little: the Cubans still used their best players, while the Americans started using minor leaguers. The IOC cited the absence of the best players as the main reason for baseball being dropped from the Olympic program. Barcelona 1992 This time, the strong Cuban team was present and it won all of its games, beating the US in the semi-finals 4–1, and routing Taiwan in the final 11–1. The United States was upset by Japan in the bronze medal match, losing 8–3. Final ranking: Cuba Chinese Taipei (Taiwan) Japan United States Puerto Rico Dominican Republic Italy Spain Atlanta 1996 In 1996, in Atlanta, Cubans won their semi-final match against Nicaragua, while the United States once again stumbled over Japan and lost 11–2. In the final, Cuba retained its Olympic unbeaten status, winning the gold 13–9, while USA beat Nicaragua 10–3 for the bronze medal. Final ranking: Cuba Japan United States Nicaragua Netherlands Italy Australia South Korea Sydney 2000 For the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, professional players were allowed for the first time, although no Major Leaguers played for the US. Once again, Cuba was the hot favourite, but they were shocked in the round-robin phase by the Netherlands, who beat them 4–2 but failed to make the semi-finals. In the semi-finals, the United States narrowly beat South Korea, while Cuba edged Japan 3–0 for a third straight Olympic final. In that final, the United States upset the Cubans, beating them 4–0. Final ranking: United States Cuba South Korea Japan Netherlands Italy Australia South Africa Athens 2004 The United States baseball team did not participate after losing a qualifying game to Mexico. A number