Baseball at the 1996 Summer Olympics
Baseball had its second appearance as an official medal sport at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, United States, with games played at Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium. Eight nations competed, with the preliminary phase consisting of each team playing every other team. Playoffs were then held, with the four highest ranked teams advancing. For the semifinals, the 1st place team played the 4th place team and the 2nd place team played against the 3rd place team. The winners of those semifinals competed against each other for the gold medal, with the loser getting the  silver medal. The teams defeated in the semifinal played a match for the bronze medal. Baseball was an event open only to amateurs for the second and last time. Meanwhile, Cuba used its best players as they were amateurs in name only, with all necessary funding coming from the state.