From the previous Olympic Games, baseball and softball have always been considered as relatively unpopular events. Except America and Asia, the popularity of baseball and softball in other continents, especially Europe, is very limited. At the same time, more than half of the IOC members are from Europe, and most of them undoubtedly voted against it.

In addition, the complexity of baseball and softball rules directly leads to the low appreciation of the game. In the eyes of most people, the rules of baseball and softball are complicated and difficult to understand, which greatly reduces the appreciation and popularity of these two sports, which also directly affects the advertising sponsorship they can get to a great extent. Under the vicious circle, these two movements can only exist in a small range.

The level of the contestants also directly affects the status of this project in the Olympic family. However, the International Baseball Federation cannot urge the best baseball players in the world to participate in the Olympic Games. For example, Major League Baseball, which has attracted many world-class stars, made it clear that there will never be a truce during the Olympic Games, and top players from all countries are not allowed to represent their countries in Athens to participate in the Olympic Games. This "indifferent" attitude towards the Olympic Games annoyed the International Olympic Committee.