Some players made a mark in MLB with their sheer stats and dominance. Then there are a few like Al Closter who may not have the numbers to envy, but still hold importance for the game. Closter played only 21 games in MLB across the New York Yankees, Cleveland Indians, and Atlanta Braves. But even before he entered MLB, Closter paved the stone for Olympic recognition of baseball.

Baseball finally entered the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, but the credit goes to Closter’s contribution in the sixties. As Closter passed away at 84, the MLB remembers one of its most underrated contributors.

“Former Yankees pitcher, collegiate standout and Olympic baseball pioneer Al Closter has died at the age of 84,” Forbes.com quoted Baseball Almanac.

Born Alan Edward Closter in Creighton, Nebraska, on June 15, 1943, he was a standout left-hander at Iowa State University. Before that, he declined a two-sport offer at his local school, Creighton University. While playing with the Iowa University, Closter was drafted by the Indians in 1965, activating Rule 5. Next year, he went to the Washington Senators. But only after playing a single game as a pitcher against the Baltimore Orioles, where he pitched 1⁄3 of an inning, did the Yankees buy him in 1966.

However, in between, Closter has done something that most of the MLB players would have dreamt of during his era.

In 1964, Closter won a gold medal with Team USA in the Tokyo Summer Olympics, where baseball was featured as a demonstration sport. While the game was included as a non-medal sport, it was still a huge feat back then, taking the sport beyond American shores. In the 1964 Olympics, Closter was one of the seven pitchers for the Team USA and played against Japan.

Even after the Olympics, Closter led his Team USA in several exhibition games across Japan and South Korea. The same countries that went on to become baseball hotbeds in the later stages. So, just when MLB is getting popularized across different Asian and Latin American regions, Closter gets credited for putting up the foundations.

“Amateur baseball players from the United States and Japan put on a demonstration of their game … In hopes that it will be one day accepted as an Olympic sport,” the Associated Press reported back then.

It was only later in 1992 that baseball was finally listed as an official sport in the Olympics. The upcoming LA Olympics 2028 would also feature baseball, and it’s one more reason to celebrate Al Closter.

Closter recorded a 6.62 ERA from his career 21 games in MLB. This includes only 16 games across two seasons with the Yankees.

He shouldn’t be evaluated based on his on-field numbers, but on what he has done for the game. As he passed away on June 11, 2026, in Morattico, Virginia, MLB remembers one of the pioneers in putting baseball on the global map.

There are a few more names who get credited for globalizing baseball.

Al Closter got a few others to popularize baseball

Former MLB commissioner Bud Selig was one of the pioneers in globalizing baseball. He co-created the World Baseball Classic in 2006. This tournament allowed MLB stars to represent their home countries, sparking worldwide interest in the sport. Also, under his leadership, MLB expanded its international presence by hosting regular-season and exhibition games in countries like Mexico, Japan, Puerto Rico, and Australia.

Even before Closter, Babe Ruth, and Lou Gehrig’s Japan tour in 1934, sparked baseball popularity in the Asian region. It was later amplified after Hideo Nomo and Ichiro Suzuki entered MLB. Negro League teams were also among the first to globalize baseball by playing winter series in Cuba as early as 1900.

However, it was first with Closter that baseball was thought to get into the Olympics. As Shohei Ohtani and Hyeseong Kim dominate in MLB, Closter dreamt about it decades ago.