Bryce Harper gets a wish granted on his birthday: Baseball added to the 2028 Olympics

Bryce Harper has long advocated for baseball to be readmitted as an Olympic sport.

His wish came true — on his birthday, no less.

Baseball was added to the program for the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles, the International Olympic Committee announced Monday. Harper, who turned 31, got the news in a morning text message from his wife.

”She said, ‘Hey, I guess [it’s] one of your birthday wishes forever — got the Olympics back in 2028,’” Harper said.

The question now is whether MLB players will be allowed to play, a scenario that would involve suspending the 2028 season for two weeks. The NHL has made similar concessions to enable its players to compete in the Olympics.

Harper was among the first players to commit to playing for Team USA at the World Baseball Classic in March. He had to withdraw from the tournament because he was returning from an elbow ligament reconstruction.

The 2028 Olympics are scheduled for July 14-30.

» READ MORE: How does Bryce Harper thrive under playoff pressure? He’s lived with it since he was 16.

”I will be old at that point, so I don’t know if they’re going to want me to be on the team,” said Harper, who will be 35. “But it’s always a dream. I think it’s everybody’s dream to be in the Olympics, especially it coming here [in the United States]. I would hope that Major League Baseball … you talk about growing the game, and that’s the way you grow it at the highest peak. You let guys that are playing in the league take that break just like in the NHL and see what happens.

“It would be really cool. I think it would be a lot of fun. I don’t know if they’ll ever go for it, but I would love to put ‘USA’ on my chest and represent it at the highest level. I know the WBC, everybody loves that, and it’s great for the game, but it’s not the Olympics.”