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.

Playoffs were then held, with the four highest ranked teams advancing.

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.