I think you are overestimating the US’s Olympic baseball prowess and underestimating other baseball playing countries (Japan, Cuba, Canada, Dominican Republic, South Korea, Taiwan). In the six previous games with Baseball, the US only has a single gold medal and didn’t even qualify one year.
It wasn’t great for TV since it was rainy, spread out, and the French aren’t exactly known for the massive spectacle. While the opening ceremony itself probably won’t rank highly for TV viewers, they did an absolutely brilliant job at the aesthetics of the actual Olympics.