John Shea on Olympic baseball, softball

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Helmets, body parts, dust, emotions. They were all over the place when the American baserunner collided with the Chinese catcher in the Beijing Olympics.

"Yeah, I'm asked to sign that picture. A lot," Nate Schierholtz said.

Four years ago, the Giants' right fielder was Team USA's right fielder, and Schierholtz fondly looks back on his Olympic moments as "one of the best baseball experiences in my life."

It was more than just a baseball experience.

"Just putting on a USA jersey meant so much for me," he said. "I felt so much pride in my country. All the freedoms we have here to make it such a great country. We had so much incentive to win, going against every other country on a stage like that. It's really indescribable."

It's all gone now. Baseball's no longer an Olympic sport, dumped by the IOC in part because the premium players (including major-leaguers) weren't included. Then a prospect, Schierholtz played in the final baseball Games, helping the U.S. win a bronze and finish behind South Korea and Cuba.

No shame in that. It's not just America's Pastime.

Nate Schierholtz (R) of the US barrells into Chinese catcher Yang Yang (L) to score off a hit by Terry Tiffee in their men's preliminary round baseball game at the Wukesong Baseball Venue during the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games on August 18, 2008. The US won 9-1. less Nate Schierholtz (R) of the US barrells into Chinese catcher Yang Yang (L) to score off a hit by Terry Tiffee in their men's preliminary round baseball game at the Wukesong Baseball Venue during the 2008 ... more Photo: Frederic J. Brown, AFP / Getty Images Photo: Frederic J. Brown, AFP / Getty Images Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close John Shea on Olympic baseball, softball 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

The shame is that the London Olympics will be without baseball after it was part of seven consecutive Olympics (the last five as a medal sport). Softball was dumped, too. They were replaced by golf and rugby sevens, and that'll be the case in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro.

After the IOC voted out the two sports, IOC president Jacques Rogge suggested baseball needed to have its best players to be an Olympic sport, which was nonsense and a copout.

Basketball was played for decades before the Dream Team arrived in 1992, the first American Olympic team with active NBA players. For the most part, Olympic soccer is limited to players younger than 23, assuring much of the world's best talent will be missing.

NBA Commissioner David Stern proposed something similar for basketball, and if that rule were in effect in '92, the Dream Team would have been led by Christian Laettner.

What's wrong with sending a team of top minor-leaguers to the Olympics?

"Nothing," Schierholtz said. "A major-league All-Star team, in a sense, might not be fair to other countries. I actually liked the way it was set up."

There's a push for baseball and softball to return in 2020, and Riccardo Fraccari, president of the International Baseball Federation, told The Chronicle on Tuesday he's optimistic and would consider proposing a shorter tournament (less than a week) - "then we can discuss this proposition, including for MLB."

It wouldn't be easy. The Olympics fall in the second half of the Major League Baseball regular season, and general managers and owners wouldn't be hip to one or two of their players bolting to another continent in the heat of a pennant race.

"We're very supportive of baseball in the Olympics and will continue to work closely with the IBAF in the quest to return it to the Olympics, which is good for the development of the sport," said Paul Archey, MLB's senior vice president of international business operations.

But including big-leaguers is "problematic," Archey said. It's unlike sending NBA players to the Olympics because hoops season is in the winter. Fraccari, saying he's open to big-leaguers participating only in the semifinals and finals - which would be a drag for the players who got their teams that far - hopes to meet with MLB representatives after the London Olympics.

Fraccari has already received commitments from other pro baseball leagues, including Japan.

For now, MLB commits its big-leaguers only to the World Baseball Classic, which is Commissioner Bud Selig's answer to the Olympics. The WBC will return for its third go-round in the spring.

"That's not quite on the Olympic level," Schierholtz said. "It's totally different. Being an Olympian and playing in the Olympics, there's nothing like it. From living in the village to competing in the Games, it's an experience I'll cherish forever."

In a bid to return in 2020, Fraccari and Don Porter, the International Softball Federation president, are close to merging into a single federation to further help their bids to return to the Olympics. The sports previously lost separate bids to win reinstatement for 2012 and 2016.

Tuesday, the IOC gave a thumbs-up to the merger plan, which still needs approval from each federation's congress, a mere formality. The proposal for 2020 would be for both sports to play an eight-nation tournament in a single venue.

The IOC will decide in May which sport to recommend for inclusion, and a decision will be made in September 2013. Baseball and softball are competing with karate, roller sports, squash, sports climbing, wakeboard and wushu.

Yes, wushu.

"I'd love to see baseball and especially softball back in," said Schierholtz, realizing softball players don't have the same opportunity as baseball players to play pro ball. The Olympics were their major leagues.

Four years removed from his Olympic experience, including his memorable home-plate collision with Chinese catcher Yang Yang, Schierholtz is ready for the London Games to begin.

"I can't wait to watch the Olympics this year," he said. "My TiVo will be set Friday night for the Opening Ceremonies."

Problem is, baseball won't be part of his programming.