When hometown teams stopped having farm teams, and started trading players like shuffling cards, I lost all interest in professional sports.
My last favorite player was Willie Stargill. He ducked away from a wild pitch, which was then called a strike after the ball struck his bat going by.
The look on his face was just — priceless.
I used to really like the Pittsburgh Pirates as a kid... They were known for awhile as “The Lumber Company” back then... Stargell was a member, along with Clemente and Hebner and a couple of others... Manny Sanguillen was a member and my favorite catcher at the time (he had this really low, unorthodox stance behind the plate, one leg splayed out on the ground)...