As my SN alludes to, Bob Forsch was, and is, my hero. He and Darrell Porter.
Neither one of them flashy, they just showed up on game day and did their jobs. Of course, being a Porter fan was a little like being Charlie Brown cheering on Joe Schlabotnik some days. He could play a great catcher but his bat wasn't always there. Anybody could like Ozzie and Willie, it took guts to be a Porter fan.

Walt Whitman said or at least is quoted as saying, "I see great things in base-ball...It will take our people out-of-doors, fill them with oxygen, give them a larger physical stoicism, tend to relieve us from being a nervous dyspeptic set, repair those losses and be a blessing to us.". He has also been quoted, "I see great things in baseball... It is our game, the American game. I connect it with our national character.". I would say that the ole boy had it just about right. Those that say that it isn't our national pastime anymore don't know what they are talking about. If baseball isn't, then what is?

I am also a fan of the Southern Illinois Miners. I love watching the young kids that play for peanuts. Three hots and a cot basically, just to have a shot at getting picked up by a big club and maybe a shot at the bigs. And the fact that it costs a quarter of what it would to see a MLB game ain't bad either.