Cast of Characters

The baseball card of a former
manager of mine who now is the current
3rd base coach for the Twins. Notice the
team "comedian" between his legs.

Probably the best thing about playing baseball is the relationships you build with other people.  When players retire from the game, they often say that what they miss the most is the camaraderie of being on a team.  As you move up in levels, that camaraderie tends to increase in many ways.  In pro ball, spending countless hours in hotels, buses, and small towns with 25 guys can be quite an experience.  On every single professional baseball team you will have one or more of the following:

1. A gambler
2. A heavy drinker
3. A Bible guy
4. A womanizer
5. A complainer
6. A comedian
7. A hot head
8. A laugher
9. A criminal
10. A hell raiser
11. A genius, and...
12. An idiot

Interacting closely with all of them over the course of an entire season creates some very memorable moments many of which should never make it to print.
If you are a player at any level, your stats and championships will fade as time goes by.  The memories of your teammates, however, will last forever.  That's where the true gold lies.