Became a baseball fan in Oct 1975 (6th grade) and started to follow the Os the next season. I often listened to a staticky transistor radio after my parents put me to bed. I was hooked on baseball and stats then and really wore out the 1976 baseball preview book I bought with my tobacco earnings. All of the seasons leading to 1983 were great fun though most ended in frustration. For 1983, I was 19 and drove to Memorial Stadium with my younger brother and younger sister to catch a game in July. That was quite an experience for me. Remember the struggle to find a third baseman (after DeCinces signed with the Angels previously and Cal moved to shortstop) but Todd Cruz seemed to work. Really appreciated Joe Nolan's and Jim Dwyer's pinch hitting abilities. There seemed to be more games on TV in September and all of the post season than earlier in the season. In the end, I couldn't believe they won it and expected more opportunitiesin the future.