I'm with you on the nostalgia thing. Also love listening to the Dodgers on the radio when they were blacked out of tv coverage. And I too played baseball through high school and even American Legion ball. There is a lot of nuances in baseball that's not reflected on tv. The movement of the players in the field depending on the batter and even the pitch count. It's closer to chess than either football or basketball. It's more data driven; the lineup; what will the other manager do if I do this, etc.
Sometimes driving around I'll spot a game and stop the car and try and sit in the stands for an inning or two just to hear the pop of the glove, the sound of the bat striking the ball, the chatter, etc.
I'm sure you have plenty of company on the parity thing. But I grew up in the 50s when there were limited teams and because of that the good guys and bad guys were always easy to figure out. Never a Yankee fan but there was something magical about them winning it all over and over again.
I also recall riding my bike to south central L.A. to watch the L.A.Angels of the Pacific Coast League play teams like the Hollywood Stars, San Diego Padres, Portland Beavers, San Francisco Seals, etc. This was, of course, prior to any major league teams moving to the west coast. During those years the Angels were a farm club owned by the Chicago Cub organization and they played at Wrigley Field in south central L.A-which was a miniature version of the Chicago Wrigley field-Ivy and all.
