I started following baseball before kindergarten.

No kidding.

RIP, Roberto Clemente.

So when I consider exhibits from the Hall of Fame and Museum that cover my lifetime, yes, I must include the striking photograph of great Pittsburgh Pirate and humanitarian Roberto Clemente.

We miss him.

He had 3,000 hits, sure. Of greater importance, the native of San Juan, Puerto Rico, died in a plane crash on New Year’s Eve in 1972 while delivering relief supplies to earthquake-ravaged Nicaragua. He was only 38. I bowed to his photo and plaque.

Hammerin’ Hank.

I smiled widely at the exhibit for Hank Aaron, the man who broke Babe Ruth’s home run record.

Henry Aaron to me.

A replica of the great hitter’s locker allowed me to hang my jacket and pose for a photo taken by my dear wife Karen. I thought of the night I watched on TV as he circled the bases after his record-breaking homer, met by several fans between second and third base. Mostly silly then, but still … Now something like that would be much scarier.

Baseball has had its range of moments during my 59 years.

Tne Chicken, from San Diego.

The San Diego Chicken made mascots extremely colorful.

Peace, please.

A labor war brought the game to a halt.

Will Sammy and Mark ever get in the big hall?

Performance enhancing drugs, with denials, positive tests, tears and punishment, made and asterisk out of the record book and a mess out of many reputations.

You can vote for or against Pete Rose.

He’s really in Cooperstown.

Pete Rose’s betting expose placed him in the role of pariah.

Syracuse’s papa squad.

And still this game played with 90 feet between the bases and 60 feet, 6 inches from the pitching rubber to home plate gets my full attention this time every year.

Tomorrow: My New York Mets are everywhere in the Hall

What is your most memorable moment of baseball in your lifetime, and why? Which is your favorite photo, and why?