Before we went to school to learn to read and count, we kids had already learned two important values in our family -- a belief in Catholicism and a love of the Brooklyn Dodgers.

That's why it made sense to go with a few friends to St. Patrick's Catholic Church in Port Henry last month for the funeral of Johnny Podres. More than 50 years ago, he was the hero of the Dodger team that finally beat the New York Yankees in the World Series.

The coffin holding the pitcher was to the right as you entered the church. To the left was memorabilia from his baseball career as a player and a pitching coach -- team jerseys from the Dodgers and the Philadelphia Phillies.

Old sports magazines with Podres on the cover were also displayed, as was his high-school yearbook.

After the Mass, an owner of the Phillies spoke, as well as former Dodger manager Tommy Lasorda. Lasorda and Podres had been teammates in Montreal when they were both starting out. Lasorda knows how to tell a story, and he had anecdotes about Podres from Montreal to Coney Island and Ebbets Field.

He spoke of Podres taking care of his family when his father died while Podres was still in the minor leagues.

He talked about how he and Podres won a pile of stuffed animals at Coney Island and sold them to other major leaguers.

You could hear his affection for his teammate in those stories.

But I thought Town of Moriah Supervisor Tom Scozzafava captured best why the church was filled that January day. He was a teenager when he first met Podres, and the first words Podres ever said to him were, "Get a haircut."

Scozzafava's eulogy was a reminiscence about a neighbor who had traveled the world but always came home. It was about a guy who had beaten the Yankees, been on the cover of Sports Illustrated and still fished at Lincoln Pond and Bulwagga Bay.

It was about a guy who had played in the major leagues, but, just like the rest of us, complained about his property assessment.

It was about a guy who, as his health deteriorated, told Scozzafava that it's not so bad "as long as I have Joni," his wife of 40-plus years.

Sitting in St. Patrick's Church, hearing of the quality, the humanness, of baseball hero Johnny Podres, it was impossible to not compare baseball today.

In Washington, D.C., they're talking about players using steroids so they can run faster, throw harder and hit the ball farther.

Home-run hitter Mark McGwire's upper body made him look like a mushroom holding a bat.