Russell Esslinger

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For 40 years, Triple-A baseball has brought players, coaches, scouts and fans to Tucson for America's pastime.

The final Tucson Sidewinders season ends Monday before the team is expected to move to Reno, Nev. An era will come to a close.

Many fondly remember the 2006 season, when the Sidewinders captured the Pacific Coast League and Triple-A championships. Some recalled the small crowds and poor appearance of the field at Tucson Electric Park. These are the memories of some impacted by Tucson Triple-A baseball.

Fan Russell Esslinger

The 52-year-old was a Tucson Toros batboy and ran errands around Hi Corbett Field for five years starting in 1969. He fetched towels and hot dogs for players and coaches, worked the ticket office and parking lot, and was paid $3.75 a game. He will throw out the first pitch at the final Sidewinders game.

• Favorite memory: In 1970, Hawaii was in town to play the Toros. The other batboy didn't show, so Esslinger, then 14, worked both dugouts. After the game, manager Chuck Tanner summoned Esslinger to his office, complimented his work and handed him an envelope. Esslinger found $100 inside.

• What he'll miss most: "Being out at this ballpark. It's not the same during spring training during the daytime as it is on a summer evening after it cools off a little bit. That was always special, watching the games under the lights."

• Reaction to the move: "I was upset. I still am. We've got to have some summer baseball here, somehow, some way."

Pitching coach Mike Parrott

Parrott has served as the Sidewinders' pitching coach for seven seasons. He has also owned a home in Tucson.

• Favorite memory: Parrott called the 2006 season likely the best of his career. "For the majority of the years, we've always been a very competitive team."

• What he'll miss: Parrott developed friendships with fans and appreciated the booster club's generosity. "Wherever I end up going, I don't think there will be a booster club that's any better or more supportive."

• Why it didn't work: "Unless it's a fireworks night or a Thirsty Thursday, there's not a whole lot of energy, a baseball kind of atmosphere in this ballpark." He is also a critic of the field, which has sported bare patches and an uneven infield. He labels it the worst in the league. "It looks like something you'd see in a goat pasture." (Deputy County Administrator Hank Atha said the condition is a perennial problem caused by different variables, including heat. The grass is re-seeded at the end of each summer.)

General manager Rick Parr

Parr became the GM in 2002 after serving as president of the Double-A El Paso team.

• Favorite memory: He was snapping photos during the Sidewinders' Triple-A championship game in 2006 while Mike Koplove pitched the final inning. "I remember zooming in on his face. Koplove was so intent on getting an out that I knew he would do it."

• Why it didn't work: "In many ways Tucson is very lethargic to the sports industry. We spiked a lot in attendance. Opening night we'd have 12,000. Next night we might have 2,500. Another night we might have 6,000."

• What's next: Parr will be the GM of the Reno team. "I think it's on track," he said of the town's stadium construction. "I was amazed at how much progress has been made, and on a weekly basis how much more will be made. Right now they're pouring concrete for dugouts."

Instructor Bob Cluck

Cluck, minor-league pitching consultant for the San Diego Padres, has visited Tucson for spring training and minor-league games for nearly 30 years. He recently stopped by TEP to evaluate the Padres' Triple-A team, Portland.

• Favorite memory: When Cluck was the Las Vegas manager in 1984 and 1985, his club played the Toros at Hi Corbett in a high-scoring division. "It was tough keeping the pitchers sane. A 5.50 ERA was terrific. Guys would get called to the big leagues with those ERAs." He considers TEP more of a fair venue for judging pitchers. "When your job is evaluating pitchers, you try to go to legitimate ballparks, and this one is."

• Reaction to the team's departure: "It is sad anytime a town loses their club, especially when it's been 40 years."

Catcher Robby Hammock

Hammock has played parts of the last six seasons with Tucson and hit .290 with 20 home runs during the 2006 title season.

• What he'll never forget: Hammock was not fond of the TEP surface or early flights and numerous layovers that led to long travel days. "The field's in terrible shape now. That's the worst surface I ever played on."

• Favorite memory: Winning the PCL and Triple-A titles in 2006. "Being a part of that team was the most fun I ever had while in a baseball uniform.

"Besides the team, it was good for me because I had come off an injury in '05 and didn't play in '05. To be with that team in '06 and have the success with the (offensive) numbers, it was a real big year for me. Not to mention winning it all, being a part of that team, that camaraderie, playing with all the special players we had, it was tremendous."