You know I love baseball guys.

And Ben McClure was a true baseball guy.

McClure, a 1957 Butler graduate, recently died at the age of 84. His memorial service is taking place this weekend in Hummelstown.

While I don’t pretend to have known the man well, McClure was the subject of a few of my articles over the years and he always had time to talk baseball with anybody.

He knew of all the standout ballplayers to come out of Butler for decades, from the 1950’s on up. He turned out to be a tremendous high school baseball coach, leading Lower Dauphin to seven league championships between 1966 and 1979.

McClure’s won-loss record there was a stellar 167-66.

As successful as he was there, McClure put together a solid career as a major league scout. He did so for 44 years and was part of three World Series championship organizations, one with the St. Louis Cardinals, two with the Toronto Blue Jays.

He also scouted for the Montreal Expos, San Diego Padres, Kansas City Royals and Milwaukee Brewers.

Two things are required to scout baseball for as long as he did. You have to know the game and you have to love the game.

He had both bases covered, pardon the pun.

And he was good at what he did.

McClure was inducted into five Halls of Fame, including the Butler County Sports Hall of Fame. He was once named Scout of the Year by the Middle Atlantic Baseball Scouts Association. The San Diego Padres accorded him a similar honor.

He used to tell me stories about the many miles he put on his car, traveling to different states to check this player out or that player out, check out his hitting ability, how hard he threw, how fast he ran, etc.

Football has the NFL Combine and various Pro Days established by colleges to cover that sort of thing.

If you’re a baseball scout, you’re getting to as many games as you can, compiling reports on as many potential prospects as you can.

Being a scout for a major league team meant putting in a lot of tedious hours and all of that travel.

Late in his career, McClure confessed that he was growing weary while living up to such demands and expectations.

Earlier in his career, he thrived on it.

When you’re a baseball fan doing baseball work, it’s easy to understand why he would.

Few people I’ve ever talked sports with was as excited as Ben McClure was when the conversation was about baseball.

The world of professional baseball has lost a dedicated servant, that’s for certain.

Rest in peace, Ben.

There is little doubt he’s still keeping tabs on the game he loved.

John Enrietto is sports editor of the Butler Eagle