I can’t be the only person, who while watching broadcasts, will mentally (and sometimes audibly) announce “former Tiger!” when an old friend pops up in an opposing team’s lineup.
The thing about following baseball for years and years, 162 games a season, for much of your adult life, is that you get to know the players pretty well. You observe their personalities on the field and in the dugout. You see them in interviews. You experience their highs and lows alongside them as each season progresses.
So it can be hard (and not unlike a breakup) when players get traded or leave to free agency.