Rippin' Reed Palmer closes out the 2024 season with the top TOTS' stats in December

Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

Rippin' Reed Palmer closed out the Tucson Old Timers 2024 season as the top hitter and pitcher during the month of December.

Palmer, 68, played in just eight games but was a blistering 17 for 22 for a .773 batting average. Reed hit a homer, had four doubles, and knocked in the most runs with 17.

Palmer (photo) was a perfect 4-0 on the mound in 27 innings of work with nine strikeouts.

Other notables included David Byars with 16 hits in 32 trips to the plate, a .500 average, while Martin Pegler went 15 for 24 (.625) and led the club in runs scored with 10, and Tim Tolson went 15 for 33 (.455).

The TOTS combined 219 hits in 597 at-bats and a club batting average of .357.

Way to go, TOTS! On to 2025!

Note: The year-end stats should be out soon. 

Byars leads TOTS super seniors in November

Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

David Byars turns 77 on December 11 and, in a few weeks, will complete his ninth season with the 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers. In November, Byars led the TOTS super seniors (players over 75) with 14 hits in 34 at-bats, a .412 batting average. He also finished second in RBI with 14.

In 2017, Byars, then 68, ran into TOTS regular Danny "Pigpen" Price, 70, at a coffee shop (Dunkin' Donuts, to be exact). The conversation between the two baseball aficionados eventually led to Byars becoming a TOT.

Fast-forward to December 2024, and Byars and Price, now 79, are still teammates and swing the lumber at Udall Park every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

"I was initially reluctant at first (meeting with Price)," said Byars. "But the more I thought about playing again, the more I wanted to join the TOTS.  I'm glad I did. It's such a great organization and a great group of guys."

Byars, a star high school baseball player at Marana High School and Tucson High School in the mid-1960s, has settled in as a regular and a super senior with the TOTS. Jokingly, Byars adds, "I can't quit now. As long as Pigpen continues to play, I'll hang in there too."

Heading into the final few games of his ninth season, Byars has collected 682 hits and has knocked in close to 400 runs. 

As for the 'younger dudes' in November, Tim Tolson, 72, and Jon Beady, 63, were the top hitters. Tolson went 19 for 34 and led in RBI with 16, while Beady went 18 for 29, with one homer and a hefty .621 batting average.

Reed Palmer, 68, led the TOTS pitching staff with a 3-0 record. Mike Dawson was the workhorse on the mound for the month with 37 innings, while Randy Livingston was the strikeout king with 13 K's.

Way to go, TOTS!

Photos: Byars, now a nine-year veteran of the TOTS

 

 

A painful ending at Arizona Stadium

 Arizona Wildcats Football

A painful loss at Arizona Stadium Saturday afternoon.

Most of the 40,000 or so Wildcat fans were gone before the final seconds ticked away, leaving the Arizona State fans to celebrate their team's 49-7 win.

I felt sorry for the Arizona players, especially the many Wildcats, who didn't even suit up due to season-ending injuries that occurred weeks ago.

A 4-8 season! My goodness!

I'm so tired of hearing the word "Portal." I'm frustrated with the school's administration, the head coach, the coaching staff, and college sports in general.

It all comes down to money. Forget the following season, the season after, and the season after. This will not be a quick fix for Arizona; everyone knows it!

I'm sorry, Wildcats!

I love my Arizona Wildcats. I've supported the team and the school for over 75 years. I remember the games we won and the games we lost.

And I'll remember what happened on Saturday when the Sun Devil player stuck a pitchfork into Block A at Arizona Stadium.

Wildcats drop 2 of 3 in the Bahamas, included OT loss to West Virginia today

 Arizona Wildcats Basketball

Arizona returns home with a 3-4 record after losing 2 of 3 in the Bahamas. The Wildcats' latest loss came today in the battle for third place at the Battle 4 Atlantis against West Virginia, as the Mountaineers prevailed in overtime, 83-76.

The team's failure to haul in critical offensive rebounds down the stretch and its inability to knock down the three-point shots (7 of 21 attempts) while committing 14 turnovers to just seven for West Virginia (5-2) added to the misery and made their three-day stay on the Island not a happy one.

A lopsided win over Davidson (104-71), a loss in the semi-final to Oklahoma (82-77), and today's tough defeat at the hands of the Mountaineers left Coach Tommy Lloyd with plenty of work ahead as he prepares his Wildcats for their next game at home, at McKale,  against Southern Utah on Dec. 7.

Today, Caleb Love scored 24 points, and Trey Townsend was a force around the bucket with 19, but Tucker DeVries hit eight 3-pointers and scored 26 to lead West Virginia.

Arizona falls to Oklahoma 82-77

 Arizona Basketball

Arizona lost to Oklahoma 82-77 in the Battle 4 Atlantis semi-final on Thursday in the Bahamas. The Wildcats play West Virginia at 1 p.m. today for third place in the tournament.

Cold shooting in the first half led to Arizona's downfall. Caleb Love scored 17 points for the Wildcats but missed 11 shots from the field, and Arizona dropped to 3-3 on the season.

An awakening in the Bahamas: Arizona 104 Davidson 71

Arizona Basketball

Fun in the Bahamas

Anthony Dell'Orso had a career-high 21 points off the bench, and Caleb Love bounced back from a two-game funk with 20 points to lead the 24th-ranked Arizona Wildcats to a 104-71 win over Davidson (4-1) in the first-round game of the Battle 4 Atlantis tonight in the Bahamas.

Trey Townsend scored 17 points and added four rebounds, while Tobe Awaka was a force under the bucket with 13 points and 10 rebounds for the Wildcats (3-2). Mo Krivas was 4 for 4 from the field, finishing with 10 points and four rebounds. Despite a leg injury early on, KJ Lewis hauled in 10 boards.

Arizona shot 56.5 percent from the field, canning 39 of 69 shots and 11 of 22 three-pointers, with Dell'Orso making 5 of 7 long-range shots. Love made 3 of 7 three-pointers on 7 of 13 shooting from the field and added five rebounds and four assists.

Arizona faces Oklahoma on Thanksgiving Day at 3 p.m.

Way to go, Wildcats! 

Old-timers baseball in 2025

 What will 2025 bring to the table? Will my body hang in there and allow me to play another year of baseball? I'll start my 18th season as a Tucson Old Timers (TOTS) Baseball Club member and probably my 74th season overall. I was six years old when I first started playing organized baseball. I'll be 80 in July, but my New Year's resolution is to play smart. Less diving...less running, and, more importantly, I'll try to remember I'm an old guy. That's hard to do sometimes.

Once you take the field, step over the white line, and head for your position, we oldtimers forget about age and have one common purpose: make the play.

Yes, it is more of an adventure now. Those high-fly balls off an aluminum bat become harder and harder to camp under. Getting in front of a sizzling one-hopper becomes a 50-50 proposition. Throwing to a target more than sixty feet away seems futile at times. But there we are week after week, month after month, doing our best to make the play.

Hats off to the TOTS, the MSBL (Men's Senior Baseball League), and all the organizations that promote baseball for guys and gals in their senior years.

Let's play ball!

The photos below were taken at our home field at Udall Park. There's a happening going on there every morning on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Photo #1 of a little one (name unknown) diving across home plate at Udall. In 60 years, he'll be able to join the TOTS. The second and third photos of a great-grandchild receiving a gift after Grandpa hit a homer. Next, a TOTS baseball is hiding in the cactus. The following image of the first-ever TOTS team from 1968...and the last photo in more current times, is of Big John Mathews blasting the ball to center on a Monday morning at Udall. Mike Steele is the catcher.