Boys at Udall Update: Carl Brutovsky,74, has been battling heart problems for years. Brutovsky, an outfielder for the Tucson Old Timers (TOTS) baseball club, is in his 11th year with the club and his problems with his "old ticker" has forced him to change his approach to the game. Now saddled with a pacemaker just below the left shoulder, Carl (pictured in photo at the top of this story) has pulled a switch and is batting left handed in order to protect the added instrument in his body. "I also wear a chest protector just in case, it makes me feel a little safer," says Brutovsky, who can still scamper around the bases and is one of the hardest players to double up. He's still that fast.
As for Art Radtke,72, he's the latest on the club to join the "zipper club" and his cardiologist makes sure he has enough stents in his body to keep him on the ball field. Radtke, had a heart attack last spring and is already back in action. In fact, Art was my battery mate just a week ago -- he caught the entire game and if I remember correctly added a couple hits to the cause, offensively. Radtke joined the TOTS in 2003 and has no intention of backing away from the game because of heart problems. "I love the game too much to quit. I take my medicine and the doc gave me the OK to play."
As for the third member of the current "ticker club", well, that's yours truly. My goodness, it's been two years and eight months since my quadruple bypass in January of 2008. The heart attack kept me off the ball field for four months. Four very, very long months! A few months for rehab, a little extra batting practice, and presto, I was back in action. If there's a moral to this story, or if there are some ball players out there who are just turning sixty and in a similar situation, I guess it's the fact that you're never to old to play baseball, no matter if you're a member of the "zipper club" or not.
Stay active...get out there. Stay in shape, take your medicine, eat right and...play ball!
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