Provide the setting and they will come...

Provide the setting and they will come.

In my previous post I focused on two 60-something ball players from Tucson -- Mike Morales and yours truly, Danny Price,who, along with 16 other old timers, are on the roster of the Tucson Golden Aces (65-and-over division).

Like the other 300-plus teams that are participating this month in the Men's Senior Baseball League (MSBL) World Series, the Aces not only have players from Tucson, but from New York, Virginia, Florida and Texas. The MSBL has been around for a long, long time and the organization continues to provide the setting for senior ball players from all over the country who converge on Phoenix for a few weeks and play the game they love: baseball.

Every player has a background in the sport of baseball. They come from small towns. They come from the big cities, like New York, Boston and Chicago. They come from Canada and St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands. They battle all the aches and pains that come with the territory. Shoulder problems, hamstrings, knee ailments, you name it, they probably have it, or have battled one annoying injury, or another, en route to this year's senior World Series.

 Every player has a story to tell, or, they are a story in themselves. Take for instance, the Aces' oldest player, 85-year-old Floyd Lance of Tucson, who balked at the idea of having someone run for him in the Aces' 23-15 victory over New England yesterday. The players come with pride, with spirit, and the will to play the game...until they can't play it anymore.

Lance, once said: "I'll die on the ball field." Some people say that baseball is no longer America's favorite pastime. Come to the MSBL World Series, and you'll find the sport is alive...and well.