Oldest member of TOTS passes away...

On February 17, 2010, I posted an article on my Tucson Old Timers (TOTS) teammate and friend, Clarence Fieber. The article read:

Clarence Fieber is a phenomenon. He's a freak of nature. He's 89 years of age and three days a week he shows up at Udall Park in Tucson, Arizona, straps on the catching gear and plays baseball with his teammates on the Tucson Old Timers Baseball TOTS) team. On May 15, he turns 90 and he will honored by his teammates during a special game set up in his honor and chances are the local media will be on hand to film the event -- they've been there before. It's an Energizer bunny story. It's a story of longevity, on and off the field. The man keeps on ticking and keeps on playing. In January, Fieber played in seven games. He hit safely three times during the month, walked twice, and even knocked in a run. Fieber is by far the oldest player on the Tucson baseball club, which has been in existence since 1967, and when he takes the field on May 15, he will become the first 90-year-old to play for the TOTS. Fieber's teammates are always asking him how he's kept in such great shape over the years. "I've just led the good life," that's all Fieber will say about it. The fact that he is a catcher, and can start and finish a two-hour game behind the plate, is mind-boggling. Of course he does not run well, and he does get a little frustrated when he's thrown out at first base. He also takes a lot of good-natured flack from his teammates. But the jokes and jibes go only so far. How can you get on a guy, nearing 90, who is trying his best to beat out a hit? I've been playing for the TOTS for three years and I'm one of the younger players. At 64, I will have to play another 26 years before I can even think about walking in Clarence's baseball shoes. On second thought, Clarence Fieber is better than the Energizer bunny. I expect, that in 2020, we will be celebrating his 100th birthday!

Clarence Fieber, 91, passed away Saturday, May 28,2011. He will be missed and thought of often by his TOTS' teammates as our ball club laces up our baseball shoes - in the dugout - as we prepare ourselves for each and every game.

Diamondbacks go 1-2-3 in the bottom of the 8th inning

The Arizona Diamondbacks went 1-2-3 in the bottom of the eighth inning at home tonight against the Florida Marlins. The hitting-fest is over and the Diamondbacks will be happy with a 15-run, 19-hit performance against the visiting Marlins. Kelly Johnson and Justin Upton were responsible for nine of the hits, while knocking in six of the 15 runs.

Arizona's Ian Kennedy (6-1) goes after win No. 7 tomorrow and the Diamondbacks will go after their 16th win in their last 18 attempts, which would establish a franchise record for the most wins over an 18-game period.

Diamondbacks on the verge of a single-game hitting and scoring record

The Arizona Diamondbacks are treating their fans to what could be, in the next hour, a single-game, record shattering hitting and run-scoring performance.

The score after seven innings of play: Arizona 15, Florida 4. The Diamondbacks have recorded 19 hits. Two more hits in the bottom of the 8th inning would break the franchise record for hits in a single game and two more runs would establish a new record for the most runs scored in one game!

Diamondbacks on top of NL West!

I go away for five days on a mini-vacation to Colorado and what happens?

The Arizona Diamondbacks come up with six in a row and are, at this moment, two innings away (if they hold on to their commanding, 7th-inning 15-4 lead over the Florida Marlins) from No. 7 and are just six outs away from continuing to lead the National League West Division by a half a game over the San Francisco Giants.

Way to go Diamondbacks!

Super Seniors to lock horns at Udall Park

The Tucson Aces will play host to the Old Pueblo Baseball Club tomorrow morning at Udall Park.

Both rosters include players who are 60-and-over and a few who are 70-and-over. The starting pitchers -- Ron Petersen for the Aces and Doug Mullins for the OP Club -- are both 65 and can throw the old cowhide at speeds close to their age! I, of course, as a member of the Aces, will return to the ball field, after a two-month layoff. I hope to get the bat on the ball tomorrow. I'm a little rusty, but I'm looking forward to playing, once again, with my teammates and against many of my friends on the OP team (many of them are former Men's Senior Baseball League 2010 World Series teammates). It should be fun. I'll post the results tomorrow afternoon.

Super Senior Baseball Update: The Tucson Aces and the Old Pueblo Club finish in a 12-12 tie today at Tucson Udall Park. I had an okay day at third base with three tough plays and ended up pitching the final four innings, allowing four unearned runs, with a strike out, a couple of walks and one hit batsman. Not too bad for my first week back. Knees hurt a little, but I'm ready for the rest of the week with games Wednesday and Friday with the TOTS.

Next Aces' game: June 7, against the Arizona Rattlers at Mission Manor.

Wildcats get to play some more baseball...

The University of Arizona women's softball team couldn't make it out of the Super Regionals, losing on Saturday at home to Oklahoma, so it looks like we can set our sights on the Wildcats' baseball team and see what they can do in the postseason as they head for College Station, Texas on Friday to take on Seton Hall. Game time is set for 12:35 p.m. (Central Time Zone).

 The Wildcats will go in as the No. 2 seed, while Seton Hall has earned the No. 3 seed. Texas A and M, the host team, goes into the regional as the top seed, while No. 4 seeded Wright State will be the Aggies opening-round opponent.

The regional is a double-elimination format, so GO CATS!

I'm not the youngest TOT anymore...

As a proud member of the Tucson Old Timers (TOTS) Baseball team, it has occurred to me that I'm not the "Rookie" on the ball club anymore.

The current roster list 12 players with a birth date later than mine! My goodness, wasn't it just the other day, when I joined the club (the World's Oldest Baseball Team in the country), in April of 2008, at just 62 years of age? I was born in 1945, gonna hit 66 in five weeks, and there are two guys on the active roster born in 1949 and two more teammates born in the 50s! (well, actually, 1950).

The oldest TOT is 85-year-old Floyd Lance,a member of the club since 1999, while Chuck Sabalos, a recently retired Tucson Superior Court Judge, shares rookie honors with Lloyd Barzell.

Lance was born on September 6, 1925, Sabalos, March 5, 1950 and Barzell entered this world on August 28, 1950.

The TOTS, with 52 active members (plus 13 Honorary members) play on Monday, Wednesday and Friday at Tucson Udall Park. An off-shoot of the TOTS are the Tucson Aces, which play on Tuesdays against two senior-circuit teams from the south side of town, the Old Pueblo Club and the Arizona Rattlers.

I think I'm ready for baseball...

I've been out of action, away from the playing field, so to speak, for the last two months. See previous post: March 30, 2011 -- (Back on the DL, again).

I've dropped nine pounds, which is a good thing...I guess. The baseball injury and life in general has somehow helped to whittle away the flab around the middle. I'm back to my collegiate-playing days (40-some years ago) when I was 165 pounds, soaking wet. I plan to return to the senior circuit and catch up with my teammates at Tucson Udall Park on the 1st of June.

It's hard to stay away from the game. Setting still... and leaving my glove and bat bag in the garage to gather nothing but dust, along with the rest of the junk, is not an option.

 Let's play ball!

I can't believe this Tuba City kid...

His name is Billy Orman, a high school senior from Tuba City.

This weekend at the state championships at Mesa Community College, Orman ran the 1600 meters in 4 minutes, 6.75 seconds, just missing the state record (set in 1983 by Jeff Cannada, 4 minutes, 6.44 seconds) and then finished off that incredible performance by shattering the state record in the 3200 meters with an unbelievable time of eight minutes, 48.63 seconds. The best high school two-mile time in the country this year.

What a future this kid has!

Indians still on top...

In a previous post, dated May 1, I discussed the fact that the Cleveland Indians and the Colorado Rockies were leading the way in their respective major league divisions, emphasizing what a World Series it would be if those two teams made it all the way to October.

Since then, the Rockies have dropped out of first place in the National League West, but the Indians are still rolling along in the American League with 25 wins and 13 losses -- a major-league best .658 won-loss percentage.

In the NL standings, it's the Philadelphia Phillies sitting atop the leaderboard with a 25-15 mark, just 33 percentage points behind the Indians for the best record in baseball. I expected the Phillies to do well this year, but the Indians, what's up with them?

Cleveland is 15-4 at home so far this season! But, it is a long way to October. We are barely a quarter of the way through the 2011 season, so let's check back on those surprising Indians in mid June and see if they're still sitting on top of the mountain.

"Don't send 'em, Coach!"

My middle school girls fast-pitch softball team bowed out of the season-ending tournament today, losing 11-9. Down 11-3 midway through the game, the girls fought back and had the tying runs on base with less than two outs in our final at bat. I sent two runners home and both were tagged out. The girls battled, despite the fact we were missing three starters -- one out with a leg injury and two others off playing club ball. Sure could have used them. Oh well, there's always next year. Maybe there's a next year...we'll have to wait and see if middle school softball will be around next spring.

Softball Update: Coaching record after two seasons: Won 10, Lost 8. Hey, I'm still over .500. I'll take it!

"Are you coming back, Coach?"

It was an innocent question: "Are you coming back, Coach?" The inquiry coming from a returning fast-pitch softball player for next season, following our final, regular-season middle school game of the year yesterday -- an 11-2 loss to the defending league champions. I smiled at the 7th-grader, put my arm around her and told her I thought I'd be back. With the current climate (the financial one, that is), involving middle school sports in the city of Tucson and its surrounding areas, nobody knows for sure if there will be such a thing in the future. It looks like the middle school fields -- in and around the city -- could become parking lots in the years to come, or maybe the fields will eventually be leased out to the many Club Teams, which are popping up around town, giving the parents whom can afford such an undertaking an option for their young one to participate in sports like baseball, softball, track and field, and soccer. Where does that leave the middle school player -- and the parent who cannot afford the Club Scene? No where, I guess. What a shame.

My middle school girls to get a break from hot weather...

The final week for my middle school girls softball team begins on Monday with a practice day, followed on Wednesday with our final regular season game and then ending on Saturday with an early morning, four-team tournament to decide the league champion for 2011. It has been a long, hot spring for the girls. The girls have battled through 90-degree plus heat almost every day since the season got underway, back on March 28. We may finally get a break with the weather conditions next week as the temperatures are expected to drop into the mid 80s and we hope the winds will subside, giving us a break as well. Our practices and our games have been accompanied by wind gusts of 25 to 40 miles an hour. Pop ups that start out over second base, end up in foul territory. It is like living in a dust bowl with just one day of rain over the course of the season. Our field looks like the makings of a another Death Valley. Mini dust devils, swirling from third base to first base are an everyday occurrence. I go home everyday looking like I just came off a Mel Gibson movie set (I'm thinking of the late-70s flick, Mad Max). It's been a fun season and it would be nice to do well in the tourney and bring home a second trophy for the middle school. We'll need a lot to go our way to get it done, including some timely hitting, some smart base running, maybe a break or two on some calls from the men in blue. These kids are 11 thru 13, so anything can happen on any given day. Let's hope we have something to cheer about on the final bus ride home of the season on Saturday afternoon.

American Flag proudly visible at middle school baseball game

The echoes from the cheering of players and fans, which normally accompany a baseball and softball game at the middle school I coach at, seemed to bounce off the purple-glazed mountains to the north and quickly returned and hovered over the athletic field. There was a special guest on hand on this particular day as the American Flag flew proudly, attached to the backstop at the north end of the baseball field. The Red, White and Blue flew proudly in honor of 35-year-old Captain Nathan Nylander, killed over a week ago during a shooting at Kabul International Airport in Afghanistan. Nylander, survived by his wife,Miriam, and the father of three children, was based at Tucson's Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. His young son, a member of the middle school baseball team.

My middle school girls on verge of first losing season...

My middle school girls softball team find themselves in a hitting slump. The girls took it on the chin yesterday afternoon. Their lone hit coming in the first inning on a single up the middle. Turns out the first inning was our best offering -- as an offensive attack goes -- with the one hit, two walks, and two of our runners thrown out at the plate on two very close calls. It was downhill from there and a long bus ride home as the girls dropped to 2-3 on the season with a 12-1 loss. The girls end their regular season Wednesday with an away game against an unbeaten team -- a team with the inside track to winning the league and the season-ending tournament,which is scheduled for Saturday, May 14. Still, it has been a good learning experience for the girls in just the second year of the softball program. The cards are stacked against us down the stretch, but this is middle school ball and we still have a shot as we are assured of a 3-seed in the season-ending tourney. Wish us luck! We need to get the bats going.

An eye for a country!

An eye for a country. Osama bin Laden dead.

Why not? Indians vs. Rockies in World Series...

Don't look now, but the top two teams in the major leagues are the Cleveland Indians and the Colorado Rockies. Now, if those two early-season, front-runners make it to the big shindig in October, well, I guess I kinda like that idea. Coors Field in Denver and the Big Jake...or the Prog...or officially known as Progressive Park in Cleveland, are two beautiful ball parks and will be pleasing to the eye on national television. I can't get my Arizona Diamondbacks out of the cellar, so to speak, and I'm just plain tired of the same old places like New York, Boston, Arlington, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Philadelphia...well you get the idea, so let's have some new back drops and some new faces in the 2011 World Series. The Indians are currently 18-8 and leading the American League Central by 4 1/2 games, while the Rockies, sporting an impressive 17-8 mark, hold on to the same margin in the National League West. Sounds good to me, but the weather, now that's another story.