Does the score really matter?

TOTS Baseball

Sometimes when I take the field in a Tucson Old Timers (TOTS) baseball game at Tucson Udall Park, I'm in awe not at the score of the game, but just the plain fact that many of the members taking the field were born in the late 1920s, the early 30s and even the early 1940s. Eighty-plus and seventy-plus, does the age really matter?

In fact, does it really matter what the final score turns out to be? What's important is the spirit of the old timers who take the field three days a week at Udall Park and continue to enjoy playing the game of baseball. Take for instance last Wednesday's game and the pitchers and the catchers of record. The score of the game was 8-2. The winning pitcher was 70-year-old Doc Thompson. His battery mate for seven innings was 83-year-old Billy Heiny. The other battery combination included the young studs -- 62-year-old pitcher Lloyd Barzell and 61-year-old catcher Ted Davis.

The constant jawing in the dugout, the constant bickering over rules and regulations are just part of the game when two dozen senior ball players get together for a game of hard ball. Every player from 60 to 87 is out to do their best, get that winning hit, make that game-saving catch. For two hours, the players go at it, enjoying baseball... and playing for the love of the game. Every once in a while, an old timer will blurt out a classic line. Take for instance, 80-year-old second baseman Jerry Smarik (above photo). Jerry gets kidded a lot for his lack of speed. Smarik, who joined the baseball club in 1991, says he was one of the fastest guys on the team back in '91. "I had a lot of speed back then," said Smarik, who's known for sitting back and lighting up a cigar after every game.

Last Wednesday, Jerry got the biggest laugh of the day. After being thrown out at first base, Smarik returned to the dugout and said, "Why doesn't somebody light up a rocket and stick it up my..." (I'll keep the end of Jerry's sentence up to my readers to figure out).   Yes, we all could use rockets in our shoes or wherever is necessary to make us a wee bit faster. The speed is gone, but the desire is still there.

Hats off to the TOTS!