Two Weeks at the MSBL World Series

Fun at the MSBL World Series


Since 2009, I have made the jaunt one hundred and ten miles north to Phoenix to play in the Men's Senior Baseball League World Series.

This year I played two weeks -- the first week with the 70-and-over Arizona Scorpions and the second week with the Tucson Aces, made up of members from our local 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers club.

Personally, I was lucky enough to step to the plate 36 times during the prestigious senior tournament. With the Scorpions I hit well, going 10 for 17 and a walk. With the Aces, not quite as good -- 6 for 17 and a walk. All in all, 16 for 34 officially for a .471 average. I'll take it.

Injury wise, some scrapes and bruises...and a slight upper hamstring pull on the final day. The latter may take some time to heal. What hurts most about the latter is the fact I was on second base, got a bad jump, when my teammate laid down a bunt, and I dove head first into third -- a split second behind the force out.

In nine months, I officially will be 70 years old. Do you think I'll send my body through such shenanigans next year? You bet!

After all, it's not if we won or lost (we won three of ten games -- five of the losses within three runs), nor is it how many hits or errors I made, instead it's the camaraderie with my teammates, the anticipation -- the high if you will before each game (all played at a major league spring training facility in and around Phoenix), the after-game antics at the local pub (dissecting the good and the bad plays we made) and the idea that tomorrow's game will last three hours and every moment, every play will be something we will remember for years to come.

Take for instance:

Brian Reilly, playing in his first ever MSBL World Series. Brian, one of the youngest members of the 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers, hit safely in his first two at bats for the Tucson Aces -- and each time he returned to the dugout at the end of the inning, he was smiling from ear to ear.

Or...

Marcos Garcia, a 77-year-old second baseman from Puerto Rico, who played the first week on our Arizona Scorpions team. He could turn a double play with the best of them. He injured his elbow later in the tournament and was forced to sit out the remainder of the World Series.

Or...

Bob Daliege, a catcher and teammate on our Tucson Aces' team. Bob will remember for years to come the play he made in our 9-8 win over Team America. Up by one run in the ninth inning with two outs, there was a play at the plate. Relay throws from outfielder Dennis Crowley to pitcher Ron Petersen who then threw a strike to the plate... and the tag by Daliege as the runner slid into home for the final out of the game.

I can't wait til next year.