Billy and Floyd -- ageless wonders

TOTS Senior Baseball Network

60-and-over baseball

Floyd Lance, 89, and Billy Heiny, 85, are the "Fathers of Time" on the Tucson Old Timers 60-and-over baseball team.

The dictionary describes the Father of Time as: the personification of time as an old man, usually in a white robe, having a white beard, and carrying a scythe.

At Udall Park on the east side of Tucson the senior baseball club plays three days a week and every game the TOTS' version of the "Fathers of Time" hustle to their respective positions. Lance, a first baseman, and Heiny, a right-handed pitcher,  do not sport long, white beards and carry a scythe, instead they come equipped each week with a baseball bat and a glove.

They both defy Mother Nature and the Father of Time, for they are baseball players -- ageless wonders who still play for the love of the game. Lance and Heiny not only take their positions on the  field but they contribute. Lance plays first base like he did seventy years ago with style and grace, while Heiny takes the mound from time to time and baffles the hitters with his slow delivery and even slower fastball.

Teammates look on in awe, while spectators stand in amazement. How can this be? How can they play and compete, even at this senior level, with athletes who are, in some cases, 25 years their senior? They hit, run, throw and field ground balls effortlessly and act like they could play the game of baseball for another 15 to 20 years.

These "Energizer Bunny's" do not have a clock. They don't need one. It's their time to shine and it's their time to defy the odds and continue to play the game of baseball.

Today was like any other day at the ballpark. Heiny pitched seven innings and held off his opponent with his assortment of "slow pitches" while Lance made a dozen putouts as TOTS Team White prevailed over TOTS Team Blue, 10-8.

Lance changes the number on his jersey every year (he's currently wearing the number 89), while Heiny continues to wear jersey number 70 because it was at the ripe old age of seventy (or close to it) when he took up baseball for the first time and started playing the game with the Tucson Old Timers.

Lance, a member of the TOTS since 1999, was born Sept. 6 , 1925 in Glen Gardner, New Jersey.

Heiny, a member of the TOTS since 1997, was born Aug. 5, 1929 in Terre Haute, Indiana.

Batting stats: (2013)  Lance, G 115  AB 293  R 40  H 93  BB 44 HP 3  SAC 14  RBI 59  AVG  .317

                                Heiny,  G 109  AB 290  R 44  H 43  BB 37  HP 1  SAC  5   RBI 30  AVG  .148

Photos: (top) Floyd Lance  (bottom) Billy Heiny