Thompson edges Baby Bull Barzell in pitching duel

Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

Pistol Pete Peters singled up the middle in the top of the sixth inning, knocking in Dennis Crowley with what proved to be the winning run as Team Blue beat Team White 3-2 in a 60-and-over baseball game today at Udall Park.

The game turned into a pitching duel between two hard-throwing right-handers, Doc Thompson and Lloyd "Baby Bull" Barzell.

Barzell, who recently returned from Red Lodge, Montana, where he spent three weeks working on a ranch owned by fellow teammate Arnie White. White, owns 85 acres just outside of Red Lodge, just an hour drive from the north entrance to West Yellowstone Park.

"We baled 1,744 bales of hay, working from early in the morning until 9 at night," said Barzell, 64, who returned to the ball field today fit as a fiddle. "I had a great time and it was a lot of work, not sure I want to do it again."

Barzell loves throwing the baseball a lot more than he does hurling bales of hay through the air. "It's good to be back with my teammates on the TOTS."

Today's game was up for grabs from the beginning to the end. Team White scored two runs in the first inning, but Team Blue managed to tie the game in the fourth. In the top of the sixth, Peters belted a Barzell fastball over second to give Team Blue the lead.

In the bottom of the sixth, Thompson capped the game with a 1-2-3 inning. "It was a well played game by both sides," Thompson added.

The TOTS were able to get two games in this week, despite a rain out on Monday. The TOTS will be at it again next week with games scheduled for Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

Photos: Top, Thompson, bottom, Barzell.

Diamondbacks sweep Seattle

Arizona Diamondbacks


The Arizona Diamondbacks improved to 49-51 with a three-game sweep in Seattle -- including an 8-2 win today, thanks to a couple of home runs from Welington Castillo. Patrick  Corbin pitched six strong innings to pick up the victory and improve his record to 2-3.

Castillo ended up 2 for 3 on the day with three RBI, while Paul Goldschmidt went 2 for 5 and knocked in two runs. David Peralta tripled in two runs and A.J. Pollock went 3 for 5 as the Diamondbacks banged out 15 hits.

The Diamondbacks head for Houston on a roll.

Keep it up, Diamondbacks!

Pigpen Price tosses 4-hitter

Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

Pigpen Price, 70, allowed four hits, struck out one and walked four en route to a 3-1 win at Udall Park today in a 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers baseball game.

Price, pitching for Team White, was helped  out offensively by a 340-ft, solo home run in the fourth inning by hard-hitting 62-year-old lefty Tim Tolson. Price carried a 3-0 shutout into the final inning, but Bob Daliege, 67, singled up the middle and scored later in the inning on a ground out to third by Doc Thompson.

Billy Heiny, 85, pitched a complete game for Team Blue and was saddled with the loss.  Heiny gave up just two runs in the bottom of the first inning and the solo shot to Tolson in the fourth. "I pitched well today, but Pigpen got the job done," said Heiny, following the game.

The defensive play of the game occurred in the third inning by Daliege, who made a shoestring catch in center field to snuff out a threat by Team White.

Photos: Top, Pigpen Price, middle, Tim Tolson, bottom, Bob Daliege.

Senior baseball players at play

Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball


When you're somewhere between the age of 60 to 90 and you're still playing America's favorite pastime three days a week at Tucson Udall Park, then there are times when the bouncing ball will not cooperate. Sometimes the ball is just too hot to handle.

See below:

Photos by Conrad Royksund: 1 thru 5, players trying to get a handle on the ball (Floyd Lance, Bob Daliege, Jesse Ochoa and Dan Lundwall. 6) Joe Aparicio legs out an infield hit. 7) catcher Bob Daliege makes a throw to second. 8) Tim Tolson cruises into second base with a double. 9) Ron Carlson takes a shot to the body. 10) as a final option...DUCK!

Shocking! A-Rod at 24 homers and counting...

Alex Rodriguez is still blasting home runs.

Here we are in late July and Rodriguez is at 24 home runs and a .276 batting average.

Career homers: 678

Update: 7/27/2015  A-Rod hits hits number 678 on his 40th birthday.

Diamondbacks hit the road

Arizona Diamondbacks

The Arizona Diamondbacks hit the road for 10 games after taking three of four at Chase Field from the Milwaukee Brewers. The trip begins tomorrow night in Seattle, followed by three games in Houston and concludes with a four-game series in Washington against the Nationals.

Tough trip for the Diamondbacks (46-51).

If the Diamondbacks can mix in some timely hitting to go along with the excellent starting pitching they enjoyed during the series with the Brewers, then just maybe, the road trip could turn out to be a successful one.

With back-to-back shutouts -- a 2-0 win on Saturday behind eight strong innings from Rubby De La Rosa and a 3-0 victory today with six innings of work from Jeremy Hellickson -- the Diamondbacks must now string together some more series' wins. Winning one out of three games or gaining a split, just won't cut it. Arizona will return home with just 55 games left on the schedule.

Go get 'em, Diamondbacks!

The All-Time Fantastic Four -- Living Legends of Baseball

Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball


The American League won the 2015 Major League Baseball All Star Game  6-3 last night in Cincinnati.

AL dominates again.

The night's best moment happened before the first pitch when the All-Time Fantastic Four -- the Living Legends -- were introduced: Johnny Bench, Hank Aaron, Sandy Koufax and Willie Mays.

What a moment!

Bench is the youngster. The man is 67. He's younger than me!

Koufax is 79, Aaron 81 and Mays is 84.

I spent my youth in front of the television set watching the above four perform on the baseball diamond.

I would love to go back and start all over again. I'd give anything to be a wide-eyed kid again, sitting on the living room floor, tuned into the family's Zenith television set...and watch every play unfold while listening to Dizzy Dean and Tony Kubek dissect every play...every catch by Mays, every exploding curve ball by Koufax, every moon shot by Aaron and the movement and artistry by Bench behind the plate.

But most of all, I would love to have that moment in time back...that special moment when the major league game was over and I would say "goodbye" to my folks and head for the sandlot to meet up with my buddies to play the game of baseball.

Nothing has changed. I'll grab my gear this morning and head for Udall Park, to the baseball field south of the senior center to meet up with my buddies, all members of the 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers.

Special Note: Actually, I was 22 years old when Johnny Bench made his debut in the majors in 1967. But I was still a kid...and in awe of my baseball heroes.

Aces discard Rattlers, 12-3

Southwest Senior Baseball League

60-and-over Tucson Aces

The Tucson Aces used a five-run third inning to pull away from the Arizona Rattlers at Udall Park today enroute to a 12-3 win.

Pete Peters, Tim Boyd and Jesse Ochoa contributed RBI-singles in the inning as the Aces turned a 3-3 tie into an 8-3 advantage. Peters was the big hitter for the day with three hits in four trips to the plate, while Boyd, the Aces' newest member to the team,  collected two timely hits.

Doc Thompson pitched a complete game, allowing just three runs in the top of the first inning. Outstanding outfield play by left fielder Dennis Crowley and Boyd in center field kept the Rattlers from scoring in the later innings.

Rattlers' right hander Ernie Hernandez was saddled with the loss.

Game note: An odd game as far as put outs go, just two at first base by the Aces in six innings.

The Aces' starting lineup:

C-   Mike Steele
P-   Doc Thompson
1B- Tim Tolson
2B- Pigpen Price
3B- Joe Opocensky
SS- Pete Peters
LF- Jesse Ochoa
LC- Dennis Crowley
RC- Tim Boyd
RF-  Billy Heiny


Photo: Pete Peters goes 3 for 4 today for the Aces.

65-year-old lefty tosses 3-hitter

Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

Lefty Dennis Crowley, 65, allowed just three hits today at Udall Park in a 60-and-over baseball game as Team White blanked Team Blue, 16-0.

Crowley allowed singles to 89-year-old Floyd Lance, 67-year-old Bob Daliege and 70-year-old Dave Rhoades. Team White was led by Doc Thompson,72, and Ron Petersen, 70. Thompson went 4 for 5 and drove in five runs, while Petersen also went 4 for 5 and knocked in two runs.

The Tucson Old Timers, a senior citizen baseball club which has been around since 1968, will be back in action on Wednesday and Friday at Udall. Game time 9 a.m.

Photo: Dennis Crowley

The Tucson Old Timers have their own Mr. Blue

Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

l



The 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers (TOTS) have their own Mr. Blue.

Chico Bigham has been umpiring in the Tucson area for more than 30 years. Now, at the age of 76, Bigham occasionally umpires behind the plate for the senior citizen baseball team, which plays three days a week, year end and year out at Udall Park.

Of course, Chico still plays, too. Bigham has been an active player on the TOTS since 1999 and has played every position on the field.

Photos: (top) Chico, (bottom) Chico at work behind the plate.

Goldy hits 21st home run

Arizona Diamondbacks


The New York Mets win all three games from the Arizona Diamondbacks this weekend, including a 5-3 victory today at Citi Field, despite a solo shot from Paul Goldschmidt.

Goldschmidt heads for the MLB All Star Game with 21 home runs and 70 RBI.

Great first half for Goldy.

The Diamondbacks will head into the second half of the season with a 42-45 record.

Tolson, Thompson, Steele top three hitters for TOTS in June

Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

Tim Tolson, Doc Thompson and Mike Steele were the "big guns" on the Tucson Old Timers (TOTS) baseball club for the month of June.

The top gun in hits went to Tolson, who batted 35 times during the month and grabbed a club-high 23 hits for a .657 average. Tolson also lead the club with 22 RBI, two home runs and tied with Lloyd Barzell for the most doubles with seven.

Thompson tied with Steele with 22 hits. Thompson ended up with the highest average with a .688 mark (22 for 32), while Steele finished with a .545 average (22 for 40) and tied for the most runs scored at 19 along with Barzell.

Barzell finished with a .656 average (21 for 32) to finish just one percentage point behind Tolson. Floyd Lance, 89, led the super seniors (the 80-and-over players) with a .257 average. Lance went 8 for 30, walked six times and drove in eight runs.

The top pitcher for the month turned out to be Jesse Ochoa, who lost his first start but then reeled off three straight wins.

The TOTS played 12 games during the month of June and already have five games in the books in July.

Photos: (top) Tolson, (middle) Thompson, (bottom) Steele.

Vacationing in Ouray

I took 10 days off from baseball. I very seldom do that, but it was enjoyable, especially in Ouray, Colorado. What a beautiful little town. Sue and I spent two days there on the banks of the river. What a paradise for writers. If you were so inclined you could find a bench and get the old laptop out...and peck away...while listening to the sounds of the Uncompahgue River. The river is a tributary of the Gunnison River, approximately 75 miles long. The river flows northwest past Ouray and joins the Gunnison in Delta. Just beautiful.

Sue and I at the base of the river, just 20 steps from the River's Edge Hotel and Spa in Ouray.

Well, it's over now. Back to the desert and back to baseball.

Time to focus on the Men's Senior Baseball League (MSBL) World Series, just three months away.

Are the Cardinals the best team in baseball in 2015?

Are the St. Louis Cardinals the best team in baseball?

It sure looks like it as the 2015 Major League Baseball season heads for the All-Star break on Tuesday. The Cardinals are 55-30 and they own a 4 1/2 game lead in the NL Central over a not-too-shabby Pittsburgh Pirates' ball club. The Pirates are 50-34 and own the second-best record in the National League.

The Cardinals are 31-11 at home 24-19 away. They own a team batting average of just .251, but the pitching keeps 'em ahead of the rest of the pack. The Cardinals' pitching staff leads the National League with a team ERA of 2.65.

Pretty darn good!

Diamondbacks finally even the slate

Arizona Diamondbacks

Things are looking up for the Arizona Diamondbacks.

At least a little bit, anyway.

The Diamondbacks take down the Rangers in Arlington, Texas on Wednesday by a score of 7-4 and in doing so even the slate, finally. With the win, Arizona improves to 42-42 and will take a day off today before opening a three-game series on Friday in New York against the Mets.

A.J. Pollock hit a three-run homer and Welington Castillo added a round-tripper to lead the Diamondbacks to the win over the Rangers. Chase Anderson (4-2), the young, hard-throwing, right-hander, will get the start for Arizona on Friday.

Who knows? If the Diamondbacks can continue their winning ways in July, it could become very interesting in the National League West as we head into August and September.

Come on, Diamondbacks. Get HOT!

The Boys of Summer still at it

Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball


Battling through the summer heat, the 60-and over Tucson Old Timers (TOTS) are still at it at Udall Park. Photographer Conrad Royksund's keen eye captured some July photo gems during recent action as the old-timers continue to play America's favorite pastime. See below:

89-year-old first baseman Floyd Lance makes the play

Pete Peters surrounds a high one

Jesse Ochoa takes a shot off the body

Dennis Crowley beats the throw to first

Bob Royer in timeout

Outfielder Mike Steele makes the play

Joe Opocensky belts one

Pigpen Price completes the double play

Lance applies the tag

Brian Reilly smashes a shot to center

Low and outside, Ted Davis lets one go by

A close play at first as runner Lloyd Barzell beats the throw

The elusive baseball