Pigpen gets a win!

Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

Team Blue's Pigpen Price, 71, struck out three and walked five en route to a 10-5 win over Team White today at Udall Park in a 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers game.

Pigpen has more than one nickname with the TOTS' organization. When he pitches, Pigpen is often referred to as "The Wild Thing." Now, actor Charlie Sheen had some issues on the mound many years ago in the 1989 American sports comedy film, Major League, when he played the part of the Cleveland Indians' relief pitcher Ricky "The Wild Thing" Vaughn.

Scenes from the movie were filmed at Hi Corbett Field in Tucson.

It's been told that Sheen even took steroids to prepare for the movie and some say his fastball hit 85 mph, but where the ball was going after he released the pitch was the question!

Pigpen has some of the same character flaws. Except for the fact, he's now in his 70s and doesn't need  a drug to get his fastball flowing at 45 mph.

Today, Price had the benefit of a "good" defense behind him. As for Team White, Jesse Ochoa started, and a handful of errors later, found himself down by a score of 5-0. He turned the ball over in the second inning to reliever Doc Thompson, who pitched the rest of the way, allowing -- to his dismay -- another five unearned runs.

"There were a lot of errors today," Thompson said, after the game. Thompson did his part as he hurled the final six innings and while at the plate was a perfect 3 for 3 with two runs batted in.

Danny Lundwall, Team Blue's leadoff batter, had a good day at the plate for the winning team, grabbing three hits in four trips to the plate.

As for Mr. Sheen, he's still around and is still in Hollywood, still performing. He'll turn 52 in September, while the first Major League movie celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2014. The fantasy owner of the Cleveland Indians in the movie, Rachel Phelps, was played by actress Margaret Whitton, who sadly passed away in December of 2016 at the age of 67.

As for Pigpen and the TOTS, most of them were in their 30s, 40s and 50s when Major League hit the silver screen. Actor James Gammon, best known for his portrayal of manager Lou Brown in the film, is also no longer with us. Gammon passed away in 2010 at the age of 70.

There's a rumor another sequel is in the works for Major League. As for the TOTS, they'll continue to play at Udall Park every Monday, Wednesday and Friday...and it's free. You don't need to go to Netflix and we have our own characters and comedians.

Photos:(top)  Charlie Sheen, (middle) Doc Thompson, (bottom) Pigpen Price