10 TOTS' players set to enter the world of fantasy baseball

Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball


Ten members of the Tucson Old Timers (TOTS) baseball club are set to venture into the unknown -- a fantasy baseball league. It all starts on opening day of the 2017 Major League Baseball (MLB) season on April 3.

The coordinator of the fantasy league is 71-year-old Ron Petersen. His TOTS' teammates refer to him as "Mr. Baseball" and the odds of him winning the league is 6 to 5. At any rate, Petersen has been involved in fantasy baseball for many years and to top it off, he once owned a baseball card shop in Tucson when he was a wee bit younger.

Petersen (photo below) is set to retire in June after a 100-year stint as a "Lineman for the County" or in other words and to be more exact at least 50 years of service with Tucson Electric Power.

It's a sure bet Petersen may be in for some tough competition as the other nine players (or managers, to be more specific) just might bring their own expertise to the table.

Reed Palmer, 60, is the only lawyer of the group and is a former Tucson Public Defender. He may just defend his position on the TOTS Fantasy Team with ease. Palmer (below photo) is the current home run leader on the TOTS and if he plays fantasy baseball the same way, he'll be a BIG HIT! Palmer's odds to win the league: 3-1.

Also expected to do well are a couple of "smart cookies" in the group -- Robert Royer, 79, a former Nuclear Engineer and 69-year-old William Misher -- or known as simply "Bill" on the TOTS -- currently a Political Science professor at the University of Arizona. The man has written or co-authored eight books, albeit none of them have been about baseball, but how could you bet against a man with all those credentials? We'll set Mishler's odds at 6-1, just in case he decides to over think things a bit. As for Royer, he may engineer his way to the top of the fantasy league but we'll set his initial odds of winning at 8-1. Royer pictured below in action with the TOTS and the dapper Professor Mishler, pictured with his sunglasses on.

Then there's Jesse Ochoa, 65, an ex-cop, well not only an ex-cop but a former assistant police chief for the City of Tucson and formally the police chief at Northern Arizona University. Ochoa left law enforcement behind and eventually ended up back in Tucson at Raytheon, the military manufacturer, as a compliance manager.

So, the fantasy group certainly will not take Ochoa lightly. After all, he has the law on his side. Jesse's odds of winning the fantasy league: 5-1. The two pictures below of Jesse -- the top one, back in his days as a lawman, the bottom photo, in a Tucson Old Timers' uniform.

Also signed up for the fantasy league is the oldest TOT ever to see action on the field for the organization, 91-year-old Floyd Lance. Now, Mr. Lance, a retired administrator with the University of Arizona, has been around long enough, since 1925 to be exact, and he's seen it all -- years and years of life experiences, far out dating the rest of the fantasy players. He'll certainly be in the ball park as far as odds go. Lance, pictured below, is a 9-1 favorite and may turn out to be the "sleeper" of the group.

Pistol Pete Peters, 68,  retired from civil service, has been all over the world, so a little thing like a fantasy baseball league will be a piece of cake. Peters (below photo) is currently a co-manager with the TOTS, along with Ochoa, so odds are good he'll keep his fantasy lineup fresh and at the top of the heap. We'll give Peters a 5-1 shot of winning the league.

There are two members of the fantasy league who are good with numbers -- Dave Rhoades, 72, a financial advisor and Bob Daliege, 68, a former accountant. The fantasy league will be a number's game, so counting out these two would be ill advised. Let's set Dave's odds at 7-1 and Bob at 8-1.

Below is Rhoades and Daliege -- Dave Rhoades with the spring training hat on and the smiling Bob Daliege, who isn't about to throw in the towel when it comes to fantasy baseball.

That leaves the author of Bookemdanosports, 71-year-old Danny "Pigpen" Price. Now, Price has been playing fantasy football for nine years and has yet to win. So, his past history alone will put him at 10-1 to win it all. Price, the author of four fiction books, may have his hands full in real life managing the lineup of a true-to-life baseball team.


But in Price's case, he's already won. "Just being around all these characters is worth the admission."

Pictured below, the author of Bookemdanosports, Danny "Pigpen" Price.