The Day of the Spectacular Catches

Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball


The Day of the Spectacular Catches

A die-hard baseball fan needs to tune in daily to ESPN or the MLB Network to watch for the plays of the day in the major leagues.

As for the 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers, it's a different story when it comes to the plays of the day. After all, if a member of the TOTS makes a spectacular play, it's history. There are no instant replays, or cameras -- other than the photos taken every now and then by Conrad Royksund, a retired TOT, who shows up with his trusty camera and clicks away in hopes of capturing an oldtimer in action.

Sometimes, Royksund will get that one in a million shot which will then show up the TOTS' Facebook page or on Bookemdanosports, a blog authored by Dan Price, a member of the TOTS who started a sports blog back in 2009, focusing mainly on the 60-and-over baseball club, which takes the field three days a week at Udall Park.

As it turns out, today was the day for the "worth seeing again" catches.

Right-hander Bob Daliege hurled a shutout into the seventh inning for Team Blue and he benefited through out the game thanks to outstanding plays from a couple of "unusual suspects" -- 83-year-old Joe Aparicio and 75-year-old Miguel Urtaza.

Now the TOTS are used to the younger set making most of the plays, but today it was Aparicio and Urtaza who "shined" on the ball field. Urtaza,  a right fielder, moved two steps to his right and backhanded a hard hit ball to snuff out a rally, as did Aparicio, a short fielder who made two outstanding grabs during the first six innings to keep goose eggs on the scoreboard --all to the dismay of the players in Team White's dugout.

In the end, Team White was able to ruin Daliege's shutout when they scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning. The final score: Team Blue  8, Team White  2.

The top hitters for Team Blue today included Tim Tolson, John Mathews and Pigpen Price -- all with two hits apiece, while DeLon "Doc" Thompson and Joe Opocensky were the big guns for Team White with two hits apiece.

Despite losing the shutout, Daliege picked up the win and allowed only five hits. He walked three and struck out two. Thompson was saddled with the loss.

The TOTS will return to action at Udall Park on Friday. Game time: 9 a.m.

Photos: The "unusual suspects" -- Joe Aparicio (top photo) and Miguel Urtaza (bottom photo).