The David J. Sweeten story

Men's Senior Baseball League World Series

73-and-over division

San Antonio Red Sox

David J. Sweeten, 73, hails from Kerrville, Texas and is the manager of the newly-formed 73-and-over Men's Senior Baseball League World Series team, the San Antonio Red Sox.

Sweeten, a CPA who has handled accounts of pro ballplayers -- including his No. 1 client Joe Morgan, started putting his current MSBL World Series team together back in late February.

Sweeten's Red Sox took it on the chin during the first three games of the MSBL World Series in Phoenix this week -- losing to the Sacramento Stars, the Virgin Islands and the Tri Valley Vets, a northern California team.

Then came Game 4 on Thursday in Surprise, Arizona at the Kansas City Royals spring training home. Sweeten's Red Sox went up against a MSBL World Series perennial power, the San Diego Padres.

"We will remember this game forever," said a smiling Sweeten, after the game. "It was a team effort. Everybody contributed -- timely hits, diving catches, great defense, gutsy pitching. It's why we play the game."

The Red Sox won 11-10 on a walk-off, bases loaded double by first baseman Wayne Westphal. Time had expired midway through the inning and with two outs and the winning run on first base Westphal, Sweeten's buddy from Hunt, Texas, put the Red Sox players into a frenzy with a slashing hit over the head of the San Diego center fielder.

Finally, the Red Sox had their first win. And it wasn't just a win, but a victory every member of the San Antonio team will remember for a long, long time. In the near future, chances are one or two old codgers will be sitting around a coffee shop in their hometown and one Red Sox player will say to the other, "Do you remember when...at the 2018 MSBL World Series on a hot and sunny October day?"

"I know I'll never forget the game," Sweeten added. "There are games you remember and games you forget. This one will be in the back of my mind forever."

Teammate Reese Wellman, from Cub Hill, Maryland, has been a friend of Sweeten's for many years and he watched his manager leave the dugout yesterday after the win. "I have never seen David so happy."

The happy ending in Surprise, Arizona yesterday is the reason old-timers still play the game. They play for the love of the game.


Photo: Sweeten (#10), far right, top row.