Billy's Day at the ballpark

Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

Billy Heiny reaches a new milestone on Monday.

Heiny, who plays for the 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers, an amateur baseball organization which has been in existence for 51 years, turns 90 on Aug. 5 and he will become just the third player in the club's history to play competitively at that age.

The other two players: Clarence Feiber, a TOTS Hall of Famer who passed away at the age of 91 in May of 2011, and Sir Floyd Lance, 93, currently an active player and the oldest player to ever play for the TOTS.

Today the TOTS honored Heiny at Udall Park. Heiny, who hasn't pitched for over two years, took the mound for three innings and pitched to eight batters without yielding a run. He also played left field and made a putout. At the plate, he walked once and scored a run.

A pretty good day for Heiny, who was born in 1929 in Terre Haute, Indiana.

Heiny played for Team Blue today at Udall. Team White picked up the win over Team Blue with a 12-6 victory as Reed Palmer singled, doubled and homered with his 12th round tripper of the season. Tim Tolson provided some big blows for the winners with a 4 for 4 day, scoring four times, while knocking in four runs.

A birthday party was held at Thirsty's Bar and Grill after the game. Over 30 players were on hand to celebrate Heiny's birthday. Heiny was presented with a Louisville Slugger with his name engraved on it and, of course, plenty of birthday cake on hand for the occasion.

Photos: Billy Heiny at work on the mound at Udall Park today, photos of the celebration at Thirsty's and, of course, a photo of the  chocolate cake, honoring Billy's 90th birthday.

The Big 3 in the MLB -- Dodgers, Yankees and Astros

MLB

Without question the top three teams in Major League Baseball are the LA Dodgers, the New York Yankees and the Houston Astros. Yes, it's possible one of the three may run into a slump down the stretch, but it's highly unlikely.

The Yankees enter today's schedule with 67 wins and 38 losses, while the Astros at 68 wins and 39 losses are just a few percentage points back of New York. Definitely the top two teams in the American League. As for the Dodgers, well they're the cream of the crop in the National League with a 69-38 record.

The worst two teams in baseball this season: the Detroit Tigers at 30-71 and the Baltimore Orioles at 35-70. As the old saying goes, "wait til next year."

Diamondbacks battling to stay above the .500 mark

Arizona Diamondbacks


It's familiar territory for the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Here we are heading into August and the Diamondbacks (53-53) need a win tonight in Florida against the Miami Marlins to stay above the .500 mark.

Even with a win, the current road trip continues with two games in New York against the Yankees on Tuesday and Wednesday. Arizona returns home for a three-game series against Washington (Aug. 2-3-4) and a three-game series with Philadelphia (Aug. 5-6-7).

Not to mention all the trade talks. Could the Diamondbacks lose Zack Greinke or Robbie Ray?

Some tough times ahead for our Diamondbacks.

Palmer, Crowley lead Team White to 8-3 TOTS' win

Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

Reed Palmer belted his club-leading 11th home run of the season and lead off hitter Dennis Crowley  went 3 for 3 and scored three runs to lift Team White to a 8-3 win over Team Blue at Udall Park today in a 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers game.

Palmer's blast came in the bottom of the fourth inning -- a solo shot over the fence in right-center field -- as Team White built a 8-1 lead. Right-hander Mike Dawson held Team Blue in check for most of the game to pick up the pitching victory. Team Blue scored two runs in their final at bat. Tim Tolson and Joe Opocensky had two hits apiece for Team Blue. Opocensky went the distance for Team Blue and was saddled with the loss.

The TOTS return to action on Wednesday at Udall. Game time: 9 a.m.

Thompson, Boyd lead Team White to 6-3 TOTS' win

Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

Doc Thompson went 2 for 2 and was the winning pitcher, while teammate Tim Boyd went 3 for 3 and drove in two runs to lead Team White to a 6-3 win today over Team Blue at Udall Park in a 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers game.

Team White scored three runs in the first inning and added three more runs in the fifth. Lloyd Barzell pitched the final two innings for Team White and picked up the save. Bob Daliege was saddled with the loss. Tim Tolson went 3 for 3 for Team Blue, while teammate Bill Mishler went 2 for 3.

The TOTS return to action on Wednesday at Udall. Game time: 9 a.m.

Crowley leads Team White to 9-7 TOTS' win

Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

Lefty Dennis Crowley went the distance on the mound and collected two hits and scored three runs at the plate to lead Team White to a 9-7 win over Team Blue today at Udall Park in a 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers game.

Team White's Ken Nebesny went 2 for 3 and knocked in three runs, while Pete Peters was the hitting star for Team Blue with three hits in four trips to the plate and John Mathews added two hits and knocked in two runs.

The TOTS return to action on Monday at Udall. Game time: 9 a.m.

Team Blue scatters 16 hits in 9-5 TOTS' win

Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

Team Blue scattered 16 hits around Udall Park today and came away with a 9-5 win over Team White in a 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers game. Lloyd Barzell led Team Blue with a 4 for 4 performance at the the plate, while Reed Palmer went 3 for 3 and pitched a complete game for the win.

Roy Ryan was the hitting star for Team White with three hits and four RBI.

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

Tolson homers in TOTS' win

Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

Thunder Tim Tolson hit a 3-run homer in his first at bat today as Team White beat Team Blue 7-3 in a 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers game at Udall Park. It was Tolson seventh home run of the season, just two behind the club leader Reed Palmer with nine.

Joe Opocensky picked up the pitching victory, while Lloyd Barzell took the loss. Doc Thompson went 2 for 3 with an RBI and Brad Vermeer went 2 for 2 for the losing team. Tolson ended up with four RBI on the day.

The TOTS return to action on Wednesday at Udall. Game time: 9 a.m.

Bottom of TOTS' lineup today a combined 268 years

Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-baseball

Team White won the 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers game 7-3 at Udall Park this morning over Team Blue. Ten players took the field for each team, but the more experienced lineup on the field today: Team White's.

The bottom three batters for Team White included 93-year-old Floyd Lance, 85-year-old Joe Aparicio and 89-year-old Billy Heiny. Now Heiny turns 90 in August, Lance turns 94 in September and "Little Joe" will reach the age of 86 in January of 2020. Basically, that is close to 270 years of baseball experience.

There were no hits today among them. But it may be safe to say there's no baseball team across the country sporting a starting lineup which includes such a threesome. And all three played the entire game as the temperature reached a hot and dusty 90 degrees by game's end.

Aparicio, a TOT since 1998, was born in Santa Paula, California in 1934, Heiny, a TOT since 1997, was born in Terre Haute, Indiana in 1929 and Lance, a TOT since 1999, was born in Glen Gardner, New Jersey in 1925.

In 1925, bread was 10 cents a pound and a half a gallon of milk was 28 cents. Gas to get to the ball park: 22 cents a gallon. Calvin Coolidge was the 30th President of the United States.

Photos: Hats off to the above trio Floyd Lance (top) Billy Heiny (middle) and Joe Aparicio (bottom photo).

Thunder Tim at it again

Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

Thunder Tim Tolson did it again during the month of June. The 66-year-old left-handed power hitter led the 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers in hits (22), in RBI (17) and in batting average (.815). Tolson went 22 for 27 at the plate -- making just five outs during the entire month.

A tough out to say the least.

The closest TOTS to him were John Mathews (17 for 26, a .654 average) and Doc Thompson (17 for 23, a .739 average). Thirty four members took the field at one time or another during the month. Lloyd Barzell led all pitchers for the month with five wins and no losses. Reed Palmer hit the only home run during the month and now has nine for the season.

Denny Leonard led all hitters above the age of 80. Leonard, 81, went 3 for 20 and played in eight games. Floyd Lance, the oldest active player at 93 years of age, went 2 for 21, scored twice and knocked in a run in seven games.

Other top hitters for the month included Bob Daliege (10 for 19), Pete Peters ( 11 for 20), Ken Nebesny (14 for 21) and Palmer ( 12 for 21).

The TOTS welcomed its newest member Don Rockliffe. Don was approved by the TOTS' committee last week and received his hat. Don played in two games in June and batted an even .500 (3 for 6) and  scored four runs.

The TOTS were back in action this morning at Udall Park with Team White beating Team Blue 7-3. Tolson knocked in three runs for the winning team today. Joe Opocensky went the distance and picked up the pitching victory, while Mike Dawson took the loss. The game was close down the stretch. Team White had jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first inning, but both teams picked up just three runs apiece the rest of the way.