Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)
60-and-over baseball
Easter Sunday fantasy game
Corona Games
It was Easter Sunday and all through the house not a creature was stirring...
Except down at Udall Park, at the stroke of 10 o'clock... a game was to be played.
The fans crowded into the bleachers and adhered to the rule of six feet apart.
Little Joe was already scurrying through the park trash cans, searching for Easter eggs...the players were grabbing their gloves and warming up...the United States flag blew freely beyond the center field fence.
Mike Dawson was on the scene early and lined the baselines...Michael Steele was busy hosing down the infield...and Brad Vermeer quickly attached the bases, while Denny Leonard quickly put the finishing touches to the field by bringing out the extra plate and placing it down at its rightful place.
Pete Peters completed his duty...and maneuvered the TOTS' motorized tug, back to the shed...back to Chico's Place.
Let the game begin...
A new rookie, Ken Nebesny toed the rubber for Team White and finished his warmup tosses to his battery mate, Billy Mishler. Once again no umpire behind the plate in this one and no field umpires as well.
It should be easy enough on the pitchers. Throw a strike and the batter must swing, the runner then forced to take a deep breath under his TOTS' bandana and scurry down the line to first base.
The game turned into a real nail biter as Team Blue countered with the slow-throwing lefty, Dennis "the menace" Crowley.
The innings flew by. No arguing strikes, no pitter-patting around on the base path...social distancing at first, at second and at third. There was plenty spacing in the outfield as right fielder Miguel Urtaza made a shoestring catch to end the sixth inning.
Still no score when Team Blue came to bat in the top of the seventh for the final time. David Byars hit a towering fly ball to left, but Roger Beebe was on his horse and made the catch at the warning track. Reed Palmer sent a line shot to right, but Joe Aparicio adjusted his glove, eyed the sky and made a circus catch for the second out. Jesse Ochoa stepped to the plate. His forearms looked bigger than usual. It was discovered after the game, he'd been spreading rock in his back yard for days and he had come to the game as fit as a fiddle.
Ochoa connected on the first pitch from Crowley (the only pitch, mind you) and the ball sailed toward the mid-morning sun, picking up speed heading to deep center field. All the players looked up and picked up the oval as it banged off the scoreboard, beyond the centerfield fence for a solo home run.
The three people in the stands roared their approval and began a wave...a horn went off in the parking lot as Ochoa began his journey to home plate. Team Blue 1, Team White 0
Team White came off the field and prepared for their final at bat. All 10 players remained six feet apart and positioned themselves outside the dugout. Dick "Double D" Ducklow grabbed a bat...it was to be his final at bat of the spring. He was to leave for Wisconsin on Monday morning. His family back in Wisconsin had called, his five acres needed mowing -- the grass was out of sight and needed attending.
Ducklow drilled Nebesny's pitch inside the bag at third and the Green Bay Packers' fan scurried all the way to third. Suddenly, the tying run was at third and the winning run stepped to the plate in the person of Big Doc Escala.
Doc gritted his teeth, much like one of his patients would do while squirming in his dental chair.
You could almost see the sawdust coming off the end of his 35-inch wood bat.
Nebesny unleashed his best fastball of the day. Doc swung. Nebesny didn't bother to look back as the ball was "out of here" sailing over the left field fence with plenty of room to spare.
Team White 2 Team Blue 1.
The players quickly marched to their cars and headed home. Back to being quarantined.
The Corona Games will return next week.
Stay tuned.
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