Our masked men are taking a well-needed break

Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

Our masked men

Corona Games


The catchers on our 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers baseball team are out of action for a while and receiving a much-needed break. Being a catcher with the TOTS can turn into a grueling process at times. Things like wild pitches, passed balls and an occasional knock on the noggin' or a ricochet off  the catcher's mask can give the man behind the plate plenty of headaches.

Sometimes the old-timers hit the ball backwards instead of forwards.

Right now the coronavirus has got the TOTS shutdown. Not only the catchers, but all the players --   the infielders, the outfielders, the pitchers, the coaches, the managers and the scorekeeper are all without a job, so to speak.

As for the TOTS' catchers, they all are a piece of work. They have to be a bit crazy to spend two hours behind the plate, sometimes in 100+ degree temperatures. Some of them are still young -- hanging on to their 60s and some are in the 70s.

Take for instance, our winter visitor Danny Boxberger. Danny is 69 and turns 70 in December. In photo below, his mask can handle a runaway strike, as for keeping the coronavirus away -- not sure.

Boxberger hails from Vancouver, wears number 88 and has been a member of the TOTS since 2014. Did I mention he likes beer? He knows his beers. When he wins, he may have a cool one, when he losses (see below) he might drown his sorrows (not really). Remember you can't believe everything the TOTS' historian puts in print.

Next up is Professor Bill Mishler, 72, who hails from Miami, Florida and is one of the few TOTS still working for a living. Bill is a Professor of the School of Government and Public Policy at the University of Arizona. In other words, a smart cookie. Bill, #20, and a member of the TOTS since 2015, took up catching a few years back and loves it.

Our cool cat catcher, is Mike Steele, 72, still displays all the "moves" behind the plate. Mike, who  wears #11, is a local product and went to Tucson Pueblo High School back at the turn of the century (just kidding, see photo below).

And then there's Ron Carlson, 72, a former New York police officer who can patrol his position behind the plate with the best of them -- well the best of them who are 70-and-over, that is. Ron wears #6 (see photo below).

That brings us to our Bostonian. Every team needs a player from Boston. I think Bostonian is right, although there was an American racehorse by that name. Bostonian won a race at Pimlico, back in 1927. Dennis "the menace" Crowley (photo below) is not quite that old. In fact, Dennis, who wears #55,  is 70 and will turn 71 in October.

We do have a lawyer that throws on the gear and takes his position behind the plate. Our youngest catcher is Ron Ryan, Ron is 62 and hails from LA. A Dodger fan, of course. Ryan, is the second youngest player on the TOTS (see photo below).

Rest up catchers! There will be baseball someday.