Peters takes a tumble

Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball


Today's game at Udall:  The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

There's never a dull moment at a Tucson Old Timers' game.

And today was a perfect example.

In the first inning, one of the more reliable outfielders on the TOTS, Team White's Pete Peters, turned and headed for the warning track in left field in hopes of tracking down a fly ball. He slipped and took a tumble, banging his head on the hard-as-a-rock turf at Udall Park. Peters was out cold for a good four minutes, but was still breathing. He was either unconscious, knocked out or stunned, whatever you want to call it, but his teammates and the onlookers at Udall were in for some anxious moments.

Five minutes later, the paramedics and the fire truck arrived on the scene and hauled Pistol Pete off to St. Joseph's Hospital. Pete is now back with us and resting at home.

If that wasn't enough, one inning later Team Blue's left fielder Roger Beebe found himself in a similar situation. A deep fly ball had Beebe on the run. Beebe turned around in time and found the ball on top of his noggin. Another timeout was called as some of Beebe's teammates rushed to his aid. Beebe picked up his hat, brushed it against his right knee and signaled that he was all right.

By this time, the game had entering the bottom of the second inning and over an hour had expired since the first pitch was thrown. There was an ending to this game, but it took two hours and 45 minutes to complete.

In the end, Team Blue won the game over Team White 12-9, thanks to a come-from-behind, top of the seventh inning when they plated four runs.

Down 9-8,  after Team White had taken a one-run lead on consecutive hits from Ron Ryan, Reed Palmer and John Mathews in the bottom of the sixth, Team Blue went to work and banged out five hits off Team White's Mike Dawson, including a single from Dennis Crowley and doubles from Tim Tolson, Doc Thompson and Steve Foster.

Thompson's blast to the gap in left-center was the killer hit off Dawson as the go-ahead runs scored to put Team Blue in the lead 10-9. Two more runs would score before Dawson was able to get out of the inning by striking out Phil Gordon and getting Denny Leonard to ground out to third for the final out.

Still, Team White had a chance in the bottom of the seventh to change matters, but Thompson, who went the distance for the win, struck out a batter and two force plays followed to end the game.

Palmer, who led Team White with a 4 for 4 day, scored three times and knocked in three runs, while Mathews went 2 for 4 and knocked in four runs. Crowley led Team Blue with a 4 for 4 day, while Tolson went 3 for 4 and Thompson ended up 2 for 3 on the day with a run scored and two RBI.

So, the good: the fact the TOTS are back in action, despite the coronavirus. The bad: Well, there really isn't anything bad that happened. The ugly: Pistol Pete's adventure in left field and Beebe's header an inning later.

The TOTS will be back on Friday and try it again. The first pitch at 9 a.m.