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Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

Arnold Schwarzenegger has said many times, "I'm back."

Of course, that was one of his famous lines in Expendable 2 back in 2012. Remember the bulldozer scene when "Trench" comes to the rescue?

Well, I'm no Arnold. In fact, the only puffed up part of my body is my left knee which has gone from the size of a grapefruit  two  weeks ago to a slightly oversized apple. I'm making progress with a little help from an urgent care nurse practitioner in Phoenix and maybe a little help from my primary care doctor who explained to me today, "the appointment on the 10th of November will now be a conference call."

Even my doctor has given in to the coronavirus.

All of this is necessary because at the age of 75, I decide to dive for a ball in the first inning and the ninth inning of our second round-robin game at the Men's Senior Baseball League World Series, held in Phoenix  -- an event held every October at all the spring training facilities through out the Valley of the Sun. This year marks the 33rd installment of the prestigious event, which normally has 330 teams and 3,000 players from all over the country descending on the Phoenix area for a month of non-stop baseball. Five weeks if you add the first week of November when the tourney ends with the Father-and-Son MSBL World Series -- one of the more popular divisions.

Due to the coronavirus, no Thursday barbecues were held this year at the MSBL World Series. No meet and greet, if you will. No shaking hands after each game, a mask must be worn in and out of the stadiums and annex fields, while the entry into the ball parks, in some cases, were limited to 30 minutes prior to the game. If a doubleheader was scheduled players were expected to pack up between games and vacate the stadium while workers scurry around and do a deep cleaning. Well, a quick dusting anyway. 

As for me, I've been told many times by my teammates on the 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers: "No diving. Stay on your feet!"

Once again I didn't listen.

This year the coronavirus played havoc with the 2020 MSBL World Series as just 202 teams suited up. Missing were teams from Canada, Australia and the Virgin Islands.

Next year the powers to be, who run the MSBL World Series, promise a bigger and better event.

We can only hope.

As for me, the jury is out on whether I'll be back for my 14th MSBL World Series. The 13th didn't go as planned.

But I'll be back with my teammates soon. Because the Tucson Old Timers keep on plugging and are just weeks away from completed yet another season. The amateur baseball organization will begin its 54th season in January.

Soon we can leave 2020 behind us.

Let's play ball!

From the desk of Pigpen Price