TOTS 53rd season ends this week

 Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

The TOTS will finish off its 53rd season this week at Udall Park.

On January 1, 2021 another season begins.

The year 2020 has been a tough one and we lost a couple of legends along the way with the loss of Jerry Smarik in March and Bobby Katz in October. We also gained three new players -- a trio of youngsters -- Mark Capley, 61, Rick Bitzer, 65, and Bobby Williams, 61.

The Tucson Old Timers keep on swinging. 

Remembering Jerry and Bobby --

Jerry Smarik passed away at the age of 88 on March 10, 2020. Jerry joined the TOTS in 1991 and was referred to as the 'iron man" on the club. After all, Jerry stepped to the plate more than 4,000 times with the organization and until 2015 rarely missed a game.

Smarik was born in Detroit and spent his childhood days playing baseball and taking in games at Briggs Stadium. He remembers cleaning seats and then getting in free to the games. He said, in an interview in 2009: "We'd get there early and management would let us clean off the seats. We'd get a nickel, dime and sometimes a quarter for dusting off the seats. It was a heck of a deal, back then."

A former Navy man and retired postal carrier, Smarik was known for lighting up a stogie in the parking lot at Udall Park after every game and taking a puff or two.

Jerry and his wife, Sharon, had quite the journey together with 63 beautiful years together.

Rest in peace, Jerry.

We lost our Marine-- Captain Robert Edward Katz, USMC (retired) on October 29, 2020 at the age of 83. He is survived by his wife of 56 years, Yolanda, who like so many wives of TOTS' members waited patiently year after year for her husband to come home from the ball park on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, quickly checking for cuts and bruises.

Bobby Katz was a member of the TOTS for 15 years and he grew up in Philadelphia. Like his buddy, Jerry Smarik, as a kid he'd grab sixty cents from his mom, hop on a trolley and head for Shribe Park and watch baseball greats like Richie Ashburn and Robin Roberts play ball.

Rest in peace, Bobby.

Two TOTS Legends -- Jerry Smarik and Bobby Katz. We will miss them as we do all our teammates who are no longer in our dugout.

Remembering Moon Man Minton

From the desk of Pigpen  Price

Back in the 1990s when I was a sportswriter in the Phoenix area , I wrote the following article entitled: GILBERT RESIDENT REMEMBERS LIFE IN THE BIG LEAGUES. For those old, old Giants fans out there, take a look at the following (which is cut down a bit to save some space).

Baseball fans will curl up on the sofa or ease into their favorite chair this week, press the button on the remote control and witness -- yet another World Series. A true die-hard fan dreams of playing in the Major Leagues. But the fantasy fades quickly and we are content setting comfortably ten feet away from the "tube" and watching our heroes do battle.

For local Gilbert resident, Greg Minton, the dream did come true. Minton made it to the "show" as a rookie relief pitcher in 1975 and before he was done -- hurled his way through fifteen major league seasons. Looking back on his career, Minton remembers, "I was a lucky man. I just happened to throw a 94 MPH fastball and most of the time, I didn't know where it was going. But, fortunately, the opposing batters weren't sure either."

Minton, now 42, and a Gilbert resident since 1987, spent six years in the minor leagues and at the age of 24, the young righthander finally got his call -- Candlestick Park and the San Francisco Giants. Greg played for the Giants till 1987 and finished his career with the California Angels, before retiring in 1990.

"I still remember the day I retired," said Minton. "I walked up to Angel manager Doug Rader in the dugout and told him I was through. I packed my belongings, got in my car and headed for Gilbert."

So on that day in 1990, it ended. Minton had thrown 1,130 innings, pitched in 710 games and had recorded 150 saves (good enough to place him 27th on the all-time saves list). The long seasons had taken its toll on Minton's 6'1", 180 lb. frame. The hard-throwing reliever suffered through three elbow, three shoulder and four knee operations. Minton's best season was 1982. Greg recorded 30 saves (one more than Hall of Famer Rollie Fingers), pitched 123 innings and finished fourth in the coveted Cy Young voting -- the prestigious award honoring the top pitcher of the year. His efforts placed him on the 1982 National League All-Star roster. The game was held in Montreal and the first All-Star game to be played outside the United States.

"I remember Tommy Lasorda (the Dodgers great manager) telling me to take the mound in the 8th inning. It was a thrill. I pitched to three batters before being pulled in the 9th inning," said Minton. "I was so pumped up with excitement, I hardly remember being out there."

(Actually, the National League won 4-1 and Minton came away unscathed after facing All-Star's Lance Parrish, Ben Oglivie and Rickey Henderson.)

The years in the majors has left Minton with many stories to tell. One of his favorite flashbacks occurred during his early days with the Giants, and it centered around the great Hall of Famer Wille McCovey (521 home runs, tied for 10th all-time). "I had the pleasure of playing with a lot of great players over the years and McCovey was one classy individual," states Minton.

Still a nervous rookie, Minton was sorting through his gear in the Giant lockerroom and discovered he had two pair of black baseball shoes. The young pitcher had a problem. Minton found out rather quickly that the Giants only took the field in white shoes.

The next day Minton found two pair of white shoes in his locker. Willie had taken it on himself to drive to town, purchase the much-needed items, return to the stadium and place the shoes inside Greg's locker. Minton opened his locker and found his new shoes -- correct size and all. McCovey walked by, looked down at the youngster and said, "Now you're ready to play ball."

The stories are endless. Minton recalls his first pitching assignment in Yankee stadium. "That put a lump in my throat," said Minton. "Mickey Mantle was my favorite player growing up and I was in awe of the surroundings."

Six years have gone by since Minton stepped foot onto Yankee Stadium. Three years have past since he handed his last baseball to the Angel manager in Anaheim. But the memories, they will linger for a long time to come.

Minton is now content -- giving back all the baseball knowledge he has accumulated over the years to the kids in the Gilbert area. Greg coaches Little League and works constantly in other children-orientated events in the area. Minton, now 69, is now a successful real estate agent and his wife, Kari  Granville Minton, is a Phoenix attorney and an All-American archer in 1987-88 at Arizona State University and a former member of the USA Archery team.

Photo: Minton, back in the day. Minton is now 69.

Pigpen's bunt single leads to 4-3 TOTS' win

Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

Team White loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom of the sixth inning at Udall Park today and then scored the game-winner on an unsuccessful force play at the plate to escape with a 4-3 win over Team Blue in a 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers game.

Team Blue, down 3-1 in the top of the sixth, scored two runs to tie the game when newcomer Carl Schwanbeck hit a two-run single up the middle off Team White's right-hander Joe Opocensky.

Then came the final at bat for Team White. Pigpen Price reached on a bunt single off Bob Daliege, moved to second on a single to center by Jesse Ochoa and moved to third on a single to right field by Opocensky.

That brought up Ron Ryan, who already had two hits on the day, but this time Ryan topped a Daliege fastball down third and the throw home bounced in front of the plate and away from catcher Pete Peters, allowing Price to score the game-winner.

"I should have caught the ball," Peters said. If he had made the play, Price would have been out by two feet.

Opocensky and Daliege pitched well, but the pitching victory goes to Opocensky, who allowed nine hits, struck out one and did not walk a batter. Daliege allowed 12 hits, struck out one and walked two.

Tim Tolson went 2 for 3 and drove in three of Team White's four runs, while David Byars went 2 for 4, drove in a run and scored a run for Team Blue.

The TOTS will close out their 53rd season next week with games on Monday and Wednesday. First pitch for both games at 10 a..m.

Floyd Lance, 95, a TOTS' Legend

Back in September of 2019, Floyd Lance turned 94. Sir Floyd, now 95, didn't take any swings in 2020, but his TOTS' teammates send out a special greeting this week: Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to Floyd and Irene. The article below was posted on Bookemdanosports on September 6, 2019. 

Floyd Lance has done it so many times before. He grabs his bat and moves to the on deck circle. He awaits his turn -- his next swings...his chance to hit the baseball -- maybe a single to left field, a blooper to center or maybe an opposite-field hit to right field.

Every time Lance steps to the plate he breaks a club record.

Today is Floyd's birthday. He turned 94 today and batted three times at Udall Park for Team White this morning in a 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers game. He faced Team Blue's flamethrower Reed Palmer, who is 31 years younger and stands six feet, six inches tall and throws a ball to the plate with more speed than Floyd's first car -- a 1934 Ford.

That is probably stretching things a bit. Palmer's fastball may top out at around 60 mph and Lance recalls the speedometer on the Ford he won in a raffle back in 1943 topped out around 65.

"Yeah. I entered a church raffle and won the car," Lance recalls. "I was 18 years old."

Fast forward 76 years and Sir Floyd drives to the ball park in comfort these days in his 2015 Jeep Cherokee. His mode of transportation has changed, but his desire to get to the ball field on time and play America's Favorite Pastime remains in tact.

"I love playing the game and I'll continue for as long as I can," says Lance, the oldest TOT to ever suit up and play for the organization, an amateur baseball club in its 52nd season.

Lance, a member of the TOTS for more than 20 years, was born in Glen Gardner, New Jersey on September 6, 1925 and he doesn't recall the first professional baseball game he attended.

"I'm not sure, but it had to have been a Giants-Dodgers game," Lance said. He can certainly be forgiven if he can't remember the game or the score.

One thing is for sure, it is a familiar scene to see Sir Floyd step to the plate every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at Udall Park. His teammates all agree. It never gets old watching Floyd Lance adjust his batting helmet and take his stance in the batter's box.

Whether the next pitch is a strike or ball...whether the ball dribbles down the third baseline or bounces into the outfield, it makes little difference. His teammates watch in awe.

Hats off to you, Sir Floyd.

Never give up

 From the desk of Pigpen Price

Thinking ahead...

Follow along with me as I allow a nano-robot to cruise through my body -- searching for answers as to why, at the age of 102,  I can't ever play baseball again.

OK. So, I'm getting too far into the future. Let's go back a year (we will jump back to 2048 in a moment).

Its 2019,  I have just returned from a 25-minute journey into a "black hole" -- better known as an MRI, the well-known three letters which stand for magnetic resonance imaging.

Thirty million people take the short journey every year -- all searching for answers to a medical problem or, in my case, looking for results as to why I can't throw a baseball across the diamond with out bouncing it to a fidgety first baseman, who would rather I throw a bullet, chest high.

The nano-robot is coming.

Chances are my teammates on the 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers have already penciled me in as a right fielder with an asterisk by my name on the lineup card, signifying this player needs a bathroom break every now and then.

As for now, I'm dealing with a neck injury and the next step comes next Monday when I see a neurosurgeon to go over the "findings" of my journey through the black hole.

Fast forward to Monday and the neurosurgeon shows me the MRI. Is that really me? It looks like somebody is playing checkers in my body and has no idea how to play the game. The scary images are dark, but to be honest with you, the inner body is mind boggling. The whole thing is way above my pay grade. Wait a minute! I do not have a pay grade. I've been on social security for 13 years.

To be honest with you, the report on my neck injury isn't pretty. I could be facing...well, life away from the baseball field. In jeopardy: my 12-year run at the MSBL World Series, a prestigious event which comes around every October for more than 3,000 amateur baseball players from all over the country who are as crazy about baseball as I am.

Closer to home, I already miss being with the "guys" on Monday, Wednesday and Friday at Udall Park. On those days, every week, year in year out, the 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers play the game of baseball.

It's simply the best gig in town for an old timer who loves to play America's favorite pastime.

My closest friends and family members say it is time to hang up my baseball shoes for good. After all, my injury list is as long as a weekly grocery list -- hand surgery, foot surgery, eye surgery and a heart attack -- not to mention the menacing hamstring tears, bone spur problems, you name it...I have experienced it.

But to be honest with you, so has many of my teammates on the Tucson Old Timers.

Thinking back, even further to January 2, 2008...

Today I dressed for work, pulled out of the driveway, stopped at the local donut shop and chugged down a cup of coffee. A typical start to my morning. I arrived at work on time and prepared for another day as a State of Arizona employee.

By mid-morning, I was having chest pains and having a hard time breathing. I slumped to the floor and pushed my back up against the wall. Everyone came running and someone dialed 911. I was 62 years old and having a heart attack.

A week later, I was looking out the hospital window at the University Medical Center, a new member of the "zipper" society, fresh off of quadruple-bypass surgery. After a four-month recovery, I was back on the ball field. It wasn't easy at first. I couldn't walk to the mailbox, drive, or even think about exercising for the first few months, but gradually I gained my weight back (I had dropped about 25 pounds) and I got my strength back.

I've pretty much followed the doctor's orders all these years. I take my medicine, keep my weight down and hit the ball field three to four days a week. I could hit the gym more this year. I'm a little lazy with the gym workouts.

But all in all, a successful 13 years.

I'm heading for the ball field this morning. If I'm lucky enough to get a hit and reach first base, I'll take my lead off and if the ball is hit in the gap, I'll put on the after-burners (just kidding about the after-burners) and go from first to third.

I'll step on the base, look up and smile and say, "Thank You, Lord."

Bottom line: Never give up.

After a few visits with the neurosurgeon, some physical therapy and a few shots in the neck, the doctor says: "You might as well continue to play. Let's face it, You're an old man with an old neck."

So, if your "heart" is still ticking and you still have a passion for the game, or for whatever you are passionate about in your life, I say: "Go for it!"

Photo: Pigpen heading for the ball field in 2021.

Ryan's bases-clearing double leads Team White to 4-2 TOTS' win

 Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

 Team White's Ron Ryan, 62, stepped up to the plate with the bases loaded in the bottom of the third inning and ripped a shot just inside the first baseline off Team Blue's hard-throwing right-hander Ernesto "Doc" Escala.

Before right fielder Joe Aparicio, 86, was able to track the ball down, Ryan had cleared the bases and was standing on second base with a double as Team White jumped out to a 3-0 lead and went on to a 4-2 win today at Udall Park in a 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers game.

Team White's Mike Dawson went the distance and allowed only five hits to pick up the pitching victory, while Escala was saddled with the hard-luck loss.

Reed Palmer and David Byars drove in the only two runs for Team Blue. Dawson allowed just one base runner through the first four innings and the runner was erased when Pigpen Price hit into a double play in the fourth.

Escala allowed just one run after the third inning.

The TOTS return to action on Wednesday at Udall. Game time: 10 a.m.

Photo:  Ron Ryan

Vann shuts down Team White in 6-2 TOTS win

 Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

Newcomer Glen Vann, 67, pitched six strong innings, allowed one unearned run and struck out three batters en route to a 6-2 win for Team Blue over Team White in a 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers game today at Udall Park.

Vann, on loan from the Tucson Old Pueblo Club, took over in the second inning for Team Blue starter Mike Dawson and hurled five shutout innings before an unearned run scored on a fielder's choice play in the bottom of the seventh inning. Dawson, who pitched a complete game in a 10-3 win on Wednesday, gave his arm a rest today and gave way to Vann.

Once again it was Thunder Tim Tolson creating havoc with a two-run single in the top of the third inning, after Team Blue had loaded the bases when Pigpen Price reached on an error, Bobby Long walked and Mike Steele reached on an infield single.

Tolson lined a shot to right field off Team White's Reed Palmer, allowing Price and Long to score easily, and Team Blue owned a 2-1 lead. Tolson did it again in the sixth with another two-run single and Team Blue tacked on another run with a sacrifice fly from David Byars to take a 5-1 lead.

Both teams scored a run in the seventh, but Vann walked away with the win for Team Blue and Palmer took the loss, but pitched well in defeat -- allowing just three earned runs.

The TOTS were able to get all three of their games in this week and will try to close out their 53rd season with games on Monday and Wednesday next week and games the following week on Monday and Wednesday as well. No games scheduled on Christmas Day or New Year's Day.

Check out photos (below) 1) Glen Vann, today's winning pitcher, 2) Reed Palmer, pitched well but was saddled with the loss today, 3) The hitter: Mike Steele, caught Vann's offerings today and said: "Glen has a lot of movement on the ball." Steele had a good day at the plate today with three hits, scored a run and knocked in a run.

Mal the Scorekeeper -- Alone in the Dugout

 Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

Mal leaves his house every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. His journey isn't far -- just a little over a mile from Udall Park and then a 100-yard walk from the parking lot to the dugout and the home field of the 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers.

"I'd rather be playing," said the 83-year-old Mal Zwolinski, a former star player and a legendary hitter for the amateur baseball organization, which is just five games away from completing its 53rd season. "Back issues have kept me from the game."

Over 250 players have worn the blue and white TOTS' jerseys since 1968, the first year of the old-timers club, which played back then, not at Udall, but at Tucson Himmel Park.

Zwolinski, with the letters "Z" and "W" in his name, is used to being the last entry on a list for anything and especially a baseball roster. Mal is the last man listed on the TOTS' all-time roster, but there it is: Mal Zwolinski, uniform #7, birthdate 10/23/1937, hometown: Winchester, New Hampshire and a proud TOT since 2006.

Mal took his last swings back in 2013, but in 2009, at the age of 71, he played in 62 games, batted 188 times, scored 44 runs, collected 99 hits and knocked in 64 runs, which calculates into a hefty .527 batting average.

Now, due to covid-19 precautions, Mal sits alone in the dugout. His teammates have already dragged the field, inserted the bases and placed his four-legged table (canasta type, good enough normally for four  card players to play comfortably) at the north end of the dugout bench.

With mask in place and a couple of trusty pencils in his hand, he's ready for work. Now, some of the guys joke with him: "Mal. I'll  give you a dollar for a hit today." Mal has yet to go home with any extra change in his pocket.

It's been a tough time for the world...the country...Arizona and Tucson, as the citizens of the world and...an old-timers baseball club, battle through the adversity.

There have been times during the last few months when the TOTS have been short of players. If that happens, all the equipment is put away, including Mal's scoring table, and all the players head home, including Mal Zwolinski.

Mal may be the last name on the roster, but he is the first on the list as a TOTS' legend and the club's No. 1 scorekeeper.

Photo: Mal at work

Nebesny, Ochoa, Palmer lead Team Blue to TOTS' win; Tolson hits 4th homer

 Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

Leadoff batter Ken Nebesny (above photo) went 3 for 5, reached base five times and scored each time to lift Team Blue to a 10-3 win over Team White today at Udall Park in a 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers game. 

The game belonged to Team Blue except for the first inning when Thunder Tim Tolson hit his fourth home run of the season -- a two-run shot over the right field fence. David Byars knocked in the third run in the third inning on a fielder's choice play and that was it for Team Blue.

In the meantime, it was a hard-luck outing for Team White's Bob Daliege. There were plenty of infield errors and when the Team Blue hitters did get the bat on the ball, the ball seemed to find a hole. In short, plenty of bloopers and opposite field hits. A frustrating day for Team White.

Mike Dawson went the distance and picked up the win.

Jesse Ochoa had four hits on the day and the hard-hitting Reed Palmer had three hits and drove in five runs.

Team White had just six hits off Dawson. Newcomer Glen Vann hit a booming double to center during the last at bats for Team White.

The TOTS hope to close out the week with another game on Friday at Udall. Warmups at 9 a.m. and the first pitch is slated for 10 a.m.

Photos above: Jesse Ochoa with four hits today for Team Blue, while lefty Thunder Tim Tolson hit his fourth homer of the season for Team White.

Escala leads Team Blue to 6-4 TOTS' win

Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

Ernesto "Doc" Escala, a Tucson MSBL Hall of Famer, is now a hard-throwing right-hander for the 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers.

Escala took the mound again today for Team Blue and allowed 10 hits, struck out two and walked six en route to a 6-4 win over Team White this morning at Udall Park.

About the only person Escala had trouble with was 86-year-old Joe Aparicio, who walked three times and struck out once, the final strike out came in the last inning when Escala needed three quick outs to preserve the win. When talking about the 5-1 Aparicio, Escala said. "That guy (Aparicio) is hard to pitch to."

In the first inning, Team White jumped out to a 2-0 lead thanks to an RBI-single from Reed Palmer and Brack Whitaker knocked in a run on a fielder's choice play. In the top of third, Team Blue evened matters with a two-run inning of their own with a walk to Ken Nebesny, a base hit from John Mathews and a two-run single from Tim Tolson.

After scoring a run in the fourth and another in the fifth, Team White took the field in the sixth with a 4-3 lead, but Team Blue put together a three-run rally to take the lead for good, thanks to Escala who knocked in two of the three runs with a single to center.

In the bottom of the sixth, the final at bat for Team White, Escala finally snuck a 2-2 pitch by Aparicio for the first out, but then walked Pigpen Price on four pitches and gave up a single to Bobby Long. That put the tying runs on base and a possible game-winner with the hard-hitting and pull hitting David Byars at the plate. Byars, who had already reached base four times, despite a foot injury, hit a shot to third for a game-ending double play.

Tolson ended up 4 for 4 on the day with two RBI, while Escala helped his own cause with a 3 for 4 day and three runs batted in. Ron Ryan, who went 2 for 4, also knocked in a run for the winners.

Joe Opocensky started the game for Team White and was saddled with the loss, but at the plate went 4 for 4 and scored twice, while Palmer went 3 for 3 and drove in three of the four runs.

The TOTS return to action on Wednesday at Udall Park. Batting practice and warmups at 9 a.m. Game time: 10 a.m.

Photos: Ernesto "Doc" Escala gets the pitching victory at Udall today.

The old codger steps to the plate

 Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

The grizzly old codger steps to the plate one more time...his bones are creaking...his knees are weak...his eyesight isn't what it used to be, but he has done it before...the same thing over and over again.

There will be another pitch coming his way and that's all, at the age of 75, he can ask for.

The Watchmaker

Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

Little Joe Aparicio grew up in Santa Paula, California, nestled among the many orchards in the fertile Santa Clara River Valley.

Joe was born on January 11, 1934, so he is just a few weeks away from his 87th birthday. The 5- foot-1 inch right fielder on the 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers is the oldest player to take the field for the amateur baseball organization in 2020. 

In fact, Little Joe shows up weekly and gets his cuts in. Heading into December, Joe had stepped to the plate 181 times in 2020. However, he did miss March, April, and May due to the Covid-19 scare and decided to play it safe. As a result, only two other players over 80 -- Bobby Stofft, 81, and Denny Leonard, 83, have logged in at-bats in an official game at Udall Park this season. Most players range in age from their early 60s to their mid-70s.

Of course, Little Joe wasn't always a baseball player. In fact, he spent over 30 years with IBM as a computer tech. "I could fix things," Aparicio said. "If something needed to be fixed, they'd send for Aparicio, the repairman." 

Aparicio also spent five years in the Air Force in Germany and was undoubtedly a fix-it man in the service. Little Joe was one of those guys who could take something apart, ascertain the problem, solve the problem, and put the apparatus back together.

Little Joe joined the TOTS in 1998 and, on January 1, 2020, will begin his 23rd season with the club. Joe no longer hits for an average, but he wasn't too shabby in his early years with the TOTS. In fact, he passed the 1,000-hit club in the spring of this year.

So, over the last two decades, Joe figured out how to fine-tune his swing...fix it, if you will, good enough to become a .300 hitter with the organization, say around the year 2001 when he was a young 67-year-old.

The ability and the patients to fix stuff started way back in Santa Paula when he ventured off, 30 miles away, to the town of Santa Clarita to begin a 10-year career as a watchmaker.

"It's funny. I remember this guy brought in his watch to be fixed," recalls Aparicio. "It took me a while to get the watch fixed. I couldn't find the part anywhere. So, I made the part myself and completed the job."

Aparicio, who spent around six months learning the basics of watchmaking, remembers when the man returned to pick up his now workable watch. The man said. "What's the difference between a watch repairman and a watchmaker?"

So Little Joe explains to the fellow how he came about getting the watch to work again. The man then said. "You mean you had to make the part to make it work?"

"Yes, I did," Joe said to the man. "That's the difference between a watch repairman and a watchmaker."

So, from an early age, Little Joe Aparicio has been dealing with time one way or another.

Now the time has flown by for Little Joe, but when asked how much longer he would continue to play baseball.

Joe said. "I'll keep on playing. I love it. There's plenty of time."

After all these years of playing with the TOTS, Little Joe Aparicio can still get the bat on the ball.

The TOTS manager Mike Dawson adds: "Even at his age, Joe continues to step to the plate and makes contact with the ball."

How many more at-bats does Little Joe have with the TOTS?

Only time will tell.

Photos: 1) A profile of Little Joe, the oldest player to play for the TOTS this season. 2) Joe figures the pitch is a little high and inside.

 

It's time for the Cardboard Lady to sing...

 From the desk of a diehard Wildcat fan

What is wrong with me? I'm turning into a cardboard mannequin at home. I'm sitting on my sofa with my Arizona cap on and during every advertisement break I stare off into the sunset and mumble, "Is this really happening?"

I mean the Arizona women's basketball team is en route to a 28-point win over Arizona State and will move on up next week from their 6th in the nation ranking to even higher as they improve to 4-0 on Thursday with a 65-37 win at McKale.

Peppery guard Aari McDonald led all scorers with 22 points and looks like she's ready to grab a carry-on bag, walk out of McKale and join an NBA team...well WNBA, anyway. Meanwhile, what looks like a full house of cardboard Arizona fans sit quietly and take it all in. Is it time for the Cardboard Lady to sing?

Across the hall, so to speak, the Arizona men's team prepares today for an encounter at home against UTEP tomorrow at 4 p.m. The Wildcats (4-0) are coming off a dismantling of Cal State Bakerfield, 85-60, on Wednesday at the cardboard arena at the McKale Center.

The Wildcats dish out 22 assists and they look like a team Miller has been looking for ever since he walked through the McKale doors for the first time. Yes, I know we have yet to play a Pac-12 game with this young -- and fun to watch, I may add -- Arizona Wildcats team for 2020-21.

But coming out of my dreamy cardboard eyes, I see shooting guard Jemari Baker pour in 33 points against NAU on Monday and another 15 against Bakersfield, while backup guard Terrell Brown comes off the bench, pours in 16 points and adds six assists.

Please somebody sing a tune. Maybe the postgame workers who are busy making McKale ready for the next group of cardboard fans should come up with a rendition of "Bear Down, Arizona."

And don't get me started on the Arizona Cardinals at 6-6 and now my favorite player Larry Fitzgerald is just getting over a COVID-19 scare. The 37-year-old is back at practice and ready for action on Sunday, an away game with the New York Giants.

Still, I have yet to watch all four quarters of an NFL game. I guess my cardboard neck hurts. Well, it does anyway, at the age of 75. To be honest it does feel like a piece off cardboard at times...hard to move to the right with a little crunching sound now and then.

I am slowly getting back to being my old diehard self as a University of Arizona fan.

I just wish somebody would stand up and cheer on my Wildcats. I'm thinking maybe a spring should be attached to every cardboard fan that enters McKale.

Go, Wildcats!

Carl and Pigpen

 From the desk of an old baseball player

It's now 2024...and Carl and Pigpen are a bit older...and still swinging

Rarely do I write about myself when I'm whaling away on my laptop. Most of the time, I'm happy writing about others, and I'm satisfied with the fact I have an idea in my head and can string enough words together to post yet another story about my favorite sport: baseball. After all, I have plenty of characters on the 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers to write about.

Today's post will be a little different. I'll entitle this offering: Carl and Pigpen, or should I call it: The Baseball Junkies?  Carl is Carl Schwanbeck, and Pigpen, of course, is yours truly. 

This story begins long ago, in the 1960s, when you could buy a Rawlings baseball mitt for less than twenty bucks.

And now, for the rest of the story...

Carl Schwanbeck, 74, and Danny "Pigpen" Price, 75, are baseball junkies. These two codgers have been around the game of baseball since both were knee-high to a grasshopper in height and had barely enough meat on their bones to keep from being blown away by a tumbling tumbleweed.

They both ended up in Arizona and know the difference between a dust devil and a tumbleweed.

Let's start with Carl. He bounced around as a young fella. Talk about baseball; Carl was born in Williamsport, Pa. -- the land of the Little League World Series. "I didn't even like baseball then," Carl recalls. "I was probably the worst player and always sat at the end of the bench."

Things changed for little Carl as he ended up in Marietta, Georgia, about 20 miles northwest of Atlanta, where he started to pick up the game of baseball. When he moved to Monroeville, Ohio, Carl had become good enough to play high school ball. Somewhere along the way, he picked up a first baseman's mitt. "I even hit a home run in a regional game," Carl said. "The opposing pitcher had struck out 15 of us, but we still won the game, and I got my homer."

Next stop: Kent State. He passed on playing baseball at Kent State but did get his degree. This was in 1968, and the starting battery for Kent State was Steve Stone and Thurman Munson. That alone convinced Carl that maybe he wasn't quite ready for a college baseball career.

Fast forward to Tucson, and after many years of service at Raytheon, Carl retired from the workforce and found his way to the Tucson Men's Senior Baseball League. By 2011, now a somewhat tall and experienced lefty first baseman, Carl, now in his mid-60s, had made a name for himself and played on many Tucson MSBL teams -- 18-and-over, in some cases, all the way up to 38-and-over and 45-and-over. In 2015, the league honored Carl by inducting him into the Tucson MSBL Hall of Fame.

Now at 74 (he just turned 74 on Halloween), Carl has become a "semi-rookie" on the 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers. He has yet to join the club but unofficially has a few games under his belt.

"My heart is still with the Tucson MSBL," Carl said. "It works for me. I'm the oldest in the league, but my manager Rick (Bitzer, 65, a TOTS rookie and now a club member) understands that, and I'm comfortable with my role on the club."

When you're a Tucson MSBL Hall of Famer and can still play the game. Why not?

"I have some eyesight issues and the normal aches and pains, but I can still play," says Schwanbeck.

The COVID-19 virus has done a number on the TOTS and the Tucson MSBL (see above). The TOTS have continued playing this year, missing only the month of March and a few weeks in April, but the Tucson MSBL has canceled many of their games at Reid Park, while many of the teams elected to wait until the spring of 2021 to start back up. Hence, the reason the TOTS has picked up Bitzer on its roster and also has Schwanbeck, the baseball junkie, hanging around.

We'll get back to Schwanbeck and the Tucson MSBL in a minute (or maybe in 30 minutes, depending on how tired my fingers get and how my back holds out in this office chair), but let's switch gears and talk about this Pigpen fella for a moment.

This guy was a career .250 hitter in college and now, at 75, is in a slump. "I can't hit my way out of paper bag right now," Pigpen adds.

"But back in the day," Pigpen recalls. I wasn't too bad."

After "having trouble with the curve" in high school at Tucson Catalina (Class of 1963), Pigpen received a sports writing gig as the sports publicist at Eastern Arizona College in Thatcher.

"In 1965, I made the college baseball team and played second base," Price said. "My only claim to fame: We played a doubleheader at home against the Arizona State "Freshmen" Sun Devils. We were called the Gila Monsters, but we won't go there. After all, Scottsdale Community College, one of our opponents, was called the Artichokes, for goodness sake.

"At any rate, I'm at second in the second game of a doubleheader, two outs, and a young speed demon on first base for ASU named Reggie Jackson. He runs. Our catcher, Cliff Martin, who went on to a long coaching career at a high school in Paradise Valley, just outside the downtown Phoenix area, made a beautiful throw on the money. Jackson, barely 19 years old at the time, begins his slide with spikes high in the air and, of course, spikes the heck out of me, and I drop the ball....end of the story," said  Pigpen.

As for Pigpen, after a 30-year career in the airline industry, he became a sportswriter in the Phoenix area from 1990 to 2001. He managed to play his share of fast-pitch softball in Utah, Nebraska, and finally in Phoenix and Tucson.

In 1997, Pigpen hooked up with Carl Schwanbeck for the first time. Both baseball junkies were members of the 1997 National Senior Olympics team, which beat a Maryland team in the championship game at Hi Corbett Field. Carl was the first-sacker, Pigpen at second base, and the shortstop was Bud Warnke, another Tucson MSBL Hall of Famer and the baseball coach at Tucson Amphitheater High School.

And here we are 23 years later and counting. The baseball junkies and we are still at it.

The Tucson area is full of players who have played in the Tucson MSBL since 1989. Many are in the Hall of Fame, and many play for the 60-and-over Old Pueblo Club at Santa Rita Park, and a few have played for the 60-and-over Arizona Rattlers at Mission Manor Park. At Udall Park, where the TOTS and the 60-and-over Tucson Aces play, Ernesto "Doc" Escala, now 68, pitches for the TOTS and was inducted into the Tucson MSBL Hall of Fame in 2008.

In fact, it's easy to connect the dots with the best ball players of the past with the Tucson MSBL Hall of Famers. Men like Gary Williams, Jim "Cowboy" Grace, Joe Jimenez, Herb McReynolds, Mark Sewell, Mark Stevens, Jim Stone, Charlie Riesgo, Don Holp, Steve Badart, Robin Badart, Mike Gray, Vic Acuna and Ted Abel.

And the list goes on...

Jesus Felix, Arnold Mares, Jose Pico, Jim Baugher, Lou Russo, Gasper Limon and Dave Bies.

I'm sorry. I'm sure I should have included a few more. But chances are Schwanbeck and Pigpen Price have played for or against many of them.

Take, for instance, Dave "Diamond" Bies, who played for 23 years in the Tucson MSBL and passed away in 2017 at the age of 53. According to Schwanbeck, who knew Bies since the first day he joined the league. "Dave was well-liked. I enjoyed the traditional "hand slap" at the end of the game, and he always had something friendly to say," Carl added.

Many of the Hall of Famers are legends; some are still out there putting on their spikes, grabbing their gloves, and heading back on the field.

Which brings us back to those two baseball junkies again. Wouldn't you know it, but Carl and Pigpen met again in 2012. Price played, alongside his 48-year-old son, Michael, on Robin Badart's Blackbirds, while Carl was with the Phillies in the Tucson MSBL.

Until then, Carl was the oldest player in the league. Pigpen, in 2012, took over the role as the most senior, at least for a few months. "It wasn't for long," Price recalls. "I was taken out at second base at mid-season by a 40-year-old runner, much like the young Jackson speedster who did the same in 1965."

So where do the two baseball junkies go from here? They both showed up at Udall Park yesterday morning and threw the ball around.

There's plenty of baseball left in Carl and Pigpen (see photos below).

Photos: Carl Schwanbeck (top photo) 1. Swinging for the fences in 1997 at the National Senior Olympics (next image), 2. taking a healthy cut with the Cubs in a Tucson MSBL game, 3. Carl, in the center with the Hall of Fame Award in 2015, and the bottom photo of Pigpen Price and his son, Michael, in 2012 before a Tucson MSBL game.

 

What is it with old guys and old Western movies?

 

Answer: We like 'em.

Back in the day with John Wayne, Alan Ladd, Robert Taylor, Kirk Douglas, Henry Fonda, and James Stewart...well, you get the idea. For my young readers (surprisingly, there may be a few) the silver screen was full of good guys with white hats and bad guys with black hats. The cowboy heroes roamed the western trail and kept us wide-eyed and bushy-tailed for the better part of two hours.

None better than Alan Ladd as Shane. The movie was released in 1953. I was eight years old and just returned home from Tombstone, Arizona with my parents. It was quite a day. Somehow I had left my parents in the dust that day and moseyed into a saloon on the streets of Tombstone. I banged my head on one of the saloon doors but continued on. At the bar was a gunslinger dressed in black. He turned. I turned. He drew first and I escaped through the saloon doors and ran as fast as I could in search of my parents.

Alan Ladd made it look so easy.

One last tidbit this morning: breakdancing

 From the desk of Pigpen Price

It's official. Breakdancing to make its Olympic debut at Paris/2024.

Now I know I was born to early.

"I could have been a contender. I could have been somebody" -- Pigpen.

Time for a little gobbledegook

 From the desk of Pigpen Price

Gobbledegook. Now there's a word I have never used in a sentence. I'm not sure my writing fits that category. I'm sure some of my readers may think so, but heck I'm 75 years old and spend a lot of time writing and this is my blog. The freedom to write. That's the wonderful country we live in.

So you can call it nonsense, magic words, gibberish or what ever you wish. You are "my readers" and also have the freedom to read or not to read...or toss my stuff to the wind.

Wind! I live in Tucson and it's the middle of December (almost) and it is a windy day. Go figure. Wind today and gone tomorrow and along comes the heat one day and cold the next...and of course this is 2020 and there's always that five letter word, which everyone hates to hear about: Covid.

Ok. Enough. Let's get on to the World of Sports and to be more specific: sports in Arizona. One day we have a game and the next day we don't. Sometimes you can find an NFL game on a Tuesday...a Wednesday...a Friday, or not at all. We are lucky to still have some pro football on television on any given Sunday (reminds me of a movie).

So, I sit down, grab a brewski and a flash comes across the screen: No game today, due to a lineman and a running back just tested positive for covid-19.

Now, don't leave me yet. Covid-19 is serious stuff. We, and I mean "WE" as a nation are trying to work around this miserable virus. Work! Yes, I pray for all the young people out there who are working for a living and doing their level best to provide for their family. 

And there is "us" old people. We barely fit in before the virus.

Look at us now. I mean take a deep breath and question are they okay and where are they for heaven's sake? Yes, some of us are old and love to stay at home and see what happens next on The Young and the Restless. I'm kidding. There is nothing wrong with that. I mean I wonder from time to time what has happened to Victor Newman. The last time I saw Victor, I mean actor Eric Braeden, was in the 1969 flick 100 Rifles, alongside Raquel Welch, Burt Reynolds and Jim Brown.

Let's switch back to sports. How is our Arizona Wildcats doing in basketball?  Football, let's save the gridiron stuff for another time. The Wildcats, with Sean Miller at the helm, are 3-0. I know we have yet to play a powerhouse, but last night they beat the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks, 96-53. How about the women's team: 3-0 and ranked 6th in the country? I mean every cardboard person in the Old Pueblo showed up this week for games at McKale.

Back to old people. Remember some of us are still on the move.

Those are the ones you need to worry about!

Photo: The old man on the run

Thunder Tim does it again

 Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

The 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers played just seven official games in November and once again the leader of the pack in hits was Thunder Tim Tolson. It seems like Tim is getting better with age. It seems like it was just the other day mighty Tim was a 60-year-old rookie with the TOTS.

Let's check the roster. My goodness, Tim, the son of former TOTS' legend Brad Tolson, just turned 68 in August. As for Papa Tolson, he just turned 91 last June.

No matter how it all adds up, little Timmy...well he's not so little, is the "top gun" this month. Why do you think the members of the club call him Thunder? Well, to be honest, it's the club historian who comes up with most of the nicknames. Just like Garth Brooks says: "Thunder Rolls."

At any rate, Thunder Tim went 16 for 26 for the month of November with one home run and 14 RBI. Tim batted .615 and edged out Mike Dawson, who actually tied Thunder for the most RBI. Dawson and Reed Palmer finished second in hits with 11 apiece. Dawson went 11 for 22, a .500 batting average, while Palmer went 11 for 21 and a .524 average.

With all the COVID-19 stuff going on, 32 players played this month -- including two 80+ players, Bobby Stofft and Joe Aparicio. On the mound, it was Dawson leading the way with a perfect 3-0 record.

The TOTS have played just one official game in December and are taking this week off due to a COVID-19 scare among the troops. Two players tested positive for covid-19 last week.

The players hope to be back on the field of play on Monday -- the 14th of December. 

Photo: Thunder Tim

Remainder of TOTS 53rd season in jeopardy

 Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

There's no quit in the 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers, but it looks like covid-19 may get the last word for a few weeks. The TOTS, an organization that has played through rainstorms, an occasional snow flurry, excessive heat, swirling dust storms...well...you name it.

One time the sprinkling system had a leek, another time it was four below zero. No! Let me back up. Sometimes I get carried away, but you get the idea. It's tough to keep a TOT quarantined. I mean back in March the TOTS shut down for two weeks and they didn't play a game in April. 

It's tough telling a senior citizen anything. I know I'm not only a senior citizen, but I'm a middle-aged TOT. That means I've lived for three quarters of a century.

With the virus swirling across this great country of ours, it is amazing the TOTS are just 28 days away from completing yet another season -- the organization's 53rd to be exact.

The TOTS have kept on plugging, despite canceling their annual luncheon and awards ceremony, while being forced, due to covid-19, to cancel their upcoming Christmas party. Things are really going to get tough if Santa decides to take the year off.

Of course, covid-19 is no joking matter. Forget politics. Let's just beat this thing and return to life as we know it. I mean for a diehard baseball fan another year without spring training, another shortened Major League season, no Williamsport for the youngsters, no baseball at the parks, leaving us with nothing more than a few leaves rolling aimlessly across our TOTS' home field at Udall Park.

Normally, we have close to 150 games at Udall Park, if you include not only the TOTS schedule, but the  Tucson Aces, a team made up mostly of the younger set from the TOTS. The Aces take on the other two 60-and-over teams in the city -- the Arizona Rattlers and the Old Pueblo Club.

The TOTS and the Aces have played close to 80 games this season. A few players ventured north to Phoenix in October to play in the 33rd annual Men's Senior Baseball League World Series. Normally 330 teams and 5,000 players are on hand for the prestigious amateur tournament -- including teams from Australia, Canada and the Virgin Islands. This year only 202 teams participated.

The bad news for the TOTS is the fact two members of the team have tested positive for the covid-19 virus. The TOTS battled through eleven months virus-free. The TOTS all adhered to the safety precautions ...wore mask, stayed six feet apart, used sanitizer...even separated the home team from the visiting team by using both dugouts...normally one dugout would be sufficient. After all, part of being a TOT is the ability to communicate, joke around...and tell a story or two...some true, some not.

The TOTS may take the rest of December off or maybe just a couple of weeks. The jury is still out as the committee will take a poll of sorts to gather enough information to make a uniformed decision.

As of today, there's a curfew from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. Luckily, the TOTS only play in the early mornings. Since most old-timers are up with the birds anyway, it has worked out pretty well for 53 years.

But this is 2020. A year we'll soon be rid of.

From the desk of club historian Dan Price

Capley joins the TOTS

 Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

Welcome to the TOTS, Mark Capley!

Capley, 61, becomes the youngest player on the 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers.

A Rincon High School graduate (1978), Capley throws right handed, but is a switch hitter.

"I've been a switch hitter since I was a kid," says Capley.

The TOTS Game of the Week: December 2, 2020

 Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

What a way to start off the month!

A well-played seven inning contest with Team White holding on for a 5-3 win over Team Blue in a 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers game today at Udall Park.

Both Mike Dawson and Joe Opocensky, the pitchers of record, pitched well enough to win, but this one goes to Dawson and it wasn't easy as Team Blue battled to the end. In the top of the seventh, trailing 5-2, newcomer Rick Bitzer reached on a fielder's choice, John Mathews singled and Opocensky doubled in Bitzer.

With two outs, Dave Byars, who had two hits on the day and had knocked in two runs, ripped a shot to left, but Bobby Long retreated a step and then hustled forward 10 feet and made the running catch for the final out.

Team White had 11 hits on the day with 4 for 4 days coming from Jesse Ochoa and Dawson. Reed Palmer went 2 for 4 and Pigpen Price picked up an infield hit and drove in a run. Ochoa and Long knocked in two runs apiece to complete Team White's scoring.

As for Team Blue, they had just five hits on the day. Opocensky had two hits and knocked in the third run, while rookie left fielder Mark Capley picked up a hit and reached base three times today.

The TOTS return to action on Friday at Udall. Game time: 10 a.m.

Photos: Jesse Ochoa (top), Dave Byars (middle) and Mark Capley (bottom).