Pete's magic carpet ride

 Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

Team Blue broke open a tight 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers game this morning at Udall Park with a four-run, top of the fifth inning and went on to knock off Team White, 7-3.

Team White's right-hander Bob Daliege kept Team Blue off the base paths the first four innings and was locked in a pitcher's duel most of the way with hard-throwing right-hander Reed Palmer, but the roof caved in on Daliege and his teammates in the fifth and a 3-2 ball game turned into an easy win down the stretch for Team Blue.

Now, the Play of the Day was a different story.

In the bottom of the fifth, Team White's Daliege hit a shot in the hole, between short and third. Team Blue's shortstop Mike Dawson moved to his right, dove, smothered the ball and threw from his knees to third base to Pete Peters for what looked to be an easy force out.

Thus, begins Pete's Magic Carpet Ride!

Peters gloved the throw and attempted to tag the bag, which would have been in time for the out. The two base umps -- Jerry Hamelin and Robert Royer -- had different ideas about whether the runner was out or not.

The sure-handed Peters touched the carpet with his right foot and not the bag and the runner was ruled safe, after a certain amount of discussion.

You see, in the old-timers' league the carpet is used on both sides of the bag (at second and third...now at first base there's an orange bag -- just to the right of the normal first base (now...that's a whole another story). These are special rules for an old-timers' game. The rules are installed to protect the players from injury and as long as the runner reaches the carpet before the tag, the runner is safe. The runner can even run past the carpet and then can make a u-turn and return to the regular bag safely.

That said, let's get back to Pete's Magic Carpet Ride.

"I pushed the carpet up against the bag!” said Peters, a former TOTS' manager, no less.

A reasonable response for a TOT in the heat of the moment.

On second thought, Peters decided. "Yep. I'm out!" The rule: the infielder must touch the base to force out the runner... not the carpet.

It wasn't exactly a wild ride. Actually, just a footprint in time. Of course, the Steppenwolf band, back in 1969, had other ideas of what a magic carpet ride was like. I'm not sure the lead vocal for Steppenwolf, John Kay, ever played baseball, but the singer and lead guitarist for the band is now 77 and could certainly play for the TOTS, if he was inclined to give it a try.

Honestly, the TOTS would rather just sit back and listen to the music of yesteryear. It might make the players run a little faster.

The TOTS are no longer Born to be Wild, but what they can still do is play a great game of baseball.

Photos: (top photo) Reed Palmer, today's winning pitcher, (bottom photo) Pete Peters, who almost completed the Play of the Day.

TOTS' game notes: Team Blue's Dawson went 4 for 4 with a walk today, while three of his teammates -- Palmer, Peters and Bobby Long -- went 3 for 5. Thunder Tim Tolson had three hits for the losing team.