Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)
60-and-over baseball
Right-hander Randy Livingston is expected to become a TOT on Monday. Livingston will be one of a trio of new 60-somethings-- the other two are John Jarboe and Sam Dean. The three players are welcome additions to the amateur baseball club -- all three can play the infield, outfield and pitch, too. Dean is a catcher and the 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers can always use players who love to strap on the gear and get behind the plate.
The TOTS are getting a little younger.
Today at Udall Park, the TOTS fielded a good mix of 60 and 70 year old players and Livingston, arguably one of the better 60-something pitchers in town, took the mound today and went up against another youngster -- 66-year-old Mike Dawson.
Now Dawson just returned from a vacation in Hawaii and Livingston hasn't pitched for a couple of weeks, but the two flamethrowers went at it today, battling the heat and humidity -- although Dean did take the mound and pitched the sixth inning, allowing a lone run, while Dawson went the distance for Team White and Livingston pitched for Team Blue and got in five innings of work.
Team White won the game, 15-3. It just wasn't Team Blue's day. They loaded the bases three times and failed to get a run across, while Team White had its hitting shoes on and found all the gaps. There were 28 hits in the game -- 15 by Team White and 13 by Team Blue.
Getting back to Livingston, the young man has a new secret weapon -- a pitch he's been working on. It's still a work in progress. Some of the players today caught on quickly. One said," that looks like a knuckler."
Livingston decided to forego his fastball and some of his breaking stuff this morning, while working strictly on his "secret weapon."
Major league pitchers do that from time to time -- especially during spring training. So, this was Livingston's opportunity to toss his new pitch and see just how the TOTS' batters handled matters.
Well, to make a long story short, Livingston absorbed the loss today, while Dawson must have done something right in Maui because everything was going his way this morning.
It was definitely Livingston on the mound at Udall today. Livingston for sure, the TOTS all presumed! Chances are the next time the young pitcher takes the mound, the TOTS will see their share of fastballs and the outcome will be quite different.
Three players for Team White collected three hits apiece -- Ken Nebesny, Bob Daliege and Dawson. Daliege, who won Wednesday's game with a walk-off double, was on fire again today and knocked in four of his team's 15 runs. Doc Thompson was the big gun for Team Blue with a 3 for 4 day, while Mike Steele, Reed Palmer and Livingston chipped in two hits apiece.
It's good to see the youngsters at the ball park today -- 11 players in all. That left the other ten players, all over the age of 70. The oldest players on the field today -- Thompson, 79, and Pigpen Price, 76.
The youngest TOTS on the field this morning -- 64-year-old Ken Nebesny and Livingston, also 64.
The TOTS -- young and old -- return to Udall on Monday. Game time: 9 a.m.
No comments:
Post a Comment