Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)
60-and-over baseball
Pete Maldonado, 69, is from the da Bronx and growing up he must of taken some pointers from some Yankee pitchers on how to be a crafty right-hander due to the fact his pitches seem be in and around the strike zone. When he does get the starting nod for a TOTS' team, the game normally turns into a low-scoring affair.
"I hate to walk anybody," Maldonado says.
On the other hand, Brad Vermeer, 70, is from Sioux Center, Iowa and chances are in his youth he probably grabbed a piece of chalk, drew a circle on the side of the barn, grabbed some baseballs and pummeled his share of pitches toward his man-made target. Maybe he's not as crafty as Maldonado, but still a tough cookie on the mound with his assortment of slow pitches. Surprisingly, his mound duty usually ends up in low-scoring games as well.
Vermeer has been known to walk off the mound with a smile on his face -- grinning from ear to ear, like he had just discovered oil on his property in Iowa. The opposing batters head back to the dugout, muttering to themselves. "Why didn't I hit that pitch?"
Of course, that's what happened today in a 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers game at Udall Park as Team Blue's Vermeer eked out a 2-1 win over Maldonado and Team White. The game was shortened to six innings today. Maldonado went the distance. He struck out three and walked one. Vermeer gave way to Randy Livingston in the fifth and the hard-throwing right-hander blanked Team White the rest of the way for the save.
Livingston was the big hitter on the day with a 4 for 4 performance and knocked in one of his team's two runs. Doc Thompson picked up the other RBI. Thunder Tim Tolson scored the only run for Team White and David Hurley was responsible for knocking in his team's only run. Mike Steele, Bobby Long and Carl Schwanbeck collected two hits apiece for the winners.
The TOTS will take the weekend off and return to Udall on Monday. Game time: 9 a..m.
Photos: Maldonado (top), Vermeer (bottom).
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