The TOTS way back when...

Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

TOTS' 1992 elite team preparing for a game in Tombstone, AZ.

Their rookie, 63-year-old Brad Tolson, front row, 4th from the left, next to Clarence Fieber, the TOTS Hall of Fame catcher, who passed away in 2011 at the age of 91.

Brad turned 93 on June 12, 2022 and still resides in Tucson, with his wife, Alice...and plenty of grandchildren, to keep them busy.

Look closely at photo and many current TOTS will also recognize "Iron Man" Jerry Smarik, first player on the left in the back row.

We lost Jerry, just two years ago at the age of 88.

Below some monthly batting stats from 1985...

Below a handwritten boxscore from the late 1970s

Check out the reference to the earned runs...

Go, TOTS!

If we only had an ocean...

 

Three quarters of a century is in the books for this old man and I look at the image to my left and realize that my walk along the Pacific Ocean lasted 45 minutes -- less than one hour out of my 77 years.

I guess we all ask ourselves why we didn't do more of one thing or another. Why didn't I travel the Seven Seas or take a journey to every Major League Baseball stadium in this great land of ours?

Why didn't I tour Yosemite Park, back when the beauty would take your breath away -- long before Northern California turned into a tender box?

Why didn't I take a train to Nashville, no matter how many stops were required along the way? Why didn't I head for Memphis and search out a speakeasy that played nonstop Blues to wee hours of the morning?

Why didn't I? Well you get the picture. The photo left is worth a thousand words. Just like they say.

"Life is about choices," someone once told me. So, do we go north, south, east or west? I've spent a lifetime walking too or from something. The coolness of the water, the feel of the sand in between my toes -- not so much.

What would it have been like to sit in a box seat at Fenway Park or Yankee Stadium and watch Carl Yastrzemski or Mickey Mantle send one high and deep? What would it have been like to be in Chicago and witness Gayle Sayers weave his way through defenders and scamper eighty yards for a touchdown?

As a retired sportswriter, I have thoughts about such things -- things I will never see, instead I spent years as a community newspaper reporter, a freelance writer at times, a struggling author, to be sure, with hours and hours of microfilm stored away in the closet of a library somewhere in downtown Phoenix -- documenting the stories I did write.

Like the time I met a 16-year-old football player after a JV game in the middle of a Thursday afternoon. 

A man among boys as he took a handoff and galloped for touchdown after touchdown. Back at the paper, my headline read: Remember his name: Terrell Suggs.

My Job: "Go find a story, Danno," they would say,  and boy could I find them. I covered a story about a female high jumper who could leap her height as a sophomore in high school in Gilbert, Arizona. She was six feet tall! Her family said her older brothers were all track stars and mother and father had spent hours and hours at track meets all across the Phoenix area.

They now had a daughter to raise. Just maybe a reprieve from those long-lasting prep track meets, which usually ended about the same time as the setting sun. Nope. Not so fast. Along came their daughter who could clear a saguaro cactus if she was so inclined.

I covered games when Mike Bibby was a point guard at Shadow Mountain High School, when Todd Heap was a tight end at Mesa Mountain View High and when Adam Archuleta played high school ball at Chandler High School, went on to Arizona State University, where he started three years as an undersized linebacker and was drafted by the Rams in the NFL in 2001. 

I knocked on the door of a family in Gilbert, one afternoon in the summer of 1997. The father answered the door and led me in to their den and offered me a cold drink. The father was smiling from ear to ear. His son appeared and shook my hand and his father said: "This is, Shane."

Shane had just signed a Major League contract with the Detroit Tigers and he went on to pitch in the Majors for the Tigers, the Anaheim Angels and the San Francisco Giants. He had Tommy John surgery in 2013. He retired from baseball in 2015 and became a minor league pitching coach for the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2017.

Shane Loux (photo below) is now 42.

I can still see all their faces in my mind as if it were yesterday.

I ventured away from Arizona from time to time, but I always found my way back. I guess it was my spot to be in all along.

My newspaper stories are all gathering dust on microfilm somewhere, but they are not lost...not yet. I can still recall them all.

What do I do now? Well, I'm the historian for the 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers -- an amateur baseball organization that has been around since 1968 and is currently in its 54th season. And yes. I continue to write.

We have a shed at Tucson Udall Park, near the third baseline, where we store all of our equipment to keep our field neat and tidy. In the shed, on the top shelf, are a bunch of binders, gathering dust. All containing stories involving the old-timers who play the game of baseball.

And yes, they are somewhat forgotten. If you would dust off some of the pages inside of the binders, you'd find articles on a bunch of old men who play baseball for the love of the game.

It's what I do...and what I have always done.

Thunder Tim led the TOTS in hits in July

Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

July's stats are in for the 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers.

And once again it's a familiar name at the top of the stat sheets.

Thunder Tim Tolson.

Tolson (in photo left) went 17 for 30 for the month, a .567 batting average. He also scored the most runs with 13, just two runs ahead of Big John Mathews with 11.

Other top hitters for the month included Mike Dawson (14 for 26, a .538 average), Bob Daliege (13 for 25, a .520 average), Joe Opocensky (13 for 20, a .650 average) and Ernesto Escala (12 for 22, a .545 average).

The hot-hitting Randy Livingston played in just four games, but was a sizzling 10 for 11 -- a .909 batting average.

Other players with at least 10 hits included Jesse Ochoa (10 for 21), Mark Rupert (10 for 25) and Mathews (10 for 22). Dawson was the top gun in RBI with 12, Mathews was second with 11 runs-batted-in and Reed Palmer was third with 10.

Palmer hit his fifth homer of the year and is now sitting on 99 career home runs -- a club record.

Escala led all pitchers for the month with a 3-0 record. His 28 innings of work topped the pitching staff, while Daliege was second in innings pitched with 24. Rupert was also unbeaten with a 2-0 slate.

Go, TOTS! Monday starts a new month. August will be another scorcher, but it won't keep the old-timers off the field of play. 

Triple play highlights kiss-your-sister 10-10 TOTS' game

Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

Game of the Week

A triple play ends the sixth inning

A 2-run HR by a 29-year-old invitee deadlocks the game in the 7th

There's never a dull moment at a 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers game. Today's game at Udall Park was no exception.

Two hard-throwing right-handers went at it again today -- Larry "Wild Thing" Abramson, who turns 69 on August 2nd, for Team Blue and 70-year-old Ernesto "The Ninja" Escala for Team White.

It was also youngins' day at the ball park with each team sporting a young baseball player -- Team Blue with Sebastian Maldonado, 36, and Team White with a 29-year old from Tampa, Florida named Jason Wilton.

Team Blue scored three runs in the top of the first inning, thanks to consecutive hits from Roger Beebe, John Cooke, Tim Tolson and Randy Livingston, but Team White answered back with a run in the bottom of the inning on a wild pitch, allowing Sam Dean to score, and then plated four more runs in the second, thanks to hits  from Rick Bitzer, John Mathews, Mike Dawson and Dean for a 5-3 lead.

Team Blue fought back with a run in the top of the third on singles by Livingston and Abramson. In the top of the fifth, Team Blue took a short-lived 6-5 lead, highlighted by a walk to Cooke and Livingston's third hit of the game as Cooke scored and Livingston scampered home with a go-ahead run.

That brought on the bottom of the fifth inning inning as Team White threatened to run away with the game with a five-run frame with walks to Dawson and Mark Rupert, while Escala, Bitzer and Maldonado drilled base hits to complete the rally and a 10-6 advantage.

Team Blue cut the lead in half in the top of the sixth, thanks to a double from Tolson and Livingston's fourth hit of the game, but once again Team White came out firing in the bottom of the inning as John Mathews singled and reached second base when Dawson reached first base on an infield error.

That brought up the hard-hitting Escala, who laced a one-hopper down third. Pigpen Price, 77, moved to his right, back-handed the ball, tagged the bag and threw to first to nip the hard-running  Escala for the second out. Tolson, Team Blue's first sacker, threw back to third and Price tagged the hard-charging Dawson for the third out -- and a triple play.

Triple plays happen rarely with the TOTS, but today was a shocker as the oldest player on the field kept his heart in check and somehow made the play.

"That's why us old dudes keep playing the game," a smiling Price said. "For a chance at a play just like that. For a moment in time when you feel young again!"

The game was still up for grabs as Team White still maintained its 10-8 lead as a shocked Team Blue headed for the dugout to be begin the top of the seventh -- the final inning of the game.

With two out, Team Blue's Frank Garcia picked up his first hit with a single to right-center off Escala and that brought up the special invitee for today's game -- 29-year-old Jason Wilton, who brought plenty of credentials with him -- including a .364 average and five home runs as a high school player in Florida.

Wilton, who already had two hits in the game, took Escala deep with a two-run homer over the left-center field fence to tie the game. Beebe followed with a single, reached second on a wild pitch and was suddenly the go-ahead run. That brought up Cooke, who had singled, walked and scored twice in the game. Cooke hit a popup behind first base and Team White's Bill Mishler backtracked and made the catch falling down, for the final out in the top of the seventh.  

The game still wasn't over as the "wild thing" from Albuquerque, New Mexico -- Larry Abramson -- needed to shutdown Team White in the bottom of the seventh for not a win, or a loss, but for a hard-fought kiss-your-sister game.

Brack Whitaker was Abramson's first victim as he coaxed Brack into a ground ball to Livingston at short. The sure-handed Livingston, who made six assists in the game, threw out Whitaker for the first out. That brought up Bitzer, who had been a thorn in the side of the  "wild thing" all morning with a couple of hits and two runs-batted-in.

Bitzer found a pitch to his liking, but hit a hard come-backer to Abramson, who turned and underhanded the ball to Tolson at first base for the second out. That brought up the youngster Maldonado, 36, who drilled a pitch to left field, but right into the glove of Cooke for the final out of the game.

It was certainly the game of the week...and maybe the month. 

So ends the July schedule for the TOTS -- the best 60-and-over amateur baseball team in the country...or maybe the southwest, anyway. 

Today's winners: Everyone!

Team Blue -- Roger Beebe (1 for 4, 2 runs scored), John Cooke (1 for 4, 2 runs scored), Tim Tolson (2 for 4, a run scored, 2 RBI), Randy Livingston (4 for 4, 2 runs scored, 3 RBI), Larry Abramson (1 for 3, 1 run knocked in), David Byars (0 for 3, 1 run knocked in), Jesse Ochoa (1 for 3, 1 run batted in), Pigpen Price (0 fo 4), Frank Garcia (1 for 3, 1 run scored) and Jason Wilton (3 for 4, 2  runs scored, 2 RBI).

Team White -- Mark Rupert (0 for 3, 2 runs scored), Sam Dean (1 for 4, 2 runs scored and 1 run batted in),  Reed Palmer (1 for 2, 1 run scored, 3 RBI), John Mathews (2 for 3, 1 run batted in), Mike Dawson (1 for 3, 1 run scored, 2 RBI), Ernesto Escala (1 for 4, 1 run scored), Brack Whitaker (0 for 4), Rick Bitzer (2 for 4, 1 run scored, 2 RBI), Sebastian Maldonado (1 for 4, 2 runs scored, 1 RBI) and Bill Mishler (DNB, 0-0-0).

A glimpse of the TOTS way back when

Tucson Old Timers

60-and-over baseball

Close to forty years ago, the men in the above photo ruled the roost, so to speak; they did what the 2022 version of the 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers do now: they entered the field of play every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. When the fellas above played the game, the TOTS' home field was at Himmel Park, just a few hundred yards south of the intersection of Tucson Blvd. and Speedway Blvd.

If you walk your dog through the Himmel park and come across a slightly elevated area directly south of the library, you might hear an echo or two or voices from the past: "Come on, Willie! Where's your helmet? That's STRIKE ONE!"

The players at Udall Park, the current home of the TOTS, spend three days a week playing America's Favorite Pastime, all 12 months of the year. The players of old did the same, only their names were different: Joe Tappero, Bert Hough, Walt Richmond, and one of my favorite names, Charlie Catuna. (There must be a nickname in there somewhere.)

If the TOTS above were alive today, they'd all be in the triple digits of their lifetime. But they are in the heavenly stands above, looking down on Udall Park and enjoying the play of the current TOTS- while critiquing their game, no less.

They may question themselves as Reed Palmer, 66, steps to the plate and homers, high above the trees, just inside the first base foul pole. "Hey, Charlie Catuna, did we ever hit the ball that far?"

"That's only fitting," said Joe. "It's his birthday today. That's number 99. He needs one more to hit the century mark."

"The pitching is faster, said Walt. "That young man, Ernesto. He must be a Pirate fan. He always dresses in black. He mowed 'em down the other day, a shutout!"

In the spring of 1992, a rookie joined the TOTS, a young man with plenty of credentials: he was a pitcher in his collegiate days at the University of Arizona- a holder of a school record or two, way back in the early 1950s.

His name. Brad Tolson.

In 1992, Brad played in just 66 games with the TOTS. In his first year with the organization, he batted .624 with 121 hits in 194 at-bats. It was the beginning of a 21-year career as a TOT.

 

Now 93, Brad (left in a photo from his playing days) occasionally shows up at Udall Park, sits in the stands, and watches his son, Tim, play for the TOTS. Tim is easy for his dad to spot. Brad turned his jersey, #3, over to his son in 2012.

Over the years, Brad Tolson did what every diehard baseball player should: He kept his own stats and recently turned over his career stats to yours truly. He may be the only TOT documenting his years of service with the organization.

Bottom line: Brad played in 2,143 games, batted 6,355 times, scored 1,558 runs, and collected 3,419 hits. He also had 23 home runs and a lifetime batting average of .538.

That's why Brad is nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board".

Records are meant to be broken. So get to swinging, boys!

  

Aaron Latham dead at 78

Aaron Latham, who graduated a year ahead of me at Catalina High School and was on the staff of The Trumpeteer,  our award-winning high school weekly in 1962, would go on to become an American journalist and co-wrote the script for the 1980 movie, Urban Cowboy, starring John Travolta and Debra Winger.

Latham married Leslie Stahl, the American television journalist, who has spent most of her career with CBS News and 60 minutes.

Aaron Latham dead at 78.

"61"

From the desk of Dan Price

Back in the day...1961

In 1961, teenagers lucky enough to own a hot rod, maybe  a '57 Chevy or a hopped up 1955 Ford or maybe even a late 50s Corvette, tooled around Tucson looking for action along 22nd Street, up and down the Speedway strip or maybe even a trip north to the end of Campbell.

It was all good.

Johnny's Drive-in, Richie's, the A&W and the Lucky Wishbone -- plenty of places in town to chow down after a game. 

In Sunday's Arizona Daily Star, columnist Greg Hansen refers to the 1961 University of Arizona football team as one of the greatest ever -- a 8-1-1 record and a 22-13 win over ASU, in Tempe no less, to cap the season -- the Wildcats' best won-loss record in 62 seasons.

It was an exciting time in Tucson sports in 1961 and for yours truly, too. 

I loved sports and I was busy enjoying my sophomore year at Catalina High School. After reading the headlines and sports articles in the Star every morning since I was knee high to a grasshopper,  I had become hooked on the sports writing of the great Star sports editor Abe Chanin. I wanted to be just like him, and in 1963, I became the sports editor of my high school paper, The Trumpeteer, thanks mainly to the best journalism teacher ever, John G . Carlton, who ran roughshod over a bunch of budding journalist at CHS year after year, and saw to it we, the students, produced the best weekly school paper in the nation. The awards kept coming for The Trumpeteer, with Carlton at the helm, long before and long after I had come and gone.

Carlton (photo below) passed away in 2015 at the age of 79. He spent 29 years at Catalina High School. 

As for Mr. Chanin, he retired from the Star and moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico. Chanin passed away in 2014 at the age of 92.

Chanin (photo below) was honored in 1988 by the Arizona Press Club for 50 years of distinguished service to Arizona journalism. In 1990 he was named to the Arizona Hall of Fame by the Phoenix Press Box Association.

I look back at 1961, where it all began for me -- the passion to write...and write...and write. At the age of 77, I'll continue to fumble with the keys on my laptop -- trigger finger...Arthritis and all.

Stay in your lane in Pickleball...

 My second week of Pickleball -- the learning experience

Like other sports, it takes time to become a level 2.5, 3.0 or a 3.5 player in Pickleball. It may take a few years to advance from the beginner's stage...the novice stage, if you will, to the top of the mountain -- a 5.0, for goodness sakes, where you pretty much have mastered all the skill levels and facets of the game.

It's true what they say. "You can start playing the game after a quick 10 minutes of on-the-court activity." Becoming a 2.5 level player -- knowing the basics, how to keep score, working on dink shots, the lob and simply learning how to keep the ball in play...please save those hard returns for another day...well that's all part of the journey...the journey toward 3.5  and above.

In a lot of ways I'm floating up court without a paddle. So much to learn about the rules: stay out of the kitchen, let the ball bounce on the initial volley...stay back...move forward. Am I server 1 or 2?

And that's just Week 1!

As for the art of the dink? That'll put me in the kitchen. A place I'm not supposed to be.

My main problem is my age, although no one seems to care how old you are as long as you have a paddle, a Franklin ball and the heart to enter the court of play. Does a normal person start playing Pickleball at 77 years of age, especially a die-hard baseball player like me who still enjoys the wide open spaces of a baseball field?

Well. We will see.

How far will I take this new sport?

I have learned enough in a couple of weeks at Tucson Udall Park to get the adrenaline pumping and I have put away a few shots -- shots that have actually put a smile on my face. Progress! One court... one match at a time.

To be honest, I'll probably run out of years before I master a game that is now played in 37 countries. Finding an available Pickleball court may soon become harder than finding a gallon of gas in town for under $5.00.

It is such a popular sport. Especially locally at Udall Park, where 12 beautiful courts are now available for play. The courts, constructed in March/2021, are now over a year old...and the courts are always full (well, maybe not at High Noon, during the summer...let's be realistic) with players waiting in line to play a 15-minute match.

My advice after just two weeks of on-the-court activity: Stay in your lane!

And I do not mean on the court...but off.

At the outdoor courts at Udall, it's best to get there early, just as the sun begins to climb up over the Rincon Mountains. Soon you will hear the sound of a perforated plastic ball colliding with a paddle made out of wood, graphite or a composite.

Players ranging in age from the 20-somethings up to senior, men and women, who may or may not want to reveal their age. One very athletic lady, a 3.0 or above, I assume said: "We don't talk age around here." So we paddled up and we took down our opponents, 13-11. It was my first win of the week.

But as I said, staying in your lane means: try to hook up with people near or around your level of play...and move on up in class, gradually. You will make friends quickly and you'll find you have one thing in common with them: to up your game and become the best Pickleball player you can be.

I met a beautiful lady on Day 1. Carol, is her name, and she happens to be on the board of Tucson Area Pickleball (TAP). Carol wondered if I had inserted my paddle into one of the empty slots, signaling my attempt to join in the fun and play a 15-minute match.

I said, "I have," with a smile.

She smiled, too, and said. "Well, you're on the board, then."

I have nowhere to go, but up.

The Boys of Summer

 Tucson Old Timers (TOTS) -- July/2022

 Team photo compliments of Kelly Presnell (Arizona Daily Star)

Pictured from L/R, front row: (kneeling or trying to kneel) Dennis Crowley, Ken Nebesny, Bob Daliege, Mike Dawson, Mike Steele, Randy Livingston, Danny Price, Rob Morse and Chuck Sabalos. Back row L/R: Ron Ryan, Larry Abramson, JB Bulawin, Brack Whitaker, David Byars, Robert Royer, Bob Stofft, Bobby Long, Ernesto Escala, John Mathews, John Misiaszek, Reed Palmer, Pete Maldonado, Tim Tolson, Jesse Ochoa, Sam Dean, Mal Zwolinski and John Cooke.

***Unfortunately, we are missing some good ole boys, not pictured are Pete Peters, Dave Rhoades, David Hurley, Jimmy Kinion, Ray Garcia, Ted Davis, Denny Leonard, Jerry Hamelin, Rick Bitzer, Roger Beebe, Bill Mishler, Dick Ducklow, Greg Seader, Frank Garcia, Mark Rupert, Gary Cuttler, John Jarboe, Brad Vermeer, Tim Boyd, Arnie White, Joe Opocensky, Phil Ahern and Danny Boxberger. *just to name a few*...we are a big ball club -- the best organized senior baseball team in the country.

The Boys of Summer -- 60 and over Tucson Old Timers

 A look back at my 15 years as a TOT...

The 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers are not only "The Boys of Summer" at Udall Park, but winter, spring and fall, too.

One upon a time in the west... at Udall Park anyway, local legends of the game entered the field of play...time and time again. I look back at my career as a TOT and can still recall games in 2008 when I began my warmup throws from third base to first. My target at first base, the likes of a Floyd Lance, a Brad Tolson, a Jeff Helzel -- men who could pick throws out of the dirt and make even a 62-year-old kid at the hot corner look good.

I can still see out of the corner of my eye, the smooth tosses to first base by one of our Hall of Famers, shortstop Ed Rife. We lost him a few years back, but the way he played the game of baseball was, and still is, an image in my head that will stay there forever.

The TOTS hall-of-fame catchers like Clarence Fieber and Richard McAnally (I always called him, Ray), both gone now, used to set up behind home plate and receive the offerings from a hard-throwing right-hander by the name of Chico "Rubber Arm" Bigham.

The beat goes on at Udall...

Please enjoy the lost video I recently recovered. It sums up what being a TOT means to me.

 

AL makes it nine in a row with 3-2 win over NL at All-Star Game in LA

 2022 MLB All Star Game

 Dodger Stadium in LA

Giancarlo Stanton hit a a two-run homer in the fourth inning and Bryon Buxton followed with a solo shot and the American League won for the ninth straight time with a 3-2 win over the National League tonight in LA. Mookie Betts singled in a run in the first inning and Paul Goldschmidt homered to give the NL All-Stars an early 2-0 lead.

Stanton won the MVP award.

MLB takes a break -- 2022 All-Star Game set for Tuesday at Dodger Stadium

 MLB 2022 All Star Game

All diehard baseball fans will focus on the mid-season celebration as the All Stars head for Dodger Stadium and a roaring night of fun on Tuesday night as special invitees like Albert Pujols and Miguel Cabrera will be on hand, along with current hitting stars like Aaron Judge, Shohei Ohtani, Giancarlo Stanton, Paul Goldschmidt, Mookie Betts, Manny Machado, Trea Turner, Freddie Freeman...well the list goes on...and on...and on.

Clayton Kershaw (Dodgers) gets the start and will toe the rubber for the National League and Shane McClanahan (Rays) gets the nod for the American League.

The Home Run Derby kicks off all the festivities at 5 p.m. tonight.

Sit back and enjoy!

Come Friday all 30 teams will get back to business and focus on the stretch run. The New York Yankees are the best team in baseball with an impressive 64-28 record at the break, while the LA Dodgers rule the roost in the National League with a 60-30 won and loss record.

Close to home, the Arizona Diamondbacks are 40-52 and find themselves in the cellar in the NL West, but they do not own the worst record in baseball, that belongs to Washington -- a dismal 31-63.

TOTS In the Spotlight -- Brack Whitaker

Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

Brack Whitaker turned 74 in April and has been a member of the 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers since 2019 -- his first full season was in 2020.

It's been a learning experience for Whitaker, who is one of a select few TOTS born and raised in Tucson. His family owned and operated Whitaker Pools until 1982. If you happen to take a flight out of the Old Pueblo chances are you'll fly over an image of a turquoise pool below, put meticulously into the ground by the Whitaker family.

There was a time Brack's father, Brackston, even dabbled in constructing bomb shelters. Of course, this was done back during the Cold War in the 1960s as Tucson residents were looking for ways to protect themselves.

Here we are in 2022 and Russia's Vladimir Putin is still at it...still causing havoc in the world. 

As for the TOTS' Brack Whitaker, he's digging around in the batter's box these day and has gone from a .065 batting average in 25 games in 2019 and has now set his sights on a .300 average by the end of the year.

In 2020, Brack upped his average to .155 with 36 hits in 232 trips to the plate and he upped his average a few more notches to .199 in 2021 with 47 hits in 236 plate appearances.

If there was a Most-Improved Player Award to hand out, Brack would be one of the top candidates.

Whitaker has also become one of the"Iron Men" with the TOTS. He rarely misses a game. In 2020, he played in 78 games and again in 2021, finishing second only to Mike Dawson, who played in all 84 games. The Coronavirus has kept the TOTS away from a 145-game schedule the last couple of years, but the TOTS are back hoping to complete a full schedule this year for the first time since 2018.

Brack has had his bouts with Covid -- at least twice. But the virus hasn't kept him away from the ball field for very long.

In last Wednesday's game at Udall Park, Whitaker was a perfect 4 for 4 with 3 RBI.

Way to go, Brack. And keep digging in and keep hitting. 

The triple-digit men -- 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers

Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

Triple-digit men shine in unofficial game at Udall

The 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers, an organized amateur baseball team, play three days a week at Udall Park.

The clock is always ticking as the diehard regulars, ranging in age currently from 61 to 77, find their way to the ball park for early-morning games year around -- in the winter the first pitch is at 10 AM and during the grueling hot summer days, it's an 8:30 AM start with hopes of avoided those unforgiving triple-digit temperatures.

Today at Udall was a perfect example as the last pitch of the day and the temperature colliding at 100 degrees. Today's game went down as an unofficial game -- only sixteen TOTS' players braved the heat for this one with two players volunteering to play defense only.

Old-timers can adapt -- heck they all have spent their lifetimes adjusting to all kinds of situations. Figuring out how to get in a game of baseball is a piece of cake. Two men -- 72-year-old Dennis Crowley would play second base for both teams, while 74-year-old David Byars would do double duty at first base.

That filled all nine spots on the field for each team. The TOTS normally play their games with four outfielders, but not today as three players for each team would be forced to cover the wide open spaces.

In short, the hitters would have the advantage today. With only three defenders in the outfield, it was no-man's land in the gaps in left center and right center field. All eight players on each side garnered hits, but the pitchers of record-- Ernesto Escala, 70, for Team Blue and Joe Opocensky, 72, for Team White, held their own and got the job done as they toed the rubber in the two-hour game, which went down to the wire and a 11-8 win for Team White.

It also gave the pitchers the time to work on some new pitches. "It gave me a chance to work on my slider," said the hard-throwing Escala, who took the unofficial loss today.

The big hitters this morning turned out to be Escala, Tim Tolson, Pete Peters and Mark Rupert for Team Blue, while Opocensky, Pigpen Price and Bob Daliege for Team White knocked in their share of runs with multiple extra-base hits -- taking full advantage of the wide open spaces in the outfield.

"That was my first multiple hit game in a while, said Price, 77, the oldest codger on the field of play today. "Too bad it was an unofficial game!"

Rounding out the triple-digit men today were Pete Maldonado, Jesse Ochoa, Ken Nebesny, Brack Whitaker, JB Bulawin, Rob Morse and Frank Garcia.

Chances are there will be some ribbing going on in the dugout at the game on Wednesday at Udall.

The triple-digit men will be asking Monday's no-shows, "Where were you guys?"

The TOTS are on a pace to play 145 games this season. Officially, that is.

Go, TOTS!    

 

Time to try Pickleball

 From the desk of Dan Price

Maybe it's time.

At the age of 77, I should focus on another sport -- a growing sport called pickleball that has increased 21 percent over the past year, according to a recent article by the BBC News.

In fact, since 1965 when the sport began its startup by a family trying to come up with a backyard ping pong/badminton/tennis game for children in the State of Washington, the game has now advanced into 37 countries.

In the U.S., senior citizens and young people, too, are taking up the game at city recreational centers, senior recreational centers, public parks, retired communities, as well as the YMCA and other similar venues.

There's even a U.S. Open Championship in Naples, Florida, every year, during the month of April.

Beware. Like other sports, pickleball is becoming commercialized as well -- graphite paddles, head gear, shoes, wrist bands...well, you name it...you can buy it. I'll start slow and use what is available at the recreational center I attend.

I'll begin with the easy-does-it approach and build on my momentum as I slowly progress up river, so to speak, with or without a top-of-the-line paddle.

The point is, us seniors need to remain active. I mean there's only so much news a person can take -- fake news...sad news...and down right ugly news. So you get started, too. After a while, with some pickleball games under your belt, you'll be ready to swat at the television set with your Electrum Pro 6.0 graphite paddle and say: "Take that slam and put it where the sun don't shine!"

Sorry, got a little carried away there. 

We seniors must stay active. Yes many of my followers can't and I've heard from some of them, but we must reach out if we are home alone and we need to interact with people. There are plenty of competitive card games around to get your dander up. Stay in touch with your lady friends or men friends, rotate from one home to another and put your cards on the table and WIN!

Yes. It's okay to watch reruns of Laverne and Shirley...and maybe I Love Lucy, if that channel is available in your area. Of course, it's more of a guy thing, but give me an old shoot-'em-up Western movie and I can be a happy camper in an instant.

I've seen the classic Western movie, Shane, so many times that I know what Brandon deWilde said at the very end of the flick.

And yes, I'll be back. Those cowboys and cowgirls from the 1950s never seem to age... but I do!

I'm sure John Wayne certainly never heard of pickleball. Put a graphite 6.0 paddle in his hand back in the day and I bet he would have swatted away Jack Elam and Bruce Dern without needing to use his six-shooters.

Note: Since the above article was published, I now own a Head Radical Tour Paddle and a pair of Head Sprint Pro 3.5 shoes...I'm ready to begin.
 

The TOTS' Albuquerque connection

 From the desk of Dan Price

I look back on my fifteen seasons with the greatest amateur baseball organization in the world -- the 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers --and it still amazes me the talent that passes through our turnstiles, so to speak.

They come and they go. They all have one thing in common as each one of them sign up, pay their yearly dues, order a uniform and attach a blue and white TOTS' hat to their noggin'.

And that is: each and everyone of them play for the love of  the game -- a never ending desire to play baseball for as long as they can.

I plead guilty to all of the above.

I thought for a split second last winter that I might say goodbye to the game. I took a few months off. I even relocated. I thought all the injuries I had suffered through since 2008 had finally taken its toll.

I simply couldn't stay away.  I wanted it all back: the crawling out of bed on game day, the trip to the ball park, stepping onto the field of play, stepping into the batter's box. I've done all of that so many times  -- over 1,100 games with the TOTS, 3,600 at bats and counting, while closing in on 1,500 career hits.

How does a diehard ball player call it quits? How does he walk away from the game, especially when he lives a mile away from Udall Park and can hear the crack of the bat every Monday, Wednesday and Friday?

My teammates are there! What am I missing? Will I miss an old-timer turning a triple into a single? Will I miss a 70-year old make the catch of the day? Will I miss a 65-year-old pitcher handle a come-backer and throw the runner out at first? Will I miss the jawing...the ribbing in the dugout and the camaraderie  before, during and after the game?

Sure I would. I would miss it all!

The 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers: the best game in town.

The Albuquerque Connection -- TOTS in the Spotlight

Two newcomers Larry "Wild Thing" Abramson 

(top photo) and Mark "Sparky" Rupert (bottom photo) hail from Albuquerque, New Mexico and both players are in their first full season with the TOTS.

They both are fitting in nicely.

Abramson, a 68-year-old right-hander who loves to pitch, joined the club three months ago and has already pitched in 13 games and owns a 5-6 record -- including a 5-2 win on Friday (July 8) when he pitched six scoreless innings before giving up two runs in the seventh.

Rupert, 69, has quickly moved up the ladder in the lineup and already finds himself batting in the leadoff spot. Mark is in his eighth month with the club and he carved out his best month with the TOTS in May when he went 24 for 38, a .632 batting average.

 

MLB, 60-and-over TOTS reach halfway point in 2022

 A commentary from the desk of Dan Price

Major League Baseball (MLB) has reached the halfway point in 2022, while closer to home the 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers (TOTS), arguably the oldest organized amateur baseball club in the country, is at the midpoint of their 54th season.

In professional baseball, the New York Yankees are currently the best team in the universe with a 59-23 record, while the LA Dodgers own the second best record at 52-29.

Aaron Judge hit his 30th home run in 2022 yesterday for the Yankees, while Kyle Schwarber of the Philadelphia Phillies hit two homers and is closing in on Judge with 27.

Over at Udall Park in Tucson, the TOTS are at the halfway mark with 70 games in the books, en route to a possible 140 to 145 games in 2022. The TOTS' all-time home run leader, 65-year-old Reed Palmer, has hit four dingers this season. Palmer, who owns the single-season home run record for the organization at 30, needs two more to reach 100 career home runs -- an individual record for the club and one that may stand for a while. Of course, the young lefty has plenty of seasons left to build on his own record.

The TOTS and the social media...Blog: Bookemdanosports and Tucson Old Timers' Facebook Page

 Google it and you'll be surprised to find the blog and the TOTS' page has more than 1,000 photos and 4,000 stories having to do with the amateur baseball organization, dating all the way back to 2009 when yours truly (photo left) began the journey documenting the baseball club, which has been around since 1968.

I'll have some help in my reporting in 2022 as my TOTS' teammate Bob Daliege returns from a lengthy vacation to take over the daily recaps of our games at Udall (3 days a week, year end year out).

I, in turn, will continue to do feature stories on my blog and keep up with acknowledging player's birthdays...etc.

The Accidental Tourist -- Pigpen Price

It's becoming apparent at the age of 77 that my baseball skills are floating away -- perhaps the skills are disappearing over the centerfield fence at Udall Park. Wherever they have gone, I want them back. I'll continue to look for them as I continue to play America's Favorite Pastime.

I realize I'm just passing through and I'm accident prone -- dealing weekly, and monthly, with injuries from head to toe...aka the Accidental Tourist. Close to 300 players have played for the TOTS' organization and they all have played through injuries as they play for the love of the game.

While my buddy, Bobby, will add his humor and whit to the recaps of the games on Facebook, I may venture off and try a new angle: to explain and document on my blog the how, and the why, a bunch of crazy old men defy Father Time and continue to play the game of baseball well into their late 70s and 80s.

The Day After

The TOTS play every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. So, on Tuesday and Thursday, I begin my recovery in hopes of shaking off the ailment I have at the time -- it may be foot pain, neck pain, back pain, or it may be all three. Tylenol tablets are a must before the game. Forty minutes of stretching prior to the first pitch is a must. Water! Plenty of water is needed before, during and after a game.

I learned the hard way about dehydration. A year ago, I was playing second base and suddenly I had a fuzzy feeling. A few minutes later I passed out. The ambulance arrived and it was off to the hospital.

But I'm back!

When you are the oldest regular with the 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers, you have to get used to facing and competing with the "younger men" -- the 60 year olds. I was a young whippersnapper in 2008 when I joined the TOTS at the age of 62. Yesterday, I had to face the 6 foot-5 Palmer, 65, who is 12 years younger than I am. I'm a fastball hitter, even at my age. I swung at three curve balls and I looked like I had never played the game of baseball before. That's the age factor. There's no hiding it as I have gone from a leadoff hitter at 62 years of age to the bottom of the lineup at 77.

But boy was it fun! I'll get another crack at Palmer in the days ahead.

That's the beauty of it all.

Note: a 10-10 tie yesterday at Udall. Look for Daliege's recap on the Tucson Old Timers' Facebook page.

Palmer's double in 5th inning lifts Team Blue to 7-5 TOTS' win

Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

Independence Day tussle at Udall Park

Team Blue edges Team White 7-5 on 7/4

Reed Palmer, 65, drilled a two-run double to right field in the top of the fifth inning to break a 4-4 tie and Team Blue went on to a 7-5 win over Team White at Udall Park this morning in a 60-and-over Tucson Old-Timers' Independence Day game.

Palmer ended up with three RBI on the day, while teammates Mike Dawson and Ernesto Escala each went 3 for 3 and drove in two runs apiece.

Down 7-4, Team White scored a run in the sixth, but went quietly in the bottom of the seventh inning. Ron Ryan and Mike Steele led   Team White with two hits apiece and both players knocked in two runs apiece. Joe Opocensky went 3 for 3 and knocked in a run.

Escala pitched four innings for Team Blue and picked up the win, while Larry Abramson earned the save. Opocensky was saddled with the loss.

The plays of the day went to Team White's centerfielder John Jarboe, who made two running catches, and to Team Blue's centerfielder JB Bulawin, who made a shoestring grab to end a Team White rally. The assist of the day came from Team Blue's right fielder, Rob Morse, who threw out a runner at first base.

Twenty-two players played in today's Independence Day game. Bulawin was the youngest player on the field today at 61, while Danny "Pigpen" Price was the oldest player at 77.

The TOTS return to action on Wednesday at Udall. Game time: 8:30 AM.

  

TOTS continue to sizzle during the summer months

Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

TOTS' Blue wins July opener 12-7 over Team White

July 4th game set for 8:30 AM at Udall Park

June stats are in: Opocensky, Escala top hitters for the month

The 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers continue to sizzle on the diamond, despite the hot summer months.

The TOTS opened the July schedule last Friday with Team Blue scoring in every inning and outlasting Team White, 12-7. Team Blue's leadoff hitter Roger Beebe led the way with a 3 for 4 day, while John Cooke, Mike Steele and Frank Garcia knocked in two runs apiece. Mark Rupert pitched the first four innings for Team Blue and picked up the win, while teammate Glen Vann hurled the final two innings. Rupert allowed four runs and Vann allowed three runs.

Team White's Ernesto Escala had two hits and drove in three of the seven runs. Bob Daliege, back from a lengthy vacation, took the mound today for Team White and was a bit rusty, allowing 12 runs on 17 hits.

July 4th game set for *8:30 AM at Udall

The TOTS will celebrate July 4th with a game at Udall Park. Start time: 8:30 AM. Plenty of time for the old-timers to get home by High Noon and rest up for the fireworks. Another humid day is expected with the temperature reaching 95 by mid afternoon.

June stats are in

The June individual batting statistics are in. Thirty-seven players braved the warm temperatures and saw action. The players combined for 286 hits during the month, while maintaining a club batting average of .435 and a slugging percentage of .503. The old-timers can hit!

Joe Opocensky collected the most hits (21) in June edging Escala, who finished with 20 hits. Opocensky went 21 for 35, a .600 batting average, while Escala went 20 for 31, a .645 clip. Escala led the club in RBI for June with 19. 

Reed Palmer hit his fourth homer of the year and has 98 career home runs for the TOTS. Palmer played in eight games and went 10 for 19, but was second in RBI for the month with 16.

Ken Nebesny,  Rob Morse and Mike Steele were the only players to play in all 11 games. 

Other top hitters for June included Tim Tolson and Steele with 17 hits apiece. Tolson went 17 for 31, a .548 average, while Steele went 17 for 39, a .436 average. Mike Dawson went 15 for 23, a .652 average in just eight games, while John Mathews, Jimmy Kinion, Nebesny and Rupert were next in line with 14 hits apiece.

In the 75-and-over group, 77-year-old Danny "Pigpen" Price saw limited action, but went 6 for 18, a .333 average, in seven games. 

Ten pitchers toed the rubber in June with Opocensky leading the way with three wins and just one loss. Opocensky logged 26 innings for the month, Escala was second with 25 innings.

Way to go, TOTS!