TOTS Cuttler enjoys the best of both worlds

Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

Gary Cuttler, one of the newest members of the 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers, hails from Linden, New Jersey. He spends part of the year in his hometown playing softball and in the winter months in Tucson playing baseball.

The New Jersey native, who turns 68 in December, sold his dental practice a few years back, bought a second home in Tucson, and joined the TOTS in 2021.

Cuttler is not new to the game of softball or baseball. The Linden newspaper photo below was taken in 1972 and shows Gary playing shortstop during a high school game in Linden.

"I've played sports all my life," Cuttler said as he reminisced in the dugout Monday after a TOTS game, recalling all his years in New Jersey on softball, baseball, and soccer fields.

He returns to Linden to play on his slow-pitch softball team from April through August. "It's hard to give it up. I've been playing in the softball league for 40 years."

By mid-September, Gary heads back to Tucson and joins the TOTS. But, instead of seeing a high-arching slow pitch, he steps into the batter's box and awaits a sizzling fastball until late March when the heat returns to the Arizona desert floor.

For sports enthusiasts, it certainly seems like Cuttler enjoys the best of both worlds.

Note: Cuttler has little trouble in his transition between sports. In his last two games with the TOTS, Gary has gone 7 for 9 for a blistering .778 batting average. For the month of October, Gary played in six games, batted 14 for 21 (.667), scored nine runs, and finished the month with 10 RBI.

Photo credits: (top) by Dan Price, TOTS historian, (bottom) Courtesy of Bobby Cole Photo Archives.