Pigpen retires

 

Pigpen Price, who turns 78 on July 2nd, has played the sport of baseball for 70 years -- Little League, Pony League, Legion ball, college ball, and later in life, a 17-year stint with the 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers, an amateur baseball organization currently five months into its 55th season (1968-2023).

Battered and bruised, it is time for Price to retire from the game. In the spring of 2008, Price was the youngest player on the TOTS, a rookie on the club, and capable of hitting the ball to all fields with the ability to leg out doubles and triples.

Pigpen has played alongside TOTS' Hall-of-Famers men like first baseman and hard-hitting lefty Brad Tolson, who passed away on May 2, 2023. Alongside TOTS' greats, like shortstop Ed Rife; catchers Chico Bigham, Clarence Fieber, and Richard McAnally; outfielders Carl Brutovsky, Don Wood, and Mort Atkins.

All of the above men are gone now. But, chances are they are all in heaven, suiting up every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and still playing the game of baseball on an infield that allows for perfect bounces and high fly balls ease their way into the mitts of the fast-moving outfielders.

After games, the TOTS' Hall-of-Famers sit in the stands and critique below the young men at Tucson Udall Park, the current group of 60-and-over ballplayers playing for the love of the game.

As for Pigpen, he says it's time to hang up his cleats -- cleats with soft, comfortable inserts that have allowed for a more leisurely journey to first base.

"I no longer hit for an average," Price says. "My name appears at the bottom of the lineup instead of the top. I compete with players who are 17 years younger. In the blink of an eye, I went from a young whippersnapper in 2008 to an old-timer in 2023."

"But, what a journey it was!" -- Dan "Pigpen" Price