TOTS battle record heat in July

Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

The 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers battled record heat during the month of July yet combined for 209 hits in 493 at-bats for a club batting average of .424.

Thirty players braved the hot temperatures, with 10 players collecting 10 hits or more. Jon Beady led the way with 14 hits in 22 trips to the plate for a .636 batting average and an OBP (on-base percentage) of .704.

Ernesto Escala, John Mathews, and Mike Dawson tied for second in hits with 13. Escala went 13 for 23, a .565 average, Mathews went 13 for 24, a .542 average, and Dawson batted an even .500 with 13 hits in 26 at-bats.

Picking up a dozen hits were Jimmy Kinion (12 for 23) and Sam Dean (12 for 19), while Mark Rupert (10 for 31), Tim Tolson (10 for 25), Bob Daliege (10 for 20), and Bob Long collected 10 hits in 21 trips to the plate.

The oldest player to take the field in July was 78-year-old Danny "Pigpen" Price, who went 5 for 16, a .313 average in six games, while the youngest player Brooklyn Dave Kaplan, 60, played in seven games and went six for 19, a .316 average.

Other notables for the month included Dave Byars (8 for 28), Jerry Callen (7 for 16), Jesse Ochoa (7 for 22), Ken Nebesny (7 for 19), Mike Steele (7 for 19), Randy Livingston (9 for 14), Ron Ryan (7 for 11), Reed Palmer (6 for 16) and John Cooke (6 for 15).

On the mound, Dawson pitched the most innings (22) while finishing the month with a 2-2 record. Pete Maldonado hurled 18 innings, as did Livingston. Maldonado maintained a 2-1 record, as did Livingston, while Beady went 2-1 and finished with the most strikeouts (12).

The TOTS head into August with the hot temperatures showing no signs of letting up. The players continue to take the field with the first pitch slated for 9 a.m. at Palo Verde Park on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

Way to go, TOTS!