Opie does it again!

Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

Joe Opocensky, 73, has played for the 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers (TOTS) for nine years, and he has picked up his share of nicknames on the amateur baseball club, an organization that has been around since 1968.

Joe is referred to as the 'Big O' or 'Opie,' but whatever moniker he possesses, he certainly plays the game hard and refuses to let the 'old man' in.

Opocensky (photo below) led the TOTS in hitting during October. He went 16 for 27 and played eight of the 10 games for a .593 batting average. He was the top RBI man for the month with 13, two more than Sam Dean and Tim Tolson.

John Cooke, 67, and Tolson, 71, ended up second in hits with 15 apiece. Cooke went 15 for 35 (.429), and Tolson finished 15 for 34 (.441). Dean, 67, one of the TOTS' catchers, had a good month with 14 hits in 26 at-bats, a .538 clip.

Mark Rupert, 71, also reached double digits in hits, going 10 for 27, a .370 mark, while playing nine of the 10 games.

As for the 'super seniors, those players 75-and-over, it was Bob Daliege, 75, leading the way with nine hits in 23 at-bats, a .391 average, while Dave Byars, who actually turns 76 in December, and Danny "Pigpen" Price, 78, were next in line. Byars went 6 for 18 in six games, a .333 clip, while Price played in nine of the 10 games and went 7 for 26, a .269 average.

Other notables for the month  (playing in five games or more) included Pete Maldonado, 71, who went 8 for 23 (.348), Jon Beady, 62, who went 8 for 17 (.471 average...and the only home run in October), Mike Dawson, who went 7 for 23 (.304), Ken Nebesny, who went 8 for 31 (a .258 clip), along with two more John's -- Mathews (one T), who went 8 for 14 (.571) and Misiaszek 9 for 19 (.474).

Ten pitchers saw action, with Maldonado logging the most innings (25) while compiling a 2-2 record. Dawson was next in line with 21 innings and a 2-1 record.

The TOTS are back in action today, November 1, at Udall Park with the new adjusted starting time of 10 a.m. instead of nine. Field duty is at 8:30, and warm-ups and batting practice to follow.