Arizona reaches Number 1 in AP college basketball poll

 Way to go, Wildcats!

#2 Arizona slams #20 Auburn at McKale, 97-68

Arizona Wildcats Basketball 

from the desk of Dan Price

My Wildcats are rolling!

Arizona took care of business tonight at McKale Center with a 97-68 trashing of #20 Auburn. When the polls come out late Monday, the Wildcats should be No. 1 in the country.

Tonight, in front of a packed house, #2 Arizona scored 60 points in the paint and dismantled Auburn with 18-year-old Koa Peat leading the way with 18 points, four rebounds, and five assists, while Brayden Burries and Jaden Bradley added 16 points apiece as the Wildcats led 44-32 at the half and then enjoyed 30-point leads at times in the second half.

Ivan Kharchenkov scored 12 points and dished out eight assists, and Anthony Dell'Orso chipped in 11 points. Motiejus Krivas played just 24 minutes, grabbed nine boards and scored eight points, while Dwayne Aristode scored eight points in just 13 minutes.

Arizona moves to 8-0 and keeps pace with #3 Michigan and #4 Duke. But this week's No. 1, Purdue, lost by 23 to No. 10 Iowa State, 81-58, as the Boilermakers fell to 8-1. It's very scary at the top, and it may be too early for my Wildcats to be ranked No. 1. But I'll take it!

It has been quite the journey for the University of Arizona over the last few weeks, with both the football team posting a 9-3 record and now bowl-bound, while Tommy Lloyd is all smiles, or should be, with the way his basketball team is performing.

Lloyd would be the first to caution the Arizona fans that it's way too early in the season to be strutting around the Old Pueblo, holding our hands in the air and yelling at the top of our lungs, "We are No. 1!" We are a long way from Big 12 play, and next week we head across the country to face a non-conference foe, Alabama.

Still, I'm a happy camper. Go, Wildcats!

It's time to turn over a new leaf...

 

Amelia, Oh Amelia, you have that eye when you walk along those Colorado highways with that camera of yours -- especially those captured images along the Western Slope.

And you have a knack for getting my juices flowing, so to speak, igniting a thought or two in my head and springing this 80-year-old brain into action.

Lately, that's been a problem. I find myself shying away from my old laptop. It's not that I have writer's block. That has never been a problem. It's more like: do I have anything worthwhile to say, and honestly, does anyone care whether I post my thoughts?

I'll explain my dilemma away and blame it on old age.

But thanks to Amelia, the owner of Priceless Captures Photography by Amelia and the wife of my grandson, Daniel, I'm back for at least a moment.

In Amelia's photo, it's just a lone leaf in the middle of the road. But what if it's the final journey for that wandering leaf? The final sunset. It must be tired, after all, the poor leaf has been around a while. It has bounced around for some time now, joining other leaves from time to time, seemingly at its best when surrounded by other leaves. When they are together, they have a purpose and a direction.

The leaves are powerful in numbers, and the wind doesn't bother them at all, but keeps them alive.

Thanks, Amelia. If I were a leaf, I'd love to be on that highway near you.

Your pictures are my calendar.

Happy holidays to my family.

TOTS Chronicles: In the spotlight -- Dennis Crowley and Spiro Roberts

Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60 and over baseball

Honoring two TOTS centerfielders this week who can play the position -- Dennis Crowley, 76, and Spiro Roberts, 69.

Way to go, boys! Well, they aren't boys anymore, but they can cover some ground.

TOTS Chronicles: Cuttler's return

Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

Gary Cuttler, 70, battled through back surgery in 2023 and is back in the batter's box doing his thing, taking to the pitcher's mound on occasion, while playing a mean first base when called upon.

The New Jersey native joined the TOTS in 2022, and it didn't take long for his new teammates to discover he could play the game. In fact, Cuttler would fast-forward his way to the top of the club's monthly batting statistics.

Unfortunately, the back surgery came calling and has kept Cuttler (photo on the left) from the batter's box regularly... until now.

 Cuttler, who is just weeks away from his 71st Birthday, led the club in November with 15 RBI. He batted .444 with 12 hits in 27 at-bats and played in eight of the 10 games.

Welcome back, Gary!

Dan Gruniesen, the youngest member of the TOTS, led the club in hits in November with 15 (15 for 29), a .517 batting average with 12 RBI, while Jon Beady and Joe Opocensky tied for second in hits with 14 apiece. Beady went 14 for 24, and Opocensky finished 14 for 28. 

John Mathews, still working for a living, played in just five games but batted a blistering .733 with 11 hits in only 15 at-bats. Other top hitters included Randy Livingston and Sam Dean with 13 hits apiece, while Doug Harding and J.B. Bulawin tied with Cuttler in hits with 12. 

Closing in on the Century Award with my ball club

 

Old-timers baseball in 2026

Closing in on the Century Award with my ball club

What will 2026 bring to the table? Will my body hang in there and allow me to play another year of baseball? I'll start my 19th season as a member of the Tucson Old Timers (TOTS) Baseball Club, and probably my 75th season overall playing on one baseball diamond or another.

I was six years old when I first started playing organized baseball as a Little Leaguer. I'll be 81 in July/2026, but my early New Year's resolution is again to play smart. Less diving...less running, and, more importantly, I'll try to remember I'm an old guy. That's hard to do sometimes.

Once you take the field, step over the white line, and head for your position, we oldtimers forget about age and have one common purpose: make the play.

Yes, it is more of an adventure now. Those high-fly balls off an aluminum bat become harder and harder to camp under. Getting in front of a sizzling one-hopper becomes a 50-50 proposition. Throwing to a target more than sixty feet away seems futile at times. But there we are week after week, month after month, doing our best to make the play.

Hats off to the TOTS, the MSBL (Men's Senior Baseball League), and all the organizations that promote baseball for guys and gals in our senior years.

Photo:

At the end of 2024, I had finally reached 1,600 career hits with the TOTS. Getting to 1,700 hits might be too much to ask for. The hits no longer come in bunches. Legging out a slow roller is a thing of the past. Photo above was from two years ago. Funny how the years just fly be now.

G         AB         R         H         RBI         Career batting Average

1,343  4,230     739     1,601     894           .378

Tucson Old Timers win 2025 MSBL World Series title

 The way it went down...

The Tucson Old Timers began their run to the 2025 Men's Senior Baseball League World Series title in the 73-and-over division with a 12-9 opening-round win over the Southern Cal Dodgers. Joe Jimenez started on the mound for the TOTS and Pete Maldonado came on in relief and pitched the final two innings.

The TOTS won their second-round game with a 12-11 nail biter over the Fresno Grizzlies. Joe Opocensky pitched a complete game to lead the TOTS to a 2-0 record. Jim Sears reached on an error in the last inning and scored the game-winning run thanks to a double from Paul Rosthenhausler as the TOTS' fans were discovering early on who their hitting star for the week would be -- the guy with the longest last name.

The Tucson Old Timers made it 3-0  with a 21-0 thrashing of the Cal Vets. Arnold Mares went the distance in this one and everyone in the lineup contributed to the onslaught. By Day 4, it was evident one of the front-runners of the tourney were the TOTS, who then headed for Goodyear on Thursday for a battle with the Virgin Islands.

The Virgin Islands were a pesky bunch and held a 5-2 advantage early on but the TOTS rebounded from a slow start to win going away at 16-7. Rosthenhaulser continued his dominance at the plate with three more hits and Ernesto Escala added three hits to go along with a couple of key walks.

Joe Jimenez pitched seven gutsy inning for the win over the Virgin Islands as the TOTS sailed to the top of the standings as they awaited a showdown with the unbeaten LA Athletics, a National division team, in the final game of pool play. Win or lose the TOTS had already qualified for the playoffs on Saturday.

The TOTS played well but lost 5-1 to the Athletics, but moved on to the playoffs with a 4-1 record and a date Saturday morning with Red Deer, the team from Canada. The TOTS had lost to Red Deer in previous tounaments, but not this time as they won with a walk-off, 9-8, win. An opposite-field blooper by Bob Daliege fell in front of the Red Deer rightfielder, allowing Joe Jimenez to score from third and cap off a come-from-behind, four-run rally.

Joe Opocensky went the distance against Red Deer and key hits came from the usual suspects -- Ernesto Escala, Joe Jimenez, and, of course Paul Rosthenhausler, who held close to a .900 batting average heading into the finale.

The TOTS' fans in attendance went crazy but the best was yet to come. On Sunday at the Gene Autry Complex in Mesa, the TOTS took on Chicago Fire for the MSBL World Series title.

In the championship game, Arnold Mares pitched all nine innings and consecutive hits from Paul Rosthenhaulser, Joe Opocensky and Ernesto Escala gave the TOTS a 3-0 lead in the third inning. The TOTS added two more runs in the fifth to take a commanding lead. The Chicago Fire scored a run in the fifth inning and a lone run in the sixth.

With two outs in the seventh, a lazy pop fly to left field would end it and the Tucson Old Timers won their first-ever Men's Senior Baseball League World Series title.

Photos: The TOTS championship trophy and the team photo with the MSBL World Series championship banner. The TOTS: The winner of the 73-and-over division at the Men's Senior Baseball League World Series held Oct. 27-Nov. 2 in Phoenix. The TOTS played at some of the major league spring grounds, including Maryvale (home of the Milwaukee Brewers), Goodyear (home of the Cleveland Guardians and the Cincinnati Reds) and Salt River (home of The Arizona Diamondbacks and the Colorado Rockies).

Today could be a real Halloween treat for the Tucson Old Timers

 

The Tucson Old Timers have made it to Halloween at the 2025 Men's Senior Baseball League World Series in Phoenix with an unblemished 4-0 record.

The baseball organization, with a mixture of the top players from the eastside Tucson Old Pueblo club, have been around since 1968 and play three days a week at Udall Park.

This year the Tucson Old Timers have knocked off the Southern Cal Dodgers, Fresno Grizzles, Cal Vets and the Virgin Islands this week and now take on the LA Athletics today for the rights to the top seed for Saturday's semi finals. The winners of those two games play for the title in the 73-and-over division on Sunday at 9 a.m. at Autry Park in Mesa.

Manager Pete Peters will send Arnold Mares (1-0) to the mound today at the Salt River Complex in Scottsdale at 1:30 p.m.. Win or lose, the TOTS will play on Saturday (Nov. 1) at Fitch Park in Mesa in a must win to get to the title game.

Of course, Peters will throw the 'kitchen sink' on Sunday with a pitching staff of Mares, Joe Jimenez, Joe Opocensky, Pete Maldonado and maybe using an 'ace in the hole' Paul Rosthenhaulser, who currently is doing his thing at the plate despite a groin injury.

"Paul is batting around .900 for the series," Peters said. "We are getting key hits also from Ernesto Escala, Tim Tolson, Joe Jimenez and Joe Opocensky."

The TOTS are using their only speed on the bases by getting the most out of leadoff man Jim Sears, along with the heart of  the club's batting order of Escala, Rosthenhaulser, Opocensky, Tolson, Bob Long and Herb McReynolds, who are frustrating the opposing pitchers at the senior world series.

The TOTS are hoping for their share of treats this weekend. So far so good.

Livingston, Beady, Tolson led TOTS' hitters in October

Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

Randy Livingston, Jon Beady, and Tim Tolson were the top three hitters during the month of October for the 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers.

Livingston finished the month 21 for 35, a .600 batting average, while Beady went 20 for 28 (.714) and Tolson batted an even .500 with 17 hits in 34 trips to the plate. Beady was the top man in RBI with 13.

Forty-four players saw action at Udall Park, and as a club, batted .366 with 208 hits in 568 trips to the plate.

The TOTS closed down play for the last week of October due to the participation of a dozen players at the 2025 Men's Senior Baseball League World Series in Phoenix. The TOTS return to action at Udall on the third of November.

Go, TOTS!

121st World Series

 

The postseason in 2025 lived up to all the hype. Through all the do or die wild card games, the divison games and the conference finals two teams emerged to fight it for the world series title -- the Toronto Blue Jays as they return to the classic for the first time in 32 years and the LA Dodgers and their superstar Shohei Ohtani.

Toronto won Game 7 tonight 4-3 over Seattle in front of the Blue Jay fans and the Dodgers have had a few days off after disposing of an excellent Philadelphia team, and now the two teams have reached center stage to battle for the big prize.

The 121st World Series should be fun to watch.

Beady continues to produce Judge-like stats

Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

Jon Beady continues to produce Judge-like numbers this summer, and September was no exception. Look at these batting stats as he dominated the 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers.

Beady, 64, batted .750 with a slugging percentage of 1,028.

The hard-hitting righthander went 27 for 36 in 11 games. He scored 21 runs with eight doubles and a triple during the month while driving in ten runs.

Only Joe Opocensky, Mike Dawson, and Reed Palmer knocked in more runs as the trio finished with 13 apiece. Opocensky went 19 for 33, Dawson went 11 for 28, and Palmer went 10 for 17. Randy Livingston went 14 for 23 to finish with a  .609 batting average,  while Doug Harding went 12 for 28 in ten games. Tim Tolson and Angel Durazo finished with 13 hits apiece. Durazo played in just six games but batted a blistering .765 (13 for 17), and Tolson played in all 11 games, maintaining a .394 average (13 for 33)

Once again, Dawson was the workhorse on the mound, finishing with a 3-1 record.  Glen Vann pitched in just two games but was the strikeout leader with nine.

October is here, and fall begins. Go, TOTS!

Photos: Jon Beady, most hits in September (27), Glen Vann,  most strikeouts (9), Mike Dawson, best pitching record in September (3-1) 

      

Back in action with my TOTS teammates...

 

I returned to the ball field today.

I'm glad to be swinging the bat again.

A September to remember

 

 

My journey with my boys to the Field of Dreams in Dyersville, Iowa, the first week of September, was a dream come true.

It was an 80th birthday gift from my sons, Michael, 60, and Danny, 57, as they covered the cost of the five-day trip, including airfare and accommodations inside a 1,200-ft bungalow that overlooked Main Street in downtown Dyersville.

For a writer and a baseball historian, it turned out to be a swan song, so to speak, an accumulation of 74 years of playing the game of baseball -- from Little League, to high school, to college, followed by two decades as a member of the 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers (TOTS). This amateur baseball club plays three days a week, all 12 months of the year, at Udall Park, located on Tucson's eastside.

 

A fan of my sports articles, Glen Brown, called me from long distance and asked me to be the honorary coach at third base on his 50-and-over California Orioles' team, which would be one of 18 teams set to play in the Moonlight Graham Classic, Sept. 5-7. 

The teams we ended up competing against were of high caliber, almost pro-like, with rosters that included men who wore MSBL World Series rings on their fingers and were quick to share their 'war stories' on how they obtained the coveted hardware.

These players, in some cases, were 30 years younger than yours truly. I looked into their eyes at the local eatery as they recalled how they had garnered championships and the plays they had made to accomplish such a feat.

It reminded me of the 1970s when I was a baseball junkie, bouncing from one ballpark to another, playing America's Favorite Pastime, leaving it all on the field of play, the cuts, the bruises, the broken bones -- all of it in search of the championship trophy.

My playing days are numbered now. It's hard to take the field and make the play. But I'll die trying as I return to the TOTS next week and continue to play for the love of the game.

We drew two of the top teams right off the bat -- a team from Puerto Rico, which featured a big fella batting cleanup who played for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1992, and our second game was against the eventual winner of the tournament, the East Coast Cardinals.

The big guy from Puerto Rico, Joe Calder, hit a 350-foot home run to beat us in Game 1. In Game 3, we lost to a Florida team from Ft Myers. By late Saturday morning, we were eliminated, and I had the rest of the weekend to find some local characters to write about.

I was definitely in heaven as I began my search. 

Photos of downtown Dyersville below...

My son, Danny, had his photo taken with Calder, the former Pirate.

I ran into an 85-year-old gentleman at the Palace Bar, which was located about 300 feet from our little bungalow. He turned out to be a local legend.

"Yep. I have 125 acres just one mile from the Field of Dreams. I leased the farm to my nephew a few years ago. My wife of 62 years passed away in May."

Jerry Kramer (photo below) deals with the loss of his wife daily and makes a routine stop at the Palace on the weekends. He lives just around the corner. Kramer has witnessed many changes in downtown Dyersville over the past three or four decades, since the movie The Field of Dreams appeared on the silver screen.

I had a pleasant conversation with a younger man named Brian later in the day. His family owned most of the feed stores in the area, but he went into the heating and cooling business. "There aren't a lot of homes with air conditioning in town. But heating that's another story. We are all family around here. I recently took care of an elderly lady whose furnace went out. I repaired it, but she can only pay ten dollars a month toward the bill. That's how we handle things in Dyersville."

I could live in Dyersville, but soon it'll be winter and the white stuff will eventually cover the cornfields.

Instead, I have returned home. Back to the desert, the mountains, and a much different life.

Was I in heaven for a week? 

Maybe.

Beady top TOTS' hitter in August

Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

Jon Beady continues to be the top hitter on the Tucson Old Timers this summer.

Beady, 64, went 28 for 37 in August, led the club in runs scored with 21, and in RBI with 22 while maintaining a .757 batting average.

Two players collected 20 hits -- Randy Livingston (20 for 30) and Joe Opocensky (20 for 32), while Angel Durazo finished fourth with 19 hits in 32 official trips to the plate.

On the mound, Glen Vann went 2-1 and led the club in strikeouts with 10.

The TOTS collected 281 hits for the month for a club batting of .418. Forty members saw action.

Photo: Beady

  

Georgetown Orioles draw Puerto Rico in opening-game of Moonlight Graham Classic

 From the desk of Dan Price

My trip to the Field of Dreams is just two weeks away.

For this 80-year-old baseball historian, the 50-and-over Moonlight Classic to be held in Dyersville, Iowa, on September 5-7 is simply a dream come true for yours truly, as I will be a member of the Georgetown, California Orioles -- one of 16 teams participating in the event.

As an added bonus, the Orioles will play their opening game against RC21, a team from Puerto Rico, whose players will wear their jerseys, honoring the great Roberto Clemente. The Orioles' first game will be held in downtown Dyersville at the home field of the local high school team, Beckman Catholic, and the Dyersville Whitehawks, a semi-pro team.

The opener is slated for 8 a.m., followed at 2 p.m. with another seeding game, but what makes Day 1 complete for this historian and my Orioles' teammates is the fact that the second game will be played at the original Field of Dreams, the field used in the 1989 film that starred Kevin Costner, Amy Madigan, Burt Lancaster and James Earl Jones.

Yes, the Orioles were selected in a pre-tourney lottery to play at the famous field against a team called the East Coast Cardinals.

The third-round opponents will be announced after all seeding games are completed on Friday, September 5, as the weekend games then turn into single-elimination contests.

Along with my third-base coaching job with the Orioles, I hope to post stories on my blog daily about my stay in downtown Dyersville with my two sons, Michael, 60, and Dan, 57, as I hang out with the locals searching for, like I always do, characters to write about.

It should be fun!

 

Brewers pulling away with best record in baseball

Major League Baseball

The Milwaukee Brewers are thirty games over .500 and own the best record in baseball at 74-44. The Brewers are 6 1/2 games ahead of the Chicago Cubs (67-50) in the NL Central and riding a 10-game winning streak.

Beady edges Harding, Livingston for the most TOTS' hits in July

Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

Jon Beady edged Doug Harding and Randy Livingston for the most hits in July as the 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers closed out the hot month with nine games in the books. Beady went 17 for 25, scored the most runs (14), the most doubles (6), triples (3), and tied for the most RBI with 13, while maintaining a hefty .680 batting average.

Harding went 16 for 27 (.593), while Livingston went 14 for 29 (.483). Other top hitters for the month included Angel Durazo, 11 for 16 and an inside-the-park home run; Dan Gruniesen, 11 for 19; J.B. Bulawin, 11 for 18; Mike Dawson, 10 for 29; Joe Opocensky, 13 for 25; and Tim Tolson, 12 for 23, who also tied Beady for the most RBI.

Thirty players braved the hot temperatures during the month and, as a club, collected 205 hits in 487 official at-bats for a .421 average. Leading the super seniors (76-and-over) were Steve Karthas, who went 8 for 13, a .615 average,  Danny Pigpen Price, who went 6 for 19, a .316 average, and Carl Schwanbeck, who went 4 for 23, a .174 average.

On the mound, Glen Vann posted a 2-0 record, while Opocensky was 3-0. Nine pitchers toed the rubber in July, with Dawson logging the most innings (21). Livingston and Beady tied for the most strikeouts (7).

Way to go, TOTS! 

Blue Jays own best record in baseball at 63-43

 Major League Baseball

With August just days away, it's the Toronto Blue Jays that find themselves as the top dog in Major League Baseball with a 63-43 record and winners of eight of their last ten games. The Blue Jays are leading the AL East and hold a 5/ 1/2 game lead over the New York Yankees (57-48) and 6 1/2 over Boston (57-50).

Detroit (61-46) and Houston (60-46) are the other AL leaders, while the Chicago Cubs and the Milwaukee Brewers are tied for the best records in the NL Central with identical 62-43 records.

Where are the LA Dodgers? Well, the Dodgers are still leading the NL West at 61-45, but are clinging to just a four-game lead over San Diego. The New York Mets (62-44) hold a 1 1/2-game lead in the NL East over Philadelphia.

The Arizona Diamondbacks (51-55) are in a tailspin and are reportedly looking to trade away their best players, with their sights now set on the 2026 season.  A scenario that has occurred before. The Colorado Rockies, with a 27-78 record, own the worst record in baseball.

The teams are heading for their final 56 regular-season games or so. Still time for a few surprises.

 

Tigers rule at all-star break

 Major League Baseball

The Detroit Tigers head into the all-star break with the best record in baseball, with a 59-38 record, just edging out the LA Dodgers at 58-39. The Dodgers have a comfortable 5.5-game lead in the NL West over San Diego and a six-game lead over San Francisco. The Tigers own an 11.5-game lead in the AL Central over Minnesota. 

It's a tight race in the AL East, with Toronto  (55-41) holding on to a two-game lead over the New York Yankees, with Boston just three games out. In the NL East, the Philadelphia Phillies (55-41) hold on to a half-game lead over the New York Mets, while the Chicago Cubs (57-39), in the NL Central, hold a one-game lead over Milwaukee.

Houston, in the AL West, maintains a five-game lead over Seattle with a 56-40 record.

The Brewers head into the break on a seven-game winning streak, while the Boston Red Sox have won 10 games in a row.

At the bottom of the barrel are the Colorado Rockies in the NL West with a dismal 22-74 record, while the Chicago White Sox own a 32-65 record in the AL Central.

Close to home, the Arizona Diamondbacks continue to struggle at 47-50 in the NL West, 11 games back of the Dodgers.

The home run leaders continue to be Seattle's Cal Raleigh with 38 homers, 35 by the Yankees' Aaron Judge, and 32 by Shohei Ohtani of the Dodgers. Raleigh holds on to the RBI lead with 82, one more than Judge.

Pitchers Max Fried of the Yankees and Freddy Peralta of the Brewers are tied for the most wins at the break. Fried at 11-3 and Peralta at 11-4.

The Field of Dreams awaits...

 

Should I pack my bags and head for Dyersville, Iowa?

This aging baseball player wants to know. After all, I'm 80 years old and have been playing baseball for most of my life. Heck! I'm older than Moonlight Graham, for goodness' sake. Well, not really.

All my blog readers know how I can fly off the handle at times, but I'm being serious here. I'm ready to emerge from the cornfields in Dyersville, Iowa, in my TOTS uniform. The TOTS, of course, are the 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers, an amateur baseball team of which I'm now one of the elder statesmen.

The TOTS have been around since 1968. The youngest player to pass through the turnstiles at one time or another is 60 years old. 

Maybe I'll pack just one suitcase and head for Dyersville with my glove in one hand and my baseball bat in the other, much like I did in the 1950s as a little boy when I headed off to the local park for at least a "catch" and maybe a game with the other kids in my Tucson neighborhood.

Of course, I lived in the desert. Back in the day, there was less cement in Tucson, more dirt, and nothing but cacti east of Swan Road. There were neighborhood ball fields back then with enough grass to allow for a lovely Sunday hop, but not a well-manicured emerald green ball field with a cornfield surrounding the outfield and beautiful two-story farmhouses in the distance.

No stranger ever came to me and said: 'Is this Iowa? 'Or asked. 'If this was heaven?' as a tumbleweed blew by, followed by a twister...I mean a dust devil.

I've officially been invited to coach third base for the California Orioles, a 50-and-over team managed by Fire Chief Glenn Brown from Georgetown, California, for a three-day tournament (Sept. 5-7) at the Field of Dreams in Dyersville, Iowa.

I'll be sending my teammates home from third en route to a tourney title, we hope, at the Moonlight Graham Classic.

Brown says he's glad to have this 'old man' aboard, and I'm certainly pumped for the chance to participate in the tourney in Dyersville. It's a dream come true for me, and I'll have my trusty old laptop along to document the action and all the festivities.

Brown was previously a Fire Chief in Mayer, Arizona, and a Deputy Fire Chief for the Gila River Fire Department in Chandler, Arizona. We both have played in our share of the Men's Senior Baseball League World Series, held every October in Phoenix, Arizona. If I'm lucky enough to play in Phoenix this October, it will mark my 18th season at the prestigious event.

Both of my sons, Michael (60) and Dan (57), are also flying into Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on September 4. We will rent a car, stay in downtown Dyersville for three days, and return home on September 8.

None of us has ever been to the Field of Dreams.

More to come in the coming weeks.

A look at the California Orioles roster and their ages: Glenn Brown, 63, Warren Stout, 52, Scott Hasson, 63, Jason Brown, 50, Adam Huehnergarth, 55, Gerry Mecca, 65, Kevin Simmons, 51, Lincoln Mikkelson, 51, John Mahalik, 54, Marc Luett, 51, Jim Vargas, 51, Ira Dorfman, 69, Andy Poestema, 59, Barry Olberding, 50, Shawn Onley, 50, Mark Robens, basecoach, and Dan Price, basecoach. 

Photos:(top) Dan Pigpen Price counting the days til he leaves for the Field of Dreams. Bottom images: Mike and I as members of a Tucson MSBL Orioles team 13 years ago, and below a photo of Dan and Mike.