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