Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)
60-and-over baseball
The Boys of Summer at Udall Park, better known locally as the 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers, just completed a busy month in May, logging 13 games in 29 days as 42 members -- including a couple of rookies and a new father-son combination-- combined for 362 hits in 796 official at-bats for a club batting average of .455.
The usual suspects led the way with Randy Livingston (top photo) collecting the most hits (25 for 41 and the most runs scored with 16, while John Mathews was the top RBI-man with 14. Mathews maintained a .724 batting average in 11 games (21 for 29).
Joe Opocensky, 76, and Danny 'Pigpen" Price, 80, were the two most active players as both played in all 13 games. Opocensky went 22 for 44, a .500 average, while Price managed to collect 32 at-bats and had eight hits. The TOTS 'real' oldtimer, 88-year-old Ted Roberts, who doubles as the club announcer and scorekeeper, came off the bench and went 3 for 16.
Other super seniors (75-and-over) who hit the ball well during May included Bob Daliege (15 for 32) and Mike Steele (12 for 27). Other notable hitters in the 60-and-over crowd included Mike Dawson (20 for 37), Sam Dean (18 for 30), Tim Tolson (16 for 36), and Reed Palmer (15 for 21).
Making noise at the plate in seven games or fewer included Dan Gruneisen (above photo), who went 17 for 25, David Musavi (13 for 20), and rookie Paul Montes (shown in photo below Gruneisen), who went 10 for 13 in six games while wearing an old crash helmet. Montes received his share of jibes from the dugout, but the helmet seemed to help in his view of the pitches thrown as he batted a hefty. 769.
As for the new father-son combination, that belongs to Pigpen Price, who turns 81 on July 2, and his son, Michael, 61 (pictured above in the sweater). Michael is just getting his feet wet as the newest member of the club and went 3 for 10, with a double and three RBI in his first week.
Another newcomer this month is lefty Scott Bultman (pictured above, Michael), who is starting to hit the ball with regularity. Bultman, 67, went 13 for 34, a .382 average.
The two pitchers shown in the photos above continue to be the workhorses on the mound for the TOTS. Glen Vann went 3-1 in May and recorded the most strikeouts (13), while Dawson logged the most innings (41) and was second in strikeouts with 12.
Way to go, TOTS! And now, June awaits!
Congrats to the TOTS' new father-son combination, Dan 'Pigpen' Price and Michael Price (photo below), only the second father-son combo to play on the TOTS at the same time in the history of the organization (1968-2026).
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