The Day of the Spectacular Catches

Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball


The Day of the Spectacular Catches

A die-hard baseball fan needs to tune in daily to ESPN or the MLB Network to watch for the plays of the day in the major leagues.

As for the 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers, it's a different story when it comes to the plays of the day. After all, if a member of the TOTS makes a spectacular play, it's history. There are no instant replays, or cameras -- other than the photos taken every now and then by Conrad Royksund, a retired TOT, who shows up with his trusty camera and clicks away in hopes of capturing an oldtimer in action.

Sometimes, Royksund will get that one in a million shot which will then show up the TOTS' Facebook page or on Bookemdanosports, a blog authored by Dan Price, a member of the TOTS who started a sports blog back in 2009, focusing mainly on the 60-and-over baseball club, which takes the field three days a week at Udall Park.

As it turns out, today was the day for the "worth seeing again" catches.

Right-hander Bob Daliege hurled a shutout into the seventh inning for Team Blue and he benefited through out the game thanks to outstanding plays from a couple of "unusual suspects" -- 83-year-old Joe Aparicio and 75-year-old Miguel Urtaza.

Now the TOTS are used to the younger set making most of the plays, but today it was Aparicio and Urtaza who "shined" on the ball field. Urtaza,  a right fielder, moved two steps to his right and backhanded a hard hit ball to snuff out a rally, as did Aparicio, a short fielder who made two outstanding grabs during the first six innings to keep goose eggs on the scoreboard --all to the dismay of the players in Team White's dugout.

In the end, Team White was able to ruin Daliege's shutout when they scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning. The final score: Team Blue  8, Team White  2.

The top hitters for Team Blue today included Tim Tolson, John Mathews and Pigpen Price -- all with two hits apiece, while DeLon "Doc" Thompson and Joe Opocensky were the big guns for Team White with two hits apiece.

Despite losing the shutout, Daliege picked up the win and allowed only five hits. He walked three and struck out two. Thompson was saddled with the loss.

The TOTS will return to action at Udall Park on Friday. Game time: 9 a.m.

Photos: The "unusual suspects" -- Joe Aparicio (top photo) and Miguel Urtaza (bottom photo).

Astros still the front runner in the AL

American League's dogfight


The Houston Astros (72-45) are still the front runners in the American League.

After all, the Astros currently own a 12-game lead over their nearest rival in the AL West, the LA Angels. The team from Anaheim isn't exactly breathing down the neck of the Astros. The Angels own a 61-58 record, but have won seven of their last 10 games. Boston (67-50) and the New York Yankees (61-55) are in a dogfight in the AL East, while Cleveland (63-52) enjoys a 4 1/2 game lead in the AL Central over Minnesota ( 59-57) and five games over third-place Kansas City (59-58).

The Astros are no surprise, but the teams reaching the Wild-Card games may very well be.

Will the Diamondbacks have enough gas in the tank to get to the finish line?

Arizona Diamondbacks


With forty five games left in the regular season, the Arizona Diamondbacks (65-52) are tied for the third best record in the National League. Do the Diamondbacks have enough left in the gas tank to get to the finish line?

The finish line: A wild card spot for the postseason.

Yes, it's a given Kershaw, Darvish and Company (The Dodgers) are running away with the NL West at 83-34. My goodness, if LAD splits the rest of its games, you're looking at 105 wins. Of course, the chances of that happening are about as good as having Washington's Bryce Harper starting in right field tomorrow night when the Nationals play host to the Angels.

Look for the Dodgers to win more like 113 games and look for the Washington Nationals (70-46) to win 100 games in the NL East, despite the loss of Harper.

On a personal note, I hope Harper returns quickly. I mean he's my main man on my Fantasy Team!

Setting aside all the fantasy stuff (which believe me, it's hard to do when you're a fantasy owner), I'd love to see the Diamondbacks make the postseason. They have played well. Unfortunately, I see a bit of a leak in the gas tank (5-12, so far this month).

Still, Paul Goldschmidt has it going as does Zack Greinke, J.D. Martinez, Jake Lamb and a hand full of others. The big questions down the stretch focus on the pitching staff, once you get by Greinke...and the bullpen? I mean, how long can Archie Bradley produce and it's a real nail biter every time Mr. Rodney takes the mound.

Come on Diamondbacks, put a winning streak together and let's roll into the postseason!

As for the NL Central, now there's a RACE!

The St' Louis Cardinals (61-57) as usual are in the thick of things, just one game behind the defending champs, the Chicago Cubs (61-55). The Cubs have Kris Bryant and a huge support group, while the Cardinals have battled through injuries but are breathing down the necks of the Cubs anyway, thanks to Matt Carpenter, Jedd Gyorko, Yadiar Molina (just to name a few) and a pitching staff, which includes the likes of Michael Wacha (9-5), Lance Lynn (10-6), Adam Wainwright (12-5) and Carlos Martinez (9-9).

It's going to be fun to watch all the contenders battle down the stretch.

Baseball! Still America's Favorite Pastime!

Team Blue's lefties too much for Team White in 60-and-over baseball game

Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

TOTS dress-out quarterly birthday game

Team Blue had all the lefties in the lineup today at Udall Park in a 60-and-over baseball game.

Five lefties, out of 10 Team Blue starters, created most of the havoc at the plate as Tim Tolson, Joe Opocensky, Ron Petersen, Dennis Crowley and Denny Leonard came out on top with an 8-7 win over Team White.

Team Blue crushed most of its hits to right field and by the sixth inning held a 8-6 lead when Team White came to bat for the final time. With one out, Team White had two men on base and the hard-hitting DeLon "Doc" Thompson at the plate. Thompson singled in a run with a hit to left field -- his third RBI and fourth hit of the game, giving Team White the opportunity for a walk-off win.

Unfortunately for Team White, a couple of force-out plays ended the game -- a quarterly birthday (dress-out) celebration game, which honored the TOTS' members who have birthdays in July, August or September.

Petersen went the distance and picked up the win, while Lloyd Barzell pitched for Team White and was saddled with the loss.

The TOTS close out the week with a game on Friday at Udall. Game time: 9 a.m.

Photo: Thompson, the top hitter for the quarterly birthday game with a 4 for 4 day and three runs-batted-in.

Palmer hits fifth home run of the year

Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

Reed Palmer hit his fifth home run of the year -- a three-run shot over the right field fence in the third inning -- to lead Team Blue to a 14-6 win over Team White in a 60-and-over baseball game today at Udall Park.

Palmer, the club leader in home runs, had four hits on the day and knocked in four runs and also pitched into the fifth inning before leaving the game with dizzy spells. He returned an inning later and picked up his fourth hit of the game.

John Mathews led Team White with four hits -- including three opposite-field doubles to right field. Palmer picked up the pitching victory and Bob Daliege was saddled with the loss.

The temperature reached 100 degrees by the end of the game and more of the same is expected on Wednesday with a forecast of 106 degrees. Wednesday's game is the Tucson Old Timers' dress-out quarterly birthday game. The TOTS will skip batting practice and get started at 9 a.m.

The M & M Boys at it again

Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

The M & M Boys are at it again!

Of course, the first thing that comes to mind with the mention of the M & M Boys are Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris. That was back in the 1960s when the two New York Yankee hitters slugged their way to stardom in the Major Leagues.

But in 2017, at Udall Park, the M & M Boys are two 60-plus year olds by the names of John Mathews and John Misiaszek. The two hard hitters on the Tucson Old Timers combined for eight hits, four runs and four RBI today as Team White powered their way to a 17-6 win over Team Blue.

Most games, involving the TOTS,  are close games -- usually down to the wire in many cases. But not today as Team Blue right-hander Lloyd Barzell had his hands full trying to corral both Mathews and Misiaszek.

The two were a thorn in the side of Barzell, to say the least.

With Misiaszek batting second and Mathews fourth in the lineup, Team White bolted to an early lead and never looked back. The M & M Boys had help as six players in Team White's lineup knocked in two runs apiece and Pigpen Price, batting behind Mathews, added three hits and finished the week with six hits in seven trips the plate. Floyd Lance, 91, also contributed three hits to the cause.

Doc Thompson led Team Blue with three hits and also drove in two runs.

Mathews, who bats right and throws left handed, pitched six innings for Team White to pick up the win. Price pitched a scoreless seventh inning. Barzell was saddled with the loss.

The TOTS managed to battle the monsoons and get three games in this week. Team White had their way with Team Blue all week -- winning on Monday 6-1 and 8-5 on Wednesday.

The TOTS will be back in action on Monday. Wednesday will be dress-out day (full uniforms) as the organization celebrates its quarterly birthdays. Weather permitting, the TOTS will conclude the week with a game on Friday. All games get underway at 9 a.m.

Photos: (top) Mathews, (bottom) Misiaszek

Thunder Tim Tolson top hitter in July for TOTS

Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

Thunder Tim Tolson is a big lefty who has a habit of driving in a lot of runs each month for the Tucson Old Timers.

During the month of July, Tolson continued with his hot hitting.

The heavy rains kept the TOTS off the field at Udall Park for many of their scheduled games, but eight games were played and Tolson ended up with 26 official at bats. He hit safely 14 times and drove in 14 runs, maintaining a .536 batting average in eight games.

Other top hitters for the month included Bob Daliege (12 for 23, a .522 average for seven games), John Mathews ( 11 for 15, a .733 average for five games), Jesse Ochoa (10 for 19, a .526 average for seven games) and David Byars ( 10 for 15, a .667 average for five games).

The top hitter for the 80-and-over players once again went to 91-year-old Floyd Lance, who played in seven games and went 5 for 18, a .278 average.

The TOTS are hoping to get in a few more games, during the month of August, as the monsoon season slows to a crawl. The TOTS got things rolling for the month of August with an 8-5 game today at Udall -- won by Team White over Team Blue.

Two lefties went at it -- Ron Petersen for Team White and Dennis Crowley for Team Blue. Petersen picked up the win and was helped out by his defense, which turned a couple of double plays -- including a 6-4-3 to end the game.

Joe Opocensky led Team Blue with two hits and three RBI, while Pigpen Price had a 3 for 3 day for Team White. Thunder Tim Tolson and Doc Thompson contributed two hits apiece for the winners.

The TOTS close out the first week of August with a game on Friday at Udall. Game time 9 a.m.

Photo: Tim Tolson -- the top hitter for the TOTS with 14 hits in July