TOTS close out week with a kiss-your-sister 3-3 tie

 Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

The 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers closed out the week with a 3-3 kiss-your-sister-game at Udall Park today. It turned out to be a well played tussle as Team Blue's Mike Dawson and Team White's Ernesto "Doc" Escala locked horns for seven innings. Dawson struck out five and didn't walk a batter, while Escala struck out six and walked two. Dawson allowed seven hits, while Escala gave up nine hits.

Team Blue held a 3-0 lead after three innings, but Team White chipped away at the lead with two runs in the fourth and a lone run in the bottom of the sixth. Bobby Long knocked in two runs and Escala drove in a run for Team White, while Joe Opocensky went 3 for 4 to lead Team Blue. Ken Nebesny knocked in two runs and Jesse Ochoa drove in a run.

The TOTS were able to play all three scheduled games this week. The TOTS are back in action at Udall on Monday. Game time: 10 a.m.

Garcia, Palmer lead Team White to 7-3 TOTS' win

 Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

Ray Garcia, 68, could be shoveling snow in New York City today, instead he's swinging a baseball bat at Udall Park, on the east side of Tucson, as a member of the 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers.

Every year, Garcia spends at least three months in Tucson playing baseball and in his first two games back this year,  he finds himself playing in 75-degree weather, under a clear blue sky and the only snow visible is directly north of Udall on the mountaintops of the Catalinas.

Garcia is, to say the least, sizzling at the plate. A former cigarette salesman, Garcia has lit up the TOTS' pitchers with seven hits in eight trips to the plate in two games at Udall this week -- including a 4 for 5 effort today as Team White knocked off Team Blue, 7-3.

"I hope to stay around until late April this year," said Garcia, who obviously is in no hurry to get back to New York where a strong nor'easter has canvassed the city and the surrounding areas with two feet of snow.

Meanwhile, Reed Palmer, the starting pitcher for Team White today, is happy to have Ray back in town. Garcia led off today and scored three of Team White's seven runs, while Palmer allowed just one earned run and went the distance for the win. Brad Vermeer pitched six innings for Team Blue and absorbed the loss.

By the way, Palmer helped himself at the plate with a 3 for 4 day and four RBI. Everyone in the starting lineup hit safely for Team White today as they collected 14 hits, while Palmer limited Team Blue to just 11 hits with Pete Peters and Dave Byars collecting three hits apiece for the losing team.

With two games in the books this week, the TOTS will finish out the week with a game on Friday at Udall. Game time: 10 a.m.

Photo: Ray Garcia

TOTS back in action

 Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

The TOTS are finally back in action.

After a month layoff due to Covid-19, the TOTS returned to Udall Park this morning as Team White scored three runs in the first inning and held on for a 5-1 win over Team Blue.

Team White collected 13 hits in the game with Ken Nebesny, Reed Palmer, Joe Opocensky, John Mathews and Ray Garcia combining for 10 of the hits. Nebesny went 2 for 4 and scored a run, Palmer went 2 for 3, scored twice and knocked in a run, Opocensky went 2 for 3 and  knocked in a run, while  Mathews doubled, scored a run and knocked in a run. Garcia had a perfect 3 for 3 day at the plate and picked up two RBI.

Opocensky went the distance to pick up the pitching victory, while Mike Dawson took the loss.

Team Blue collected just eight hits with Tim Tolson, Brad Vermeer and Dawson picking up two hits apiece.

The TOTS return to action with games at Udall on Wednesday and Friday. Both games get underway at 10 a.m.

 

The remarkable life of Robert Emmet Kirby

 Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

The oldest living TOT passed away peacefully at home on December 20, 2020.

Robert Emmet Kirby, 99, joined the 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers back in 1984. Due to health issues, Robert hadn't taken his cuts at the old baseball for more than 30 years, but he was a regular at all the birthday get togethers, club luncheons and Christmas parties.

Kirby would have turned 100 on February 27, 2021.

Like many TOTS, Kirby lived an interesting life. Boy did he!

Bob grew up during the Great Depression. The second oldest in a family of 13. He left his home in Stowe Township, PA., and joined the army, stormed the Normandy Beach on D-day and battled through the major European campaigns. In 2013, he was awarded the French Legion of Honor Medal for his heroism.

While training for D-Day he met an English gal named Peggy. They were married six weeks later and adopted four children. Their romance lasted 46 years and Bob would go on to earn a B.S., M. S., and a Ph. D in Chemistry. He spent his career as a professor of chemistry at Queens College in New York.

After the loss of his first wife, Bob was fortunate to find a second love, Etsu Suzuki, and they spent 27 years together, traveling the world and enjoying every moment of their marriage.

And yes, the couple (see above photo) showed up in the bleachers at Udall Park on many occasions over the past 20 years and watched the Tucson Old Timers play the game of baseball. Ironically, Bob was even instrumental in helping Ken Nebesny, currently a member of the TOTS and a retired staff chemist at the University of Arizona, find his way to a successful career. Both men had a lot in common, despite the fact their age difference totaled 36 years. Bob Kirby, the professor of chemistry at Queens College and the young Nebesny, who grew up in da Bronx. Ken joined the TOTS in 2018, Kirby in 1984.

Photo: Ken Nebesny prior to a TOTS game in 2019 with Bob Kirby and Etsu.

  

 

Will the words ever flow again?

 

From the desk of Dan Price

I envision a hazy corridor with a row of doors and a carpeted hallway only a Jack Nicholson could walk down comfortably.  A  shadowy figure emerges dressed in a dark colored trench coat and with both hands attempts to unlock the first door, the second and the third, all to no avail. Hunched over, the figure moves on to the next door and the next. The hands begin to shake as the figure reaches the last door on the left.

No need for a key. The door is slightly ajar. The figure, now startled, slowly closes the door and disappears into the night.

That sums up my past three weeks. Since 2009, the doors have always been unlocked as the words have flowed freely, sometimes making sense, sometimes not. What does it all mean? Beyond all those locked doors, the world struggles and the people in it scatter in all directions, trying desperately to make sense of it all.

We continue to lose our loved ones and our sports heroes. Hank Aaron passed away Friday at the age of 86, Don Sutton died Monday at the age of 75. Over 400,000 Americans have died from the coronavirus. A new president emerges. The 46th president of the United States begins his first full week in office. The  45th president of the United Sates reluctantly bows out and heads for Florida.

Chances are that shadowy figure is yours truly. Chances are this beaten and battered old man will stop half way down the steps, make a u-turn, return to the last door on the left and return to my little place in the sun, still clinging to what words I have left, hopefully reconnecting with my die-hard readers who have followed me for the past 12 years.

Just a year ago, the major league pitchers were packing their bags and heading off to spring training. Some had thrown a pitch or two, some had not logged one inning of game action. Here we are again. Already, there are rumors flying around of ripping into a 162- regular season schedule.

Locally, our amateur 60-and-over baseball club, the Tucson Old Timers (TOTS), is sidelined once again. No groups of eight or more. A curfew to boot. The club's last game was back on January 4th.

January is coming to an end.

The old man has thrown off his trench coat and placed his arthritic right hand on the last door on the left. He begins to push forward. 

We shall see what awaits.

Ted Davis is back!

 Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

Ted Davis, 70, has tried to retire from the 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers on more than one occasion.

In fact, the Athens, Alabama native, has been a member of the TOTS since 2011, and has been on the injured list more times than the Alabama Crimson Tide has won national titles. Of course, that's saying a lot since Alabama's football coach, Nick Saban, 69, has won six national titles at Alabama and next week will go up against Ohio State in search of a seventh crown.

Well the tide has turned. And we are talking about Davis, mind you. Davis returned to the playing field today at Udall Park, caught an entire game behind the plate, while going 2 for 2 with a walk and drove in two runs to lead Team Blue to a  7-4 win over Team White in a 60-and-over Tucson Old Timers game.

It was the first game of 2021 for the TOTS and Mike Dawson struck out three and didn't walk a batter en route to the pitching victory, while Team White's Bob Daliege struck out four and walked four, but was saddled with the loss. Team White tried to rally in the bottom of the sixth with a three-spot, but Daliege hit a come-backer to the mound with runners at the corners for the final out of the game.

Pete Peters was the big gun at the plate for Team White with a 3 for 4 day and scored two of the four runs. Leadoff hitter Dennis Crowley had a good day for Team Blue with two hits, two walks and two runs batted in.

The TOTS return to action at Udall on Wednesday. Game time: 10 a.m.

Photos: Ted Davis in uniform and ready to play and also playing catch while on the DL.

The TOTS final stats for 2020

 Tucson Old Timers (TOTS)

60-and-over baseball

Read 'em and weep, fellas. The final stats for the year 2020 are in, thanks to professor Bill Mishler.

TOTS: You did good. A short season in 2020 with the coronavirus. Only three players --Reed Palmer (86), Pigpen Price (82) and Mike Steele (80) logged in 80 or more games. Thunder Tim Tolson led the batting charts with the most hits (172), most RBI (108), most runs (95) and best batting average (.675).

Forty-five members saw action in 2020 and 13 pitchers toed the rubber. Mike Dawson was the TOTS top hurler with 20 wins, 8 losses.

See complete stats below: