The Similkameen News Leader
Editorial
May 20, 2008
WHADDAYA MEAN OVER 60?
I'm officially on a slo-pitch team.
It was the easiest try out I've ever attended. Basically, I showed up twice and now I'm part of the team.
I used to play slo-pitch twenty some years ago when I lived in Penticton and always enjoyed the casual approach where the score often didn't matter just as long as you were having a good time.
The team I'm on locally is called 'Over 60' which I find funny in itself as only a few of the regular team members are in that category. I think the team name actually reflects how much money is in the year-end party fund but I'm not going to force the issue. I'm just happy to be out with a bunch of people who are getting some exercise and playing an organized team sport most of us seem to understand the rules for - my current favourite is the 5-run maximum per inning
'mercy' rule.
So last week we had a game against a much younger, fitter and stronger team under the lights at Memorial Park. We gave them their money's worth striking out a few and playing with deadly accurate catches in the field and swift plays around the bases.
I thought maybe someone had found some medication in the dugout and passed it around. I was standing deep in right field thinking these guys were far from
'over 60' - in fact, these old farts were moving like players half their age. It was a wonderful thing to see.
Our opponents seemed frustrated at times that we were tagging them out and striking them out as well as we were. I considered pointing it out between innings but didn't want to cast any bad mojo on a situation that seemed to be working pretty good.
Then it happened. My second at bat. I'm a pretty reliable base hitter, good for a single at least, and that's what I got but in my sudden burst of lightning speed to first base I pulled a thigh muscle. It didn't really register until I tried to steal second on an error. I managed to hop there and I got pulled from the game for a replacement runner.
Hey, whatever helps the team, I thought.
Then at my next at bat I had to have a runner. And it was one of the old farts. It was at that moment that I started to understand the true meaning of our team name. Sooner or later, everyone on the team is going to have a game where they feel over 60. To the old fart's credit, he got to first before the inning ended. Had I had to do it, it would not have been very pretty.
But I take consolation in the fact that I'm part of a team of basically regular people, interested in getting out and getting active. I still have no idea what the final score was, nor does it matter.
Playing slo-pitch under the lights at Memorial Park is thrilling enough. And one night there's going to be a crowd there cheering us on. Not because we're the
'Over 60' team and not (as I accidentally suggested to a team member) because we're some sort of novelty act, but because if we can do it, pretty much anybody else can.
And you don't have to be over 60 to start enjoying Memorial Park!
