You've Got a Friend....

Yesterday my flight was held up for 50 minutes in Washington to de-ice the plane before we took off for Florida -- down here 75 degrees and sunny -- let's Play Ball!  About 80 players from the Ponce de Leon senior baseball league gathered in Fort Myers tonight to get our team assignments and schedule for the week of play.  We will play 9 six-inning games for the week -- doubleheaders Monday through Thursday and a final game (and if, we are lucky, a championship game) on Friday morning.  Games take place at Terry Park, a county facility with four fields, that in earlier years hosted the Philadelphia Athletics, Pittsburgh Pirates and other major league teams for spring training.   This is the seventh year out of the last eight that I have participated in the camp.   The camp director is Steve Liddle, former bench coach of the Minnesota Twins, and the managers of the six teams are all coaches with professional teams. 

This year the league has tried to form the teams to create a competitive balance for the week.  (In my first 3 years the record of the teams I was on had a collective record of 1win-26 losses, for the last three years the teams' record has been 23-4, with two championships and a second place.)  I was assigned to Team A, coached by Stan Cliburn, my coach from last year.  Stan, a long time coach in the Twins minor league system, now coaches in a professional independent baseball league.  There are 13 players on each team -- and I have played in the past with 7 of the players on my team this week -- either in Florida or back in DC.  Of the 80 players here this week I have played with or against more than half of them -- and many I consider good friends.   In DC the Ponce league has two divisions -- one for players aged 30 and over and a second for players 48 and older.  This week teams are mixed with players in their 30s on teams with players in their 40s, 50s, 60s and their 70s.  One of the great things about playing baseball as a geezer is the opportunity to make new friends while playing a game the love for which we have in common.  So this week I'll play with -- and against -- a number of friends -- and have the chance to meet players I haven't played with or against before.  But, balance or not, we all want to win.

Once again this week my brother Bill will be here to enjoy the action.  (The average age of the players is 58 so action may not be the right word.)  An extra highlight for me is that my college friend Flint Taylor is here on work for the beginning of the week and will be able to watch us play on Tuesday.  Flint is a civil rights lawyer in Chicago who has spent more than 40 years fighting police corruption and torture in Chicago and elsewhere in the country (google him to see the important work he has done throughout his career.)   Flint is the person to blame for this blog -- several years ago he suggested I write about my experiences at baseball camp and this is the fourth year I am writing it.

Games start tomorrow - Play Ball.

Extraneous Note:  James Taylor (age 62) didn't need to lip synch at the inaugural.  Not bad for a geezer.