Tuesdays with Ronny

Uncle Ron keeping his eye on the ball; 55+ League 2012.

 Spring is in full swing, so are the city softball leagues. Tuesday mornings the ball diamonds at Burnham Park are teeming with seasoned ballplayers of the 55+ League.  

The friendly league is as fair as it can be. There is a "5-Run Inning" rule that ends an inning in the event of one team scoring five runs, to give equal opportunity of play for both teams.

Team rosters change each season, so that every player has the opportunity to have a winning season. Fellows who played against each other the previous season may find themselves on the same team the next. There are no “Ringers”…a term usually reserved for beefy homerun hitters brought in to tilt the scales in favor of one team over another. At best, a team may have a “Bionic Man” … a player with two knee braces—evidence of joint replacement surgery.

Schaff's Funeral Service players rest between innings, 2012.

Whereas younger leagues are sponsored in large part by taverns and pubs hoping team members will patronize their fine establishments after the games, the 55+ League is sponsored mostly by local funeral homes. One player joked that the sponsoring home’s name on his back was not advertising…it was a “shipping label.”

The 55+ games are played at a significantly slower pace than other leagues. Though the participants are not as agile as they once were, there is definitely an effort put forth by each player. There are occasional bobble and missed catches. While the majority of the participants are laughing and laid-back, there are one or two who are still overtly competitive. I’ve come to the conclusion that young men who scrap and complain on the ball diamond grow to become old men who still scrap and complain on the ball diamond. All in all, it is a morning of activity and camaraderie.  

55+ League 2012 Champions with their two biggest fans!

Although my 80-year-old Uncle Ron no longer plays, he is still involved in the league, keeping score for one of the teams. His last two years as an active player saw both his teams playing in the Championship games. Wearing the team colors and cheering them on, Mom and I attended almost every game last season.

The summer of 2012 was the final active season for my uncle. When his team won the Championship game, he decided to retire and hang up his cleats on a high-note. We teased him that he might do a “Favre” and come out of retirement once “Spring Fever” got into his blood. But, as he assured us, that did not happen. 

"Coach" Ron shouts some encouragement from the bench, 2013.

This year, Uncle Ron seems content watching from the bench, keeping score, recording statistics, taking photos and providing encouragement to his team. Although he is not playing, my uncle still expects Mom and me to be in the bleachers…so do some of the other players who have come to know us from last season. 

As I observed him watching the action on the field, I wondered what he was thinking about. Was he wishing he were out there with them? Was he calculating the players’ next moves like a chess match? Then again, knowing the way my uncle’s brain works, I thought it more likely that he was daydreaming about “a time when…” and I was not far off with that assumption.

Uncle Ron walked over to us with a smile and related the following story from his early days playing for a former employer’s team:

“When I was playing infield a ground ball was hit to me. The runner from first base started to run. I was going to turn the double play. I got that ball in my glove. I spun around. You know that movie with that guy looking out over the horizon?”

“What?” I asked, my mind racing through all the baseball movies I could think of: The Natural? Field of Dreams? Bad News Bears—the 1976 original with Walter Matthau, or the 2005 remake?

Who's covering Second Base?

“That guy in the desert,” replied my uncle.

“Who? Lawrence of Arabia?” guessed Mom. 

“Yeah,” said Uncle Ron.

Wait. I was confused. Was there a baseball scene in Lawrence of Arabia? 

“When I turned to flip the ball to second base,” my uncle continued, “there was not a soul in sight! It was like a barren desert. A wasteland. No one was covering second base.” My uncle chuckled, “So I had to throw to first base. And the other guys kidded that I was the only one who had studied the playbook.”

Uncle Ron then turned his attention back to the field of play. Not more than five minutes later, the exact sequence of events my uncle had just described played out on the field before us. Uncle Ron shot me a mixed glance of amusement and surprise, and whispered, “That’s what I just talked about!” I nodded and whispered back, “I saw that!” 

Peanuts, Cracker Jacks and Donuts...

A few moments later, Uncle Ron pointed out that one of the players had brought donuts. This triggered another memory of “a time when…” for him. On this remembered occasion, he was not playing but coaching a game. On the way to the game, Uncle Ron had stopped to buy donuts for his little league team. The boys were down 19 – 2, and he was coaching at first base. One of his players hollered over to him, “Hey, Coach!” 

“Yeah, what is it?” Uncle Ron yelled back.

“There’s one donut left in the box,” the boy shouted, “Do you think I could have it?”

Uncle Ron explains the FUNdamentals of the game; 2013.

“No!” my uncle answered him. Uncle Ron chuckled at the memory, “He was more concerned about the donuts."

"Yep," I laughed, "I guess his priorities were situational.” 

Then turning his attention back to the present day’s game, Uncle Ron yelled to his team, “Hey! Who made that last out?”

Watching the Tuesday morning 55+ League is entertaining. Enjoying it with Uncle Ron is really something special.

Inspired by the “Senior Boys of Summer.”