Boys of summer

Photo courtesy of Mic Stump

BETTER WITH AGE. Manager and catcher Mic Stump receives a pitch from Dave Mathews in a PSSBL regular season game played by the Tacoma Tugs, of the 48-and-over Smokey Division, at Cheney Stadium on June 19, 2005.

If playing hardball is like a little taste of heaven, then slow-pitch softball is a lifetime spent in purgatory. Sure, it is better than the alternative – in this case, not playing at all – but it pales in comparison to even the thought of what could be.

For the almost 1,100 members of the Puget Sound Senior Baseball League (PSSBL), lacking the talent or youth to hit or pitch in the major leagues no longer means simply dreaming about throwing a breaking ball or running the full 90 feet between bases.

Established in 1989, the PSSBL gives players from all walks of life and age brackets a chance to continue their baseball careers. Whether those careers ended in Little League or even, in some cases, knocking on the door of Major League Baseball in the minors, players have a second chance to continue their passion.

And they have a chance to continue it competitively.

"This is not the weekend recreational softball endeavor," said Mic Stumps, general manager of the Smokey League's Tacoma Tugs (Smokey Tugs). "There are very few men who play baseball at this level, and these are not old men playing old baseball, this is a bunch of mature men who play some darn good baseball."

It is almost like heaven on Earth.

Nowhere to turn

Before the advent of the PSSBL and other leagues like it, softball was the only alternative for people looking to quench their thirst for playing baseball. With its oversized balls, short base paths and different rules, softball is just not the same sport for baseball lovers.

"People just didn't play hardball after age 40," said Dick Fitzgerald, a 72-year-old pitcher for the Sierra League Mariners. "They turned to softball, but they wanted to get back to the real thing."

Even games such as fast-pitch or modified fast-pitch could not offer the same playing experience that people grew up with

"Fast-pitch softball is dominated by a pitcher," said Ron Staples of the Smokey Tugs, who played fast-pitch or modified fast-pitch for almost 20 years before the hardball movement of the late-1980s. "You can have one pitcher and eight other guys on the field that aren't that good, and with a good pitcher you can dominate."

He missed the real thing, as many others did as well. And in 1986, an idea all the way across the country gave them a second chance to play the sport they love.

The PSSBL is one of 325 leagues that comprise the Men's Senior Baseball League (MSBL). Steve Sigler, father of "Sopranos" actress Jamie-Lynn Sigler, started the MSBL in 1986 in Long Island, N.Y., and the idea spread quickly across the country during the late 1980s.

In Washington, it all started when the league's founder Ben Low saw an ad for the Long Island league in a local newspaper. It sparked his interest and in 1989, the league began with six teams and a dream.

"[Low] was the perfect guy to start it because he was a child psychologist," Fitzgerald said. "We always laughed about that because he was dealing with a bunch of adult children."

Flourishing in the Pacific Northwest

While things started off small, it would not take long before the PSSBL would explode onto the recreational sports scene in the Puget Sound area. By the mid-1990s, there were about 20 teams before a large period of growth from 2001-05 saw the league shoot up from about 45 to 70.

Currently at 64 total squads, the league is thriving and only ranks behind the original New York league and Washington, D.C., as the third largest organization of its kind in the United States.

League President Tom Krause said he thinks that the gloomy Pacific Northwest weather plays a large role in the league's participation.

"If you get the constant drip, drip, drip all year long, everyone wants to take advantage of the good weather," he said.

And while that may bring players outside during the summer months, it is the league's organization and commitment to good facilities that has kept things growing smoothly from the start, Fitzgerald said.

"The league has been pretty well run, and overall, the fields have been pretty nice," Fitzgerald said. "We have some suspect fields, but compared to the rest of the country, in talking to players in other areas, they just don't have as nice facilities as we do."

Playing on quality fields, such as those at Bellevue Community College, Rainier Beach High School and many others, has been a priority for Krause and the league. Some games are even played at Cheney Stadium, and a tournament is scheduled to take place at Safeco Field in September.

In fact, the main reason that the PSSBL dropped from its high of 70 teams to the current number of 64 is directly related to available facilities.

"We found there just aren't enough play dates on quality fields to accommodate [that many teams]," Krause said, "but that continues to change as park districts and so forth continue to remodel."

Staples, who played in the Roy Hobbs Baseball League (RHBL) in Tacoma before moving to the PSSBL eight years ago, said that the facilities and the competition are the reason he made the switch.

"The fields just got horrible and it just wasn't the competition you face in Seattle," he said. "We decided to go to a league that was really well managed. They had all the right people in place, they managed it well and they welcomed us to come up there."

The basics

No matter what limitations in talent or age that a player faces, the PSSBL gives everyone a place to play. There is room in the league for former minor leaguers in their 20s who still love that competitive edge, along with spots for 60-year-olds who didn't advance past Little League and simply play because it is fun.

In the PSSBL, competition is broken up into every category possible. There are six divisions that divide separately into four age brackets and three levels of competition. For example, the Olympic Division lets the 21-and-over crowd play at a competitively advanced level while the Teton Division is home to the recreational 38-and-over players.

No matter what age and talent level the players compete at, they all get the same feeling stepping onto the field.

"When we step between those lines, we become Little League boys again," Stump said.

The league pays for itself with fees that can spike to more than $400 for new players with about 85 percent of the funds going to umpires, baseballs and fields, Krause said. The other 15 percent acts as the league's way of giving back to the community, given to local park districts, schools and youth sports programs.

Through tryouts, held in March, and a league-wide draft, the teams can replenish the players it loses every year. Krause said that there is a 10 percent attrition rate due to reasons such as job relocation or injury.

There are also "buddy picks" that allow teams to bring in friends or people interested in playing with those squads, a process that allows some clubs to avoid the draft process altogether.

Even if players are in the league just for recreation and fun, it is still a serious venture for everyone.

"This is not the kind of thing where there are a bunch of guys sitting in a dugout drinking beer," Krause said. "We take it seriously because we work very hard to get the fields."    

Taking it national

Managers have a great deal of responsibility when it comes to running their clubs. They have to put together lineups, choose starting pitchers and, in the case of the PSSBL, sometimes they have to give directions.

On Aug. 6 the Tacoma Tugs of the 21-and-over Olympic Division (Olympic Tugs) had a game against the Mets at Mountain View High School in Auburn. Most of the players were there, but manager Ray Bala still needed to direct the last few to the field.

Luckily, everyone got there in time as the Olympic Tugs overcame a pair of first-inning runs given up by starting right-hander Matt Serr to notch the 10-5 victory. It kept the Olympic Tugs undefeated at 15-0 in a season that could end up being the best yet for the squad during its six-year run in the PSSBL. Over that time, the team has put up a 96-20 record before this season began and won five regular season division titles.

But even with all the success in league play, the team's focus is mostly on the MSBL World Series in Arizona.

At the end of October, more than 300 adult baseball teams from all over the United States gather together to participate in a year-ending tournament to crown champions across several age and competition groups. Taking place at spring training complexes in and around Phoenix, the Olympic Tugs will be going this year with a title in its sights.

"We would like to win it," Bala said. "It's an opportunity that a lot of guys don't get to do."

Last year, the Olympic Tugs made it all the way to the finals of the 28-and-over Federal Division before losing to the South Bay Cubs by a score of 6-2. Right-hander Fernando DaSilva, who played in the Montreal Expos farm system, pitched an eight-inning complete game, giving up five earned runs in the loss.

Due to its reputation for playing good baseball, the Olympic Tugs can bring in quality players every year to get it closer to the title. In fact, the squad features three pitchers who played minor league baseball.

"We have a lot to offer younger kids," Bala said.

And while he is not one of the three former minor leaguers, Serr is an example of the quality players that Bala brings in to keep his squad strong. Serr played his college ball at nearby Pacific Lutheran University.

After taking last year off from baseball completely, he leads the team with five wins to go along with his 2.05 ERA this season. He may not have the opportunity to play for a chance at the majors, but thanks to Bala and the PSSBL he can continue playing as long as his arm can stand it.

"I just like the game so much I just wanted to keep playing," he said. "I just started missing it so much (during the year off). I came back and I hope to be with these guys as long as they're around."    

Over 48 and still running

Some baseball strategies make sense. A team loaded with homerun hitters, using that strength to power itself to victories, would seem normal. Or even a club that uses lively arms and well-oiled team defense to win ballgames is logical.

However, sometimes a team's strategy defies expectations. "I always say that speed kills," Staples said. "When we go to the World Series in Florida, nobody can match our speed. We have at least five guys in our lineup that when they get on first base, they're looking to steal."

Using team speed to race to victory is not too out of the norm. After all, the Florida Marlins used an exceptionally fast squad to grind out the 2003 World Series title against the New York Yankees. But this is not a group of young guys blazing around the bases; this is the Smokey Tugs of the PSSBL 48-and-over division.

"We are a small ball team," Stump said. "We hit-and-run, we bunt, we steal, we run people to death because we've got some good athletes on our team."

That team speed has served them well over the years. Members of the Smokey Tugs have teamed up with other players in the PSSBL to win the 55-and-over division of the RHBL World Series, played in Fort Myers, Fla., in both 2005 and 2006 as the Washington Titans.

"We go down with a serious attitude of winning," said Bill Rallston, who played in the Los Angeles Dodgers organization during the late '60s and early '70s and now suits up for the Smokey Tugs.

With the sort of competition they face in Florida, a winning attitude is vital. Along with all of the recreational players who head down for the event, ex-major leaguers, such as former Boston Red Sox pitcher Bill "Spaceman" Lee, make the trip to play in the World Series.

"There are all kinds of guys who were ex-pros that we've been very successful against," Staples said. "Maybe a lot of us didn't sign pro contracts but at our ages we are still in better shape than most guys in the country, being able to steal bases and play baseball the way it's meant to be played."

Some of the players are in retirement, others are running banks or practicing medicine. But all of them love playing baseball. And some of them have been playing together since before Ken Griffey, Jr. blasted his first career homerun in the big leagues.

"We just have a lot of fun doing what we do and I think we play the game pretty well," Staples said. "It's great, great competition."

It is that camaraderie and chemistry from playing together for so long – more than 15 years in some cases – that has spurred the Smokey Tugs to the success that they have had, Stump said.

"If you're going to play with somebody for a long time, it's because you really like them and you enjoy playing with them," Staples said. "Because we all have a certain respect for each other and we enjoy playing with each other and we know each other's strengths and weaknesses, it's fun."

And it makes a manager's job easier.

"You watch the games and you watch the people," Stump said. "There's nothing like going out to the mound and looking in a pitcher's eyes, and you know that he can do it or you know that he can't do it. Knowing the people you are managing is extremely important."

Even though playing baseball is about an element of competition, it is the friendships and the memories that the PSSBL offers over anything else. People with the same dreams and passions come together to play the sport the love once more.

And together they can have the chance to prove that, even when you are in your 50s, 60s and beyond, you can still race around the bases like a major leaguer.

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