Slow Pitch Softball

Tom was asked to play on the RV park's slow pitch team. After playing 11 years of slow pitch after we were married he thought this would be fun. I'll let him tell you about it--------

The team coach stopped me one day and asked me to play on the team that the park sponsors. The team is entered in the age "65" and over league. If that doesn't have you smirking you didn't read what I just said.  Trying to picture a team of age 65+ conjures up several different pictures; the third basement packing oxygen equipment, the pitcher holding himself up with a walker, athletic supporters have been exchanged for Depends, and everybody yelling at each other because nobody can hear, etc., etc. I am one of, if not the youngest player on the team and had myself convinced that I would show these old timers how the game is "really played".  The first game was a practice game against a neighboring park. Though the score wasn't kept, they had way too many runs to our way too few.  I managed to go 3 for 3 with no errors so felt pretty good about my performance.  The next game was a real game. I came back with 5 for 5, two strained thigh muscles, two strained glutes, and torn or strained ligament fibers in my throwing arm, that's 5 for 5 isn't it?  I really did go 5 for 5 and no errors, but boy am I paying for it now. The coach has me playing shortstop, a position that I had played in both slow pitch and baseball, a position at which I'm very comfortable. The problem is that since I last played someone extended the distance between second and third base by at least 60 feet.  I know this because several players were able to hit the ball in the gaps between me and third or me and second and until they added this additional 60 feet I would have gotten all those balls. Nobody got the ball past me when I was 25 and they wouldn't be doing it now if they hadn't widened the field.  The over 65 league has some strange rules, when running to first you can't touch the real first base or your out. When approaching first, you have to go to a secondary first base located on the foul ball side of real first base.  You wouldn't want to encumber the first baseman trying to make your out.  When running to second or third base you cannot interfere with the player trying to get you out or turn a double play. If the ump believes you interfered both you and the runner behind you will both be called out.  When running toward home you cannot run to the plate, you have to run to an alternate home plate that is approximately 6 feet to the right of the actual home plate. If you go to the real home plate you will be called out.  Other rules include no sliding, darn, I wanted to do some Pete Rose-fully extended, head first slides, not! If you start for a base you cannot turn back to the base from which you came - we wouldn't want to see an old fart strain anything in a run down. All in all, it has been a lot of fun. As a result of the experience I'm not laughing at those old codgers any more, I ARE ONE.