Baseball and Softball

For many of us, especially as we get older, it seems that baseball is accurately called the national pastime -- if only because our playing of the game is in the past. But it doesn't have to be that way.

With organizations such as the Men's Senior Baseball League and Roy Hobbs Diamond Enterprises, adult age-group baseball is available across the United States. And if hardball isn't your thing, senior softball is virtually ubiquitous with local leagues and groups such as Senior Softball USA and the International Senior Softball Association holding age-group softball tournaments around the country.

While overall sports participation in baseball and softball are in decline, participation is up for adults playing the games. The number of baseball players 35-and-older increased from 3 million to 3.9 million between 2002 and 2009, an increase of 30 percent, according to the National Sporting Goods Association. In the same time period, NSGA numbers indicated that the number of softball players 45+ increased from 1.62 million to 1.69 million for growth of 4 percent.

As major league post season approaches, you may be watching more ballgames on TV and wondering if you still can swing the bat or turn a double play. In this state of the sport feature, you'll find a list of associations and tournaments for both senior softball and adult baseball to help you return to the games.

We also offer a trainer's practical advice on how to spend the winter getting physically prepared for next season. There's also a look into some of the equipment you'd need to make it back to the diamond.

And finally, there's an inspiring interview with Bill "Spaceman" Lee, who, although he retired from the major leagues almost three decades ago, never saw a reason to stop playing the game he loves.

Another At-Bat

Some training advice for getting back into condition to play baseball or softball

By Robert Bresloff

So, you think you can still throw some leather and swing the bat. Sure it's been 20 years (or more) since your last game, but the idea of joining a senior softball team -- even a Masters baseball squad -- keeps rattling around in your head.

If you're seriously looking to play ball again after a long layoff and aren't in an exercise program, I suggest that you get to the gym and start one. A little conditioning will go a long way to help you get back in the game. Even if you are in an exercise program, chances are pretty good that you haven't stayed in baseball condition. Here's how to get back into playing shape.

First of all, I must caution you--take it slow.

Don't jump right in with both feet. Remember, it's been a long time since you've played the game. Even major leaguers have spring training. This article will focus on training for three main facets of both softball and baseball: throwing, hitting and running.

Throwing is a shoulder motion reliant on a set of four muscles called the rotator cuff. This group of muscles dictates what in baseball is called the arm slot. External rotation pulls the arm back, internal rotation flings the ball and two lateral rotators handle the braking action so the shoulder isn't pulled out when the ball is thrown. A sensible weight training program is essential in strengthening the shoulders and upper torso. Start with light weights and progress as your strength level allows. Try the reverse fly and shoulder extension exercises.

Start some light throwing with the short toss. As your arm feels more comfortable with the movement, stil l throwing lightly, increase the throwing distance. After a few sessions, when your arm adjusts to the distance, start throwing a little harder. In all cases stop before your shoulder is fatigued, so it won't be sore for the next session.

Hitting a round ball with a round bat is one of the most difficult tasks in sports. It is a complex combination of shoulders, midsection and hips. During the swing, the hands cannot get too far in front or behind the hips, so it is very important for the hips to turn into the ball.

One way to train is to practice swinging into a heavy punching bag. (Wrapping duct tape around the center of the bag should reinforce the vinyl enough to keep it from splitting). This will help you time your swing so your hands and hips move together.

The next step would be to hit off a tee. Yes, I said a tee. If it's good enough for the pros, it's good enough for you. Use an adjustable tee so you can practice hitting high and low.

Then, when you feel comfortable with your swing, head for the nearest batting cage before hitting live pitching. If you've been neglecting the midsection it's time to get to work. Crunches are a great way to start, but make sure that you perform some core exercises that include torso rotation.

In baseball the only time you jog is out to your position. To run the bases or make that spectacular catch in the gap, you have to sprint. If you're already a distance runner, you're almost there. The difference is, sprinting is not aerobic (with oxygen), it's anaerobic (without oxygen) much like lifting weights. If you don't run, this would be a good time to start. Try running three times a week.

Start out with five minutes and try to increase your time every week. Once you feel comfortable add a 6 to 10 second sprint (running as fast as you can) sometime during each run increasing it to two to three sprints per session. Remember, sprinting is an explosive, anaerobic exercise, so weight training would be extremely beneficial. I recommend squats and lunges to strengthen the lower extremities.

Always warm up properly before starting any exercise; this includes hitting and throwing sessions. A brisk five-minute walk or jog will suffice. You're not as young as you were the last time you played so a little caution goes a long way. After three to five weeks of training, I think you'll be ready to lace them up and relive the "glory days". Good luck!

Robert Bresloff is a Certified Personal Trainer. He can be reached via e-mail: tfcon@comcast.net

Q&A: Spaceman

Outspoken former major leaguer Bill Lee is still playing ball, and still speaking his mind

By Rick Sorci

Major League Baseball has seen its share of characters and flakes. Bill Lee is up there with the Hall of Fame oddballs such as Jay Johnstone, Casey Stengel and Manny Ramirez.

The nephew of Annabelle Lee, a pitcher in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League made famous in the movie, "A League of Their Own," was in a league of his own when it came to being controversial.

Suffice it to say he was a left-hander in every sense of the word -- different. Nicknamed "Spaceman" for his out-of-this-world slant on life, Lee pitched in the majors from 1969 to 1982.

The author of four books, Lee was the subject of a song ("Bill Lee") written by the late Warren Zevon. Lee was traded to the Montreal Expos from the Boston Red Sox after the team's infamous 1978 collapse. Embracing the trade, Lee said, "Who wants to be with a team that will go down in history alongside the '64 Phillies and the '67 Arabs?"

Lee won 119 games in the majors and had a career earned run average of 3.92. Now 61, Lee is still playing ball. He regularly plays in the Men's Senior Baseball League World Series. On June 21 this year he was the starting (and winning) pitcher for the Alaska Goldpanners of Fairbanks for the 103rd Midnight Sun Game, which is played in Fairbanks, Alaska. Pitching against minor leaguers a third of his age, Lee gave up four earned runs in six innings. He's also the founder of The Old Bat Company. Masters Athlete talked to Lee this summer between games.

MASTERS ATHLETE: With all that you accomplished at the professional level, why are you still playing baseball?

BILL LEE: Well, it beats working for a living. I can still make money playing baseball. People hire me to do clinics and speeches and then a ballgame breaks out. The fact that I'm still flexible and able to hit the ball out of the ballpark helps. I tend to win whether I'm playing against older guys, college guys or whatever. I'm still pretty skilled. I'm pretty lucky I'm still getting people out.

MA: What is it about the game of baseball that you like?

BL: The fact you're out there by yourself. It's a very independent game. You have to throw strikes and you have no one to fault but yourself. You have to field the ball and have no one to fault but yourself. Even though it's a team game, it's still pretty individualistic. It's the hardest sport to do. You have to be able to keep your front shoulder in and hit a ball that's coming in at about 85 miles-an-hour and have the confidence that you're going to make contact.

MA: How do you stay in such great shape to be able to hit a fastball or be able to strike out a young hitter?

BL: I learned different things from a whole lot of different people. One was Gus Hoefling, the trainer of (Hall of Fame baseball pitcher) Steve Carlton. I incorporate yoga flexibility and thank the Upjohn Company for inventing Advil.

MA: How does the competition in the MSBL compare to the kind you faced as a professional?

BL: It's very relative. A lot of the talent that was in the Major Leagues continues to play the game, like (former San Francisco Giants pitcher) Jim Barr. When you get to the high national levels of the MSBL (at its World Series), you're playing at the major league level, but just at a different age bracket. Those guys are just as good as big leaguers. They just don't have the ability to hit the ball out of the ballpark like the younger guys.

MA: Do you prefer to hit with the wood or metal bat?

BL: Once you put a wood bat in a guy's hand, you can tell who's a true hitter and who can't hit. Most of your metal bat hitters are top-hand hitters. When they go to wood you find they couldn't hit water if they fell out of a boat.

MA: What's a typical day in the life of the Spaceman?

BL: The same thing I did when I was 8 years old. I wake up in the morning, have breakfast and look for a ballgame. When the phone rings, I organize my life around baseball. I was recently playing baseball in Alaska and played four games in Maine two weeks ago, and I'll be going out to California soon to play out there.

MA: How did you get involved in the bat business? How did the Old Bat Company start?

BL: A couple of guys were out of work up in New Brunswick. They had some land with a lot of ash, maple and yellow birch (trees). I told them if they started making bats, I'd help sell them. They went to a biologist at the University of New Brunswick and they learned a good way to make good bats that don't break (easily). We have a formula that we came up with. If I told you what it was, I'd have to kill you. But, actually, I told them if we started up a small company, in about 10 years we'd be a player in the bat industry.

MA: How much longer is Bill Lee going to play baseball?

BL: I'll play until I run into the right field wall in Wrigley Field and die. My goal in life is making the final catch in the World Series. It doesn't matter which World Series it is. But I'm going to keep playing. I won the 60-and-over championship two years ago. Actually, I'm going to play until I'm 70 and maybe live until I'm 90. Who knows?

MA: What happened to your aunt Annabelle Lee?

BL: She's a Hall of Famer. She traveled with me to Alaska and Maine. But I'm sorry to say she passed away on July 3 in Vermont, where we live. She was laid to rest in California in a 1903 Red Sox uniform with her glove and her bat. She was 86.

It's gotta be the shoes… and the gloves… and the bat…

One player's experience choosing the equipment that got him back on the diamond

By Rick Sorci

It's been nearly four decades since Mark Walsh, a stock trader by day, has played any serious organized baseball.

The last time he patrolled the outfield, he was playing for Weber Catholic High School his senior year. That was 1971. But at 55 and after playing some softball, he decided to go hard after hardball. "I would play catch with my son, Tom, and think about playing baseball again," Walsh said. "I came back for the challenge of it."

Once Walsh, who lives in Mt. Prospect, Ill., had made up his mind to play in the Chicago North Men's Senior Baseball League, he began to seriously consider the next step -- picking the equipment he would need to play.

His desire would only take him so far. He needed the right equipment to help make his comeback a success. That would include a mitt, a bat, batting gloves, a helmet and spikes. He went to a local sporting goods store to make his selections.

The choices were numerous when it came to the baseball glove. Walsh had his pick between Wilson, Rawlings, Mizuno and Easton, to name a few. Wilson and Rawlings are regarded among the top brands of amateur players.

His son, Tom Walsh, played three of the last four years at Prospect High School before graduating this past spring. It was his glove, the Wilson A2000, that his dad had used on occasion when they would toss the ball around in the backyard or at a local park. It was the first piece of equipment the elder Walsh would purchase, at nearly $200, on the comeback trail. "I tried on several gloves," Walsh said. "I was trying to get one that was right for me. I settled on the A2000. I wanted that glove because my son had one and I liked the way it felt."

Next, he set his sights on a bat. He would be playing in a 55+ league that used wood bats exclusively. This choice would be a little more difficult.

He had to pick the right length and weight to complement his swing. Most bats come in the standard size of 32, 33 and 34 inches in length. The weight, especially in metal bats, is generally 29 ounces for 32 inch bat, 30 for the 33 inch bat and 31 for the 34 inch bat.

A good wood bat, depending on whether it's ash, maple or composite, could go anywhere from $25 to $125. And he could select from about a dozen or so brands, including the Louisville Slugger, Rawlings, Brett Brothers, Old Hickory, Marucci, Mizuno, Old Bat Co., and DeMarini. "Again, I was looking for something that would feel right when I would swing it," Walsh said. "I must have swung 30 different bats."

After Walsh picked up a 33-inch, 30-ounce Louisville Slugger Pro Stock bat (for a little over $30), he needed a pair of batting gloves. Easton, Nike and Mizuno are among the manufacturers making the gloves that are designed to take the sting out of your hands when you're batting. You can pay anywhere from $12 to $50. This time he got away relatively cheap, opting for a pair of Easton Typhoon batting gloves at $12.

You can't step in the batter's box without a brain bucket -- a helmet. The Rawlings Cool Flo helmet is probably the most popular among ballplayers today, both in the professional ranks and the amateurs. The price range is $16 to $40. Also making helmets are Wilson, Nike, Schutt and Worth. Walsh selected a mid-range helmet by Rawlings that fit to his liking.

The last item on the shopping list was a pair of shoes. Walsh had a number of options, including the traditional metal cleat or plastic spikes. You could also select a turf shoe without the cleats. The price range is approximately $50 to $120.

Walsh likes Nike and chose a pair of metal spikes that are replaceable for different field conditions. He paid about $75 for the shoes. Comfort is the key when choosing spikes. You don't want your feet hurting the next day -- or when you're on the basepaths.

He was now ready to take the field. "I'm really enjoying myself playing baseball again," Walsh said. "My ability to play is coming back to me and I'm glad that I did it. But I still need to work on my hitting. I need to stay away from the slow curve with two strikes."

Upcoming Softball and Baseball Tournaments
SPA National Championships
Sept. 4-21
Dalton, Ga.

Roy Hobbs Cactus Baseball Classic
Sept. 28-Oct. 11
Tucson, Ariz.

NABA 2008 Phoenix World Championship Series
Sept. 25-Oct. 11
Phoenix, Ariz.

ISSA Winter Nationals
Oct. 3-5
Virginia Beach, Va.

Huntsman World Senior Games
Oct. 6-11, 13-18
St. George, Utah

2008 MSBL/MABL World Series
Oct. 13-Nov. 1
Phoenix Ariz.

Senior Softball World Championships
Oct. 17-26
Phoenix Ariz.

The Villages Masters Athlete Softball Championship
Oct. 24-26
The Villages, Fla.

Roy Hobbs World Series
Oct. 25-Nov. 22
Fort Myers, Fla.

NABA 2008 World Series Championships
Nov. 6-Nov. 9
Jupiter, Fla.

2008 MSBL/MABL Fall Classic
Nov. 6-15
Tampa/St. Petersburg, Fla.

Senior Softball Winter Nationals
Nov. 11-16
Fort Myers, Fla.