Though I have played golf on and off, mostly off, during my life, I don’t consider myself a golfer and never have. I don’t like the game and can’t even bring myself to call it a sport. It’s often times boring, ridiculously expensive and many people who play take themselves way too seriously. (For them to think that anyone cares how they played a particular shot during one unforgettable round on some hole or other is simply unimaginable to me. I’ve always thought that golfers pretend to listen to these anecdotes simply because they hope to build up credit with others so they too will pretend to listen to their incessant relating of forgettable golf shots. After all, no one else, whether in their right mind or not, could stand to listen to these stories without some compensation. Which brings up an idea for someone considering a new career: golf prostitute. These people would be paid to listen to golf stories and pretend to be interested and amused. I didn’t say it was a good career, just a new one. )
Nonetheless, and yes I am finally getting to my point, I always planned to “take up” golf when I got older. Tennis too. After all, most of my friends play golf and have been doing so for decades and seem to really enjoy it. I always assumed I’d join them some day even though my real interest remained drinking beer and driving the cart. But here I am, approaching 50 and I am no closer to taking up golf than to dressing in women’s clothing. Okay, maybe a little closer than that, but you get my drift. So does this mean I’m not “older” yet? Sadly no, I’m there alright.
The main reason I still haven’t taken up golf is simple; men’s baseball. You see I still play baseball and continue to be able to satisfy both my need for competition as well as my desire to continue playing a real sport I love and which reconnects me to my childhood. In hindsight, its clear that my expectation from decades ago was simply wrong; that I would no longer be playing baseball, basketball or anything of the kind at this age, and I would be stuck with choosing between inactivity and something that old people play like golf. But thanks to the intrepid and self-gratifying nature of the boomer generation I am not only still playing baseball, but playing more than I ever did when younger; last season playing in over 100 games.
A brief history.
Men’s baseball is another of those many ideas that in hindsight is obvious, but as fellow player and men’s baseball pioneer Dave Schultz says “came along right ‘when it was supposed to’ aimed at boomers, the first generation that prioritized fun and recreation for themselves and had the time and money to go for it.” While there is some controversy over the origins of the current adult baseball phenomenon, my understanding is that it was an outgrowth of the Randy Hundley fantasy baseball camps* which first began in 1983 in Arizona. The concept was simple: a bunch of grown men (or perhaps more accurately, children in grown men’s bodies) donned Cubs uniforms and were given some basic instruction by childhood heroes such as Billy Williams, Ron Santo and Ernie Banks, and then went out and played baseball. Magic was created, and having had their baseball spirits revived, a group of Chicago area guys proceeded to start playing hardball again. It wasn’t long before this simple idea was taken national and leagues began to be created everywhere with the first Chicago area league being formed in 1987. According to the Chicago North Men’s Senior Baseball website (http://www.cnmsbl.com/), there were four teams; the Condors, Naturals, Redbirds and the Stars. From these humble beginnings the league has now grown to include 4 age divisions-25 and over, 35 and over, 45 and over and 55 and over-with over 40 teams and 600 players. Nationally, men’s baseball has experienced similar exponential growth. According to the national MSBL website there are approximately 3200 teams and 45,000 players, many of whom participate in the 30 regional and 6 national tournaments. Little league indeed.
Almost 20 years from the time I began playing hardball again, I still reply disdainfully to those who dare ask,”oh you play softball?” Grrrrrrrrr. For anyone who remains doubtful, we play HARDBALL. There may be a few extra rules to accommodate the realities of playing as middle-aged men such as liberal pinch running rules, but for the most part this is baseball, pure and simple, played for the same reasons as when we played as kids. Why people find it so incredible or even surprising that I still play baseball is surprising in and of itself to me. After all, there have been numerous instances of professional players playing well into their 40’s with one legendary player, Satchel Paige, allegedly playing pro ball until he was 60. Currently, the oldest active player is Julio Franco who will be 49 this season and of course eligible to play in our 45 and over division. Perhaps the surprised and amused reactions from most people are because they still think of baseball as a kid’s game. And maybe it is and always will be, and just maybe that’s why so many of us hang onto it for so long. For if you were to come and watch us play, you’d quickly realize that there truly is a hidden force that compels us to fight through injury, incapacitation and the never ending nagging of spouses to come out and play baseball.
The best way I have been able to describe what we do is this: it’s just like real baseball, except played in slow motion. And to the many of you out there who remain curious and wonder whether you can still play, my advice is to put away those golf sticks and take a few swings at a ball that’s still moving when you try to hit it. Golf will always be there when you’re older; and I promise that one day I’ll join you, so long as I get to drive the cart.
* My deceased friend Mitch Levey was the first person I knew to go to the Cubs fantasy camp. During his brief life he often was a trendsetter, including his ultimate act of defiant trendsetting when he preceded all of us out death’s door at the age of 32 leaving all these musings, concerns and headaches about aging to others.
The picture above was taken in 1993 at the annual Mitchell Levey Foundation golf tournament; my batting glove helped me win the game with a score at least 20 points higher than everyone else.
Nonetheless, and yes I am finally getting to my point, I always planned to “take up” golf when I got older. Tennis too. After all, most of my friends play golf and have been doing so for decades and seem to really enjoy it. I always assumed I’d join them some day even though my real interest remained drinking beer and driving the cart. But here I am, approaching 50 and I am no closer to taking up golf than to dressing in women’s clothing. Okay, maybe a little closer than that, but you get my drift. So does this mean I’m not “older” yet? Sadly no, I’m there alright.
The main reason I still haven’t taken up golf is simple; men’s baseball. You see I still play baseball and continue to be able to satisfy both my need for competition as well as my desire to continue playing a real sport I love and which reconnects me to my childhood. In hindsight, its clear that my expectation from decades ago was simply wrong; that I would no longer be playing baseball, basketball or anything of the kind at this age, and I would be stuck with choosing between inactivity and something that old people play like golf. But thanks to the intrepid and self-gratifying nature of the boomer generation I am not only still playing baseball, but playing more than I ever did when younger; last season playing in over 100 games.
A brief history.
Men’s baseball is another of those many ideas that in hindsight is obvious, but as fellow player and men’s baseball pioneer Dave Schultz says “came along right ‘when it was supposed to’ aimed at boomers, the first generation that prioritized fun and recreation for themselves and had the time and money to go for it.” While there is some controversy over the origins of the current adult baseball phenomenon, my understanding is that it was an outgrowth of the Randy Hundley fantasy baseball camps* which first began in 1983 in Arizona. The concept was simple: a bunch of grown men (or perhaps more accurately, children in grown men’s bodies) donned Cubs uniforms and were given some basic instruction by childhood heroes such as Billy Williams, Ron Santo and Ernie Banks, and then went out and played baseball. Magic was created, and having had their baseball spirits revived, a group of Chicago area guys proceeded to start playing hardball again. It wasn’t long before this simple idea was taken national and leagues began to be created everywhere with the first Chicago area league being formed in 1987. According to the Chicago North Men’s Senior Baseball website (http://www.cnmsbl.com/), there were four teams; the Condors, Naturals, Redbirds and the Stars. From these humble beginnings the league has now grown to include 4 age divisions-25 and over, 35 and over, 45 and over and 55 and over-with over 40 teams and 600 players. Nationally, men’s baseball has experienced similar exponential growth. According to the national MSBL website there are approximately 3200 teams and 45,000 players, many of whom participate in the 30 regional and 6 national tournaments. Little league indeed.
Almost 20 years from the time I began playing hardball again, I still reply disdainfully to those who dare ask,”oh you play softball?” Grrrrrrrrr. For anyone who remains doubtful, we play HARDBALL. There may be a few extra rules to accommodate the realities of playing as middle-aged men such as liberal pinch running rules, but for the most part this is baseball, pure and simple, played for the same reasons as when we played as kids. Why people find it so incredible or even surprising that I still play baseball is surprising in and of itself to me. After all, there have been numerous instances of professional players playing well into their 40’s with one legendary player, Satchel Paige, allegedly playing pro ball until he was 60. Currently, the oldest active player is Julio Franco who will be 49 this season and of course eligible to play in our 45 and over division. Perhaps the surprised and amused reactions from most people are because they still think of baseball as a kid’s game. And maybe it is and always will be, and just maybe that’s why so many of us hang onto it for so long. For if you were to come and watch us play, you’d quickly realize that there truly is a hidden force that compels us to fight through injury, incapacitation and the never ending nagging of spouses to come out and play baseball.
The best way I have been able to describe what we do is this: it’s just like real baseball, except played in slow motion. And to the many of you out there who remain curious and wonder whether you can still play, my advice is to put away those golf sticks and take a few swings at a ball that’s still moving when you try to hit it. Golf will always be there when you’re older; and I promise that one day I’ll join you, so long as I get to drive the cart.
* My deceased friend Mitch Levey was the first person I knew to go to the Cubs fantasy camp. During his brief life he often was a trendsetter, including his ultimate act of defiant trendsetting when he preceded all of us out death’s door at the age of 32 leaving all these musings, concerns and headaches about aging to others.
The picture above was taken in 1993 at the annual Mitchell Levey Foundation golf tournament; my batting glove helped me win the game with a score at least 20 points higher than everyone else.
