Senior Swingers

Members of 65-and-older softball team play with the passion of teenagers

  Both of his 74-year-old knees are due to be replaced within the next year or so, but that didn't stop Henry Ford Village first baseman Ron White from diving head-first for a scorching line drive down the first-base line earlier this month.
  White narrowly missed making a "Web-Gems"-caliber play, but he earned a round of "attaboys" from his appreciative teammates.

  "You'd be surprised at how many good defensive plays are made out here," said White, gesturing toward the infield that was manned by grandpas and great grandpas. "And some of us still dive for loose balls. We don't always get them, but we still dive."
PLAYING TO WIN
  The Henry Ford Village team is made up of 15 players, all of whom reside in Western Wayne County. From April through August, they play against other retirees in games that may lack the speed and grace of the 60-and-under leagues, but they more than compensate for it with a burning desire to win.
  "Oh yeah, it's competitive," said 67-year-old Don Barton. "We're all thankful that we can still play and we're all out here to have fun, but we still want to win."
  Following two straight second-place finishes, Henry Ford Village slipped to the cellar of the league this summer.
  "We lost some guys to the 70-and-over league," Barton revealed. "We're playing O.K.; we just can't seem to get the timely hits."
LEVELS OF COMPETITIVE FIRE
  Canton resident Marcel Loosbrock said some of the league's teams take the competitive side of things a little more seriously than others.
  "Some teams only take the better players," said the 72-year-old Loosbrock, after he scored from second on a two-out single. "Our team will take anybody who wants to play.
  "If a player can do one of the three - run, hit or catch - that's good. If he can do all three, ooohh, wow!"

  Injuries are relatively rare, Barton added.
  "Once in a while, somebody will strain a muscle or something," he said, "but it never seems to keep them out for long."
SPECIAL RULES
  A few rule amendments were implemented to prevent collisions. There are actually two first bases (hooked together) - an inside one that a hitter must touch  if he rips a hit into the outfield and an inside one that he must step on while legging out a ground ball.
  Also, instead of touching home plate to score a run, players need to just cross a line that stretches from the plate to the backstop. If the catcher secures the ball before the runner crosses the line, it's an out.
  The other main rule variation is that teams play with five infielders instead of four.
  "I'm going to play as long as I can," said White. "I could have played in the 70-and-over league, but why move up if I can still do all right down here.
  "I'd still be playing in the 55-and-over league, but my team folded."