Once again, the Capital Division Reds and the Blues went at each others' throats and other body parts in a barn-burner
of a game on Sunday afternoon, July 19 on an absolutely beautiful Sunday afternoon, a summer stunner, at New Scotland field.

Summer and baseball were both made for days like this. Sunlight on mowed and fragrant green grass. A slight breeze, on which
anticipation floats.

The game started in lively fashion: the Blues' starter Anthony Nelson had his hummer and his drop pitch spinning and
sinking and bumfuzzling batters and he struck out the first three Reds he faced.

Meanwhile, the Blues hitters were knocking wood chips out of their bats, and I do believe at the end of the first frame
it was Blues 5 and the Reds saying "Whaaa happened?" or 0.

After that, sorry boys and girls, I got nothing.

That's because in the second inning, playing second base, reaching for a quite catchable ground ball, I felt an invislble
knife cut up the back of my left gluteus Maximus, aka, butt muscle, and instantly I had to stop. Running or even bending,
was impossible. And walking was no treat either.

The guys were good about the fact that I booted the play.

Which leads me to two thoughts you may all find useful:

First, there's NOT EVEN THREE OUNCES OF TRUTH TO THE FACT THAT BEING 79 MEANS YOU'RE MORE LIKELY TO
PULL A MUSCLE CHASING A GROUND BALL THAN SOMEONE WHO IS, SAY, 69, OR 59, or 49. or, 39, which,
just yesterday, by the way, I was.

There's no connection at all between age and popped muscles. None.

Don't believe that canard of a duck!

Except maybe there is. The truth is that it is harder for me to keep all my muscles lined up and loose as a goose now,
a mere 21 years from 100, than it was when I was a spry thing of 69.

But, and this is what should cheer you to your big toe, it can be done.

The simple rule is WORK OUT REGULARLY ALL WINTER AND STRETCH ALL YEAR. It's one rule I'd kept to in the past, with
mostly limber results, but this past winter I was unusually cold and tired and willing to believe myself when
I said, Oh, one workout every 8 or 10 or 12 days now is fine. I can kick into gear when ball games start in April.

Nope. Kick-into-gear skills do diminish with age. I didn't get rolling till late May, but then, I pushed it, and
week by week tried to increase my sprint times. Lo and behold, in June and July, I was getting faster. My 90-foot-sprint
dropped from 7.1 to, three weeks ago, 6.01. So, after clocking that 6.01, I asked myself, "Can I break 6 seconds now?"

I told myself, "Go!" I was churning up the street, my running lane is in front of our house, when, two steps before the end, I felt
a sudden, painful tightening in that same gluteus Maximus. That was about five days before this past Sunday's game.

Sure, I thought, I can ice it and heat it and ibuprofen it and be ready to go on Sunday.

Nope.

So, back to the main question: If, at 79, we put ourselves in sprint mode, and we're stretched out, are we more likely
than not to pull a muscle, especially as we strain six feet before the end?

I'll let each of you solve that mystery.

In fact, I really hope you all get that chance.

-Mike





-- Edited by mikehart on Thursday 23rd of July 2026 02:53:17 AM

-- Edited by mikehart on Thursday 23rd of July 2026 05:42:32 AM