DETROIT – Baseball is America's past time. And for many reasons, more and more older people are finding themselves on the diamond with bat and glove.
Senior baseball is a growing recreational sport. In metro Detroit, roughly 700 men, some of them older than 70, are still playing ball.
"I've been playing baseball since I was eight years old," said 68-year-old Gary Sovey. "And I'm going to play until nobody wants me to play anymore."
Sovey is a pitcher for the 55-and-up Tigers.
"You get to play with people your own age" he said. "It's fairer and much more fun for me."
Fairer for him and the hundreds of other guys on 40 teams in the Men's Senior Baseball League of Detroit.
"You don't have to be a high school star to come out and play in our league," said Sovey.
"One person will say we love the game," said Pat Brainard. "Another will say we're trying to get away from our wives."
Brainard, a catcher, has been in the league for 15 years: "No comment on that one – or it could be that's how many guys the wives are trying to get rid of. You never know."
But what these ballplayers, and their loyal fans, do know is seniors have to play the game differently than the boys of summers.
"You realize there are more limitations to what you can do. A well-played game is a well-played game. If you can still run at our age, catch a ball, throw a ball, we want to see you on the field."
You can find more information about the Men's Senior Baseball League of Detroit on their website.