St Paul Saints - Over 60 Baseball Phoenix

From October 18 to 23 Joan and I were in Phoenix for the MSBL World Series. I played with a team mainly made up of guys from Minnesota. We did, however, have guys from MI, FL and CA on the team. Our team name was the St Paul Saints and our uniform tops and hats were courtesy of the St Paul based independent league St Paul Saints!

The team played well ( 6 - 0 in pool play) and was seeded #1 into the playoffs.
















We won our semi-final game, but lost in the finals (were blown out, actually) to a very good team from Canada. Unfortunately, we were 4 short on starters for both the semi and final game. Who knows if we might have won with these players involved, but it did not help with them gone.


I was one of those out of these games. I had played 1st base when not pitching, but did pitch on Tuesday and Thursday. This was too much for my old, out-of-shape shoulder, and on Friday morning I could not raise my arm to horizontal. By Saturday it had improved to the point where I thought I could play 1st. But, after testing it in warm-ups, it was evident I was not ready to throw or hit, so I sat again.


We were going to travel from Phoenix to Las Vegas for the NABA tournament with the South Dakota Pheasants, but instead drove back to MN via Denver. I had a friend in MN set up an appointment with the Twin's orthopaedic docs to check things out and to determine if we would continue on to Florida for the Hobbs tournament November 7 - 14. The doc said it was a go for FL, but when we get back, I will head to PT for the shoulder for few months. After the 1st of the year, I will decide if I am going to play more, and if so will enter a "back to throwing" regimine of PT.

At this writing, Joan and I are sitting in a Red Roof Inn just south of Atlanta. We will drive into the Orlando area tomorrow and spend the night with friends from Lake Crystal, Carol and Pat Butson. In Orlando I am joining a group from the Minneapolis area, including Donavon Roberts and John Gordon, the Twins radio play-by-play announcer, for 4 days of golf before heading on to Ft Myers and the Hobbs. We plan to see Aunt Jessie, Pete and Diane Donio, and other friends as possible as we travel back to MN from Ft Myers.



On the way to Phoenix, we stopped in Albuquerque to visit with Jim and Robin Rook, friends from our Caterpillar days. Jim and I started with the company at the same time, and they are probably one of the few that have had as many international assignements/moves as we have.











Our friends Russ and Rita Northup joined us in Phoenix where we stayed at the Cibola Vista Resort in Peoria, AZ.


We drove Sunday from Phoenix to Grand Junction, CO. On Monday we continued into Lakewood to see Kjirsten and the kids (Scott was hunting in Montana.) Had we known what we were going to get into weather-wise, we might have continued on to Lakewood on Sunday.