The boys and girls of summer who gathered on the softball field at Cupertino’s Memorial Park late last month had a few more summers behind them than your average player.
Bill Bonin was celebrating his 73rd birthday when he played in the June 29 game with the 50-plus co-ed softball league organized by the Cupertino Senior Center.
“I like the competition and the camaraderie and the exercise,” said Bonin, who played intramural softball in college at UC Berkeley and has lived in Cupertino for 20 years.
Harlan Jackson has been involved in the popular softball league for more than 10 years. Jackson, who has lived in Cupertino for more than 60 years, said he loves the personalities in this once-a-week league.
“Everybody is fun; everybody’s out to have fun,” Jackson said. “What I like about this group is that everyone is understanding about everyone else’s strengths and limitations.”
The league starts play at the end of March each year, if the weather is cooperating, and runs until the beginning of December. Players must be registered with the Cupertino Senior Center before they can participate but do not have to be residents of the city to play.
The rules of the game have been modified to accommodate older players. Teams can score a maximum of five runs per three outs, except in the final inning of the seven-inning game, and to avoid injury, players cross a horizontal line near home plate to score instead of touching the plate. They can also run past a bag, and as long as they beat a throw to that bag, they are safe. There is no sliding.
Once a player scores, they note it on a portable flip scoreboard hung up on the fence behind home plate. There are no umpires.
On June 29, there were 11 players per team, including a pitcher and a catcher. After informal batting practice started at 9 a.m., pick-up teams for the slow-pitch game were chosen at 10 a.m.
“Pre-pandemic, we had 30 people registered. … Our numbers are looking better than when we opened full-time again last year,” said Amanda Hui, Cupertino recreation coordinator.
Cecilia Jackson, a sister-in-law of Harlan Jackson, started playing in the league this year.
“It was a good opportunity for me to get out of my head a little bit and get out of the house,” said Jackson, 57, whose husband passed away in October. “Our kids are off to college, so I’m in an empty nest and kind of an empty house, and it was just a good time for me to come out and play.”
Donny Garber played on a Cupertino Parks and Recreation co-ed softball team in the ’80s, then moved to a men’s league for 19 years before transitioning to this league.
“I love it. … When you’re retired, it’s easy to kind of get in your own bubble and not get out and socialize,” said Garber, 62. “You miss that. That’s the one thing I miss about work … and this brings that back.”
One of the spectators watching the game was Lee Lederer, who will be celebrating her 93rd birthday on July 29. Lederer said she attends the Thursday games as often as she can.
“I love baseball, and these guys play so hard,” Lederer said. “They’re just a blast to watch. I just love it.”
They may play hard, but league members don’t take themselves too seriously. “That’s not what we’re about here,” Harlan Jackson said.
“What I like is it‘s not super-crazy-competitive,” said Bill Ward, a newcomer to the league.
At one point on June 29, outfielder Jason Wang made a sliding catch, and a player in the opposing dugout yelled jokingly, “Is that guy old enough to play in the league?”
“We’re here for fun and exercise,” said Ronny Tey, who started playing in the league around 2015. “We just have fun and poke fun at each other.”
Source: www.mercurynews.com