At the ripe old age of 78, Gary Pennington keeps living his dreams, and in the process, keeps winning baseball titles.
Pennington won his eighth title with the North Shore Hounds men’s baseball team on Sept. 14 as the Hounds defeated the Burnaby Blue Jays 11-6 at Robert Burnaby Park.
The Jays were seeking their third straight Lower Mainland Baseball Association title, but it was not to be.
The league is an elite level of baseball in the Lower Mainland for 30-plus players. Pennington has been with the Hounds for 21 years and is the oldest player in the league by at least a dozen years.
“I hold my own in the field and lay claim to be the best bunter on the team, but I’m certainly not hitting the long ball now,” Pennington said. “I am a bit player at best now, but I’m out there for the love of the game. There is no place I would rather be.”
The Hounds trailed 2-0 after the first inning, but opened things up and never looked back. The win was sweet revenge for the squad as they lost in 11 innings last year to the Hays.
Former Major League Toronto Blue Jays player Simon Pond played for the Hounds as did former AAA player Jeff Guiel.
Pennington said lots of ex-pro players and former national team players have suited up in the league.
He said at one time former all-star pitcher for the Texas Rangers Jeff Zimmerman played with the Hounds, as did Cuban catcher Julio Pena.
“He is the best in the league — with a shotgun of an arm,” Pennington said. “This is one of the best teams that I have had the privilege of playing on in my 70-plus years of being in the game — just great talents and super teammates.”
