You win some, you lose some. That was the story at the 2010 Senior Baseball World Series for Roberts Creek's Gary Pennington.
Pennington once again suited up for the 65-plus San Diego Padres squad in Arizona, a team he has won many titles with.
The Padres made it to the finals against Chicago and were ahead 3-1 going into the eighth before the wheels came off a bit, as the Padres ended up losing 4-3.
"The tournament organizers said it was one of the best final games that has been played in the 20-year history of the competition," said Pennington. "No errors by either team and lots of suspense. It was good to get that far after a full week of baseball every day."
Pennington fared far better in the 70-plus division as the Padres met the South Dakota Rushmores in the final again for the fourth time in recent years.
Pennington compared the rivalry to that of the New York Yankees/Brooklyn Dodgers.
"The major story of this one was our pitching. Dick Fitzgerald, who used to pitch for the old Vancouver Mounties AAA team back in the '50s and roomed with Hall of Fame third baseman Brooks Robinson, continued his masterful ways," he said. "In the final, Fitz did not walk a single batter in nine innings and we won by a score of 9-5. This man is amazing. In both rounds that we played, he pitched a total of 38 innings and gave up just one base on balls."
Pennington said he had the good fortune to turn a number of double plays at second base.
"In the semifinal I had a hand in two, and in the final game turned three more. I think the total of five in two games might be some kind of record in this World Series competition," he said. "Two very nice things happened in this connection. One of our outfielders said that my infield play in the final game was of a professional level. When I thanked him and said he was being very kind, he said, 'No, not kind - the plays that you made today were of a big league calibre.' Not sure about that, but it was a very nice compliment. Since returning home Dick has written me and said how central my infield play was in securing the win in our final game. These are compliments that I will remember for a lifetime."
Winning the 70-plus division now gives Pen-nington his sixth championship ring.
"We have a great bunch of guys who have been playing together for almost 10 years now," he said. "They come from all over the States and Canada and are of all divergent political stripes and backgrounds. Playing together blurs these differences. We have the privilege of playing together in the big league parks, enjoying the camaraderie of our teammates and the opposing teams, rekindling our youth and experiencing the joy of being playful again. I wish that more seniors could experience these kinds of feelings and benefits."
