Winning baseball championships is becoming a regular routine for Gary Pennington, but that doesn't make it any less sweet.
The Howe Sound Hounds won their seventh Lower Mainland Baseball Association (LMBA) championship by defeating the Richmond Legends 8-2 last month in Richmond.
The Hounds, who have been part of the LMBA since its inception in 1994, defeated their long-time rivals with a total all-round team effort. The Hounds still have two original members from 1994, including Pennington, who, at age 74, is still keeping up with league players 30 years younger.
"The Hounds is the team I have played for longest in my lifetime. Back when I was a rookie trying out for the team, I was 58 years old," said Pennington. "Even then, in true Satchel Paige form, I gave my age as 49 because of likely age discrimination. It worked, and I made the team.
"After a while, my age didn't seem to matter. In the early days, I got a lot of extra base and even the occasional home run. These days, I am pleased with singles and maybe a rare double."
In the Hounds semi-final game, playing second base, Pennington dove to his left to get a ground ball and threw to the shortstop to force the runner.
Pennington said it felt great to make the play.
"The only thing that bothered me was that the first words I heard were, 'Penn, are you OK?' Only then came, 'great play'," Pennington recalled. "After the game, I got compliments from the opposing team as well as my teammates. That's the kind of thing that keeps me playing at the tender age of 74."
So how can a fellow who is 74 play high-level competitive ball with men in their 30s and 40s?
"It seems to me it's due to three elements. The first is being in reasonably good shape," he said. "I go to Aquafit classes three to four times a week and, as well, work out hard with the junior men's team that I coach here on the Coast. Secondly, I believe it is because of the ready acceptance of me by my team and the solidarity we all enjoy.
"Lastly, I think it has to do with a playful attitude toward life and sport. One of my bumper stickers reads, 'I refuse to grow up!' and I believe in that adage. When we are out on the field or in the dugout, there is no place I would rather be. It isn't work; for the most part, it is play in the best use of that term. My ability to keep playing well into my seventh decade also may be because of a modicum of skill in the sport."
Pennington said he really admires his teammates and opponents, another factor that keeps him playing the game he loves.
"There are several ex-pros and national team players in our ranks, and the standard is very high," he said. "Pitchers throw good heat, and there are frequent home runs in professional-size parks. While I respect the fine fast-pitch and slo-pitch softball leagues that abound and the broad inclusion they foster, I still prefer to play the small ball game that I love.
"I would like to see a 30-plus men's team form on the Sunshine Coast and enter our Lower Mainland League so that some of my good Coastal friends could enjoy the game in the ways that I am. It would be wonderful to have a Sunshine Coast team in the league."
Until that day comes, Pennington will continue to catch the 6:20 a.m. ferry from Langdale and journey into Vancouver to play ball.
"This seems to amaze my team and opponents. I guess they just don't know how much this stuff means to me," Pennington said. "It is a highlight of my week."
Later this month, Pennington heads off to Arizona to play with the San Diego Padres in the Senior World Series, as he has done for a number of years.
"It will be super to play again in the big league parks down there," he said. "Willie Mays played the game in the ways that I admire most. This admiration is not primarily because of his great skills, but rather in recognition of the absolute joy that he brought to the ballpark, whether it was in the actual game or in games of pepper and practice with his team. I think this joy of effort is what it's all about for me."
