I was a professional baseball rookie in 2017 — at age 61.
I never played Little League, high school or college ball. I played my first game in an adult league at age 45 in 2002.
On July 28 and 29, 2017, I played two games for the White Sands Pupfish of the independent Pecos League in Alamogordo, N.M. On the 28th, I pitched to two Trinidad Triggers batters in my debut, walking one on a 3-2 pitch in the seventh inning and hitting another. The first runner eventually scored, leaving me with an ERA of infinity. The Pupfish lost 5-3.
The next day I played right field as a late-inning replacement and struck out in my only at-bat.
As a 67-year-old six years later, I attempted to reduce my lifetime ERA below infinity by returning to the Pecos League. I was the starting pitcher for the Austin Weirdos in a 22-0 loss to the Alpine Cowboys on July 28. I pitched 4-plus innings, recorded 12 outs and allowed 12 earned runs, reducing my ERA to 29.25. I also struck out and had a sacrifice bunt.
In the first game of a doubleheader the next day, I struck out and caught a fly ball. I also struck out and walked in the second game, eventually scoring a run, giving me an official lifetime on-base percentage and fielding average.
That was the end of my playing career. I returned to the Pecos League in 2024 as pitching coach for the Roswell Invaders for four games and was named bench coach for the North Platte 80s for 2025.
I also co-hosted a 12-episode podcast called “Baseball’s Last Frontier: Stories from the Pecos League.” It was a 2025 finalist in the Sports Podcast Awards for the best baseball podcast sponsored by the Sports Podcast Group.