Sarasota Senior Softball Association gives members competition they crave

If you happened to be at the 17th Street Park softball fields around 11:30 a.m. on July 10, a few things would have hit your senses. The sun, confident as ever, would have shone in your eyes. The unmistakable “ping” of bat-on-softball would have rung in your ears. Then, creeping up faintly at first, the smell of hot dough and cheese would have crawled up your nostrils.

That’s because July 10 happened to be Pizza Day for the Sarasota Senior Softball Association, a group of people 55 and older who still love to play the game.

After their battles on the diamond, teams sauntered to a table and filled their bellies with slices of pizza. Watermelon and cans of soda were available on the side. As the players ate, they swapped stories and complaints, like drivers slowing down to a crawl on turns. They laughed, both with and at each other, and shook hands on games well-played.

The SSSA plays its Gold League games, the higher-level ones, on Monday mornings, around 8:30 a.m. at the 17th Street Park fields. Silver League games take place Tuesdays and Thursdays. Each team plays twice on a given morning. The SSSA plays year-round, with a winter season from November to March, and a summer season from April to October.

The association started in 1997 with 77 players, according to its own website, sarasotaseniorsoftball.org. Now, the association has more than 350 members, separated into six leagues. Part of the reason why so many people crave a spot in the association is its balance of competitiveness and inclusiveness. In the association’s Silver Leagues, anyone who wants to play has a spot, with one caveat: Everyone must be able to defend themselves.

“The reason I like it is because if you’ve got a pulse, and you can get here, you play,” said Sands Robnick, a five-year veteran of the SSSA. “We’ve got guys in their 80s pitching and playing third base.”

All of the SSSA’s leagues use modified rules for the safety of everyone. A double-base is used at first base to eliminate any potential contact between fielder and runner. The same idea is behind the use of a “runner’s plate” behind home plate. Pitchers must stand behind a screen.

There have been cases, albeit few, where the SSSA has had to inform a player’s family that he can no longer protect himself, SSSA President Chuck Cason said. “Bad hops are always going to be there,” he said, and players need to deal with them.

In true softball fashion, the players bond over injuries.

“When you’re younger, you say, ‘This hurts,’” Cason said, pointing to his left elbow. “Now, you say, ‘This doesn’t hurt, but everything else does!’”

Thus, teasing someone over a physical miscue, like not getting to a ball in the outfield, is forbidden. Forget how many outs there are, however, and you’ll be hearing about it for the rest of the day.

The Gold League is reserved for the top players. In most cases, this would be settled by a popularity contest, but not in this association. Each player in the SSSA has his skills graded on a 1-12 scale, with 1 being the highest possible rating. These skills include the five tools even major league scouts use in evaluation: hitting for power, hitting for average, fielding, throwing and speed. The best of the SSSA have been known to score a “1” in four of the five tools, Cason said.

Ratings are determined by Cason and a small committee. They meet after each season to update things based on the play they witnessed the previous period. New SSSA members go through a combine, not unlike the NFL’s, to give players an initial rating. The system almost creates a bell curve, Cason said.

The Gold League consists of five teams with 12 players on a team. A draft is held, and managers base their selections not just on a player’s field skills, but on attitude and skills as a teammate.

Teams in the SSSA want to win, but more than that, they want exercise and camaraderie with a bunch of guys looking for the same things.