Paging Satchel Paige: With the formation of...

Paging Satchel Paige: With the formation of the Senior Professional Baseball Assn., it’s a real-life “Field of Dreams,” with Graig Nettles at third, Jerry Grote behind the plate, Bill Lee on the mound. “Sure, you’re asking, ‘Can these guys still play baseball?’ ” said Curt Flood, who will serve as commissioner. “Sure, they can. Taking a step or two away from them is not like taking a step or two away from guys you play with on the playground.”

The league is the idea of James F. Morley, a commercial real estate specialist who decided to proceed with the venture after seeing the success of the senior golf tour and masters tennis.

The league is supposed to be based in Florida--where else would retirees go?--and have eight franchises. Teams will be composed of former major league players 35 and older--32 for catchers--and will play 72 games from November through February. More than 500 players have said they’re interested.

“I look at it this way,” said Nettles, 44. “It’s a chance for me to play again, and not in some beer league on Sundays.”

Said former Dodger Steve Yeager: “So what if I’ve lost a step? I wasn’t that fast to begin with.”

But is the world ready for an old-timers’ game every day? Are the old-timers ready for it?

Bashful Bert: While the National Football League continues its search for a new commissioner, they might consider Bert Rechichar, the former Baltimore Colt.

Rechichar talked tough and played the same way. He conducted a game of intimidation, and he has his own ideas about how to handle modern players.

“The trouble with NFL players today is they don’t know the value of a dollar,” Rechichar said. “They have too much money. If I could be the NFL commissioner and a player messed with drugs, he would not get a second chance. I’d send him down to Skid Row where he belongs.”