Still Swinging for the Fences : Home-Run Derby Is a Hit in Senior Softball Circles

His bat is lighter now and his step is heavier, but the ball still sails on a good day.

And Monday was a good day for 66-year-old Gene Scarlett of Fullerton.

The retired Hughes Aircraft employee connected for four home runs on a dozen pitches in a home-run derby at Yorba Regional Park for softball players 65 and older. Scarlett finished third among eight batters in the contest of power, which is rapidly growing in popularity in senior softball circles.

“I hit fewer than I thought I would,” said Scarlett, rubbing tender knees afterward but exhibiting a competitiveness not dulled by age. “I just didn’t get the lift I wanted.”

While home-run contests have long been commonplace among younger players, the power-hitting derby is relatively new among the senior ranks. Monday’s contest, held during a seniors softball tournament, marks only the second long-ball tournament sponsored by Anaheim’s Park and Recreation Department.

Senior players relish the opportunity to swing for the fence--normally considered a foolhardy strategy in regular games where teams live and die by the single.

“The guys really appreciate it,” said Lee Miller of Anaheim’s Parks and Recreation Department. “It gives them a chance to air out their bats--a chance to be macho.”

Of course, falling short of a regulation fence, which is 275 feet or more from home plate, wouldn’t impress many spectators. So, as the players age goes up, the fence comes in.

To score a homer in Monday’s contest, players had to belt the ball 200 feet. The distance didn’t prove very challenging to Tom Mankey, 66, of North Hollywood. Mankey knocked seven homers with his 12 allotted pitches.

“I’m just lucky,” said Mankey, who fielded high fives and congratulations as he walked away from the plate. “The pitcher hit my bat pretty good today.”

But for Bill McCabe, a retired real estate broker from Anaheim, hitting the long ball proved to be a long shot. He could muster just one homer.

“I’m more of a line-drive hitter,” smiled McCabe, who noted he cracked a 255-foot homer in a game a decade ago. “That’s the excuse I’m sticking to.”

McCabe had a more legitimate excuse, however. At age 70, he admitted he shouldn’t have been going toe-to-toe with the 65-year-old “youngsters.”

But youth is relative. For example, Scarlett said he recently turned down a chance to enter a similar contest with competitors 10 years his junior.

“To hit against 55-year-old players is absurd,” said Scarlett, who has been playing league softball since 1961. “Those young guys can hit it 300 feet.”

Though he didn’t take his swings at the plate, Jerry Browne of Orange was probably the happiest man on the diamond Monday. Browne, 68, gladly volunteered for the unglamorous task of fielding contestant’s home-run attempts.

Not bad for a guy who nearly died on a ball field in December.

“I remember coming back to the dugout, and sliding down against a chain-link fence,” said Browne, a document and handwriting expert. “Then I blacked out.”

Luckily, two of his teammates were physicians. One administered CPR, the other mouth-to-mouth. After having triple-bypass surgery and receiving a heart defibrillator, Browne said he’s feeling good and enjoying his favorite sport again.

“I think this contest is great because the seniors can do a whole lot more than people think,” Browne said. “But, personally, I’m just glad to be out here.”