In 8th Inning of Life, They Play Politics

Forget the boys of summer. These are the boys -- and girl -- of autumn and winter, the aging veterans of a slow-pitch softball league where 65 means rookie status and 93 isn’t too old to help turn a double play.

On a dirt diamond in this retirement city, these graying athletes razz one another about growing old -- from heartburn to bad hips.

But with two weeks before election day, the newest sandlot taunt revolves around support for Republican George W. Bush or Democrat John F. Kerry: Ballplayers around here are now making fun of each other’s politics.

In a battleground state that could once again play a crucial role in the 2004 presidential election, Florida’s race might well be won on the well-manicured fields where old-timers gracefully play the games of their youth.

At 67, shortstop and retired lawyer Ted Koch is a self-professed Republican. He holds a grudging respect for the way teammate Herb Snitzer hustles the bases, but has less regard for his political acumen.

“Herbie’s always yapping, but he’s really just a died-in-the-wool Democrat,” he says of Snitzer, 71, a former Life magazine photographer. “There’s no liberal on the planet he doesn’t like -- and that includes old what’s-his-name,” he said, referring to Kerry.

Snitzer sighs: “There are just so many misguided people here.”

One in five Americans -- nearly 60 million people -- are 55 or older, a group equaling the populations of New York, California and Massachusetts combined. And nearly 20% of Florida’s 16 million residents are over 65.

Statistics show that older Americans not only register to vote more often, but also turn out to vote in greater proportions than their younger counterparts. In a telephone poll of 1,003 over-50 voters nationwide -- half of them in Florida -- conducted by the American Assn. of Retired Persons, or AARP, 9 in 10 respondents said they planned to vote in November.

But the AARP study also found a vast division of opinion between older voters, some of whom have cast ballots in elections dating back to the Great Depression.

Nationally, 65% of retirement-age Republicans see the country as heading in the “right direction,” while 81% of elderly Democrats believe the nation has seriously “gotten off on the wrong track,” the AARP study showed.

In Florida, the partisan divide goes even deeper: While 73% of Republicans support Bush’s agenda, 81% of Democrats disagree with the president’s objectives.

On a recent morning at the Woodlawn Playgrounds, two-dozen ballplayers competing for pop flies and hustling out singles thought that their candidates were listening to their issues.

These retirees know their growing numbers and high level of voter participation magnify their political clout. But this is no united voting bloc.

They remain divided on many critical issues, including the Iraq war and President Bush’s handling of the deficit. With many living on fixed incomes, there are also stark differences on Social Security and the price of prescription drugs.

“Everybody in this league is on something. You can’t come out and play through the aches and pains without drugs,” says Koch, the Bush supporter. “So why do the Canadians get the same drugs we do for half the price?”

For once, Snitzer, the Democrat -- an athletic New England native with well-defined muscles and a turquoise earring -- echoes his conservative teammate. He returns to the bench after scoring from first on a bloop double. “Bush sold out to the drug companies,” he says. “He deserted older Americans.”

Long and lean, Jerry Thornton, 66, sticks to his conservative guns: “There’s just too much liberal rhetoric on this issue.”

Established 30 years ago, the Woodlawn Senior Softball League is among many senior sports groups throughout Florida. Athletes show up three times a week to prove they’ve still got a bit of their old stuff.

Still, many hobble down the base line wearing knee, elbow or hip braces. And there’s no guarantee they’ll return for training camp: Each year the league’s brochure lists the names of players who have died, under the heading “You’ll Be Missed.”

On this day, a preseason pickup game is still competitive. After one player makes a wobbly run to snag a line drive in center field, he brags: “I like to show off.”

“You sure did,” someone says. “You showed off your bum hip.”

After three innings, Cathy Swerediuk’s team is already down 3-0, and she shouts encouragement to a batter at the plate. Opposing players mimic her pep talk: “OK, glamour girl.”

At 66, the Rockland County, N.Y., native is as tough and in shape as any man on the field. When the former gym teacher and coach showed up a decade ago, some guys didn’t like it -- and they gave her lip.

One day, Swerediuk yanked one mouthy player by the collar and gave him a shake.

“He’s nice now,” she says. “A real gentleman.” Still, she tells pitchers: “Ease up on the fastballs, fellas. I’m fragile.”

But she’s certainly not delicate when it comes to politics.

Swerediuk is an outspoken critic of the Bush-Cheney ticket. She calls Vice President Dick Cheney a “warmonger.” The president “went to war to finish Daddy’s job,” she says, referring to George H.W. Bush’s role in the 1991 Persian Gulf War.

When the conservative Thornton frowns, Swerediuk let’s loose: “Jerry’s not a listener. When Herbie tries to reason with him, he shuts down.”

Thornton fires back: “Most of his points are leftist rehash.... I already know what he’s going to say.”

The ballplayers have an array of takes on the presidential race.

Thornton criticizes Kerry for fighting in Vietnam and returning home to publicly question the war. “I couldn’t vote for a traitor,” says the former Marine.

On the field, third baseman Pat Rylee, 93, snags a short-hop grounder, starting a double play that ends the sixth inning.

Rylee voted for Franklin D. Roosevelt, whom he called a father figure to a troubled nation. Today, his political opinions are a little less concrete. “I’ll have to make my mind up when I go to the polls,” he says.

By the eighth inning, the players are tiring. But in the dugout, the political maneuvering is in full swing.

Swerediuk believes Bush has abandoned the middle class. “Look at all these guys. They’ve worked hard all their lives -- and they’re barely surviving.”

Thornton bristles.

“The Democrats are going to take away all your rights, including the one that allows you to bear arms,” said the amateur marksman. “A gun is just a firearm, anyway, not a weapon.”

Swerediuk smirks: “If I had a gun, a lotta you guys wouldn’t be here.”

Finally, the last out is made and the ballplayers pack their bags, moving slowly toward their cars.

But not before Thornton and Swerediuk declare a draw, agreeing to argue another day.

“The country is just so divided,” Thornton sighs. “And I don’t see anything that’s going to bring it back together, other than another 9/11, God forbid.”

Swerediuk agrees. “This election’s a tough one -- deciding who’s right, who’s wrong, who do we believe, who’s going to do the most for retired people and the nation as a whole.”

She pauses. “It’s just like I tell my conservative daughter: ‘Nobody said it was easy. Just go with your conscience, honey.’ ”