Senior baseball league getting younger

It’s been in existence for well over 20 years, never with any hype, always under the shadow of double-letter and junior elite baseball.

Yet, over the past several years in particular, the Dorval Senior Baseball League (DSBL) for over-20 players has proven to be not only a useful tool for those wishing to stay sharp during the hot summer months while hopefully earning a spot on university teams in the fall, but it’s also been a blessing for those who simply want to continue playing a highly competitive level of ball after their junior days are over. Just head over to any of the West Island parks presently housing DSBL games, including Ballantyne in Dorval, Lake Road in Dollard des Ormeaux, George Springate in Pierrefonds and Parc des Bénévoles in Kirkland, and what you will not see is players patrolling the infield and outfield attempting to catch or ground a softball that was hit off a lobbed pitch. You’ll see good old-fashioned hardball, and although you might also see players with a little too much grey on their beards and hair, they’re players still filled with a lot of competitive spirit.

“Many guys call me up during the winter expressing a wish to play in the league and then tell me they have been playing softball over the past few years,” said DSBL president Peter Kakaroubas, a Roxboro resident.

“I immediately tell them to forget it. You need to have played organized hardball, preferably at the inter-city level. This is good ball. We have guys here who have played junior elite, some even semi-professional. Others play for McGill and Concordia during the fall.”

There are currently nine teams in the DSBL, with five, including Kirkland, Dorval, Pierrefonds, Dollard and Dorion representing the West Island. Representation is a moot point because DSBL teams do not actually play out of home fields. Each roams from park to park during the season, which runs from May to mid-August.

“This is not garage league beer-belly baseball,” said Tony Pompeo, a 38-year-old Beaconsfield resident who plays for the Montreal Mets. “I’ve been playing in the league since 1992, and it’s become more competitive of late, with many more guys in their early 20s. It’s also a perfect alternative for those coming out of junior who want to play in a high-calibre senior league, and don’t want to travel to places to Chicoutimi to play in the Quebec Senior Elite League.”

While the core of players continue to get younger, John Vergados, a player on the Mets, said he is trying to woo an older, yet very well-known former major league pitcher to join the DSBL, even if for one or two games.

“I have made contact with Bill Lee, the former Montreal Expos pitcher,” said Vergados. “He’ probably in his late 50s by now, but is still playing senior ball all over North America. I’m trying to persuade him to play in our league. Now, that would be a lot of fun.”