53 must be the magic number
As long as we're talking about 53-year-old knucleball pitchers trying to become the oldest pro baseball player, how about a 53-year-old outifielder penciled in for his first career start on the college baseball team?
John Wilson is expected to earn his first start in right field and bat leadoff for the Division III Penn State-Altoona team in the first game of a doubleheader on Sunday, the Associated Press reports.
"It doesn't matter much for me," Wilson said in a phone interview with the AP about his own batting practice. "I'm a natural!"
Wilson is believed to be one of the oldest men to play collegiate baseball, though the NCAA doesn't keep records. He struck out in his only plate appearance this season, and he played in just 10 games before this season. But Wilson says just being able to play college baseball is a blessing after drug and alcohol
addictions earlier in his life drove him to suicidal thoughts.
The Pittsburgh native credits a stint at a rehabilitation center in 1986 as the start of a turnaround, and he proudly boasts that he's been clean and sober since then.
"Baseball is always going to be part of my life. That's what makes me happy," Wilson said.
Wilson's eligibility runs out after this season, and he is scheduled to complete his degree in human development and family studies in 2009. He has aspirations to coach full-time when he finishes his studies.
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