Union rep by day, world series catcher in time off

He may work for the members of Local 490 as a business agent, but Don E. Garcia plays for the Sacramento Rivercats. The team just won the national 30-and-over World Series title for the Men's Senior Baseball League; Garcia is the team's catcher.

MSBL/MABL members are former semi-pro athletes and serious amateur athletes of various skill levels. "I started playing when I was 30," says Garcia. "I pitched and played shortstop for five years, but when our catcher left, I learned how to catch." Garcia says that he was first invited to join the Rivercats' world series team when he was 36. "I'm 42 now, and we've been to the world series every year since."

The MSBL is a national organization with 325 local affiliates, 3,200 teams and 45,000 members who play organized amateur baseball in local leagues, 30 regional tournaments and six national tournaments. The World Series takes place every October in Arizona.

Our basic season is a 24-game season. In October, our traveling team, a hand selected team, goes to Arizona for the championship games for a week," he says. "We played seven games and won all seven." Garcia says his teammates are all amateur players from the Sacramento area. "We play against ex-professionals and it's always that much nicer when we beat them."

Garcia's working career began at Serta Mattress Company in Vacaville. He became a steward, then a trustee and has been a business agent for five years. He represents all the garbage companies and some public sector employees.

"This is my first ring, but now I can relax," Garcia says. "I love the game. There's nothing like playing baseball at this level. Guys who are almost 50 can still play baseball -- it's amazing to see."

Garcia adds that he plans on playing until he can't. "My dad and son are playing in our local league. My dad is 63 and got his first hits during a father-son series. It's really fun having three generations playing at the same time."

Garcia figures he has another good 20 years of baseball ahead of him, "maybe not catching, though," he says thoughtfully.