· York Town Square blog: Lefty George, baseball's Methuselah, played for White Roses

By all accounts, Bob Rathmann had a very successful and enjoyable run as a baseball pitcher when he gave up the game in 1973.

High school ball in Fort Lee, N.J. College ball at Gettysburg College. Adult baseball in the Metropolitan League in New York and northern New Jersey -- a loop very similar to the Central League and Susquehanna League in York County.

Rathmann was done with baseball at the age of 34.

"Oh, I really thought that was it," said Rathmann, a Springettsbury Township resident since 2001. "I never thought I'd pitch again."

The baseball bug bit him again in 1989 at the age of 50, and he hasn't stopped, even with his 70th birthday looming next March.

Rathmann drives from his York home each weekend to the Wilmington, Del., area. That's where the left-hander still takes to the mound for the Wilmington Nationals, a Men's Senior Baseball League team in the Tri-State 48-plus bracket.

It's just the continuation of a life-long affair between the former property insurance adjuster and the sport he loves.

"I've pretty much thrown three or four times a week my whole life, whether I was playing in a league or not," Rathmann said. "No matter where I am, weather permitting, I'm pitching.

"Even if there's no one to catch me, I'll take a bucket of balls and throw into a backstop somewhere."

The 69-year-old Rathmann said he's been blessed with a strong arm, one relatively free of physical ailments save for a bout of shoulder pain in 1995 that resolved itself during the winter.

"Some people play golf. I pitch," the father of three and grandfather of six said earlier this week. "As long as I feel good doing it, and as long as my wife, Susan, is OK with me doing it, I'll keep playing as long as I can."

It's that mindset that led Rathmann's son, Chris, to

get the word out about his modest father's athletic exploits.

A story about the family's 2006 trip to Doubleday Country Inn and Farm's "Field of Dreams" cornfield baseball diamond in Landisburg, Perry County, paints quite a picture.

"So here are all these high school and college-age kids stepping into the batter's box and dad pitches seven shutout innings at age 67," Chris Rathmann said. "He can bring it close to 70 mph and he's nearly 70 years old.

"The more and more he goes on, the more I'm amazed at what he's doing. I get banged up playing beer league softball at age 34, and he's throwing hard at his age. It's something special."

Bob Rathmann returned to the game in 1989 to play in a 30-and-older league in northern New Jersey. He was 50 then, and continued to find pitching opportunities with teams that traveled to Arizona and Florida for national tournaments.

Rathmann said he posted an 8-2 record this past winter pitching in a Florida tournament, where he threw nearly 48 innings in a short period of time without any arm pain.

"I throw a two-seam fastball, a slider, a curveball, a straight change and occasionally a knuckleball I use as a waste pitch," he said. "It helps that the bat speed of hitters has declined as we've all gotten older."

By his own count, Rathmann owns a 189-69 record on the mound since returning to the game in 1989. When you add in his 121-61 mark prior to his 1973 "retirement," Rathmann figures his overall record sits at 310-130.

"After every game I give myself a slash for a win or a loss, and I've been charting them over the years," he said. "I've been very lucky to play with great teams and great players over the years.

"Guys have made great defensive plays behind me. I just throw it in there and let my fielders take care of things."

Rathmann's son, Chris, lives in Mount Airy, Md. His other son, Bob, lives near Philadelphia, and his daughter, Diane, lives in the Wilmington, Del., area.

York's proximity to all three places -- and his knowledge of the area from his college days in Gettysburg -- made it the logical place for Rathmann and his wife to retire.

He said the couple has a partial season-ticket plan for the York Revolution and enjoys watching games at Sovereign Bank Stadium. He even considered showing up for an open tryout for the Atlantic League club earlier this year.

"If I could throw 80 mph I might have given it a shot," Rathmann said, laughing at the idea.
dave@ydr.com; 771-2063