Randy Stimac fielded his first ground ball in 1948 at the age of two.  He was sitting in the grass with his mother, watching his father play professional baseball for the St. Louis Cardinals’ farm team.  A foul ball rolled towards Randy, hit him right in the chest, and knocked him over.  His mother says he did not even flinch.  She knew right away Randy would follow in his dad’s footsteps playing baseball.

Baseball has kept Randy in motion for 74 years now.  And he is still playing.  This season at Grand Park in Westfield, Randy took the mound.  He plays in an over 48 adult baseball league consisting of former high school, college, and even semi-pro players.  His team was down 7-2 and Randy came in for the 3rd and 4th innings, throwing two shutout innings.  His team went on to win the game 14-8, with Randy picking up the win.

One of Randy’s highlights on the mound came in 1961, pitching against the team with the famous Tommy John.  Randy states, “Many younger folks are familiar with the term ‘Tommy John Surgery’, but they aren’t aware Tommy John was a professional baseball player.”  (John was an All-Star pitcher for 26 years with the Indians, Dodgers, Yankees, White Sox and Angels.)  But back in 1961, Randy Stimac was the winning pitcher, with his Otter Creek High School team beating Tommy John’s Terre Haute Gerstmeyer High School, 3-2.  Randy chuckles when he tells this story, “Tommy played first base, he didn’t pitch in this game.”

After high school, with offers from various colleges to play baseball, Randy decided to attend Rose-Hulman.  From Rose-Hulman Randy went on to the Army, where he also pitched for the Army baseball team.  After serving our country, Randy settled into a nice career of semi-professional baseball here in Indiana.

A few years ago, Randy decided he wanted to pitch baseball again.  At age 72 he joined Motion 4 Life Fitness.  “They have professional trainers who are knowledgeable.  They listen and understand my goals and create workout plans that are much more than a treadmill.  That’s just what I needed to get into the kind of shape I need to be in for not only playing baseball with the younger guys, but to be able to pitch again too.”  He credits his ability to pitch to his personal training each week and daily workouts at the gym.

Randy also had a nice compliment from his family doctor recently.  “I went in to see her for my annual physical after a recent knee surgery.  She could not believe how good of shape I am in, and said she appreciated receiving the fitness assessment updates from Dr. Carol Weesner (Motion 4 Life Fitness owner and founder).  M4L feels like family now.  This gym is an important part of my life.”

The next time you hear someone singing “Take Me Out To The Ballgame”, it just might be Randy!

 

Staff Writer

Motion 4 Life Fitness

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