53-Year-Old MSBL Veteran Vince Towns Drafted by Atlantic League of Professional Baseball
By Steve LaMontia-Carlentini, MSBL Director of Communications
Vince Towns is an integral part of Mike LaComb’s Mustangs Baseball Club, the powerhouse assemblage of prolific ballplayers who not only terrorize the DCMSBL in league play but also continually find the winner’s circle participating in MSBL National Tournaments throughout the entire expanse of the country.
Well, the Mustangs will be without their workhorse pitcher and hitter for a while in the months ahead, but for a very good reason. At the age of 53, Vince was recently drafted by the Hagerstown Flying Boxcars of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, located in Hagerstown, Maryland.
Added Mustangs’ skipper Mike LaComb, “Vince has been the Mustangs’ ace pitcher for the last ten years. If he ends up making the team and plays in a game, he will surpass Roger Clemens as the oldest pitcher to play professional baseball. Clemens was 50 when he last played.
Vince is also the best hitter on our team!”
Vince’s trophy case is already busting at the seams, including a perfect game thrown for the Mustangs in the DCMSBL in 2024. You can read the story about that game by clicking on the picture below.
Below is the press release, courtesy of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball website.
ALPB Draft is Opportunity for Veteran Knuckleballer
(April 1, 2026, Hagerstown, Md.) – The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball conducted its player draft on Wednesday, with 10 players selected by the 10 ALPB Clubs. The ALPB Pro Days, powered by IndyBall Jobs, took place on Tuesday and Wednesday at Meritus Park in Hagerstown, Md., the home of the Hagerstown Flying Boxcars.
The first pick of the draft was 53-year-old knuckleballer Vincent Towns. A native of Upper Marlboro, Md., Towns was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in 1991 out of Suitland High in Forestville, Md. He spent parts of two seasons in the Giants’ farm system, compiling a 1-2 record while pitching in the Arizona League. Should he make the team, Towns would become the oldest pitcher to appear in an Atlantic League game, surpassing the legendary Roger Clemens, who pitched for Sugar Land in 2012 at the age of 50 years, 1 month, and 3 days.
Following the player testing and simulated games, the ALPB managers drafted from the group of 120 participants who were all vetted for prior college and/or professional playing experience. Each of the draftees will be signed to a contract and will open spring training with their respective clubs.
First Round (Team, Player)
- Hagerstown Flying Boxcars: RHP Vincent Towns
- Charleston Dirty Birds: RHP Eli Serrano
- Staten Island FerryHawks: LHP Brandon Haston
- Lexington Legends: OF Wade Kelly
- Southern Maryland Blue Crabs: LHP Isaac Fix
- Gastonia Ghost Peppers: RHP Mark Moclair
- Lancaster Stormers: RHP Justin Needles
- Long Island Ducks: C Tyler Smith
- High Point Rockers: RHP Hiroyuki Yamada
- York Revolution: RHP Aaron Schaefer
“It was exciting,” said Towns. “The atmosphere was great, there were a lot of young guys with very strong arms, but I have been in this for years,” Towns continued.
“I just had to come, and hope and pray I could get my knuckleball over for strikes, and I did today, except for one mistake.”
“When I was drafted in 1991, I was an orthodox pitcher, so I probably threw in the high-80s, mid-80s,” Towns added.
“I played a couple of years, and then got released, and then I said to myself I would give myself until I was 40 years old to get picked back up.”
“Somebody saw me, somebody liked me, somebody signed me, that’s what faith is all about, not giving up, enduring no matter what, and it’s paid off.”
The MSBL Mustangs are seldom without their star player, unless they are racking up another championship in a 60+ division, where Vince is still too young! Below are a couple of championship pictures from the Mustangs Baseball Club years past that include Vince.
