Carl Gleason Gets Nailed 400 Times at the Plate; Reaches Puget Sound Milestone!
By Steve LaMontia-Carlentini, MSBL Director of Communications
Carl Gleason is a member of the Puget Sound Senior Baseball League (PSSBL) located in the Seattle area. Over this past weekend he was hit by a pitch for the 400th time in his career! This is documented by the league’s meticulous record keeping.
A record like this requires a summer baseball commitment that few of us can achieve. We decided to dig in a little with Carl and see what keeps this guy going and if he wears a jersey with a bullseye on it!
“I’ve been accused of having a bull’s-eye on my jersey, but I’ve never seen it,” explained Carl. “I’m also accused of having magnetic powers to attract the baseball.
I’m currently at 952 PSSBL games with a goal to reach 1000 before the end of the season. I needed to play 77 games this year to get there. I had been averaging more than 90 league games over the last several years so I’m confident I will get there as long as I hold up.”
That is a lot of league games! How do you manage to play that much?
“I play on four league teams. The 45+ RiverCats, 50+ Ravens, 60+ Emeralds, and the 60+Generals. I have been on multiple teams since 2014 and four teams since 2019. I am also one of our division commissioners in our 60+ Adirondack division.”
Are you able to squeeze in any MSBL national tournaments in your busy baseball year?
“I have played in the MSBL World Series starting back in 2014. I have also been fortunate enough to have played with the Central division 55+ 3n2 Rangers in 2016 when we won the World Series. I also received credit for the play of the game for a catch at Sloan Park during that week’s play!
I currently play on the Seattle Pilots at the World Series and was again fortunate to be on that team last year when they won a 60+ Desert championship. I plan to return again this year.
It was a great experience with the Pilots last year in Arizona, as it was mainly teammates from a 60+ division team up here in Seattle with a few other players that played in that division. That team was run by my longtime friend and teammate Greg Morrison.
I’ve also played several times in Palm Springs at the Desert Classic and in Las Vegas. We did win a 50+ championship with the 3N2 Rangers in 2017, so I have been very fortunate to play on some good teams.”
Carl asked us if we thought getting plunked 400 times would be an MSBL record, if not a national record. MSBL Founder and President Steve Sigler assured him that it most probably was. If you know anything to the contrary, please let us know. In the meantime, please tone down your brushback pitches. Carl is getting sore!
