Softball Seal of approval

Professional baseball never panned out for Harry Benzie, a 1956 Placer High graduate.At 70 years old, though, he still regularly laces up his cleats.Benzie won the 2008 North American Senior Circuit Softball World Series with the San Francisco Seals in Lincoln, Neb., in August, one of his greatest accomplishments in the sport he's now played competitively for more than two decades."Softball is just the greatest thing that ever happened to me in sports," Benzie said.Born in Glasgow, Scotland, Benzie moved to Auburn when he was 9. After a childhood of cricket he became immersed in baseball and basketball at Placer.Benzie took the court alongside Tom Arnett, son of Hillmen legend Kendall Arnett, for whom the longest running basketball tournament in the state is named. There were no Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs when Benzie and the Hillmen won the 1955 Sierra Foothill League baseball title.When he got out of the Navy, Benzie played baseball and softball while attending Sierra College. The outfielder continued to play at Sacramento State, where his baseball career ended. "I would have loved to be a pro baseball player but it just didn't happen," Benzie said. "I just wasn't that great of a baseball player and I had trouble hitting the curveball and that sort of thing."Benzie started playing senior softball when he turned 50, progressing through several skill levels before linking up with the Seals this season.Organized by former Yankees minor leaguer Don Farber of Napa in 2001, the Seals play in the Major-Plus division of the 70-plus age group, the highest of four Senior Players' Association levels. The team includes two former professionals in addition to Farber.The Seals defended their SPA national title this summer in Dalton, Ga., where Benzie was named to the all-tournament team.Benzie was also the MVP of the Senior Softball World Championships in Phoenix late last month, where he went 14-for-19 with two homers, two triples and 14 RBIs to lead the Seals to second place. The Phoenix tournament was the last of the year for the Seals, who play an average of three tournaments each month during a season that runs from March through October. Benzie's wife, Versa, joins him for many of the West Coast games.Benzie will play city league softball for the next several months, but he's already anticipating his second season with the Seals."They're great," he said.