After high school many baseball players resort to joining a slow pitch softball team to get a hint of playing their favorite sport. Although it is fine for most, many others have found adult baseball to be the butter on their toast.

“Our team has been together for about nine years,” the Jacks coach Cameron Boynton said. 

The Jacks are members of the Utah Adult Amateur Baseball League. It is made up of players still living a dream of playing in the majors.

“Most of us played high school ball at some point,” Boynton said.

The UAABL was formed in 1989 as the Men’s Senior Baseball League and in 2012 changed its name. Its goal is to provide a place for men over 18 to play hard competitive baseball. 

“This is the real thing. We grew up playing it. We want to play as long as we can,” Boynton said.

The League includes teams named the Bad New Bears, Jacks, Yeti, Bulldogs, Buzz and Storm to name a few.

“At first it was because we hit jacks. Then we wanted to be the lumberjacks. It just stayed. We all pay to play,” Boynton said. “It is great to get a group of guys together and come out and play.”

The opening day games started April 5 and are held at Kearns Oquirrh Park near the skating oval. The Yeti and Jacks faced off in the first game of the day. The leadoff hitter for the Jacks, Ashton Rich, pulled a three ball pitch over the left field fence to begin his team’s season. They eventually won 12-4.

As he rounded the bases the normal cheers could be heard from family in the stands including grandma. He is one of a set of triplets on the team.

“The league is always looking for players and more teams to join,” Boynton said.

Single players can submit an application on the league’s website. It is forwarded to the league managers for tryouts.

The UAABL is currently divided into four divisions, each designated by age. They use major league baseball rules including a form of a pitch clock, not allowing hitters to leave the batter’s box or pitchers to continuously attempt pick off without success. 

The cost to play is determined by the team, some have sponsorships to help cover the cost but most divide it up between all the players. It is a wood bat league and each player furnishes his personal gear. Uniforms are up to the team. 

Experience level on each team varies. Most players played some form of organized baseball through high school and some have college or professional experience. Trenton Hawkins, a member of the Jacks, was a pitcher recruited to play at Oregon State, but after a church mission ended up lost in the system and is now reliving his love for the game in the league.

“We ended up with jobs, families and kids,” Hawkins said.

“We play slow pitch in the middle of the week and play baseball on Saturday,” Boynton said.

The teams generally play one day a week in the spring and can travel to play in national tournaments throughout the summer. The Salt Lake Bees, a 60 and older team, won the Las Vegas Kickoff Classic in early March. 

The Amateur World series is held in Tempe, Arizona in October. λ