Infielder Eddie Castorena, 75, wore two braces under his old spice uniform, one for his knees and the other for his back.

Big red catcher Tony Spallino, 67, has moved well behind the plate, hoping he doesn't need a second hip replacement.

His teammate, Agustin Quezada, is 83, lim on a canoe between the two innings, leaning between the bats, as if it were a crutch.

“When I first started, like, man, it smelled like Bengay,” Big Red Utilityman Muben Enriquez said.

However, there is no glory to compromise, nor is it as exciting as blasting the ball into the gap and surrounding the base, no matter how many paramedics you may need to take you home. So the game takes place every Thursday at Smith Park in Pico Rivera, home to the Go-Getter softball league.

"I never played baseball," said Isabel Enriquez, 73.

The reflection is usually good, and the bats still have some popping sound in most cases, especially for players close to 50 years old. In chasing the ball or sprinting the base, work hard even if the feet don't always provide the heart's desire.

“I hope that when I’m old… I’ll be flexible and able to run at a base like this,” said Pico Rivera Mayor Johnny Garcia, who paused to accept some action in the league over 30.

Lorenzo Sanchez beat the Warriors 14-2, wearing a boyish smile that doesn't look 83 years old.

“I’m in good condition,” Sanchez boasted.

"I'm trying to highlight my new player, running around with my grandchildren and throwing balls back and forth," said Gil Perez, 76, Rolling Thunder manager.

Perez and his wife, Deborah, are 71 years old and play the receiver and exercise regularly.

“I’m doing a board for 2½ minutes,” Deborah said, referring to the exercise you get into the push-up position and hold it as long as possible. “So my core is very tight.”

Several players encouraged me to leave the news box and enter the field.

I really want to say it. But I have two knee replacements.

This aroused the keenness of Agustin's wife and loyal audience Dichosa "Dee" Quezada, a word response, as he watched each game from the lawn chair behind him.

"So?" she asked with a withered glare.

Dichosa told me I wouldn't be the first to say a guy has two knee replacements in a team in Anaheim.

Over the past few years, a former Go-Getter has gone to the field with a walker, wielding a mean bat, and after hitting, letting a pincher take over.

Then there was the Spallino, with hip replacements, who told me that he tried to come back too early after the 2017 surgery. "But I have a problem with another person right now," Spallino said.

The players feel relieved that former softball player Lupe Diaz is a retired registered nurse and her first aid kit is in all competitions. A few years ago, there weren't enough tools in the kit.

"I remember it was like yesterday," Diaz said. "I was a receiver and when I saw this player lying on the ground in the outfield, I was about to throw the ball back."

Diaz ran out and began CPR by the fallen fielder, his heart emanating and someone called 911.

"I brought him back and they took him to the canoe," she said.

Diaz recalled that the player recovered in the hospital but died about two weeks later.

On Thursday, Big Red Outfielder Art Montano, 77, waving on the court and missing out. He ended up pounding a sharp single, but he was still frustrated by his earlier reputation.

"My vision is not the same as before," Montano said. Sometimes the brain responds quickly to messages from the eyes. “Suppose the ball is pitching, you are waiting for it, and the brain tells you it’s there, but you can’t pull the trigger.”

Outfielder Uvaldo Davila showed off a pair of smooth gloves and strong arms, and after defeating the hit, he climbed around the base to score. But back in the canoe, he said he had been fighting for a huge challenge.

Davila, 64, told me that his hand tremors were getting worse and worse, and his neurologist told him he might soon have some balance problems, and he told me that his hand tremors were getting worse.

“I’m taking the medicine,” Davila said, intending to continue playing as much as possible because softball “beats medicine.”

The strongest team of the season, the team showed no mercy on Thursday, raising the Big Red score to 8-0.

"We have a lot of good batsman, no drama. In the past, there was a lot of arguments. But this team is together."

At some point, no one was on the base and a force hit the regular ground. Big Red's second baseman made it clean, but threw the second base.

"Advanced Moment", a disappointed big red teammate murmured in the canoe.

In the sixth inning, several big red players noticed their pitcher missing. They looked around and found him in the parking lot, riding on his bike.

"Rick!" a player shouted, to no avail.

“He is going home,” another said.

But there are still two games in the regular season, so there is still time to find a groove. Then all six teams are eligible for the playoffs.

Ruben Enriquez said anything could happen, just showing up to have some exercise and being with friends is a victory.

"It's better than rotting at home," he said.

steve.lopez@latimes.com