WEST ALLIS, Wis. — Greg Baker always says you’re never too old to play.

Thursday mornings each summer, three diamonds at McCarty Park play host to Wisconsin’s largest 65 and up softball league.

Baker is used to managing his softball teams every year, but this is his first season as league commissioner.

“I got a second job now, as commissioner and president,” Baker said during morning warmups. “So I’ve got two jobs. Double the salaries, so two times zero is still zero.”

The Greater Milwaukee 65+ Softball League started with six teams in 2007. This summer, the league is up to 12 teams and 180 players, including more than 20 still taking cuts in their 80s. League rules aim to extend their ball playing days even further. Players are permitted to overrun first, second and third base to avoid risking injury by sliding or slamming on the brakes.

Teams are allowed unlimited pinch runners, even from home plate to first. As players round third to score, they cross a chalked white line rather than stepping on plate, avoiding any collisions at home.

It’s a competitive, yet friendly environment. Cy Swiecichowski stepped aside after running the league for 15 years, but you will still find the 88-year-old former commissioner roaming from diamond to diamond every Thursday.

“We’ve got some guys here who just come out to play ball,” Swiecichowski said. “I don’t know if it’s just to get out of the house, but they get done by noon. They’re out of here and they can still do things they want to do.”

The average age on the field is 75. Many of these players have played ball for 50 years or more. But leaving the diamond after a win? That never gets old.