By Setarreh Massihzadegan
THE ERICKSON TRIBUNE

It’s a warm summer  morning and the Wayland, Mass., softball diamond is astir with swirling dust, fly balls, disputes over umpire calls, and the competitive but good-natured spirit of seasoned players like Bob Clifford.

Clifford, who lives at Linden Ponds, deems softball his “retirement job.” At bat on this particular day for the Raiders, a team in the Atlantic division of the Eastern Massachusetts Senior Softball Association (EMASS), he cracks at the ball with as much ease as he trades wisecracks with teammates.

“We’re always full of one-liners to keep everybody loose,” Clifford says. “You get pretty familiar with the guys . . . it’s a huge brotherhood.”

Good play
Between three leagues, Clifford’s “job” keeps him pretty busy. He plays for teams on the South Shore Senior Softball League and the Marlboro Senior Softball Association as well as EMASS, which hosts this month’s Cape Cod Tournament, the biggest of the season. Clifford says he eventually hopes to form a Linden Ponds team.

Since he played as a child and for two decades in a 35-plus league in Braintree, Mass., it’s no surprise Clifford’s dedication continued in retirement. His current game schedule with the 55-plus group keeps him on the road to fields as far away as Connecticut, but it is work he doesn’t mind.

“I’m playing softball probably every other day in the morning. That keeps me off the streets and out of trouble,” he jokes.

Social game
Clifford is among more than 300 players involved in EMASS, which has grown to become the largest senior softball program in the greater Boston area since its founding in 1995.

“You get to socialize with a lot of guys, you get to know a lot of people, [and] you develop friendships,” Clifford says. “It’s almost as important as the game.”