Ray Carrozzi has an unrelenting passion for softball. Whether coaching from first base or playing from his second base position, he tries to will his team to victory.

It’s not bad for an 89-year-old.

“If I wasn’t playing, I would be home watching TV,” he said on a Saturday morning at the Clifton Park Elks Lodge. “I ain’t going for that one.”

Carrozzi has been playing ball since 1951 in Westchester County, where he grew up. He’s been part of the Capital District Senior Softball League for the last 22 years.

“My wife told me about 50 years ago to give it up. But she’s probably right. But I can’t,” he said.

Carrozzi loves everything the game — fielding, hitting and just the camaraderie with his teammates. That includes his son, John Carrozzi, who plays next to him at shortstop.

“He’s a hell of an infielder,” John Carrozzi said. “Still hits good. His throwing has slowed down a little bit. But that’s about it.”

When the pair step on the field together, it feels like when the two first started playing ball together when John Carrozzi was a teen.

“Just a few years later, we still have that connection out there, and it’s an honor to still be playing with him,” John Carrozzi said.

Even after the final out, father-and-son conversations about the game will continue during their hour drive back home to Cobleskill, and into the week.

Softball is how they continue to bond all these years later. It’s what got John Carrozzi to join this team. And it’s also why Ray Carrozzi still plays — beating father time in a league of his own.

“I enjoy him playing with me and this could be my last year. I’m sure he’s got many years to play,” Ray Carrozzi said.