Wheaton resident mowing 'em down in two senior baseball leagues

"It's good to get out with the guys," said Gary Sellergren, Wheaton resident and renaissance man.

Better yet is still being able to get the guys out.

Sellergren, who had major shoulder surgery in 2008, is proving that on the baseball diamond, strong legs, medical science and command of four pitches can brush back Father Time.

Sellergren, 45, sports an 11-1 combined record pitching for two age-group teams in the Chicago North League of the Men's Senior Baseball League. An amateur league with branches across the country, Sellergren leads the nation's senior men in victories.

"I throw hard enough," said Sellergren, whose slider was clocked at 75 mph during a July exhibition against the Schaumburg Flyers. He figures radar would register his fastball at 78.

Sellergren complements those hard pitches with a slow curve and changeup to record a minuscule earned-run average of 1.58 for two teams whose home park is John Geils Field in Bensenville - the 35-and-older Blue Jays and the Jays' 45-plus squad.

When he's not pitching he catches, as he did as a two-time team MVP at Maine East (class of 1982) and in two years as a catcher/designated hitter at Bradley. This year, Sellergren is hitting .347.

A medical administrator whose 16-year-old daughter, Sarah, is a junior at Wheaton Warrenville South, Sellergren soured on the game in part by pushy parents. Over time, though, "I started falling in love with baseball again," he said.

Returning to hardball 17 years after his last action with the semipro Park Ridge Orioles in 1988 - competitive softball leagues weren't competitive enough - he deserved comeback player of the decade honors.

Breaking camp in 2005 with a 28-and-older team, the then-40-year-old Sellergren debuted with a .409 batting average and went 3-0 on the mound for the league champs.

He is now enjoying a run of five straight championships among the several age-group leagues he's played in. Sellergren's also got a "World Series" ring from a 2005 national championship in a 35-and-older wooden bat league.

It all could have ended in 2008, when a lifetime of labrum and rotator cuff strain plus two separate biceps tendon tears put Sellergren under the knife.

The man who performed the 31/2-hour surgery, Dr. Richard Erickson, wrote the same dire statement on five subsequent evaluation forms: "The patient knows he might never be able to pitch again."

Through rehabilitation and strength training, Sellergren has obviously rebounded, to the point where he's again averaging nearly a strikeout per inning pitched. Last year, in fact, he hit .367 in a 25-and-older league where he was the oldest player.

"I'm overjoyed," he said.

Turning 46 on Aug. 8, Sellergren plans on playing baseball "as long as I can walk."

"I'm in love with the game again," said Sellergren, whose lifetime senior-league pitching record is 26-11. "I love the camaraderie. All the guys in it are fanatics, and they love to play. It's good male bonding."

Headed to nationals: The DuPage Diving Academy produced four Naperville athletes who will compete at the Amateur Athletic Union National Diving Championships in Coral Springs, Fla., from Aug. 2-9.

Neuqua Valley's Ted Wagner and Lauren Mikulecky both will be competing on the 1-meter board at Coral Springs, as will Taylor Eggenberger (Waubonsie Valley) and Molly Schatz (Naperville Central).

The DuPage Diving Academy's head coach is Gary Petit, who also coaches diving for Neuqua Valley.

Dungy on the family: Tony Dungy, who led the Indianapolis Colts to the 2007 Super Bowl and is also a best-selling author, will speak at Wheaton Academy on Thursday, Aug. 5. An audience of up to 400 is expected at the sold-out event.

Dungy, recognized as one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time Magazine in 2007 and involved with many charities, will speak about mentoring and leadership within the family. He and his wife, Lauren, are parents to seven children, and Tony Dungy is involved with the Family First organization.

The event at Wheaton Academy will begin with a continental breakfast at 7:30 a.m. on Aug. 5, followed by Dungy's presentation at 9 a.m. at the Warrior Dome on the West Chicago campus.