RAMON ARANO, 72, WANTS TO PITCH IN SEVENTH DECADE

The Mexican League’s all-time winningest pitcher says he wants to come back, however briefly, to pitch this season. Ramon Arano, whose 334 wins spanned 32 seasons between 1959 and 2001, claims he’s serious in stating his desire to pitch in 2010 and become the first man in pro baseball history to pitch in seven decades.

Arano, who is tied with Hub Kittle for the record of pitching in six decades, says “I’m not crazy. I want to pitch the seventh decade…My speed is between 67 and 68 miles per hour, even at 72 years old. I’m not killing anyone or offending anyone, and it would be very nice to say that Mexico has a pitcher who got to pitch in seven different decades and is entered into the Guinness Book.” He adds he’d like to pitch for either Mexico City or Veracruz.

After debuting for Poza Rica in 1959, Arano went on to fashion a 334-264 career mark, including a Liga record 57 shutouts. He last pitched 3.1 innings for Veracruz in a 2001 game and allowed one run, eight years after his 1993 induction into the Salon de la Fama. Arano also posted an 89-88 career winterball record in the Mexican Pacific League.

“I’ve always said that the day I die, I want to die on a baseball field doing my job,” Arano adds. “I will not wake up dead in a bed.”