Alan Mindell with his book "The Closer"
Some six years ago, when Alan Mindell hit 70, he began to think of ways to re-invent himself. At the February 8, 2018 meeting, he outlined how he became a first-time novelist, tour guide, dancer, college teacher, motivational speaker, and world-class sprinter- all after the age of 70. While a baseball player at UC Berkeley, Alan said he earned the nickname “Motorbutt” for his fast running. When he hit 70, he wanted to see whether his butt could still motor and he entered the 2012 San Diego Senior Olympics, where he won four gold medals in his age group for sprinting. The nice thing about age groups in competition, is that as you age you get better, so Alan is looking forward to turning 80, when he’ll again be the youngest in the class. Alan also is inspired by competitors in other age groups, particularly a 100 year-old who attempted to break 6 world records at the 2015 San Diego Senior Olympics (click here to watch him pole vaulting).
Alan used his own experience with baseball and horse breeding as subjects for his two novels: The Closer, about a knuckleballer, and The B Team, about a one-eyed horse who makes the Kentucky Derby. When he was writing The B Team, Alan needed a jockey to ride his fictional horse, and he approached the very real Victor Espinoza, who agreed to play a role in the novel, which appeared prior to Espinoza’s triple crown win aboard American Pharoah.