COMPTON, CA – APRIL 13: A general view of the stadium field before the start of the Trailblazer Series at the MLB Youth Academy on Thursday April 13, 2017 in Compton, California. (Photo by Rob Leiter/MLB Photos via Getty Images)

Don’t just take 94-year-old Adolph Hoffman out to the ballgame and buy him some peanuts and Cracker Jacks. Give the man a bat and a glove.

That’s because he’s the oldest baseball player in the country. Hoffman suits up as a designated hitter for the San Antonio Monarchs, a team comprised of mostly 65 and 70-year-old players. They play in the city’s Men’s Senior Baseball League and honor “America’s game” by participating in the sport long after their joints and muscles begin aching.

Hoffman isn’t the best player on the roster. But, he’s often the one most people talk about. According to Rivard Report, he uses a 35-ounce bat. That’s three ounces heavier than Major Leaguers are permitted to use. Two years ago, he was using a 40-ounce bat, giving the nod to Babe Ruth’s preference for bat size, and proving that he can still maneuver quite the load.

He faces pitchers 30 years younger than him, yet he makes contact regularly.

“Four years ago, I threw an 80 mile-an-hour fastball to Adolph and he crushed it,” a 64-year-old former University of Texas pitcher told Rivard Report. “I was thinking, ‘I’ll just throw three strikes right down the middle.’ The first one I threw, he just smacked in the left center power alley – and I had a 20 mph wind behind me. He stretched a double into a single. Anybody else would have gotten to second.”

Hoffman’s life extends well beyond baseball, however. He served in WWII on the USS Alabama and had five daughters with his wife after getting married at the age of 33.

He also began competing in track and field at 80 years old. He was a pole vaulter in high school, so why not pick it back up, right?

A PBS film crew followed him around when he was 86 and competing in the 2009 Senior Games. He told them, “Most people my age are six feet in the ground, and not trying to pole vault six feet in the air.”

Then at 90 years old, he won eight gold medals in not only the pole vault, but in javelin, high jump, and even triple jump among other events.

He still cares for his 51-year-old daughter, who has Down Syndrome. He makes her a hot breakfast every morning and then tends to the animals on his farm.

So, how do people like Hoffman still thrive in their 80’s and 90’s? Take a look at this video from CNN, which showcases Hoffman and others competing at the highest level.

 

How’s that for motivation to get off the couch?