The names of over 100,000 players, managers, umpires and executives lie within the digital vault that is Baseball Reference, one of, if not the largest repository of baseball knowledge ever compiled. Attached to each one of those names is a story, and while fewer than one-quarter of those stories are capped by an appearance in the major leagues, all of them combine to form the rich tapestry that is the history of professional baseball.
However, while each story is unique, the story of Swampscott’s Evan Katz stands out from the rest.
Growing up just two miles away from Fenway Park, Katz, like many Boston kids, spent his childhood dreaming of suiting up for the Red Sox. There was only one problem: he had never played any organized baseball.
“The interesting thing is, I never played baseball until I was 45,” Katz said to the attendees of his talk at the Jewish Community Center of the North Shore on Thursday, March 26 describing the life lessons learned as a “I was the youngest in my class, which meant I was the slowest in my class which meant I didn’t like recess, I didn’t like gym. Sports was just not a part of my repertoire, at least organized sports.”
After attending baseball camps in Florida throughout his 40s and 50s, Katz’s dream of professional baseball reawakened.
“When I was 60 years old, I said to a couple of the coaches: ‘Do you think I could find a professional team that would let me play for a day?’” said Katz. “They said: ‘Sure. Go ahead.’ It took me a year-and-a-half, but I finally got a hold of the commissioner of the Pecos League, Andrew Dunn. He said: ‘Sure! Come on out. You can play for the White Sands Pupfish in Alamogordo.’”
If the Major Leagues are the top of the pyramid of North American professional baseball, the Pecos League is one of the lowest rungs. Formed in 2011 with just six clubs, the league is one of the many minor league circuits that are not affiliated with MLB. Now made up of 16 teams across the great plains and the southwest, the Pecos League is an outlier even amongst the other “indy ball” leagues. High elevation coupled with notoriously small ballpark sizes make the Pecos League one of the most run-heavy leagues in the world, averaging over 16 runs per game in 2025.
Upon making his first appearance with the Pupfish in 2017, Katz, then 61 years old, immediately became one of the oldest players in professional baseball history. After facing two batters, letting up a run and failing to record an out in his lone outing that year, Katz’s baseball career could have ended with an infinite ERA. However, Katz returned to the league in 2023 as a 67 year old, taking the mound for the Austin Weirdos, a team which had lost its home field and was playing out the year as a barnstorming ballclub.
“By the time I got to Alpine, Texas, to join the Weirdos, there were only 11 players left,” said Katz. “They had driven 700 miles from Blackwell, Oklahoma, the night before, and the manager was desperate for a starting pitcher. I said: ‘I’m ready.’”
Katz went on to throw four innings in his lone career start, giving up 13 runs on 14 hits, but reducing his career ERA from infinity to a more modest 29.25.
However, his time in the league was not done. In 2024, after two years coaching the Manchester Essex Regional High School, winning the MIAA Division 4 state championship in 2022, Katz returned as the pitching coach for the Roswell Invaders, but was forced to leave the team after just four games due to a family emergency.
In 2025, Katz, now 69 years old, joined the North Platte 80s as the bullpen coach and recruiting coordinator, helping to bring more than half of the roster to Nebraska for the 54-game season. Even though Katz had never coached nor played prior to joining the professional ranks, he made an impression on the team, forming strong bonds with the players and acting as an important piece in the team’s playoff run. Katz’s powerful story of perseverance and reinvention
Now “retired” from professional coaching (though, according to friends in MLB coaching positions, he does not have enough experience to officially retire), Katz hopes to see his story of perseverance and reinvention inspire others to see that it’s never too late to chase a dream. Outside of his speaking arrangements, he runs Baseball By The Sea Media where he posts blogs and podcasts recounting his time in the Pecos League. He also is a contributor to the Society of American Baseball Research.
