Мужской бейсбол в Индианаполисе: как регулярные встречи на поле помогают бороться с одиночеством

For almost 30 years and for as long as I can remember, my dad, Nicholas Shotwell, has spent his Thursday nights after work on the softball field with people who have become some of his closest companions. “If you don’t carve out time to do things like that, it’ll just get absorbed in work, responsibilities and stress,” he told me recently over breakfast at Chick-fil-A. But a lot of men don’t seem to be making time for friends. Male loneliness is becoming recognized as a public health crisis. Twenty-five percent of American men experience loneliness. Suicide rates for men are about four times higher than for women. However, experts say commitments as few as once a week can help men reconnect and decrease loneliness. The Mystery Machine slow-pitch men's softball team has been playing at Midwest Sports Complex in Indianapolis for the last 30 years. My dad has played on the team for longer than I have been alive, and I grew up watching his games on Thursday nights. By 9 p.m. in my younger years, I was ready to go home because I had school the next day. To my dismay, the men always stayed later to drink beer and converse. I never realized how important that time was for them until I got older and could empathize with how stressful life can be and how much just spending time talking with friends can make a difference. “It’s a safe place to just get away,” said player Jamey King, who also famously hosts a weekend-long get together for friends around the Indianapolis 500. “When I’m on that softball field for an hour or two, I’m not thinking about work, I’m not thinking about if my grandmother is sick. I’m just thinking about softball. I’m thinking about the guys and what it takes to win the game.” After most games, the men stay and hang out, have a few beers. They discuss anything from crude jokes to real, personal life issues. King said he will always cherish these conversations; they are some of his favorite memories with the team. “It’s become a very therapeutic session for some guys about a bad place in their life,” he said. “They need to vent and not be judged. A lot of great conversations happen that Thursday night.” When my dad experienced turmoil in his life last year after losing his job and both parents, his time with the team helped. Talking with his softball friends helped him get through that rough patch, feeling seen and cared about as he applied and eventually got offers from other jobs. “Several of us have been laid off. It's sort of a support network. We will help each other with recommendations, or we will try and help somebody find a job,” said my dad. “It’s beneficial to have people that care about you.” Mark Lambert works in the financial department of Rolls Royce, managing multimillion dollar budgets. He has played on the team for around 20 years, pulling up each week in his Tesla. “I enjoy playing every week, getting to see the guys,” Lambert said. “You got the core guys, you got some new guys, and some that rotate in and out. Jamey’s been the one that's putting it together, finding extra players, finding the next guys.” With the Mystery Machine players' sons now joining the team, it is a blend of younger and veteran members. This mix set them up well for success this season. They started the 2026 summer season 6-0, one of the best starts they had in their 30 years of softball, and they finished with a comeback win in the championship game. They were down 13-6 going into the last two innings and responded with defense. By the bottom of the seventh, they were closing the distance with a 14-13 score. My dad hit a game-winning single RBI on offense that sealed their victory. “Most of the game I had been thinking that I’m slowing down, I’m hurting. That whole night I was thinking this is probably going to be close to the end because I don’t feel like I’m helpful to the team,” my dad said. “When I had that hit, it reminded me that the team needs me. I need the team.”