The American saints pastime

To get to know them and to win their trust, Solanus would often organize field trips for his gand of Mass servers.  Ice cream sodas always capped the trips, but visits to a church along the way were invariably included to "set a good example."  Slender buy wiry, Fr. Solanus also impressed the boys when they played baseball together.  Sometimes he would bat fly balls for them or hit them grounders to see if they were any good as shortstops.  When he played in a game, he was always the catcher, refusing to wear the catcher's mask, and played in his habit.  He played the game with gusto.  The boys loved him for his wild courage as well as for his kind of concern for them.

from Solanus Casey: The Story of Father Solanus By Catherine M. Odell