Rummaging through the e-mail inbox, got a missive from a guy who's lived, breathed, eaten and slept Air Force softball since breaking in with the old Kadena Falcons in 1982.

Joe Renteria, arguably the greatest leadoff hitter in All-Air Force softball history, got his start by helping Kadena capture the 1982 Pacific Air Forces tournament. He and the Killer B's of 1984, Bear Brownell, Rich Boshart, Bubba Beck, Jeff "Boom-Boom" Brown, then captured the old Amateur Softball Association Pacific metro championship at Naval Communications Station, Philippines -- the old San Miguel tournament -- in 1984. Later that summer, Joe's wife, Denni, pitched a rare perfect game for the Lady Falcons in the PACAF tournament at Kadena.

Renteria reappeared in the Pacific at the top of the batting order for now-defunct Pacific Force of Okinawa in 1993. That team read like a who's who of military softball: Renteria at the top of the order, the Marines' David Heald and Gurney Holley second and third, the Navy's Bill "Bam-Bam" Burrell (so nicknamed because of his resemblance to wrestler Bam-Bam Bigelow) at cleanup, former Mets prospect-turned-Marine Miguel Ortiz batting fifth, Darryl Shamble sixth and fellow All-Marine Guillermo "Panama" Foster seventh. Other noteworthies on that team were Frank Miller, Randy Barrett, Manny Jenkins ...

Four years later, Renteria coached the All-Air Force team to an All-Armed Forces tournament title, a group that featured first-time All-Air Force sluggers Chris Simpson and Jason Parker. Simpson will try for his ninth All-Air Force selection later this summer at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. "It's funny how far players go once they hit the big time," Renteria said.

Now, you can find Renteria coaching for Pope Air Force Base, N.C., a team which won the Armed Forces state tournament and is headed to the U.S. Slowpitch Softball Assocation's military worlds in two weeks. "Got some studs on the team and they do remind me of the 1993 (Pacific Force) team," he says.

Now 53, Renteria is a GS-12 working in security forces at Pope, "retired as a chief master sergeant (30 years) and now living the dream."

Best to Joe and Denni. If I ever venture into Carolina, expect to see me.