The 2025 regular season has begun in earnest with all 30 teams in action. Gold-lettered Dodger unis, a Rays walkoff HR in their rented stadium, and a White Sox win highlighted Opening Day. Every team still has hope, which may change by the time we meet next.
For our 221st consecutive monthly meeting on Sunday, April 13th, at noon (note the slightly earlier start time), once again we have the privilege of gathering at the home of the Halls – Nicole, Brian, and Bailey. For privacy’s sake, it’s in this square, about a mile west of the University of Texas campus.
Lunch will feature hot dogs, chips, and light dessert, as well as bottled water, courtesy of the Halls. Members and guests are encouraged to bring your own beverage of choice. Team Hall is also devising the baseball quiz.
Please RSVP for this meeting – if you need the exact address of the Hall’s home, check Yes to the last question on the form, and we’ll email it directly to you. The RSVP form will be open until Thursday, April 10th.
On the eve of the new season, 15 chapter members and guests gathered in Round Rock on Sunday to reflect on the off season, to consider our favorite teams’ moves (or inaction) and to look ahead to a new round of prognostication.
While two annual contests have been announced (more details below!), we had one wrap up in February when the last of the big-name free agents, namely Alex Bregman, signed with the Boston Red Sox.
On Sunday, Cy Morong brought a seemingly simple but challenging quiz in which we had to name each MLB team’s home run leader in the 21st century. And he gave us three names from which to make our picks. Congratulations to Ryan Pollack for besting everyone with a score of 25. With 22 points, Monte Cely and Don Dingee tied for second place, with Monte securing the runner-up spot by virtue of the tiebreaker.
For their efforts, Cy presented Ryan and Monte with baseball books to treasure (pictured above, Ryan on the right).
By Ryan Pollack (Note: Ryan shared this via email on Feb. 14 with the Hornsby Chapter email group shortly after Bregman signed with the Red Sox last month.)
Welp — it’s done. The 2024-2025 Contractatron Contest is complete! All 10 free agents have signed their deals, or so I’m told. And it means baseball is just around the corner.
We will get to the final standings in a minute, but first: Alex Bregman signed a three-year, $120 million contract with the Boston Red Sox a couple of days ago. This is slightly below the reported median guess of $150 million. Let’s see where things shook out.
Mike Cohen had the best score for Bregman. It would’ve been impossible to have a better one, as Mike guessed the $120 million deal exactly. That’s a 0% miss, in case you need reminding. On the other side of the coin, Jerry Miller was off by the most. He predicted a cool $320 million, which tabulates out to a 166.7% miss. Oof! Bregman surely would’ve preferred Jerry’s guessed salary to Mike’s, but alas, it is not to be. However, since Bregman’s deal has a player opt-out after 2025, perhaps he can land that monster deal next offseason.
As you could guess by the median $150 million prediction, we weren’t that far off as a group from what Bregman actually got. As a group we missed by 25%, which is just about the middle of the pack:
For the entire contest, the median miss regardless of player was 33.5%. Not bad for our first year of guessing!
Final Standings
With a final score of 34.9, lowest average miss of the group — JIM BAKER is your 2024-2025 Contractatron winner!!!
Here are the full standings:
Jim’s best score was Teoscar Hernandez, for whom he was 0% off. He was also 1.7% off Bregman’s deal and 8.1% off Santander’s.
His worst was Pete Alonso, for whom he was 103.7% off — but remember this miss was actually good, as it was pretty far below the median miss.
Congratulations to Mike Cohen for a pretty close second-place finish as well.
That concludes our contest… thank you and I’m already looking forward to next year’s! Tell your friends!!
Prediction contests galore!
The Hornsby Chapter has not one but two predication contests for your prognostication pleasure!
Think you know how this season will unfold – or how you hope it unfolds? The choice is yours in Jim Baker’s Predictatron. Though the MLB season kicks off with the Japan Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs this week in Tokyo, the rest of the teams open next week. For winning their divisions last year, Brian Rogers, the reigning champ, and Eric Robinson will have divisions named in their honor. Early in the new season, participants will be randomly assigned to one division or the other.
Details about the contest are in the documents below. Deadline to join is 11:59 p.m. Friday, March 28. Use the links below for rules, instructions and the ballot.
But that’s not all! Ryan Pollack’s Awardatron Contest is also open for your best shot to name the season’s award-winners for MVP, Cy Young, Rookie of the Year and Manager of the Year. Ballots are due by 9 a.m. (Central Time) Thursday, March 27. Click here for the instructions and to submit your ballot.
Next meeting and beyond
Our next chapter meeting will be at the home of Bailey, Nicole and Brian Hall at noon Sunday, April 13. More details and a call for RVSPs will go out in early April.
We’re planning an outing to see the Round Rock Express (Triple-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers) host the Oklahoma City Comets (Triple-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers), at 7:15 p.m. Saturday, May 17, which is also Star Wars Night! We’ll have more details soon.
In June, we’ll have a breakfast/brunch meeting at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, June 14, at Rudy’s Bar-B-Cue on Capital of Texas Highway in Southwest Austin.
In July, we’re headed back to San Antonio to watch the Missions (Double-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres) host the Amarillo Sod Poodles (Double-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks).
One of the more interesting developments around Spring Training so far has been MLB measuring player heights to the millimeter to help calibrate the ABS strike zone experiment. More than one player listed at 6′ 0″ is suddenly just a bit shorter, according to the league.
We won’t be measuring anyone’s height, I promise, but topics like ABS are sure to come up in discussions at this month’s lunch with SABR Hornsby friends on Sunday, March 16, 1 pm, at Hurricane Grill & Wings (2701 Parker Dr., Suite D-200, Round Rock).
As always, we’re requesting RSVPs to ensure seating for everyone at the restaurant. Our mobile-friendly Google Form works great to RSVP – just let us know you’re coming, how many people are in your group, your name(s), and if you’re a first-timer to a Hornsby meeting, and hit submit when you’re done.
Please have your RSVP in by Thursday, March 13. Hope you can join us!
February 2025 Newsletter Supplemental By Gilbert D. Martinez
Seven chapter members gathered on Sunday to watch the Texas Longhorns defeat the Dartmouth Big Green 4-1 on what turned out to be a mild, sunny day at UFCU Disch-Falk Field in Austin.
We watched a tight ball game in which both teams struggled to sustain long innings. Both teams could only muster no more than run in an inning. The difference was that the Longhorns did so in four separate innings and held the Big Green scoreless after they took an early 1-0 in the first inning. On Sunday, the Longhorns completed a three-game sweep of Dartmouth.
Longhorns freshman reliever Dylan Volantis threw 4.2 innings in relief, allowing just one hit and striking out four. Second baseman Ethan Mendoza provided half the offense, going 3-for-4 with a home run and two RBI.
Many thanks to Bailey Hall for pitching the idea to catch a college ball game this month. At the game, we talked about making this an annual event.
Caribbean Series 2025 in Mexicali: The 67th edition of Serie del Caribe builds upon recent successes By Monte Cely
The Caribbean Series was conceived at baseball meetings in 1948, and the first edition of the international baseball tournament was held in 1949 at the Gran Estadio de Cerro in Havana. After record-setting attendance and interest in Miami in 2024, expectations were high for the 2025 episode. Mexicali did not disappoint, with sellouts, solid play and great weather.
Following are some highlights:
ROUND ROBIN PHASE
The 2025 Series included five teams, the four league champs and an invited team from Japan (a first for an Asian squad):
Charros de Jalisco – Mexico
Indios de Mayaguez – Puerto Rico
Leones de Escogido – Dominican
Cardenales de Lara – Venezuela
Japan – Japan Breeze
The format of competition is a single round robin, with the top four teams advancing to the semifinals. As of the completion of round robin play the standings stood at:
Mexico 4-0
Dominicana 2-2
Venezuela 2-2
Puerto Rico 2-2
Japan 0-4
Highlights and observations from Round Robin play:
The Japan team has been outgunned but are a plucky young team and became fan favorites here with their sportsmanship. At the end of each game, they line up on the base line and bow to the fans and then to the opposing team.
The Mexico pitching and defense have carried them to the top spot so far. They have allowed the opposition only four runs in the four games during the Round Robin Phase.
Attendance has been strong, around 13,000 for the afternoon games and sellouts (17,000+) in the evening when Mexico plays.
Albert Pujols is managing the Dominican team.
Venezuelan pitcher Jesus Vargas threw a no-hitter against Japan, only the third one in Caribbean Series history.
The Stadium (el Nido de los Aguilas – The Eagles Nest) was recently remodeled and is in great shape – comfortable with good sight lines. Dimensions are 330’ to the foul poles and 400’ to CF.
SEMIFINALS
The DR defeated Venezuela 5-4 in 11 innings to punch their ticket to the finals. The game was tied 3-3 after nine and both teams drove in their bonus runner (aka the Manfred Man) in the 10th. Likewise for the Dominicans in the top of the eleventh. In the bottom of the 11th the Venezuelans had runners on 2nd and 3rd with no outs but failed to score either of them thus losing the game.
Mexico scored three runs in the bottom of the first and that was all they needed as again the solid pitching and defense for Mexico shut down the Puerto Rico offense. Final score: 3-1. Mexico has won all five games so far and allowed opponents only five runs total.
Former major league speedster Billy Hamilton plays CF for Mexico. He has excited the fans with five stolen bases so far.
FINALS
Escogido (Santo Domingo, DR) defeated Charros de Jalisco (Mexico) 1-0 on Friday night to win the 2025 Caribbean Series. The Mexican squad continued their outstanding defense and pitching but could only muster one hit. There were no RBIs recorded as the one Dominican run scored on a double play.
ALL TOURNAMENT TEAM
Esmil Rogers was the tournament MVP, winning two games for the Dominican team including the final game. The all-stars for the tournament were:
C: Francisco Mejía República Dominicana 1B: Yamaico Navarro República Dominicana 2B: Michael Wielansky México 3B: Kelvin Gutiérrez República Dominicana SS: Jack Mayfield México CF: Billy Hamilton México LF: Rudy Martin Jr. México RF: Alexi Amarista Venezuela DH: Danry Vázquez Venezuela Starting Pitcher: Jesús Vargas Venezuela Reliever: Trevor Clifton México Manager: Benjamín Gil México
CLOSING OBSERVATIONS
The Caribbean Series is always a party at the ballpark, and this year was no exception. The author is second from right behind my good friend Juan Antonio from Mexico. The other two “fanaticos” were our “vecinos” (neighbors) at all the games.
The upcoming schedule for the Caribbean Series will be:
2026 – Caracas, Venezuela
2027 – Hermosillo, Mexico
2028 – Miami, U.S.A.
Next meeting
Next month’s meeting will be at 1 p.m. Sunday, March 16, at Hurricane Grill and Wings (2701 Parker Dr., Round Rock). With spring training winding down then, we’ll be gearing up for the 2025 season! Hope you can join us. Watch for a call for RSVPs early next month.
Join us for a supplemental monthly meeting to see the Texas Longhorns host the Dartmouth Big Green at noon Sunday, Feb. 23!
It’s difficult to know what the weather will be like — it could be frigid, it could be sunny, it could be both! — that’s Texas weather for you!
But if you’d like to join us, use the link below to purchase your ticket. A group of us are sitting in Section 101, Row 13, Seats 3 to 9. This is on the first-base (home team) side of UFCU Disch-Falk Field. Ticket cost ranges from $13 to $15 (not including fees).
In celebration of SABR Day, two Texas State University graduates who have handled social media accounts for MLB teams shared their behind-the-scenes experiences and offered career advice for students who joined the meeting Feb. 1.
Remle Herzberg, the social media manager for the Texas Rangers, and Aaron Peralta, who worked on the social media team for the Seattle Mariners and Cincinnati Reds, told more than 30 members and guests on Zoom about how playing and loving baseball helped them find a career in MLB.
Herzberg said she signed the contract with the Rangers on graduation day in May 2023 and has already covered some of the biggest moments in baseball, including the Rangers’ World Series Championship in 2023, Rangers great Adrian Beltré’s induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame and MLB’s All-Star Game in Arlington in 2024.
After learning about photographing and covering sports in high school, she sought a degree at Texas State that would allow her to develop her skills in content creation with a focus on sports media.
“The World Series (in 2023) was really an awesome experience,” Herzberg said when asked about career highlights so far. “But I think that’s almost too easy of an answer. For me, the reason it was so important is because there’s this running joke in the marketing department that I’ve done everything backwards. Because I got to the team, I hadn’t even done a spring training yet… The time that I’m doing it is for the World Series, the highest stake moments you can possibly get to.”
She remembered counting down to the final out at Chase Field when the Rangers won the World Series. She had the graphics for social media ready to go within moments of the final out.
“I think the moment of hitting ‘post’ on those graphics to go live, knowing in your head that this is going to be the highest engaged post that this social media account has ever put out was one of the coolest things.”
Aaron Peralta’s hopes for a baseball career were derailed with a bad knee injury, though he was the bullpen catcher for the Texas State baseball team. He was nearly done with a history degree at Texas State when he realized he wanted a career in sports, so he switched majors to mass communication in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, shocking his parents and everyone around him. While at Texas State, he worked with ESPN+ in sports broadcasting, especially producing and directing Texas State baseball games.
“I wanted to be on the inside, in the heart of the sport,” Peralta said. “I was fortunate enough to find an opening with the Seattle Mariners. Mind you, I had no professional work as a social media coordinator, or a social media anything, beside my own personal account, but I worked on trying to form my portfolio and I went through the interview process. I think my knowledge and my love for the game (helped me get the job).”
Peralta said he thought he missed out on the opportunity because he didn’t hear anything for three or four weeks. He got the offer four days before the start of the season in 2023.
“I get the call, and they offer the position, and I was like, absolutely,” he said. “Five days later, I drove up to Seattle.”
Both Herzberg and Peralta credited the School of Journalism and Mass Communication for developing their content creation skills and preparing them for a career in sports.
Texas State students who joined the call asked for advice and suggestions that could help them as they seek internships and jobs in the sports industry.
Dr. Amber Hinsley, journalism coordinator at SJMC, noted that Herzberg took a class called Sports as News to learn more about creating sports-focused content and shared that the program is working on updating and improving sports course offerings.
Herzberg recommended an app called Gondola that lets content creators share their social media posts and tracks engagement analytics. She shared her Gondola account to show us how she maintains her portfolio: https://gondola.cc/remleherzberg
Peralta, who is now the social media manager for the Houston Dynamo professional soccer team, also shared his portfolio for students: https://aaronperalta19.wixsite.com/portfolio
Both Herzberg and Peralta encouraged students to network and seek out opportunities to improve their storytelling skills. Texas State graduates are well known as mentors and supporters of fellow Bobcats, and both encouraged students to connect with them via LinkedIn and social media.
Many thanks to Herzberg and Peralta for being so generous with their time with the Hornsby Chapter and with current Texas State students.
Tom Thayer’s catcher-themed quiz Based in large part on Thayer’s efforts to create a catchers database and his research presentation at the 19th Annual Bill Gilbert Winter Meeting last month, Thayer prepared a quiz about catchers.
Cy Morong took top prize with a score of 14, followed by me with 12, Peter Myers with 11, Don Dingee with 9 and guest Brenden Gilbreath with 8.
Chapter member Chris Crombar donated a nice limited-edition print of Johnny Bench by artist Tristan Votta, which served as the prize for Thayer’s quiz. I’ll deliver the print to Morong at the next meeting.
Brenden Gilbreath, a second-year student at Texas Tech University School of Law, reached out to the Hornsby Chapter to seek feedback on a research article he’s written about a critique of the 2024 MLB Negro Leagues financial assistance program.
“It doesn’t go far enough in helping the people that actually played in the league,” he said. So, he’s come up with a proposal to address the inequity.
Working closely with Sean Gibson, great-grandson of Negro Leagues legend Josh Gibson, Gilbreath has examined previous plans that provided compensation for Negro League players and their families.
Gilbreath, who can be reached by email at <bregilbr@ttu.edu>, invites feedback and suggestions on his proposal. We also encouraged him to consider presenting his work at SABR 53 in Irving in June. The deadline for proposals is Feb. 16.
Many thanks to Mr. Gilbreath for sharing his research and draft with us.
UT baseball outing on Feb. 23 Chapter member and high school senior Bailey Hall pitched an idea to have an outing to Disch-Falk Field to watch the UT Longhorns baseball team take on Dartmouth later this month. We are hoping for good weather to organize an outing to the game on Sunday, Feb. 23, which is likely to be an afternoon game.
Once UT Baseball announces the start time, we’ll select a section at the stadium where we can buy tickets and sit together. Watch for an email announcement to the group list and on this website with more details soon.
Brian Rogers receives Predictatron trophy Unable to attend the 19th Annual Bill Gilbert Winter Meeting last month, Brian Rogers recently received his hard-earned Predictatron trophy for the 2024 full season contest. His name has been added to the trophy, and Rogers becomes the trophy’s caretaker for this season.
Would you like to see your name on a trophy and take possession of it at next year’s winter meeting? You’ll need to win Predictatron (either the full season or postseason contest) to accomplish that dream! Look for more details next month when Jim Baker invites us to submit our predictions for the 2025 season.
Remembering Rickey Henderson [The baseball world has been in mourning ever since baseball legend Rickey Henderson died in December 2024. Chapter member Syd Polk shared the time he met the Man of Steal.]
By Syd Polk
Rickey Henderson was one of the all-time great players. I did not get to see him play live that much, but I did have a memorable encounter with him.
In 2005, my wife and my baby girl went to see a traveling tour of the National Baseball Hall of Fame at the Oakland Museum on a Saturday afternoon. The exhibit was packed. Basically, there was a line snaking through the entire exhibit. It was a really cool exhibit with lots to see.
While we were looking at a display, a docent was bringing somebody through the museum not in the line. Initially annoyed, I looked up, and there was Rickey Henderson! The docent was giving him a personal tour. He told her that he had never had time to learn much about the history of the game; he was too busy trying to play it. He seemed particularly fascinated at the exhibit of a mechanical scoreboard device where somebody would recreate a game based on telegraph signals when the team was on the road.
I looked over at my wife, who had our almost-toddler in her arms, and they both were staring at Rickey. My wife looked every bit as starstruck as I was. Rickey saw my daughter, and said, “Oh, and who is this cutey?” and walked over to both of them, and said, “Goochey-goochey-coo!” and reached out and tickled my daughter, who giggled. He said, “That’s a beautiful baby!” to my wife, then waved bye to the baby and moved on.
Later, as we were nearing the end of the tour, Rickey was still talking to the docent. My wife told me to hold the baby and dug around in the baby backpack for the Sharpie she always had. She then took the baby over to Rickey, and said, “Excuse me, Mr. Henderson, would you sign the back of my daughter’s onesie?”, and he said, “Of course!”, took the pen, and signed it. He smiled at the baby again, waved, and then left the museum. We were on Cloud 9 the rest of the weekend.
Appendix My wife has a cousin, who collects memorabilia. They had not talked in a while. She called him, and he recognized the Caller ID, and answered, “OK, who’d you get?”
He said that Rickey’s signature was difficult to get, and he normally did not sign things. The cousin sent us some memorabilia and baseball cards to make a shadow box display with. We’ll get around to that someday.
Research Spotlight: The Most Productive Players in 2024 Those who knew Bill Gilbert, who founded both the Rogers Hornsby and Larry Dierker chapters, remember his annual research to identify the most productive offensive players in baseball. Dierker Chapter member Christopher Chestnut has continued Bill’s work with an analysis of the 2024 season. He also includes a table that shows the Bases per Plate Appearance leaders from 1912 to 2024.
Many thanks to Chris for this research and keeping Bill’s memory alive and well. Click here to see Chris’ report: 2024 BPA Report
Next meeting For next month’s meeting, we’ll be back in person at 1 p.m. Sunday, March 16, at Hurricane Grill and Wings (2701 Parker Dr., Round Rock). With spring training winding down then, we’ll be gearing up for the 2025 season! Hope you can join us. Watch for a call for RSVPs early next month.
The February meeting of the Rogers Hornsby Chapter will feature two Texas State graduates who have managed social media accounts for Major League Baseball teams at 1 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 1, to celebrate SABR Day.
Remle Herzberg (Texas Rangers) and Aaron Peralta (Cincinnati Reds) will share their experiences engaging with fans through social media.
An Austin-born former Major League pitcher, a longtime broadcaster and his best year yet, the new voice of the Round Rock Express, special memories shaped by baseball, the chapter’s mock Hall of Fame vote and a new way to evaluate catchers filled the 19th Annual Bill Gilbert Winter Meeting on Saturday.
With the start of the 2025 season about three months away, more than 30 chapter members and guests joined the winter meeting in person at Texas State University and on Zoom. We paid tribute to the late Bill Gilbert, who was the driving force in creating the Hornsby Chapter and the Larry Dierker Chapter in Houston.
Ross Ohlendorf
Longtime broadcaster and chapter member Mike Capps (pictured above, right, with Ohlendorf) reunited with former broadcast partner Ross Ohlendorf, who pitched eight years in MLB, from 2008 to 2016, with the Pirates, Yankees, Padres, Nationals, Rangers and Reds, and one year with the Tokyo Yakult Swallows.
Cappy covered a range of topics with Ohlendorf, including his time as a dual-sport athlete (basketball and baseball) at St. Stephen’s Episcopal High School in Austin and as a pitcher at Princeton University, where he published a senior thesis that examined the top 100 draft picks from 1989 to 1993 to determine the value of each pick. Essentially, he said, he used win shares to evaluate player performance. In 2009, Tim Kurkjian wrote an article about Ohlendorf and his thesis for ESPN.com.
We also watched video of Ohlendorf’s immaculate inning, when he struck out three Cardinals batters on nine pitches on Sept. 5, 2009. He said he remembered thinking about the possibility of an immaculate inning on the third batter.
Ohlendorf talked about how valuable it was to him to have effective coaching to help him improve throughout his career. He also appreciated talking a lot about pitching with teammate Steve Jackson when they played for the Yankees and Pirates early in their careers. He found this kind of collaboration rare in baseball because of the inherent competition between relievers.
He said he found game preparation often focused on the weaknesses of the opposing hitters, but he felt best prepared when there were discussions about his strengths as a pitcher.
“You get lost in what you do well as a pitcher sometimes,” he said.
Ohlendorf also shared his experience playing for the Tokyo Yakult Swallows in his last year of professional ball. In MLB, he said pitching coaches wanted him to throw his best pitches more often, while in Japan, the team and pitching coaches encouraged him to throw more kinds of pitches to keep hitters off balance. For example, if he threw a good split-finger fastball in practice, the team wanted him to throw it during games. But if he didn’t have good command of the pitch, he said he’d find himself in bad counts.
A question from the audience about injuries to pitchers and the increased prevalence of Tommy John surgeries prompted Ohlendorf to reflect on another difference between baseball in America and Japan. He said when there are two outs in an inning in Japan, starting pitchers typically hop out of the dugout to throw additional warmup pitches before the side is retired. He said he thinks this would help pitchers stay warm and may help prevent injury. He also shared that in Japan, pitchers work more on holding runners and being quicker to the plate, probably indicative of the small-ball type of play often seen in Japan as compared to MLB.
Since retirement, Ohlendorf, as a sixth-generation rancher, has gotten more involved with the family business raising Texas Longhorns at the Rocking O Longhorns in Lockhart.
Cappy asked Ohlendorf if he’s considered joining a team’s front office, but with three young children and another on the way, he said, “Not right now,” but he also didn’t rule it out in the future.
Mike Capps’ 2024 broadcast adventure
After 24 years as the voice of the Round Rock Express and a distinguished career in broadcast news before that, Mike Capps decided to take on new challenges in 2024. He joined the Wichita Wind Surge, the Double-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins, broadcasting all of their games in Texas. He also became the voice for the baseball team at the University of Texas–San Antonio.
He credited longtime baseball executive Jay Miller for supporting him throughout his career. Miller, who retired as president of the Wichita Wind Surge last month, brought Cappy onboard at the Express in 2000 and then tapped him for broadcasting duties with the Wind Surge in 2024.
Last year, he said, was “the best year I’ve had in baseball since Jay Miller” brought him to Round Rock in 2000, he said.
But he said one of the biggest surprises of the year was getting the call from the Iowa Cubs, the Triple-A affiliate, which is one of his favorite minor league venues.
He said he was grateful for his time with the Express, but calling games with other teams was great fun.
“This last year for me and my family was just incredible,” Cappy said. “(Having) friends in baseball – they take care of you.”
He’s looking forward to broadcasting with the Wichita Wind Surge and UTSA in 2025 and is hopeful to return to the Iowa Cubs broadcast booth.
A new broadcast voice in Round Rock: Rylan Kobre
Rylan Kobre, manager of public relations and broadcasting with the Round Rock Express
With Mike Capps’ departure, the Round Rock Express turned to Rylan Kobre as the new voice of the Express in the 2024 season. He joined us via Zoom to talk about his first full year in the booth.
He also identified several players in the Rangers’ minor league system that might get some serious playing time with the Express in 2025, unless some of them leap to the big league club. He suggested watching out for hitters with a good, disciplined approach at the plate such as Blaine Crim and Trevor Hauver. He also thought that right-handed pitcher Justin Foscue might start in Round Rock this year.
Kobre also shared that clubhouse renovations are underway at the Dell Diamond to give more room for the larger rosters in Triple-A. He noted that when the stadium was first built, it was designed to accommodate smaller Double-A rosters, so renovations were long overdue. The home clubhouse is beyond the left field side while the area behind right field will have the new visitors’ clubhouse.
Chapter’s mock HOF vote By Ryan Pollack
In its annual mock election held at the chapter’s winter meeting, the Rogers Hornsby Chapter elected trailblazing international superstar Ichiro Suzuki to the Hall of Fame. Ichiro was named on 38 of the 42 ballots submitted, giving him 90.4% of the vote. Candidates must appear on 75% of ballots to gain election.
Ichiro redefined what it means to be a Japanese player in MLB. Immediately upon arriving in the United States in 2001, he won the AL MVP and Rookie of the Year in the same season, a feat that hadn’t been accomplished since Fred Lynn in 1975. This performance played a key role in the Mariners’ 116-win year and set the tone for what was to come. Throughout his long career, Ichiro showcased a keen batting eye, incredible skill for contact, great baserunning, a strong right arm and a colorful personality. He tallied 3,089 hits and set the single-season hits record with 262. But more than that, he became an international representative for the game of baseball.
Tallying 22 votes each for a vote share of 52.3% were left-handers CC Sabathia and Billy Wagner. Sabathia notched 3,093 strikeouts and won a Cy Young Award in a 19-year MLB career. Wagner boasts a career 2.31 ERA, 422 saves and the highest strikeout rate (33.2%) of any retired pitcher with at least 800 innings pitched.
The other players reaching double-digit vote totals were Alex Rodriguez, Andy Pettitte, Carlos Beltran and Manny Ramirez, each with 17 (40.4%); and Andruw Jones with 14 (33.3%).
See below for the full totals:
Player
Number of votes
%
Ichiro Suzuki
38
90.4
Billy Wagner
22
52.3
CC Sabathia
22
52.3
Alex Rodriguez
17
40.4
Andy Pettitte
17
40.4
Carlos Beltran
17
40.4
Manny Ramirez
17
40.4
Andruw Jones
14
33.3
Bobby Abreu
8
19
Chase Utley
8
19
Felix Hernandez
8
19
Dustin Pedroia
6
14.2
Omar Vizquel
5
11.9
Torii Hunter
5
11.9
Jimmy Rollins
4
9.5
David Wright
2
4.7
Francisco Rodriguez
2
4.7
Mark Buehrle
2
4.7
Adam Jones
1
2.3
Ben Zobrist
1
2.3
Brian McCann
1
2.3
Hanley Ramirez
1
2.3
Ian Kinsler
1
2.3
Troy Tulowitzki
1
2.3
The Baseball Writers’ Association of America will announce official results at 5 p.m. (Central) Jan. 21 on MLB Network. If any on the ballot achieve 75 percent of the vote or better, he or they will join Dave Parker and Dick Allen, who were selected by the Veterans Committee in December, at Cooperstown, New York, for the induction ceremony in July.
Predictatron trophy presentation
Ryan Pollack, left, accepts the post-season Predictatron trophy from predictions guru Jim Baker.
Predictatron impresario Jim Baker presented Ryan Pollack with the trophy for winning the postseason Predictatron contest. The winner of the season-long prediction contest, Brian Rogers, was unable to join us on Saturday and will receive his trophy at a later time. Baker noted that Mike Dillon came within a few games of achieving victories in both the season-long and postseason contests, but the Dodgers’ memorable (or forgettable, depending on one’s perspective) fifth inning comeback in World Series Game 5 sunk not only the Yankees’ chances, but Dillon’s, too. Nonetheless, Baker applauded Dillon’s near achievement.
A whole new Predictatron for chapter members commences soon. Watch for email announcements from Baker in mid-March.
Trivia quiz focusing on famous baseball trades
Cy Morong, left, Jim Baker, middle, and Tom Thayer take top honors, and baseball books, for their trivia quiz successes.
A chapter winter meeting wouldn’t be the same without a trivia quiz, and winter meeting coordinator Jerry Miller brought a doozy. He challenged us to recall details of players and teams involved with memorable trades throughout baseball history.
Tom Thayer proved to be equal to the task, nabbing 42 out of 49 points on the quiz, winning a book about Nolan Ryan. Cy Morong came in at second with 36 points, winning a biography about Cal Ripken Jr. (co-authored by friend of the chapter Mike Bryan), and Jim Baker took third with 30 points and won a book about Mickey Mantle.
Chapter member Tom Thayer gave a presentation that offered a new way to evaluate catchers. Noticing that catchers seem to be devalued by modern-day metrics such as WAR (Wins Above Replacement), he’s working on a way to more accurately assess catchers by incorporating their defensive skills and contributions to improving pitching performance.
He said it’s a work in progress that confirms some of the conventional wisdom concerning catching greats, but it also may encourage baseball historians and statisticians to revisit others.
Jerry Miller opened the meeting with a brief presentation featuring his 2024 ballpark memories, followed by those of Ira Siegel and Gilbert Martinez. Click here for the presentation slides: Ballpark Memories 2024
Members of the audience including Syd Polk and Dierker Chapter President Joe Thompson also shared their baseball memories of the year.
Chapter members Frank Rechtorovic, Jan Larson, Jerry Miller and Nicole Bryan-Hall brought presentations that tied important baseball memories to baseball history.
Frank Rechtorovic
Frank Rechtorovic, who became a middle school math teacher after a 22-year career in the Army and National Guard, gave a compelling presentation about how his birthday (9-7-61) was the greatest date in baseball — not just because that’s when he was born, but because of the significance of the numbers as they relate to his favorite team, the New York Yankees. Click here to see his presentation: SABR Presentation by Frank Rechtorovic
Jan Larson, one of the Hornsby Chapter directors, gave his presentation via Zoom to recount his lifelong journey to see every major league team play in person, accumulating visits to stadiums across the country and around the world, some of which are no longer standing. He also has plans to see games at future stadiums that may be built in the coming years. Click here to see his presentation: Stadiums by Jan Larson
Jerry Miller
Jerry Miller, who shared that he has boxes and shelves full of receipts, programs and other baseball memorabilia, took on the task of fully documenting every game he’s attended and the players and feats he witnessed. During the pandemic a few years ago, he wondered exactly how many games he’s seen, and so began his quest to find the answer. Click here to see his presentation slides: Baseball Game Project presentation by Gerald Miller
Nicole Bryan-Hall tells how much baseball has and continues to be a big part of her life.
Nicole Bryan-Hall said she was inspired by her daughter, Bailey Hall, who won the top poster presentation at SABR 52 in Minneapolis in August. In fact, Bailey gave her presentation, which sought to evaluate whether a leadoff walk or leadoff single was more damaging, at last year’s Bill Gilbert Winter Meeting, which then led to her poster creation of her findings for SABR 52. Nicole said she wanted to tell her own story about how baseball has helped shape her life, including her stint as an intern with the St. Louis Cardinals, her love of the Houston Astros and the Chicago Cubs, and her surprise when Bailey, as a child, took to baseball, which led both to the Hornsby Chapter. Click here to see her presentation slides: A LIFE OF BASEBALL MEMORIES by Nicole Bryan-Hall
Other News
Dierker Chapter celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Astrodome all year By Joe Thompson President, Larry Dierker Chapter (Houston)
On April 9, 2025, the Astrodome will celebrate its 60th birthday. The Larry Dierker Chapter in Houston will spend the entire year celebrating the birthday of the Dome. Almost every chapter event in 2025 will have either a special guest or a chapter member who will give an Astrodome-related presentation.
I hope to invite former players, managers, executives, journalists and fans who would like to speak to the group about their memories of the Dome. For example, on Jan. 20, the chapter meeting will feature Astrodome expert and historian Mike Acosta.
Each edition of the Houston chapter newsletter for the upcoming year will have at least one article about an event at the Astrodome. I also intend to show at least one video of an Astros game in the Dome at a chapter event this year. The game I have in mind for SABR Day (Saturday, Feb. 1) is the oldest TV broadcast involving the Astros known: Astros vs. Dodgers (Sept. 4, 1965). The broadcasters for the game are Keith Jackson and Jackie Robinson. Here is the link from Rare Sports Films, the company that I purchased the DVD from at SABR 50 in Baltimore (https://raresportsfilms.com/1965-la-astros.html).
I hope to get as many SABR members as I can who want to participate in celebrating the 60th birthday of the Eighth Wonder of the World, the Houston Astrodome.
In closing, if anyone can connect me with a former player or manager who played in the Astrodome, a member of a team’s front office with the Astros during the era of the Dome, if anyone has ideas on a presentation, if someone wants to volunteer to write an article or series of articles for the chapter newsletter, or if someone would like to help put a panel of speakers together one month or a group of speakers throughout the year, please have them reach out to Joe Thompson, Houston SABR chapter president (splendorajoe@gmail.com).
Hornsby Chapter’s Baseball Memories 2024 year in review
Monte Cely, who leads volunteer efforts in our innovative baseball memories program, recapped the chapter’s activities for the year. To read more about the program and learn how to get involved, click here for the 2024 year in review.
Many thanks and gratitude!
We offer our greatest appreciation for everyone that made the 19th Annual Bill Gilbert Winter Meeting so much fun! Thanks to Ross Ohlendorf and Mike Capps! Thanks to Rylan Kobre! Thanks to all of our presenters: Frank Rechtorovic, Jan Larson, Jerry Miller, Nicole Bryan-Hall and Tom Thayer! Many thanks to Monte and Linda Cely for arranging our lunch with ballpark fare! And a huge thanks to Jerry Miller for coordinating the winter meeting!
Next meeting: SABR Day on Feb. 1 on Zoom
The Texas Rangers social media manager and Texas State graduate Remle Herzberg will join us at 1 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 1, to help us recognize and celebrate SABR Day!
Volunteers from the Rogers Hornsby Chapter of SABR continued their community service work throughout the year, holding reminiscence sessions in Kerrville and Round Rock, Texas. We currently have more than 10 chapter members actively involved in this effort, along with several family members.
Here’s what we’ve been up to:
Jim Kenton and Larry Rice (aka “The Baseball Guys”) are back live and in-person at the Kerrville VA Medical Center in Kerrville, Texas. They continue to hold a monthly program there in cooperation with the VA’s Recreation Therapy staff. Attendance usually runs eight to 12 vets and VA staff.
Disabled veterans at Kerrville enjoying the program. They like getting baseball cards to hold. (SABR spared no expense getting the famous Honus Wagner card for the vets … )
We held a full year of 12 monthly in-person programs at the AGE of Central Texas facility in Round Rock, Texas. We’re there on the third Wednesday of each month for a 90-minute program. Attendance ranges from 25 to 30 participants, plus several staff members that enjoy joining in.
We have a diverse audience there, so we continually experiment with a broad-ranging program that includes singing, dancing, history, TV & cinema, and current events in addition to baseball. We have introduced relevant Spanish-language content, as well as donated books, crossword puzzles, and word scrambles – all with a baseball theme. At our Christmas program, we used funding provided by our SABR chapter to buy some gifts for the group as a whole.
AGE site director Shanea and two of the regular participants hold up the group’s Christmas presents from SABR. The bulletin board shows that SABR is in the lineup.
Ira Siegel, Jerry Miller, Mike Dillon, Dan Walsh, Bailey Hall, Nicole Bryan (and her mom Jean), Peter Myers and Monte Cely (along with his wife Linda) are all active volunteers supporting the programs at AGE.
LOOKING FORWARD TO 2025
Larry Rice and Jim Kenton are starting another veterans-focused program at the Audie Murphy Memorial Veterans Hospital in San Antonio. The first session will be held there in January. Several additional chapter members have volunteered to help support this new initiative. Sessions will continue at Kerrville as well.
Monte Cely had a preliminary discussion with AGE of Central Texas staff about starting another Baseball Memories program at their new offices in South Austin. They are enthusiastic about doing this. We hope to start by Opening Day in the spring.
MORE NEWS
Larry Rice has been instrumental in coordinating the start-up at Audie Murphy as well as recruiting new SABR volunteers. In addition, he’ll be taking over the responsibility for both VA programs from Jim. We say a big “Thank You” to Jim for his ten years of leadership of our chapter’s baseball reminiscence programs, as well as setting the stage for more SABR chapters to begin similar offerings. Fortunately, Jim will continue to volunteer at Kerrville and now at San Antonio; as well as continue to be available for advice and guidance.
WANT TO LEARN MORE?
There’s more information on our chapter’s website at:
With Christmas behind us, Hanukkah under way and New Year’s on the horizon, it can only mean that the time for our annual Bill Gilbert Winter Meeting is nigh. The meeting is scheduled from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025, in Old Main Room 320 at Texas State University in San Marcos (directions below).
This year’s meeting, which is free and open to the public, will feature the customary combination of chapter traditions and new presentations, by chapter members and others, including:
Former MLB pitcher Ross Ohlendorf will talk about his career pitching for the Yankees, Pirates, Padres, Nationals, Rangers and Reds and the Tokyo Yakult Swallows in NPB;
Longtime broadcaster for the Round Rock Express Mike Capps will share stories about joining the radio team for the Texas League’s Minnesota Twins affiliate, the Wichita Wind Surge, and for UTSA baseball in 2024;
The finalization and announcement of the results of our Hall of Fame voting which, although technically “mock,” has been unusually accurate in predicting the outcome of the BBWAA voting, to be announced Jan. 21, 2025. Texas-style early voting is already under way with online voting until noon Friday, Jan. 3, 2025 (after that, you can vote in person at the winter meeting, but only one vote per person!): online ballot.
The awarding of trophies for our annual Predictatron contest by Jim Baker, as well as acknowledgment by Ryan Pollack of the winners of our Awardatron competition;
Our annual roundup from Round Rock Express General Manager Tim Jackson;
The newly renamed “Ballpark Memories,” in which chapter members briefly share their best moments from the 2024 season, either from the floor or our prepared PowerPoint presentation. (If you wish to submit photos for the PowerPoint, or anything else for the meeting, please contact Jerry Miller as soon as possible at GJMEsq@sbcglobal.net);
A variety of presentations from chapter members, including a successful 47-year trek to all 30 MLB ballparks (with stops in Sacramento/Las Vegas and Tampa Bay on the way?), a pandemic-inspired quest to fully document 65+ years of attending hundreds of major league games, a new way of evaluating catchers and more!;
A Winter Meeting-themed quiz (with prizes!);
Bring your unwanted baseball books for the book swap; and
Best of all, the chance to schmooze and socialize with friends new and old about our great game, and to reminisce about seasons past and discuss seasons to come.
In addition to our program, we will again be featuring a baseball-themed lunch of hot dogs, chips and Cracker Jack, courtesy of chapter members Linda and Monte Cely. Cost is $5, cash only (no cards, other than St. Louis), so visit your local ATM before the meeting.
Old Main at Texas State University. The winter meeting will be in Old Main Room 320 on the third floor.
Directions to the meeting are as follows:
From I-35, take exit 206 (Aquarena Springs Dr.).
Travel west on Aquarena Springs Drive, which turns into University Drive.
After crossing the San Marcos River, you will come to a traffic light. Turn right onto Sessom Drive. At the first light, turn left on State Street and go up a steep road toward Old Main (pictured above). Go through a gate (the gate should be up) and continue up the hill.
At the top of the hill, make a sharp left turn and drive up to Old Main.
Look for parking on this road that winds around the side and back of Old Main. You can find additional parking at the Pleasant Street Garage, located at the corner of N. LBJ and Pleasant Street. To reach this garage, after you pass through the gate, continue up the hill, then down the hill to the stop sign on Pleasant Street. Turn left; the entrance to the parking garage will be on your left.
You do not need a parking pass to park on campus – however, do not park in spaces not marked as parking spaces or in handicapped parking (unless you have the appropriate tag displayed).
Meeting is on the third floor – both stairs and elevator are available.
Unable to attend the 19th Annual Bill Gilbert Winter Meeting last month, Brian Rogers recently received his hard-earned Predictatron trophy for the 2024 full season contest. His name has been added to the trophy, and Rogers becomes the trophy’s caretaker for this season.
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