Fifteen members and guests of the Rogers Hornsby SABR chapter met Saturday, June 25 at Salt Lick in Round Rock for BBQ and then enjoyed an evening of baseball at Dell Diamond.
There was a large crowd at the game, partly due to it being Nolan Ryan bobblehead night. Although it was hot, our seats were in the shade and there was a pleasant breeze at the ballyard. The hometown nine sent the fans home happy with a run in the bottom of the ninth to defeat the Oklahoma City Redhawks 4-3.
Discussion topics included the MLB standings at mid-year, who’s hot and who’s not, movements in Predictatron, the probability of Ichiro reaching 200 hits this year, prospects for the Astros franchise moving forward, and preparations of chapter members for attending the SABR National Convention in July. Gilbert Martinez reported that his presentation on pitcher "no-decisions" has been accepted and he’s on the agenda at the Convention.
Speaking of Ichiro, Frank Rechtorovic presented Gilbert with a framed Japanese newspaper page picturing Suzuki in his days with the Orix Blue Wave. Frank had kept this from an army tour of duty in Japan in the ’90s.
A big "Thanks" to Jan Larson for arranging the dinner and game tickets! This was the 55th consecutive month that the Hornsby chapter has held a meeting. A meeting date and location for July will be announced shortly.