Hall of Fame analysis and St. Louis Browns quiz featured in December meeting

Eighteen SABR members and guests from across Texas and the nation joined us on Saturday for the December chapter meeting.

Scott Barzilla, member of the Larry Dierker Chapter and author of the recently published “The Hall of Fame Index Part II,” talked about his book, which endeavors to use statistical analysis to determine the best players by position and offer suggestions on those worthy to be Hall of Fame players.

Barzilla (pictured above) said his formula combines different WAR (Wins Above Replacement) assessments from Baseball Reference and Fangraphs and examines career value and peak value. He said it’s similar to Jay Jaffe’s JAWS (Jaffe Wins Above Replacement Score) formulation, but Barzilla said that while Jaffe examines seven years of a player’s peak value, he looks at 10 years of that value.

Barzilla added that he thought the baseball writers who have voted in the Hall of Fame balloting have done a good job for the most part, though he said Harold Baines was “the worst recent addition to the Hall of Fame.” In fact, he said that selection inspired him to revisit his formula and write this follow-up book.

He thinks that the voters, when evaluating a player, should ask themselves: “Is he the best player not currently in the Hall of Fame?”

Barzilla said his book, which provides the top 50 players by position, is intended to inform and educate voters about which players, by his formulation, deserve enshrinement and how they compare with other players at those positions.

At the end of his presentation, he polled meeting participants about nine of the most likely players to be considered by the Eras Committee (formerly the veterans committee) next year. Only Dick Allen received 75% of the vote (or 12 of 16 votes). The second highest vote-getter was Minnie Minoso (44% or 7 of 16). Two participants opted for none of the players. See vote totals below.

Here’s a link to Barzilla’s book for those interested: https://www.amazon.com/Hall-Fame-Index-Part-II/dp/B0851LKDHP/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=hall+of+fame+index+part+II&qid=1607994324&sr=8-1

As a follow-up to Tom Melecki’s “turkey” quiz last month, Monte Cely put together leftovers for a quiz about the St. Louis Browns. He also showed us his impressive book collection about the Browns, perhaps the largest such collection in the region, the state and, Jim Baker suggested, perhaps the world! Quiz-taker extraordinaire Cy Morong flexed his memory muscles, taking 1st place with 16 out of 25 points. Jerry Miller was hot on his tail for 2nd place with 14 points, and Jim was 3rd with 11 points. Try your hand at the quiz below (answers follow the questions).

Other topics discussed included the Round Rock Express’ reunion with the Texas Rangers, MLB’s pending decision about how to align the restructured Minor League ball clubs and Al Michaels’ selection for the Ford C. Frick Award.

This was the ninth consecutive month we’ve meet virtually on Zoom because of the pandemic. This was also the start of our 15th year of consecutive monthly meetings with Meeting No. 169.

Next meeting will be the 15th Annual Rogers Hornsby Chapter Bill Gilbert Winter Meeting on Saturday, Jan. 9, 2021. Details have been sent to the Hornsby Chapter Google Group email list.

We are also planning on having Kelly Park of the Louisville SABR Chapter and author of “Just Like Me – When the Pros Played on the Sandlot,” join us virtually for a SABR Day meeting on Saturday, Jan. 30. More details to come.

“First in Booze, First in Shoes, and Last in the American League”

A quick history of the St. Louis Browns

By Monte Cely                                                                   

EVEN BEFORE THE AMERICAN LEAGUE

Unlike the American League Browns, the 19th Century American Association St. Louis Brown Stockings were a powerhouse. Eventually the Brown Stockings became the National League Cardinals, but they had a shared heritage with the 20th Century Browns – not to mention their share of colorful characters.

  1. The Brown Stockings owner was a German-born saloon keeper who realized that baseball fans wanted to be entertained at the ballpark and drink beer.
  2. During the 1880s, how many American Association titles did the Brown Stockings win?
  3. How many 19th Century World’s Series did they win?
  4. The Brown Stockings’ manager and first baseman is in the Hall of Fame; in 1939 he was voted in as a Founding Executive. Who is he?

ENTRY INTO THE AMERICAN LEAGUE

  1. The American League is generally considered to be a major league as of 1901, but the A.L. Browns did not start play in St. Louis until 1902. Where was that franchise for the 1901 season?

THE YEAR THAT ALMOST WAS

The Browns had their winning-est year ever in 1922, finishing only one game behind the Yankees for the AL pennant.  They had a powerful lineup with enough pitching to win 93 games.  Here were some of the league-leaders:

  1. Their first baseman led the AL in batting avg. (.420) and stolen bases (51).
  2. Their ace pitcher led the AL with 149 strikeouts.
  3. Their power-hitting and speedy left fielder led the AL in home runs (39), RBI (155) and also was the Major Leagues’ first “30-30” man, stealing 31 bags.
  4. The Browns’ outfield was one of the best hitting outfields of all time. The previous season in 1921, the three starters combined for a composite batting average of .351.  We just talked about the LF; who are the other two outfielders?   
  5. Who was the Browns manager in 1922?

REMEMBER PEARL HARBOR!

  1. The Browns scheduled a press conference for Monday, December 8, 1941 at the American League meetings in Chicago. They planned to relocate the team for the 1942 season.  The Japanese attack on Sunday cancelled their plans. Where were they going to move?  

THAT WAS THE YEAR THAT WAS – 1944

  1. Who was the skipper of the pennant-winning 1944 Browns?
  2. This power-hitting Browns SS led the AL with 109 RBI in 1944.
  3. It took two HR by this Brownie OF to clinch the AL pennant on the last day of the season. Who was he? 
  4. The Browns lost the World Series to the Cardinals, 4 games to 2. Two pitchers had the distinction of being the only hurlers to ever record World Series wins for the Browns.  Who were they? (Hint – both were later traded to the Boston Red Sox.  In the Red Sox near-miss in 1948 – one led the Boston pitching staff with 18 wins and the other had the further distinction of losing the only pre-expansion American League playoff game ever played, against the Cleveland Indians.)

POST-WAR YEARS

  1. The Browns signed two black players to break the St. Louis major league color barrier in 1947. One later played in the majors’ first all-black outfield, along with Willie Mays and Monte Irvin on the New York Giants.  The other is in the Hall of Fame.  Who are they? 
  2. This St. Louis native went to high school with my Mom and was AL Rookie of the Year with the Browns in 1949.
  3. This Browns infielder gained much greater fame as a soap-opera TV star – he played Dr. Steve Hardy in the series General Hospital for over 30 years. He is also the only player to have a World Series ring AND a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.  Who is he?
  4. These two pitchers came to the majors with the Browns in the early ‘50s. They both went on to fame with the Yankees – one earning a Cy Young Award and the other accomplishing a one-and-only World Series pitching performance.  Name them.
  5. The Browns’ last owner is in the Hall of Fame. Who is he?     
  6. What was the last season the Browns played in St. Louis?

TOTAL == 25 points

Quiz Answers

  1. Chris Von Der Ahe
  2. 4
  3. Won 1, tied 1
  4. Charlie Comiskey
  5. They were the Milwaukee Brewers
  6. George Sisler
  7. Urban Shocker
  8. Ken Williams
  9. Jack Tobin and “Baby Doll” Jacobsen
  10. Lee Fohl
  11. Los Angeles
  12. Luke Sewell
  13. Vern “Junior” Stephens
  14. Chet Laabs
  15. Danny Galehouse and Jack Kramer
  16. Hank Thompson and Willard Brown
  17. Roy Sievers
  18. Johnny Berardino
  19. Bob Turley and Don Larsen
  20. Bill Veeck
  21. 1953