We hope y’all are having a great holiday season with the new year just around the corner. And you know that means?
It is almost time for the 17th annual Bill Gilbert Winter Meeting, which is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 7, 2023, at Texas State University in San Marcos (directions below). Named after our late chapter founder and president, it will be our first in-person winter meeting in three years since the pandemic.
As usual, we have arranged a series of presentations and speakers, both chapter members and others, on a variety of baseball topics. Our tentative schedule includes the following:
Morning sessions:
- Baseball Memories, in which chapter members will reflect on their favorite moments of 2022 that they personally witnessed, including Aaron Judge’s 62nd home run, and the Astros winning the World Series.
- Mike Bryan is an author and uncle/great-uncle of two chapter members. He has co-written autobiographies by Hall of Famers Kirby Puckett and Cal Ripken, Jr., as well as All-Star first baseman Keith Hernandez. He will lend his insights into those personalities, and the experience of being a professional “ghost writer” or “as told to.” In addition, his grandniece Bailey Hall will offer a presentation on the history of statistics in baseball, and how they have changed the game.
- Chapter member (and Winter Meeting coordinator) Jerry Miller will offer a presentation on “A Dodger Fan Remembers Vin Scully,” which will include a theme-related quiz (with prizes!).
Afternoon sessions:
- We will have our annual presentations by Round Rock Express general manager Tim Jackson and broadcaster and chapter member Mike Capps, who will preview the 2023 Round Rock season and discuss developments in Central Texas baseball and with the parent Texas Rangers. (Session with Tim Jackson will be on Zoom.)
- Local trainer Rocky Galindo is the personal trainer for a number of prominent major leaguers and will discuss the state of training and how he keeps players game-ready.
- Nancy Finley is a Texas native who has recently moved back to her home state. She will discuss her book, “Finley Ball: How Two Outsiders Turned the Oakland A’s into a Dynasty and Changed the Game Forever,” a unique perspective on the three-time World Series champions as the niece of former Oakland A’s owner Charles O. Finley and the daughter of his right-hand man and brother Carl. (UPDATE: This session will be in-person).
- David Vaught is a chapter member and a professor of history at Texas A&M University who has written on baseball in rural America. He will discuss his recent book, “Spitter: Baseball’s Notorious Gaylord Perry,” about the late Hall of Fame pitcher. Expectorations will no doubt be high for this one. (Session will be on Zoom.)
In addition to the above, we will observe several annual traditions, including awards to the winner of chapter member Jim Baker’s annual Predictatron contest, and our highly awaited (and unfailingly accurate) mock Hall of Fame voting, conducted by chapter member Ryan Pollack (filling in for Jan Larson).
We also encourage members to bring their baseball memorabilia for “show and tell” and to bring baseball-related books for exchange with other members. (All non-claimed books will be donated to local libraries).
Lunch
This year, we’ll have the Inflation Buster Lunch Special! Thanks to Linda and Monte Cely, we’ll be rolling back prices for some ballpark food at lunch! For $5 per person, you’ll get two all-beef hot dogs, a bag of chips, a box of Cracker Jack, and a 500 ml ice cold water (sorry, no beer).* Cash only please, and exact change will be appreciated. You can pay as you enter and register. (*You can substitute one vegan ‘dog instead of the two all-beef ‘dogs, while limited supply lasts; you can also buy an additional hot dog, water, etc., for $1 per item after everyone has been served.)
Directions to Old Main on the campus of Texas State University in San Marcos
- 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.
- 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 the 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).
The meeting room is on the third floor of Old Main in Room 320. There is an elevator on the first floor, or you can take the stairs.
A note about the Zoom sessions
The above-marked presentations with Tim Jackson and David Vaught will be conducted on Zoom. To receive the Zoom details, please use this link to register for the event:
https://txstate.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJMvceygrT8qH9H1GHOMsG2rz_BI1e2lpn7i
This is THE annual event for baseball aficionados in Central Texas. We hope you can join us on Jan. 7, 2023!