Gilbert Martinez

Bill Gilbert swings a big bat at April meeting

Eleven members and guests met for Mexican food and baseball chatter in southwest Austin on Saturday.

Topics included the start of the new season, including the good baseball thus far by the Houston Astros (in sharp contrast to their start in April last year), Manny Machado’s spike-ful slide into Dustin Pedroia’s calf the night before, and the New York Yankees’ surprising start in a so-called rebuilding year.

Dan Walsh provided a quiz based on the two 2016 editions of SABR’s Baseball Research Journal. Bill Gilbert trounced the competition with a score of 9 out of 12 (note: previous report of 11 of 12 was author’s error). Tom Thayer took second with 8 points, and Jim Baker took third with 5 points. Others may or may not have scored any points on this quiz, but they could not be reached for comment after the meeting. Dan also provided trivia prizes – Bill won a mini-bat with Babe Ruth’s signature; Tom won a baseball trivia book; and Jim won a replica of an advertisement for Ken-Wel brand gloves. Many thanks to Dan for the quiz and prizes.

Next meeting will be dinner and a ballgame at the Dell Diamond on Saturday, May 6. Watch for information about tickets from Jan Larson in the coming weeks.

Chapter celebrates 8th Annual SABR Day

Thirteen chapter members and guests joined SABR members across the country to help celebrate the Eighth Annual SABR Day.

The two most recently elected members of the National Baseball Hall of Fame were on our minds as Craig Lukshin wore his autographed Tim Raines Montreal Expos jersey, and I wore a Jeff Bagwell t-shirt featuring a silhouette of his distinctive crouching batting stance. Other notable attire included Ira Siegel’s Eddie Gaedel Society t-shirt.

Our next meeting will be on Saturday, Feb. 18, with a location to be determined.

Baseball tales abound at 11th annual winter meeting

Baseball stories involving Yogi Berra, Tommy Lasorda, Andre Dawson and Dizzy Dean were among the gems shared at the 11th Annual Rogers Hornsby Chapter Winter Meeting on Saturday, Jan. 14, at Texas State University.

Thirty-nine chapter members and guests enjoyed presentations by Dr. Bobby Brown, former World Series champion with the Yankees and retired cardiologist; Mark Saccomanno, former Astros first baseman who hit a homerun on the first pitch he saw in the big leagues; Mike Capps, entering his 18th season as broadcaster for the Round Rock Express; and Bo Carter, longtime college sports information director who co-authored a book about Dizzy Dean, and Sara Kirby Burke, daughter of longtime broadcaster Gene Kirby who collected and wrote much of the text in the Dizzy Dean book.

In addition, chapter member Jim Baker presented “Stadia Mania,” a quiz involving images of ballparks, and led the group to select baseball season predictions for 2017. The group, more or less, predicted a rematch of the last World Series, Cubs-Indians, with Cleveland chosen to win it all in 2017.

The group also held its own Hall of Fame vote. Using the same ballot as the one used by eligible baseball writers, our group elected only one to the 2017 class: Houston Astros slugger Jeff Bagwell, by 89.2 percent of the vote. Tim Raines, in his last year on the ballot, was one vote short with 73 percent of the vote. Other notables in our vote included: Ivan Rodriguez, 67.6 percent, Edgar Martinez, 54.1 percent and Roger Clemens, 48.6 percent.

Larry Dierker Chapter member Joe Thompson made a call for anyone interested in helping out with research about Mexican-Americans in baseball in Central Texas. Thompson has helped on a book project that discusses Mexican-Americans in baseball in Houston and El Paso and sais that those books are set to be published in the summer.

Many thanks to everyone who joined us on Saturday. Please consider joining us at 12:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 28, when the Hornsby Chapter celebrates SABR Day. Watch for more information on our email list.

(Photos by Ryan Pollack)

Chapter members celebrate end of 2016 season, offseason

Eleven chapter members gathered in South Austin on Dec. 17 to catch up on the World Series, MLB awards and offseason moves.

Bill Gilbert brought his Astros and 2016 season trivia quiz, which included some general baseball trivia, too. Jan Larson bested the crowd with an impressive showing.

Many thanks to Monte and Linda Cely for the delicious homemade desserts. This was also the 121st consecutive month with a meeting for the chapter.

The group also looked forward to the 11th Annual Winter Meeting, scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 14, at historic Old Main on the Texas State University campus in San Marcos.

Ryan Pollack and the leadership team have assembled an impressive lineup, featuring Dr. Bobby Brown, former player and president of the American League; Mike Acosta, authentication manager with the Houston Astros; Mike Capps, director of broadcasting with the Round Rock Express; Mark Saccomanno, former Astros player; and Bo Carter, co-author of “Dizzy: Dean of Baseball and My Podnah.”

Hope to see y’all at Old Main on Jan. 14!

Chapter celebrates 10 years of consecutive meetings

Thirteen members and guests celebrated 10 years of chapter monthly meetings at Stiles Switch BBQ in north Austin on Sunday, Nov. 13.

The Hornsby Chapter has had at least one meeting each month since December 2006, extending its consecutive monthly meeting streak to 120 months.

At Saturday’s meeting, we discussed a wide range of topics, including the dramatic end of the World Series, the offseason trade market and whether bullpen use in the postseason will change how managers utilize their relief pitchers in the coming season.

We also offered our condolences to Cleveland fan Tom Wancho. Last time most of us saw him was at the World Series Game 4 watch party at Jim Baker’s house in Cedar Park when the Tribe took a 3-1 lead in the World Series. Alas, winning three is no guarantee to win the clincher.

In addition, Jim Baker, Predictatron coordinator, presented Jan Larson with an official Rogers Hornsby Chapter certificate for winning the 2016 Predictatron contest. Baker also presented Bill Gilbert with a certificate for his 2008 win, Raeanne Martinez for her back-to-back wins in 2014 and 2015, and Gilbert Martinez for his win in 2010.

baker-to-bill-gilbert predictatron-certificate

Please mark your calendars for the 11th Annual Rogers Hornsby Chapter Winter Meeting, which is set for Saturday, Jan. 14, 2017, on the campus of Texas State University in San Marcos. Hope to see you there!

Meanwhile, our next monthly meeting is scheduled for 1 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 17, at Serranos in the Southpark Meadows shopping center (corner of I-35 and Slaughter Lane) in south Austin.

Rogers Hornsby Chapter Annual Report (June 2015 to May 2016)

Society for American Baseball Research

Rogers Hornsby Chapter

Central and South Texas

Annual Report, June 2015 – May 2016

By Gilbert D. Martinez

Chapter Commissioner

Rogers Hornsby Chapter

The Rogers Hornsby Chapter of the Society for American Baseball Research in Central Texas continued its consecutive meeting streak, reaching 114 straight months with a meeting in May 2016.

The chapter’s 10th Annual Winter Meeting in January 2016 was the highlight of the year. Thirty-nine members and guests met at Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas, and heard from Evan Drellich, Astros beat writer for the Houston Chronicle (now with the Boston Herald covering the Red Sox), and Mike Capps, award-winning broadcaster with the Round Rock Express.

Another highlight for the chapter is our baseball reminiscence project with Alzheimer’s Texas, now in its third “season.” We have held sessions at the local Alzheimer’s office, at an area senior living facility, and at the Veterans Administration in Kerrville, Texas. The VA in Texas may have interest in hosting this program at other sites around the state. We have also fielded requests from SABR members in San Diego, California, and Connecticut who are interested in the program. Six chapter members, led by Jim Kenton, are currently volunteering their time for this effort. The project provides an enjoyable and memory-filled program for our Alzheimer’s participants and their caregivers, several of whom have joined SABR.

Through the rest of the year, chapter members met for BBQ, watched Round Rock Express games at the Dell Diamond and gathered to watch the World Series in October at a chapter member’s home. In addition, the chapter met for lunch on SABR Day.

In addition, the Hornsby Chapter provided support to chapter member David Skelton for hosting the inaugural Fall Forum in Waco in September. The forum featured former Major League pitcher Lindy McDaniel and a variety of baseball presentations.

For the sixth consecutive year, chapter member Monte Cely covered the Caribbean World Series, which in 2016 was held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Cely posted updates, summaries and photos on the Hornsby Chapter website chronicling Mexico’s undefeated run to a fourth Serie del Caribe win in the last six years.

Rogers Hornsby Chapter Annual Report (June 2014 to May 2015)

Society for American Baseball Research

Rogers Hornsby Chapter

Central and South Texas

Annual Report, June 2014 – May 2015

By Gilbert D. Martinez

Chapter Commissioner

Rogers Hornsby Chapter

The Rogers Hornsby Chapter of the Society for American Baseball Research in Central Texas continued its consecutive meeting streak, reaching 102 straight months with a meeting in May 2015.

The chapter’s Ninth Annual Winter Meeting in January 2015 was the highlight of the year. Thirty-five members and guests met at Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas, and heard from Wally Moon, the 1954 National League Rookie of the Year and three-time World Series Champion, and MLB.com national correspondent Alyson Footer on Saturday, Jan. 17, 2015.

Also at the winter meeting, new Hornsby Chapter member Jim Kenton talked about a successful program in St. Louis called the Baseball Reminiscence League in which volunteers spend time helping Alzheimer’s patients by discussing baseball players and games from earlier in their lives. Kenton is working with local groups who help Alzheimer’s patients in Austin in hopes of creating something similar and recruiting volunteers.

Through the rest of the year, chapter members met for BBQ in downtown Austin, watched Round Rock Express games at the Dell Diamond and gathered to watch the World Series in October at a chapter member’s home. In addition, the chapter met to celebrate the chapter’s 100th consecutive month with a meeting in March 2015, and met for lunch on SABR Day.

For the fifth consecutive year, Hornsby Chapter member Monte Cely covered the Caribbean World Series, which in 2015 was held in Puerto Rico. Cely posted updates, summaries and photos on the Hornsby Chapter website, chronicling Cuba’s first Serie del Caribe since 1960 and eighth overall.