Author: Gilbert Martinez

The World Series is upon us! And you know what that means. It means the chapter is having its annual World Series watch party! This continues on a long chapter tradition of watching the World Series together.

As you know, AL Champs Houston Astros host the NL Champs Atlanta Braves. Game 4 on Saturday will be in Atlanta.

Food will be provided by our generous host, Jim Baker. For the safety of our members and community, all attendees must be vaccinated to attend.

Pertinent details are in the graphic below. Please RSVP to Jim Baker at <jimbaker1066@yahoo.com> as soon as possible.

Details of this year’s National Baseball Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, chatter about the division and wild card races and a quiz about milestones and awards were among the highlights of the September chapter meeting on Saturday.

Seventeen chapter members and guests on Zoom enjoyed hearing from Monte Cely and Ira Siegel, who traveled to Cooperstown to witness the induction of Derek Jeter, Marvin Miller, Ted Simmons and Larry Walker earlier this month. Though the reported size of the crowd at the induction ceremony was about 20,000, Monte and Ira estimated that it was more like 7,500 to 10,000 people, noting that it wasn’t as crowded as they had feared.

Monte said it was his first visit to the museum, so he and Ira looked at all 333 plaques, toured the museum and enjoyed lunch at the Otesaga Resort Hotel in Cooperstown. Monte also shared a video showing him taking batting practice in cages set up next to Doubleday Field.

The winner of last month’s quiz, Cy Morong, wrote a quiz about sluggers and pitchers who reached lofty milestones without winning an MVP or Cy Young award. Jerry Miller flexed his muscles, taking first place with 20 points, followed by Peter Myers with 17 and Herb Whalley with 14. Mike Bass and Ryan Pollack had 12 points each. Take your shot at the quiz below (the answers follow below the quiz questions).

We also did some quick polls to determine which teams attendees thought might capture division titles and wild card spots. Overall, we think the Dodgers will catch and pass the Giants for the NL West title by a 67 to 33 percent vote. We also gave the Cardinals near-unanimous support to be the second wild card team in the National League by a 92 to 8 percent vote. The Phillies had one vote.

The group unanimously thought the Tampa Bay Rays were well on their way to having the best record in the American League. We also all supported the Boston Red Sox as a wild card team but differed on the second wild card team. Six voted for the Toronto Blue Jays; four for the New York Yankees and one for the Seattle Mariners.

We also had a lively discussion about whether Shohei Ohtani would win the American League MVP Award. Some felt strongly that he wasn’t deserving because of the disappointing performance by the Angels in the AL West, while others thought his case might be stronger if he was also a position player rather than primarily a designated hitter. Still, placing near the top of hitter and pitcher league leader boards, Ohtani may be the favorite to win the award. As with the playoff races, time will tell!

As has been our tradition for many years, the chapter plans to have a World Series watch party for Game 4 on Saturday, Oct. 30, at Jim Baker’s house in Cedar Park. This is subject to change depending on COVID-19. More details to come next month.

Milestones and Awards Quiz

By Cy Morong

1. Name the 9 players who played most of their career from 1931 on, hit 500+ career HRs, and did not win a regular season MVP award (MVP awards before 1931 don’t count).

2. Name the 12 players who played most of their career from 1931 on, had 3,000+ hits, and did not win a regular season MVP award (MVP awards before 1931 don’t count).

3. Name the 5 pitchers who pitched most of their careers from 1959 on, struck out 3,000+ batters, and did not win a Cy Young award.

4. Name the 3 pitchers who pitched most of their careers from 1959 on, won 300+ games, and did not win a Cy Young award.

Answers

1. Jim Thome, Mark McGwire, Rafael Palmeiro, Manny Ramirez, David Ortiz, Eddie Mathews, Mel Ott, Gary Sheffield, and Eddie Murray
2. Derek Jeter, Paul Molitor, Eddie Murray, Adrian Beltre, Paul Waner, Tony Gwynn, Dave Winfield, Craig Biggio, Lou Brock, Rafael Palmeiro, Wade Boggs, and Al Kaline
3. Nolan Ryan, Bert Blyleven, Don Sutton, Phil Niekro, and Curt Schilling
4. Nolan Ryan, Don Sutton, and Phil Niekro

After more than a year of virtual meetings, 16 chapter members and guests met in-person for a barbeque lunch, an All-Star quiz and baseball chatter on Saturday.

Jim Baker, who heads our Predictatron contest, presented certificates to Tom Wancho, who won the full-season and playoff contests last season, and Ryan Pollack for winning his division. In addition to certificates, both Tom (pictured, right, below) and Ryan have divisions named for them in this year’s contest.

Having won last month’s trivia quiz, Jim created a quiz about the 1971 All-Star game, which featured 25 future Hall of Fame players. Cy Morong flexed his memory cells and won the contest with 48 points, followed closely by Jerry Miller with 46 points, Dan Walsh with 38 points and Mike Dillon with 32 points. Try your hand at Jim’s quiz below.

Having anticipated Cy’s trivia quiz dominance, Jim had Rudy’s gift cards on the ready – one for Cy and one for the top scorer aside from Cy. Kudos to Cy and Jerry for winning the gift cards and many thanks to Jim for the quiz and awards.

In addition, Ira Siegel offered a print of the inaugural class of the National Baseball Hall of Fame to Cy (pictured below) as the trivia quiz winner and in honor of the first in-person meeting in more than a year.

The next chapter meeting will be a Round Rock Express game at Dell Diamond on Saturday, Aug. 7. Details about tickets will be forthcoming to the chapter’s email list.

(All photos by Gilbert D. Martinez)

The Cooperstown-Heavy All-Star Game of 50 Years Ago (Answers follow the quiz below)

By Jim Baker

In this week’s All-Star Game, no less than 60 (sixty!) players appeared. Being generous, perhaps 10 of them will have a case for the Hall of Fame someday. In 1971, more than twice that number of those named to the All-Star Game are enshrined in Cooperstown. This quiz is a Hall-of-Fame-centric look at that game, in which the A.L. beat the N.L. 6-4 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. (Correct answers are worth two points each.)

Denting the Scoreboard

The A.L.’s six runs came on three 2-run homers, all hit by Hall of Famers. These first three questions are about the men who hit them:

1. This young slugger’s famous blast came in a pinch-hitting role.­­­
2. In the Midsummer Classic three years previously, this lumberman tore a hamstring in his right leg stretching for a throw and would miss almost two months of the season. ­­­
3. The game’s MVP, this famed player had been a National League All-Star regular earlier in his career, playing in eight games while representing the Senior Circuit. (He would play in six for the A.L.).

The N.L.’s four runs came on three homers, also all hit by Hall of Famers. These next three questions are about them:

4. He did not start the game, but homered in the eighth. He was elected to the Hall of Fame two years later.
5. This player, who homered in the third to give the N.L. a 3-0 lead, was named to the All-Star team in every year of his career save for the first and last, and he holds the record for most games on an All-Star roster.
6. This guy belied his name and started the game, blasting a two-run homer to start the scoring. He would eventually play in the second-most All-Star games for his position.

So Many Inductees

Some questions about the vast army of Hall of Famers who played in or were named to the 1971 game.

1. This N.L. starter had made six All-Star Games as a catcher before transitioning to a new position the year before and making the ’71 team at this new position. He would go on to win the MVP in 1971.
2. The previous player was replaced late in the game by another Hall of Famer, someone who had a post-career gig as a broadcaster and who many thought should have been elected for enshrinement long before he was, which, unfortunately, came after he had passed away when it finally happened.
3. Five times in this game, one HoFer replaced another. These two Cooperstown-bound players held down leftfield for the N.L. that night. One won the 1971 home run crown, the other led the league in steals. (Two points each)
4. This high-kicking HoFer tossed two innings of hitless relief for the National League.
5. It had been nine years since the A.L. last won an All-Star game. Only three players—Hall of Famers all—were also on the ’62 (ASG#2) that last beat the N.L. Which of these ’71 All-Stars isn’t one of them?

Al Kaline… Luis Aparacio… Carl Yastrzemski… Brooks Robinson

6. It would be another 12 years before the A.L. would win the ASG again. There were only two A.L. holdovers from the ’71 game who also played in that 1983 game. One was Carl Yastrzemski. Name the seven-time batting champion who was the other (he was on base when Fred Lynn hit the one and only ASG grand slam and was also on base for one of the ’71 ASG homers).

Not this year

There were 17 Hall of Famers active in 1971 who did not get selected for the All-Star team that year. These questions are about some of them.

1. This much-acclaimed Hall of Famer was an All-Star in the previous six seasons, but was only 6-8 at the break in 1971 and wasn’t named to the N.L. team.
2. This Hall of Fame pitcher was not selected for the National League team, but his older brother was on the other league’s roster.
3. Another Hall of Famer not on the 1971 team, this player had hit a game-winning, extra-inning homer in a previous Midsummer Classic.
4. This player was a two-time All-Star by 1971, but he would immediately tear off eight straight ASG appearances and achieve much glory with his new team after he got traded to them in November of that year.
5. Hall of Famers Hoyt Wilhelm and Jim Bunning played their last in 1971 as did this 14-time All-Star also known for never having played in the postseason.
6. Fairly inconsistent in the early parts of their careers, these two Hall of Fame pitchers would both make their All-Star Game debuts the following season and would go on to win 324 games each. (two points per name)

In this Game, But Not in Cooperstown

1. This Yankee center fielder got the only American League hit not registered by a Hall of Famer.
2. This Dodgers centerfielder got the only National League hit not registered by a Hall of Famer.
3. These two men made history by being starting mound opponents in this game. Who were they and what was the milestone? (Two points per name and two for the milestone.)
4. This A.L. starter hit .361 to win the batting title 10 years prior (which he famously attributed to expansion pitching and a corked bat), making the All-Star team in the process. He had had only one All-Star appearance in the intervening years, though.

Bonus Question

Which 1971 All-Star has the highest career WAR?

Answers

Denting the Scoreboard

1. Reggie Jackson
   2. Harmon Killebrew
   3. Frank Robinson
   4. Roberto Clemente
   5. Hank Aaron
   6. Johnny Bench

So Many Inductees

1. Joe Torre
   2. Ron Santo
   3. Willie Stargell and Lou Brock
   4. Juan Marichal
   5. Carl Yastrzemski
   6. Rod Carew

Not This Year

1. Bob Gibson
   2. Gaylord Perry (brother Jim)
   3. Tony Perez
   4. Joe Morgan
   5. Ernie Banks
   6. Nolan Ryan and Don Sutton

In the Game, But Not in Cooperstown

1. Bobby Murcer
   2. Willie Davis
   3. Vida Blue and Dock Ellis. First time African-American pitchers started against one another in the ASG.
   4. Norm Cash

Bonus

Willie Mays, 156.1. (Next highest: Hank Aaron 143.1; Tom Seaver, 109.9; Frank Robinson, 107.2)

An “either-or” quiz crafted by Cy Morong, ghost runners, extra-inning games and biggest surprises thus far in the baseball season were among the topics at the June meeting on Saturday with 17 chapter members and guests on Zoom.

I shared with the group an interesting occurrence in a late-night game between the Angels and Diamondbacks. Manager Torey Lovullo lost track of the number of batters that his relief pitcher faced in the top of the 10th inning. But he wasn’t the only one! The umpires didn’t notice that he removed his pitcher after he had faced only two batters rather than the newly required three. But Angels manager Joe Maddon (of course, it would be Maddon!) ran out to point it out to the umpires, who notified Lovullo, forcing relief pitcher Ryan Buchter back to the mound. With his next pitch, Buchter plunked Kurt Suzuki. This may be the first time a pitcher has been removed prematurely under this rule only to return to face another batter. By the way, the Diamondbacks went on to lose that game.

The group also discussed the teams that are performing better than expected by us and conventional wisdom such as the San Francisco Giants and Boston Red Sox. Teams that have struggled thus far include the Minnesota Twins and the New York Yankees.

Jan Larson shared that he has plans to travel to Buffalo to watch the New York Yankees play the Toronto Blue Jays at their temporary home at Sahlen Field. That will be the 57th different stadium in which Jan has watched a Major League ballgame. Dixie Tourangeau, joining us from the Boston SABR Chapter, shared that he’s been to 55 different ballparks.

Meanwhile, Cy Morong put together a fun quiz, giving us choices about which player did certain things first. This way, he said, we’d have a 50-50 chance on each question. Out of 20 total points, Jim Baker took top prize with 15 points, followed by Jerry Miller with 14, Dixie Tourangeau with 13, Jan Larson with 12, Ryan Pollack with 11 and Linda Nichols with 10. Try your hand at the quiz below. The answers follow the questions.

This was the 175th consecutive month with a meeting, with all virtual meetings since April 2020.

However, after a long wait, we are making plans for in-person gatherings! On July 17, we are planning on a lunch gathering with outdoor or open-air seating. More details to come, but please mark your calendar and plan to join us.

Also, we are planning a chapter outing to the Dell Diamond for a BBQ dinner at the Salt Lick followed by a Round Rock Express game on Saturday, Aug. 7. A limited number of discounted tickets will be available for Hornsby Chapter members. More information from Jan Larson will be forthcoming.

Cy Morong’s Either-Or Quiz

1. Who hit 50 HRs first, Mickey Mantle or Willie Mays?
2. Who was the first to have their second 50 HR season, Mickey Mantle or Willie Mays?
3. Who won 30 games in a season first, Dizzy Dean or Lefty Grove?
4. Who won the triple crown first, Jimmie Foxx or Lou Gehrig?
5. Who had 300 strikeouts first, Sandy Koufax or Sam McDowell?
6. Who won a Cy Young Award first, Don Drysdale or Sandy Koufax?
7. Who hit 50 HRs first, Jimmie Foxx or Hack Wilson?
8. Who had 300 strikeouts first, Walter Johnson or Rube Waddell?
9. Who won the triple crown first, Chuck Klein or Joe Medwick?
10. Who was the first to bat .400, Rogers Hornsby or George Sisler?
11. Who won 30 games first, Grover Cleveland Alexander or Walter Johnson?
12. Who had a 30 HR/30SB season first, Hank Aaron or Willie Mays?
13. Who won an MVP award first, Joe DiMaggio or Ted Williams?
14. Who hit their 500^th career HR first, Hank Aaron or Mickey Mantle?
15. Who was the first to win their 300^th game, Roger Clemens or Greg Maddux?
16. Who hit their 500^th career HR first, Jimmie Foxx or Mel Ott?
17. Who reached 3,000 strikeouts first, Steve Carlton or Nolan Ryan?
18. Who won their third Cy Young award first, Jim Palmer or Tom Seaver?
19. Who got their 3,000^th hit first, Wade Boggs or Tony Gwynn?
20. Who got their 3,000^th hit first, Lou Brock or Carl Yastrzemski?

Answers in bold

1. Who hit 50 HRs first, Mickey Mantle (1956) or Willie Mays (1955)?
2. Who was the first to have their second 50 HR season, Mickey Mantle (1961) or Willie Mays (1965)?
3. Who won 30 games in a season first, Dizzy Dean (1934) or Lefty Grove (1931)?
4. Who won the triple crown first, Jimmie Foxx (1933) or Lou Gehrig (1934)?
5. Who had 300 strikeouts first, Sandy Koufax (1963) or Sam McDowell (1965)?
6. Who won a Cy Young Award first, Don Drysdale (1962) or Sandy Koufax (1963)?
7. Who hit 50 HRs first, Jimmie Foxx (1932) or Hack Wilson (1930)?
8. Who had 300 strikeouts first, Walter Johnson (1910) or Rube Waddell (1903)?
9. Who won the triple crown first, Chuck Klein (1933) or Joe Medwick (1937)?
10. Who was the first to bat .400, Rogers Hornsby (1922) or George Sisler (1920)?
11. Who won 30 games first, Grover Cleveland Alexander (1915) or Walter Johnson (1912)?
12. Who had a 30 HR/30SB season first, Hank Aaron (1963) or Willie Mays (1956)?
13. Who won an MVP award first, Joe DiMaggio (1939) or Ted Williams (1946)?
14. Who hit their 500^th career HR first, Hank Aaron (1968) or Mickey Mantle? (1967)
15. Who was the first to win their 300^th game, Roger Clemens (2003) or Greg Maddux (2004)?
16. Who hit their 500^th career HR first, Jimmie Foxx (1940) or Mel Ott (1945)?
17. Who reached 3,000 strikeouts first, Steve Carlton (1981) or Nolan Ryan (1980)?
18. Who won their third Cy Young award first, Jim Palmer (1976) or Tom Seaver (1975)?
19. Who got their 3,000^th hit first, Wade Boggs (August 7, 1999) or Tony Gwynn (August 6, 1999)?
20. Who got their 3,000^th hit first, Lou Brock (August 13, 1999) or Carl Yastrzemski (September 12, 1999)?

Round Rock Express General Manager Tim Jackson recounted how key changes for the club after more than 600 days between professional ball games at Dell Diamond at our monthly meeting on Zoom on Saturday, May 22.

He also shared with 17 chapter members and guests that teams in Triple-A West will add larger 18-inch bases in the second half of the season as MLB experiments with the larger bases. Jackson said the shorter distance between the bases may encourage offenses to steal more bags and may enhance player safety.

After a month delay, the Express opened their season against the Oklahoma City Dodgers on May 6, the first of 60 home games.

Another big change for the Express is their affiliation. Before the pandemic, the Express were the Triple-A affiliate of the Houston Astros, but the restructuring imposed last year by MLB caused a significant reduction of minor league teams. As a result, the Astros partnered with the Sugar Land Skeeters for their Triple-A team beginning this year, while the Express reunited with the Texas Rangers as their parent club.

Jackson shared that some of his season ticket holders sought refunds after the affiliation change because they said they weren’t Rangers fans, but he pointed out that the Skeeters have 26 games at Dell Diamond this season, encouraging those fans to stick around to watch their team when it comes to town. Plus, Jackson said, he has an inventory of discounted Astros-branded merchandise that he hopes some fans will be interested in.

Meanwhile, he said the team is looking into creating some throwback uniforms connected to the Rangers, such as the team’s powder-blue unis.

Jackson also shared that MLB is soliciting input from minor league teams about the 2022 schedule, so he’s hoping they’ll know more about next season by mid- to late summer.

Many thanks to Tim for sharing part of his afternoon with us and giving us insight about the goings-on at Dell Diamond. The chapter hopes to have a group outing to the ballpark this summer.

Meanwhile, the winner of last month’s quiz, Jerry Miller, crafted a quiz with one simple question with 50 parts (!). The question: Name the last team that each given Hall of Fame player played for (not counting players who signed a one-day contract to retire with a team).

Quiz-taker extraordinaire Cy Morong took top billing with 20 points, followed by Jan Larson with 15 and Peter Myers with 14. Try your hand at the quiz below. The answers follow the questions.

Jan Larson shared that he visited TD Park in Dunedin, Florida (formerly the temporary home of the Toronto Blue Jays this season) for two games earlier this month between the Blue Jays and the Philadelphia Phillies. This is the 56th stadium that has hosted an MLB game that Jan has visited. He’s hoping to add up to four more locations to his list, including Sahlen Field in Buffalo (home of the Triple-A affiliate of the Blue Jays and host of the team’s home games beginning June 1), Globe Life Field (Texas Rangers), Truist Park (Atlanta Braves) and the Field of Dreams in Dyersville, Iowa, hosting the New York Yankees and Chicago White Sox in August.

Joe Gallagher also shared some anecdotes from his time as producer for MLB’s game of the week. One involved Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Jim Bunning, who initially refused to appear on a post-game interview with Ralph Kiner and was rather sharp with Joe. But a few minutes later, he relented and agreed to the interview. Later, Bunning apologized to Joe and his crew for his attitude and stubbornness.

Joe also recalled the time when he sought Sandy Koufax for a post-game interview and was surprised when Koufax said he couldn’t do the interview. The lefty explained that he had do the interview with the Dodgers sportscaster Jerry Doggett. While he was flummoxed, Joe said that Doggett recognized what was going on and told Koufax, “You go on with Kiner, first, then with me. I can wait.” Joe said it was one of the classiest things he’d ever seen and appreciated Doggett’s elegant move.

We don’t have our June meeting set yet, but we are considering an in-person lunch or outing to Dell Diamond. Once we make our plans, we’ll let chapter members know.

Hall of Fame “Last Team Played For” Quiz

By Jerry Miller

Identify the last team for which each of the following Hall of Famers played (Note: this refers to the last team with which a player physically played, and not where, for instance, the player signed a one-day contract to “retire” from that team).

1) Roberto Alomar

2) Luis Aparicio

3) Bert Blyleven

4) Jim Bunning

5) Steve Carlton

6) Gary Carter

7) Orlando Cepeda

8) Andre Dawson

9) Dizzy Dean

10) Dennis Eckersley

11) Nellie Fox

12) Jimmie Foxx

13) Tom Glavine

14) Goose Gossage

15) Hank Greenberg

16) Ken Griffey, Jr.

17) Rickey Henderson

18) Trevor Hoffman

19) Ferguson Jenkins

20) Randy Johnson

21) Harmon Killebrew

 

22) Greg Maddux

23) Juan Marichal

24) Pedro Martinez

 

25) Eddie Mathews

 

26) Willie McCovey

 

27) Joe Morgan

28) Jack Morris

29) Eddie Murray

30) Phil Niekro

31) Satchel Paige

32) Tony Perez

33) Gaylord Perry

34) Mike Piazza

35) Tim Raines

36) Robin Roberts

37) Ivan Rodriguez

38) Tom Seaver

39) Ted Simmons

40) Lee Smith

41) John Smoltz

42) Warren Spahn

43) Bruce Sutter

44) Don Sutton

45) Frank Thomas

46) Jim Thome

47) Larry Walker

48) Hoyt Wilhelm

49) Dave Winfield

50) Early Wynn

ANSWERS:

1) Chicago White Sox (Note: the original answer of Arizona Diamondbacks was incorrect. In 2004, AZ traded him back to the Sox, where he had played the year before. He then retired from the Sox. Credit to Cy Morong for catching the error).

2) Boston Red Sox

3) California Angels

4) Los Angeles Dodgers

5) Minnesota Twins

6) Los Angeles Dodgers

7) Kansas City Royals

8) Florida Marlins

9) St. Louis Browns (Note: Dean, who had been retired for seven years, was broadcasting for the Browns. He criticized their starting pitchers, who dared him to come out of the broadcast booth and pitch. He did, throwing four scoreless innings, before the Browns bullpen lost the game.)

10) St. Louis Cardinals

11) Houston Astros (Note: original answer was Houston Colt .45s. However, Fox played in 21 games as a player-coach in 1965, after the Colts had changed their name. Let’s just stick with Houston, National League).

12) Philadelphia Phillies

13) Atlanta Braves

14) Seattle Mariners

15) Pittsburgh Pirates

16) Seattle Mariners

17) Los Angeles Dodgers

18) Milwaukee Brewers

19) Chicago Cubs

20) San Francisco Giants

21) Kansas City Royals

22) Los Angeles Dodgers

23) Los Angeles Dodgers

24) Philadelphia Phillies

25) Detroit Tigers

26) Oakland Athletics

27) Oakland Athletics

28) Cleveland Indians

29) Los Angeles Dodgers

30) Toronto Blue Jays

31) Kansas City Athletics

32) Cincinnati Reds (Note: originally identified incorrectly as Philadelphia Phillies. Thanks to Cy for again keeping me honest).

33) Kansas City Royals

34) Oakland Athletics

35) Florida Marlins

36) Chicago Cubs

37) Washington Nationals

38) Boston Red Sox

39) Atlanta Braves

40) Montreal Expos

41) St. Louis Cardinals

42) San Francisco Giants

43) Atlanta Braves

44) Los Angeles Dodgers

45) Toronto Blue Jays

46) Baltimore Orioles

47) St. Louis Cardinals

48) Los Angeles Dodgers

49) Cleveland Indians

50) Cleveland Indians

Fifteen chapter members and guests enjoyed a wide-ranging conversation about the start of the new baseball season, the dominant Dodgers and the teams that may challenge them, new experimental rules in the Atlantic League and the return of professional baseball to the Dell Diamond.

This meeting, held Saturday, April 17, on Zoom, marked one year since we shifted to online meetings.

The new rules – one that would remove the designated hitter when a starting pitcher gets pulled from the game, and another that would add a foot to the distance between the pitching rubber and home plate – drew mixed reactions from our group. Some liked the idea of encouraging a team to stick with a starting pitcher, while others worried that pitchers would be at risk with the additional foot.

We also talked about pace of play and ways to speed up the game.

But the biggest concern expressed during the meeting involved MLB’s newfound partnership with gambling establishments and how it might impact all facets of the game.

Still, despite MLB’s tinkering with the rules, the gambling shadow, the contraction of the minor leagues and Congress’ renewed interest in examining MLB’s antitrust exemption, we couldn’t help but notice that we still love the game of baseball, and maybe always will.

We also talked about the chapter’s plan to return to in-person meetings, perhaps as soon as this summer. In addition, many of us expressed anticipation of watching the Round Rock Express return to the Dell Diamond next month.

John “Jack” Sullivan of the Pee Wee Reese Chapter shared a fun quiz that he created for SABR Day with a theme involving particular members of the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Jerry Miller took top prize with 21 points, followed closely by Cy Morong with 19. Jan Larson had 17, while Dick Adams and Ryan Pollack tied with 15.

You can take your swings at the quiz by downloading it with this link: SABR Day 2021. The answers follow the questions. Many thanks to Jack Sullivan for the fun quiz.

We were scheduled to have Tim Jackson, general manager of the Round Rock Express, join us yesterday, but a last-minute conflict prevented that. We’re hoping to get him back in the lineup for a future meeting.

Learning about baseball’s first drug controversy and prepping for the Hornsby Chapter’s Predictatron contest were the highlights in yesterday’s March meeting.

Seventeen chapter members and guests were treated to a presentation by SABR Halsey Hall Chapter member Dan Levitt (pictured above), who told us about Hal Newhouser’s use of Novocaine injections (relatively new at the time for ballplayers) to help pitch during the 1945 World Series in which he won two games, including a complete-game win in the clincher.

Levitt shared news articles that suggested a range of reactions when use of the drug was widely reported. Some headlines included the word “drug” and credited it with giving Newhouser an advantage, while other headlines focused on the medicinal use of the injection for recovery and prevention of injuries.

Newhouser himself said in sports articles of the day that he wouldn’t have been able to pitch with his sore shoulder without the injections. The controversy about the injections was short lived, according to Levitt.

Levitt also gave this presentation earlier this month at the 28th Annual NINE Spring Training Conference. Many thanks to Dan for visiting virtually with us to share his very interesting presentation.

In addition to Levitt’s presentation, we also discussed some of the experimental rules MLB is trying out in minor league baseball, such as adding larger bases, limiting pick-off throws to two per at-bat, using a “Robo-Ump” making balls and strikes calls, adding a 15-second pitch clock, and requiring all infielders to remain on the infield dirt prior to pitches. Monte Cely noted our discussion at the last in-person winter meeting in 2020 in which he presented information about the use of the Robo-Ump – strikes were more often called at the top and bottom of the zone while the edges were tighter.

Also, Michael Bass, winner of last month’s trivia quiz, helped us get ready for the upcoming season – and for Jim Baker’s Predictatron contest in which we try to guess the season standings and playoff winners – with a nifty quiz about offseason signings and trades.

Tad Myre, commissioner of the SABR Pee Wee Reese Chapter in Louisville, Kentucky, racked up 9 points to win our trivia quiz. I came in second with 7 points, Jan Larson with 6 and Dan Walsh with 4. Try your hand on the quiz at the end of this post (answers come after the questions). Tad Myre said he’ll provide a trivia quiz for our April monthly meeting.

This was the 171st consecutive month in which the chapter has met, with the last 12 meetings by Zoom.

Prepping for Predictatron

By Michael Bass

1. Aside from signing Jackie Bradley Jr., the Milwaukee Brewers also signed Kolten Wong, statistically the best second baseman in 2019. Who will Wong replace, statistically the worst defense second baseman of 2020?
2. The Los Angeles Angels are trying to improve their rotation with some mediocre or just plain “bad” arms. Perhaps the best is Jose Quintana. They have also added outfield Dexter Fowler. Of the $14.5 million he will be paid, within $250,000, how much will St. Louis have to pay?
3. The Chicago White Sox added a quality pitcher who was in the top six in Cy Young voting each of the last two years in the American League. He’s never had a losing record in nine years in the MLB. Who is he?
4. The Chicago Cubs added an effective starter who had his best year in 2020 statistically. He was with the San Diego Padres last year. Who is he? The Cubs also added a .230 lifetime hitter who has an OPS of .806 in his career (due to his 259 extra-base hits in 2,500 career at-bats). Who is he? Hint: He came from a far more difficult hitting park.
5. This solid left fielder went from a division rival to Cleveland. His OPS is always around .800. He would rank far higher if he drew some walks and wouldn’t try to steal (39 steals in 59 attempts). Who is he?
6. Outside of some bullpen additions, Houston has been quiet this off-season. Who did they recently sign to shore up their rotation now that Verlander is on the 60-day IL?
7. San Diego added three potentially very good/middle-to-front rotation guys. One, Yu Darvish, was from the Chicago Cubs, another from Tampa Bay and a third from Pittsburgh. Who were the latter two?
8. The New York Yankees added two starters. One is a former two-time Cy Young winner. The other is a promising fifth-year hurler from Pittsburgh. Who are they?
9. The Washington Nationals added a number of players: 1) A three-time All-Star reliever who pitched for Cleveland last year; 2) A five-time All-Star starter from the Cubs; 3) A former Cub who in his career has hit 121 home runs in 1,806 official at-bats; and 4) An ex-Pirate who had 77 extra-base hits in 2019 and has a career OPS greater than .800. Who are they?
10. Andrelton Simmons is with Minnesota now. According to Baseball Reference, he has 42.7 points of oWAR (offensive Wins Above Replacement) and dWAR (defensive Wins Above Replacement). Within two points, what is his dWar?
11. The Blue Jays have vastly improved themselves in the rotation, infield and outfield. One was second in Cy Young in 2019 with a 4.6 WAR. The infielder was third in MVP voting with 8.9 WAR. The outfield was seventh in MVP with 6.4 WAR. These players combined for nearly 20 total WAR in 2019. Who are they?

12.Within 50 points, what was St. Louis’ new third baseman Nolan Arenado’s 2019 OPS?

13. We know the Los Angeles Dodgers signed Trevor Bauer. What will he earn in his combined 2021 and 2022 seasons (within $2 million)?
14. Chris Archer is returning to the Tampa Bay Rays from Pittsburgh. Who did Tampa get when they originally traded him? Name two of the three players.
15. Kansas City added Andrew Benintendi, Mike Minor and one other player. This third player is the only major leaguer batter to have walked more than he struck out over the past five seasons. Who is he?
16. The Oakland Athletics got Elvis Andrus for Khris Davis, but they also got a reliever who didn’t allow an earned run for San Diego in the 10 innings he pitched with the Padres. He also has struck out 490 over 364 career innings. Who is Oakland’s new closer?
17. Seattle added a starter and reliever. In their last full season (2019), they were both excellent; one as a starter for the Yankees and the other as a Blue Jays reliever. Who are they?
18. Aside from the additions of Trevor May and Francisco Lindor, what three potentially frontline to mid-rotation starters will the Mets have who didn’t pitch for them in 2020?

Answers

1. Keston Hiura
2. $12,750,000
3. Lance Lynn
4. Zach Davies and Joc Pederson
5. Eddie Rosario
6. Jake Odorizzi
7. Blake Snell and Joe Musgrove
8. Corey Kluber and Jameson Taillon
9. Brad Hand, Jon Lester, Kyle Schwarber and Josh Bell
10. 26.6
11. Hyun-jin Ryu, Marcus Semien and George Springer
12. .738
13. $40 million and $45 million
14. Tyler Glasnow, Austin Meadows and Shane Baz
15. Carlos Santana
16. Trevor Rosenthal
17. James Paxton and Ken Giles
18. Carlos Carrasco, Taijuan Walker and Marcus Stroman

Clark Gable, Barbara Stanwyck, “I Love Lucy,” the Cobb Salad and the Hollywood Stars (and Hollywood stars) captivated members at the February chapter meeting on Saturday, Feb. 20, as former award-winning baseball broadcaster Dan Taylor (pictured above) shared stories from his new book about the Hollywood Stars in the Pacific Coast League.

Eighteen SABR members and guests learned about the 20-year history of the Hollywood Stars, as told by Taylor, author of “Lights, Camera, Fastball: How the Hollywood Stars Changed Baseball,” due to be published next month.

Taylor told us about how Bob Cobb, owner of the Brown Derby restaurants and inventor of the Cobb Salad, purchased the team in 1939 and enlisted a number of Hollywood stars to join the ownership group. Others included Gene Autry, future owner of the Los Angeles Angels, George Burns and Gracie Allen, Cecil B. DeMille and William Frawley, who played Fred on “I Love Lucy.”

Taylor also shared a number of innovations by the Hollywood Stars that are still part of the game today. In 1940s, the team became the first to televise home games. Later, they added breaks during the game to groom the infield, giving players a breather and fans another chance to visit the concessions. As part of the Pacific Coast League, the Stars pushed to join the major league ranks (at a time when Major League Baseball was interested in adding a league rather than individual teams). The four areas in the league at the time – Los Angeles, the Bay Area, San Diego and Seattle – all added major league teams.

As Cobb was positioning to bring major league baseball to California, he scouted an area that he thought would be perfect for a new stadium. While he didn’t bring it to fruition, the Dodgers – newly relocated from Brooklyn to Los Angeles – built their stadium on the same location that Cobb identified – Chavez Ravine. Taylor said that Cobb’s grandson told him that the two words that could never be said in the household were “Walter O’Malley,” former Dodgers owner who brought the team from Brooklyn to Los Angeles.

But still, Cobb supported the Dodgers and Angels, and as a good friend of Autry’s, held his allegiance for the Angels, Taylor said.

Jim Baker wanted to know the best players to don a Stars uniform. Taylor said that the team didn’t field many quality players, especially in its first 10 years, but noted that Hall of Fame players Bill Mazeroski and Bobby Doerr played for the Stars.

Published by Rowman & Littlefield, Taylor’s book is available for preorder on Amazon.com, Barnesandnoble.com and the publisher’s website. The book will be published on March 17, 2021.

After Taylor’s presentation and lively question-and-answer session, chapter member Gary McIntosh presented his quiz drawn from his review of recently acquired Sporting News publications from the 1950s and 1960s. In the screen-grab below, Gary showed a page featuring articles about Babe Ruth published shortly after the Bambino died.

Cy Morong won the trivia contest with 12 points; Michael Bass was second with 8 points and Mike Dillon had 7 points.

Click here for the link to the quiz with answers:

Sporting News Trivia Quiz 022021

This was the 171st consecutive month the chapter has met and the eleventh monthly chapter meeting held via Zoom.

The next chapter meeting will be at 1 p.m. Central Time Saturday, March 13. SABR member Dan Levitt will be our guest speaker and give us a preview of his presentation, “Baseball’s First Drug Controversy,” which is scheduled for the 28th Annual NINE Spring Training Conference. 

Baseball fans love reading about their favorite major league players in many books that focus on their professional playing careers, but one SABR member wanted to know more about their exploits on the sandlot. When he didn’t find these stories, he decided to write a book.

After a 10-year interviewing and writing project, Kelly Park (pictured above) published his book last year and joined us for SABR Day on Saturday, Jan. 30.

Fifteen chapter members and guests learned how Park got the idea to write “Just Like Me: When the Pros Played on the Sandlot” on the chapter Zoom meeting.

“There was not a book out there about the sandlot,” said Park, a member of the Pee Wee Reese Chapter in Louisville, Kentucky. “So, why don’t I write this?”

But Park faced two immense challenges from the beginning – he wasn’t a baseball insider with connections to ballplayers, and he didn’t have a literary background.

Rather than pack up his ball and glove and go home, he was determined to hear these stories and share them with the world.

A chance encounter with the son of former Cubs slugger Jim Hickman led to his first interview. That led to others – so many others. His book features interviews with 18 players, including major league managers, Negro League ballplayers and women who played in the All-American Girls Professional League. He’s planning a second volume of this book project with another 18 players, including Hall of Famer Don Sutton.

When asked why he wanted to capture and tell these stories, Park said, simply, “Because that’s what I wanted to know.”

He also shared that his father, a World War II veteran of the Pacific Theater, passed away in 2012, at a time when he was getting discouraged with his book project after numerous rejections from publishers. He regretted not learning more about his father’s lifetime experiences and used that sentiment as inspiration to write his book.

He also noted that he wanted to honor the men and women who took time to share their stories with him, so he felt a responsibility to get them published.

“There’s more to professional baseball than the Major Leagues,” he said.

Plus, he noted, stories about the players’ professional careers are easily found in biographies and sports articles, but their reflections on youth baseball and growing up before their professional careers are the things that interested Park.

You can learn more about Park and his book project on his website: https://justlikemethebook.com/

His website includes a link to purchase the book from the book publisher, Sunbury Press, a list of all the players he interviewed for book one and book two, and a page to submit your own sandlot story. In fact, the webpage features a story by our very own Monte Cely.

Many thanks to Kelly Park for sharing insights about his book and making our SABR Day extra special.

Our next chapter meeting will be at 1 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 20 via Zoom.