Category: Chapter News

14th Annual Bill Gilbert Winter Meeting of the Rogers Hornsby Chapter of SABR

On Saturday, January 11th 2020 we’ll gather at Old Main Building on the Texas State University campus in San Marcos, TX for our 14th annual Winter Meeting, the second to be named in honor of chapter founder Bill Gilbert.

We cordially invite all SABR members and their guests to join us.

Keynote: Jon Pessah

Jon Pessah was a founding editor of ESPN the Magazine. He has been nominated for a Pulitzer Prize, managed the sports departments for Newsday and the Hartford Courant, and edited, wrote, and ran the investigative team for ESPN the Magazine.

Jon is the author of two baseball books:

  • The Game — an insider’s account of the run-up to 1994 player’s strike that cancelled the World Series and set the tone for future labor/owner relations in MLB. Featuring Bud Selig, Don Fehr, and current MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred as well as a supporting cast of owners and players.
  • Yogi: A Life Behind the Mask — a forthcoming biography of Yankees icon Yogi Berra. Releasing Spring 2020.

Jon will join us remotely via video chat.

Featured Speakers: Tim Jackson & Mike Capps, Round Rock Express

Tim Jackson is the General Manager of the Round Rock Express. He joined the Express staff in March of 2010. He was promoted to General Manager in October 2015 after serving as assistant GM, baseball operations for one season. Tim oversees the day-to-day business and baseball operations of the team.

Mike Capps serves as the Director of Broadcasting for the Round Rock Express and has been the voice of the Express since day one. An author, reporter and T.V. anchor, Mike brings over 25 years of news experience to the Express. He has been broadcasting baseball for the last 19 years, including three major league games with ESPN Radio, one in 2005 and two in 1998.

Tim and Mike will discuss all things Astros, major and minor leagues, and provide commentary on the ongoing Professional Baseball Agreement negotiations.

Member Presentations

In addition to our keynote and featured speakers, our agenda includes the following:

  • Eric Robinson will talk about the Chinese national baseball team’s experience with the Texas AirHogs
  • Monte Cely will discuss the new rules that apply to the 2020 season
  • Tom Thayer will present on competitive balance throughout baseball history
  • Mike McNulty will update us on the BasebALZ group
  • Peter Myers will talk about the 1953 Hall of Fame Game

And as always we will have quizzes, trivia, mock HOF voting, a baseball book exchange, memorabilia show and tell, and more!

Remember to Bring

  • $12 cash for lunch from Which Which. Exact change is preferred. Checks are not accepted.
  • Any memorabilia you’d like to share or discuss. We’ll have a table for display and have scheduled time for people to present their items to the group.
  • Any baseball-related books you’d like to exchange.

Timeframe

We plan to begin at 9:30 AM and envision ending around 4:30 PM. There will be a 45-minute break for lunch as well as a 15-minute afternoon break.

Directions

  1. From I-35, take exit 206 (Aquarena Springs Dr.)
  2. Travel west on Aquarena Springs Drive, which turns into University Drive.
  3. After crossing the San Marcos River, you will come to a traffic light. Turn right onto Sessom Drive.
  4. Just before the first light, turn left on State Street and go up a steep road toward Old Main.
  5. Go through a gate (the gate should be up) and continue up the hill.
  6. At the top of the hill, make a sharp left turn and drive up to Old Main.
  7. Look for parking on this 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 in Room 320. There is an elevator on the first floor, or you can take the stairs.

Tell your friends! Hope to see you there!

Rogers Hornsby Chapter Annual Report (June 2018 to May 2019)

Society for American Baseball Research

Rogers Hornsby Chapter

Central and South Texas

Annual Report, June 2018 – May 2019

By Gilbert D. Martinez

Chapter Commissioner

Rogers Hornsby Chapter

The Rogers Hornsby Chapter enjoyed another year of baseball-related activities and said goodbye to chapter founder Bill Gilbert in the last year.

Gilbert, who also founded the Larry Dierker Chapter in Houston prior to moving to Central Texas in the mid-2000s, brought baseball enthusiasts together in the Austin area to form the Rogers Hornsby Chapter. He also started our tradition of annual winter meetings filled with research presentations and visits from former ballplayers, managers, umpires, agents and front-office staff. In recognition of his contributions to SABR and the chapter, we have named our annual winter meeting after him, which will now be known as the Bill Gilbert Winter Meeting of the Rogers Hornsby Chapter.

At the 13th annual winter meeting in January 2019, we honored Bill Gilbert and had a videoconference with acclaimed baseball writer (and commissioner of the West Coast League) Rob Neyer. Bob Joyce, son of former Major League pitcher Bob Joyce, recounted his father’s career, pitching with the Philadelphia Athletics in 1939 and with the New York Giants in 1946. In addition, Joyce won 94 games as a starting pitcher for the Double-A San Francisco Seals from 1942 to 1945, including a 31-game win total in 1945. In addition, Bob Joyce shared his own collegiate baseball experiences playing for the University of San Francisco. Other presentations included Gilbert Martinez’s “Baseball in Japan,” in which he described attending Chunichi Dragons games in June 2018, visiting the Ichiro Suzuki museum near Nagoya, Japan, and presenting Ichiro’s father with a photo of Ichiro’s 3,000th professional hit (Nippon Professional Baseball hits plus MLB hits). In addition, longtime broadcaster for the Round Rock Express Mike Capps shared details about the long-anticipated return of the Triple-A affiliate to the Astros’ farm system.

The chapter’s “Talking Baseball” reminiscence program celebrated its 100th session in April 2019. Our SABR chapter’s program in Austin, offered in conjunction with Alzheimer’s Texas, has been running for four years.  This session concluded our 11th “season” in Austin.  The monthly program in Kerrville, in cooperation with the Veteran’s Administration there, has been in operation for three years.

Monte Cely also attended and filed dispatches about the Caribbean Series 2019 from Panama City, Panama. Panama defeated Cuba to take the Serie del Caribe crown.

In May 2019, the chapter met for the 150th consecutive month, a streak dating back to December 2006.

Many of the monthly meetings include lunch at a restaurant in the Austin area, sometimes involving baseball trivia quizzes.

“Talking Baseball” enjoys evening at Dell Diamond

Twenty participants, volunteers and family from the baseball reminiscence program enjoyed an evening at Dell Diamond in Round Rock on Monday May 13. 

In a “rematch” (of sorts) of the 2017 World Series, the Astros and Dodgers AAA affiliates squared off.  The Express prevailed 5-2 over the OKC Dodgers.

A big “THANK YOU” goes out to United Heritage Credit Union for arranging the use of their luxury suite plus food and drink.  Thanks, as always, to our great sponsors at Alzheimer’s Texas.  A good time was had by all. 

Baseball Reminiscence program celebrates 100th session

The “Talking Baseball” reminiscence program celebrated its 100th session on Monday April 8 at Westminster Senior Living in Austin.  Our SABR chapter’s program in Austin, offered in conjunction with Alzheimer’s Texas, has been running for four years.  This session concluded our 11th “season” in Austin.  The monthly program in Kerrville, in cooperation with the Veteran’s Administration there, has been in operation for three years.

We had “standing room only” with 26 participants, caregivers, family, guests and volunteers in attendance.  This also set a record for attendance at a single session.

Two special guests joined us for our Centennial program.  Former Texas Longhorn and professional baseball pitcher Jim Gideon (standing) entertained the group with stories of his years at U.T. and in the Texas Rangers organization.  Jim also fielded questions and autographed baseball cards and baseballs for the attendees.  Local radio personality and Alzheimer’s Texas board member Ed Clements (seated) added to the fun.  We sincerely thank Ed and Jim for joining us.

Very special thanks to our long-time sponsors at Alzheimer’s Texas.  In addition to all their logistical support, they even brought the cake!

Our next scheduled events are the monthly program at Kerrville VA Hospital and then a night at Dell Diamond in May (in one of the luxury suites courtesy of United Heritage Credit Union).   Planning for Season 12 is underway.  Stay tuned! 

 

March BBQ

Our March lunch meeting will be held at the birthplace of the Rogers Hornsby Chapter – the County Line BBQ located at 5204 Ranch Road 2222 in Austin (a short distance east of Hwy 360 on 2222) at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 23.  Members, guests and baseball fans in general are welcome to attend.

Please RSVP to Jan Larson at jan.a.larson@gmail.com if you plan to attend.

World Series Watch Party

Hornsby chapter member, Jim Baker, will be hosting his annual World Series watch party on Saturday, October 27. Game time for Game Four between the Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers is 7:09 p.m. Jim will be providing food. Bring along something to drink if you have specific beverage requirements. Please RSVP to Jim at jimbaker1066@yahoo.com if you plan to attend and for directions, if required, to Jim’s house in Cedar Park, TX.

Remembering chapter founder Bill Gilbert at monthly meeting

Sixteen chapter members and guests, gathering for the first time since the passing of chapter founder Bill Gilbert, paid tribute to him on Saturday and remembered his contributions to our community.

We had an empty chair, a World Series edition Astros cap and some fresh garden flowers at the head of the table in Bill’s remembrance. We owe so much to him, not least of which his hand in creating our vibrant baseball community. May he rest in peace.

Jan Larson recounted how Bill contacted SABR members in the Austin area for regular lunch meetings, starting in 2003. Three years later, the group officially became a SABR chapter. Later, Bill worked hard to create the chapter’s annual winter meeting, starting in 2007 and has become a recurring signature event for the chapter every January since.

As we sometimes do at our monthly meetings, we had a trivia quiz; this one supplied by Jim Baker. The theme of the quiz was teenagers who have played in the big leagues, and it was won by Tom Thayer, earning him the prize of the movie poster from the baseball movie, “Bang the drum slowly.”

In addition, Dan Walsh brought his collection of baseball stadium postcards to share with the group. It included major and minor league team stadiums, and even a few from Japanese ball clubs.

The next chapter meeting will be the World Series Watch Party at Jim Baker’s house on Saturday, Oct. 27. World Series Game 4 is scheduled for that evening. More details to follow next month.

BBQ accompanies dog-days-of-summer baseball chat

A dozen chapter members and guests endured the dog days of summer with large slabs of baseball talk and sides of post-season prognostications on Saturday.

The group gathered at County Line on the Lake for delicious barbecue, meeting for the 141st consecutive month. A wide range of professional team logos were represented at the meeting, including the Astros, Dodgers, Indians, Rockies and the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters of Nippon Professional Baseball.

Ryan, who attended the Sabermetrics, Scouting and the Science of Baseball conference in Boston earlier this month, sported a shirt from the conference – a periodic table of baseball statistical abbreviations. While he’s bummed at the tough season his Orioles are having, he’s hoping his team will hold on to secure the first pick in next year’s draft. Meanwhile I sported an Ichiro Suzuki shirt that featured a chart showing his 1,000th, 2,000th, 3,000th, and 4,000th hits. Jan grabbed one of his many caps and sported one of the Washington Nationals, a team rapidly fading from contention.

Speaking of contention, some in the group see the Boston Red Sox as the strongest team in the American League while the National League is a complete toss-up. One attendee said he hoped the Oakland A’s and Seattle Mariners slip past the Houston Astros for playoff qualification, though there were others who disagreed with this outcome!

The group also welcomed first-time Tom to the group. He’s an Indians fan, just like another Tom in the group, so we all agreed that this will help us remember his name. Jeremy traveled the furthest to join us for lunch, having driven from San Antonio and planning on taking in a Round Rock Express game that evening.

Ira shared how much he enjoyed touring Wrigley Field during a trip to Chicago earlier this month. He said he was surprised at how close second base looked from the center field bleachers.

Next meeting will be at 12:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 8, at Serranos (5030 W. U.S. 290 service road) in Southwest Austin. A request for RSVPs will be forthcoming.