Announcing the 11th Annual Hornsby Chapter Winter Meeting

For ten years the Hornsby chapter has held an annual Winter Meeting where Central and South Texans can talk baseball during the offseason. It’s a full day of baseball content, and it’s always a blast. This year’s conference will be no different!

Details

  • When: Saturday January 14th, 2017
  • Time: 9:45 AM – 4:30 PM
  • Where: Old Main Building, third floor. Texas State Campus, San Marcos TX
  • You’ll have the opportunity to purchase lunch for $10 from Which Which as you enter the meeting. Please bring cash for this purpose.
  • Directions:

    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. Just before 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 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.

Lineup

Dr. Bobby Brown

  • Former player, New York Yankees
  • President, American League, 1984-1994

Dr. Bobby Brown is a national baseball treasure. Born in 1924, he played for the New York Yankees from 1946-1952 and again in 1954. He is a lifetime .279 hitter but will be known mostly as a four-time World Series champion (1947, 1949, 1950, 1951) who hit .439 in the Fall Classic.

After retiring as a player, Dr. Brown settled in the Dallas/Fort Worth area to practice cardiology. But his passion for baseball could not be extinguished. He became an executive with the Texas Rangers, and in 1983 he was elected president of the American League. He remained in that position for ten years, resigning in 1994.

In addition to his baseball and medical accomplishments, Dr. Brown served in both World War II and the Korean War, earning medals for his valor and bravery. We are honored to have him speak at this year’s Winter Meetings.

Mike Acosta

Authentication Manager, Houston Astros

Mike Acosta is historian and official MLB authenticator for the Houston Astros. He started as a broadcast intern with the Astros in 1999 and has worked in a variety of departments since then, including customer service. For about 13 years, he has been in charge of the Astros archive. In 2009, he became the team’s authenticator, verifying game-used items such as baseballs, bats and uniforms.

Mike Capps

Director of Broadcasting, Round Rock Express

Mike Capps is the only play-by-play broadcaster the Round Rock Express has ever had. He’s beginning his 18th season with the team, having broadcast over 2,500 games. He’s a two-time minor-league broadcaster of the year and has done fill-in major league work with ESPN Radio, the Texas Rangers, and Houston Astros.
Mike is also a former award-winning CNN correspondent, having covered the Gulf War and the siege of the Branch Davidian compound in Waco. He is a co-author of The Scout: Searching for the Best in Baseball, with Red Murff, the Texas-based scout who signed Nolan Ryan, and three other members of the 1969 World Champion New York Mets.

Mark Saccomanno

Former first baseman, Houston Astros

Mark Saccomanno is a native Texan who played baseball in the Houston Astros organization. At age 17, Mark was awarded the Klein Forest High School Golden Glove Award and was selected to the 17-and-under AAU National All-Tournament Team. At 18, Mark was named to the Second-Team All-District 16-5A as a shortstop and received the National Scholar Athlete Award.

After playing baseball for Baylor University, Mark was drafted by the Houston Astros in 2003. He made his major-league debut on September 8, 2008 against the Pittsburgh Pirates. He is one of the select few major leaguers who homered on their first major-league pitch. Mark’s came off Ian Snell in the bottom of the 5th to give the Astros a 1-0 lead. They would go on to win the game by that same margin, 3-2.

Bo Carter

Co-author, Dizzy: Dean of Baseball and My Podnah

Bo Carter, a veteran of 40-plus years in college media relations, is no stranger to college athletics,  communications and the business world. Carter has worked with college athletics since September 1970 and also has taught journalism and worked as a syndicated columnist for the last two decades. He also has been a consultant and columnist with the National Football Foundation since August 2006  after working with the Big 12 Conference for 10 years and the Southwest Conference from 1986-96 as media relations director. Carter, a native of Sheffield, Ala., and 1974 cum laude graduate in classics at Vanderbilt, was was named to the College Sports Information Directors Hall of Fame in July 2005 and completed a Masters degree in journalism at the University of North Texas in Aug. 2006.

Bo will have books for sale for $27 (includes tax). He will also be signing copies.

Activities

In addition to the these speakers, we’ll have the following activities planned:

  • Quiz Bowl / Trivia hosted by Jim Baker
  • Mock Hall of Fame balloting hosted by Jan Larson
  • Baseball Alzheimer’s Project update by Jim Kenton
  • Memorabilia show-and-tell presentations
  • Donated baseball books you can take home

This event is open to all. You do not have to be a SABR member or a member of the Hornsby chapter to attend. Come hang out and have fun talking baseball!

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.

Watch Party summary

Thirteen Hornsby Chapter members and guests gathered at the home of Jim Baker to watch Game Four of the 2016 World Series and enjoy a pot luck dinner featuring Jim’s world (well, at least locally if not regionally) famous meatball sandwiches.

Among the group of mostly Cleveland Indians supporters, at least for this game, was long suffering Indians fan and Cleveland native, Tom Wancho, who enjoyed the Tribe’s 7-2 victory over the Chicago Cubs.  The win pushed the Indians’ lead in the Series to three games to one.  The streak of sixty eight seasons of heartbreak and futility for Clevelanders can be ended with one more victory.  Will it happen?   Only time will tell.

The November chapter meeting will once again feature a weekend lunch an an Austin area establishment.  Watch this space for details.

Mexican Baseball Fiesta wrap-up

On the evening of Saturday, September 24, fourteen Hornsby Chapter members and guests enjoyed pre-game BBQ at the Salt Lick restaurant followed by Game One of the “Mexican Baseball Fiesta” at the Dell Diamond in Round Rock, Texas.  The “Fiesta” featured the Águilas de Mexicali (Mexicali Eagles) versus the Naranjeros de Hermosillo (Hermasillo Orange Growers) of the Mexican Pacific League in a two game “fall training” series.  One of the coaches for the Naranjeros is Mario Mendoza; he of the (in)famous “Mendoza Line.”

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Although the skies were threatening prior to game time, nary a drop of rain fell and by the time the tarp was removed from the field, lines added, players warmed up and ground rules covered in what is apparently not atypical in the Mexican league, the first pitch of the game, scheduled for 6:00 p.m. actually took place at 7:30.

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With some of the “color” typical in Mexican League games, including a mascot hamming it up on the field and continuously playing music (piped in for this game as opposed to the live performances in regular season games) the Naranjeros left the field at the end of the game with a 3-0 win.

The next Hornsby Chapter get-together is scheduled for Saturday, October 29 at the home of Jim Baker where we will enjoy and critique Game Four of the 2016 World Series.  More information will be forthcoming.

August Lunch Meeting Wrap-Up

Eleven Hornsby Chapter members got together for a Saturday afternoon lunch meeting at the Macaroni Grill in the Arboretum in Austin. Jim Baker provided a very challenging quiz (some contestants were shut out) on the subject of Italian Major Leaguers. Tom Thayer, however, came through with a monster performance and took home the top prize.

Other topics discussed included Gilbert and Raeanne Martinez’s recent trip to Japan and Okinawa, the Yankees’ release of Alex Rodriguez and call up of young players, the chapter’s involvement in the BasebALZ project.

Our next meeting is scheduled for Saturday, September 24 at the Dell Diamond in Round Rock when we take in the Hermosillo vs. Mexicali game.  We have reserved a block of tickets.  Click here for more details.  Note:  For college football fans, the Texas Longhorns do not play that day.

September Baseball

Two of the top clubs in the Mexican Winter League will be at Dell Diamond on Saturday evening September 24 for a “pre-season” exhibition ball game.  This is part of a U.S. “Fall training” tour that the teams will be making prior to their season opening in mid-October.

 

The two teams, Naranjeros (Orange growers) de Hermosillo (Sonora) and Aguilas (Eagles) de Mexicali (Baja Calif. North) are successful franchises in the Liga Mexicana del Pacifico, the Mexican winter league.  In fact, they have been the two most recent Mexican hosts of the Caribbean World Series (Mexicali in 2009 and Hermosillo in 2013).  Naranjeros were the first Mexican club to win the Caribbean Series (in 1976) and have won the Series as recently as 2014.  Hermosillo has captured 16 Mexican Winter League titles.

 

We will plan for this event to be our chapter’s September monthly meeting.  Jan Larson has arranged for a block of tickets that are available to chapter members for $10 each.  These tickets are available to you on a first-come, first-served basis.  We can take orders up to September 10, or until this block of tickets is sold out.  All ticket commitments as of that date are final, payable to Jan.  Contact Jan at jan.a.larson@gmail.com to reserve your seat(s).

 

We’ll see y’all at Dell Diamond for some exciting beisbol latinomericano.

July Chapter Meeting Wrap-up

by Monte Cely

Seven members met at Ryan Pollack’s house on Sunday afternoon, July 31, for the 116th consecutive monthly meeting of the Rogers Hornsby SABR Chapter.  The main topic of discussion centered around trade activity as the non-waiver deadline approaches.  We also discussed how changes in the game over the last few decades have affected our enjoyment of viewing a ball game.  Ichiro Suzuki’s nearing 3000 MLB hits was also a topic of note, although we were disappointed that he has not gotten more ABs this weekend.

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Plans for the August meeting are currently TBD.  Watch this space for further news.