The Rogers Hornsby Chapter’s September meeting will involve an outing to Wolff Stadium in San Antonio where we will be afforded the opportunity to mingle and watch baseball with chapter members from the southern end of the Hornsby Chapter’s coverage area.  The game will be played on Sunday, September 17 against the visiting Springfield Redbirds starting at 1:05 pm.  Don’t worry, we can sit in the shade in section 200 directly in front of the suite/press box area.  Please login to the Missions’ website (https://www.milb.com/san-antonio), select “Tickets and Schedule” from the drop down menu, then select “Schedule” and “September” and then the September 17 game.  Select your seats near the “seed” seat in section 200, row V (last row), seat 12.  If you already have an account with the Round Rock Express, you may have to create another account for the Missions.

August 2023 Newsletter

By Gilbert D. Martinez

Eleven chapter members and guests joined an award-winning author on Zoom on Saturday to discuss baseball in the mid-20th century.

Steven Gietschier, author of “Baseball: The Turbulent Midcentury Years,” shared how he was inspired by the work of Dr. Harold Seymour and Dorothy Seymour Mills, including their three-volume history of the early days of baseball: “Baseball: The Early Years,” “Baseball: The Golden Age” and “Baseball: The People’s Game.”

“I asked Dorothy what she would think if someone picked up the ball where she and her late husband had laid it down and wrote a solid narrative and analytical history of the game since 1930,” Gietschier said. “Without hesitation, she said this was a good idea. She heartily approved.”

He looked for others who might be interested in taking on this project, but everyone turned him down. However, he was told over and over again, “Steve, you should do it.”

Gietschier, who presented at SABR 51 in Chicago last month and won the Henry Chadwick Award, saw an opportunity to write about the next phase of baseball in the context of history, politics, economics and other broader themes from the Great Depression to post-World War II. He focuses on baseball owners, executives and players to tell the story of baseball.

As a longtime archivist and archival consultant for The Sporting News, Gietschier had access to lots of resources, including the notes and notecards created by Seymour and Seymour Mills.

He also shared baseball owners were initially against broadcasting games in the early days of radio for fear that it would decrease attendance. The same fear arose during the widespread adoption of televisions. He noted that a similar dilemma is playing out today with regional sports networks, cable, streaming and blackouts.

You can watch Gietschier’s presentation and Q&A session at this link on YouTube: https://youtu.be/7ghgjOdtLDI

You can learn more and purchase his new book on the University of Nebraska Press website: https://www.nebraskapress.unl.edu/nebraska/9781496235374/

 

Upcoming Meeting Schedule

As the baseball season continues during the dog days of summer, the chapter has plans to attend a minor league game in San Antonio in September and a World Series watch party in October.

Please save Sunday, Sept. 17, for next month’s meeting. At 1 p.m., the San Antonio Missions, the Double-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres, will host the Springfield Cardinals at Nelson W. Wolff Municipal Stadium. We’ll share details in early September about where the group plans to sit and how you can purchase tickets.

In October, chapter member and Predictatron showrunner Jim Baker will continue a long tradition to host a watch party for a World Series game. Mark your calendar for the evening of Saturday, Oct. 28, for World Series Game 2 (teams to be determined). Regardless of the competing teams, the group has a fun time jointly watching the World Series with great food, commentary and insight.

Also, we have set Saturday, Jan. 6, 2024, as the date for the 18th Annual Bill Gilbert Winter Meeting at Texas State University in San Marcos. Winter meeting coordinator Jerry Miller is working on the schedule. If you are interested in making a presentation about baseball, please contact Jerry.

Research Spotlight

Two chapter members – Mike Lassman and Monte Cely – are working on contributions to the Spring Training Anthology, edited by David Krell, chair of SABR’s Spring Training Committee. Lassman is focusing his essay on spring training in San Antonio while Cely is expanding earlier research about spring training in Marlin, Texas.

Baseball Memories Program

Monte Cely reported volunteers continue to work with AGE of Central Texas and Kerrville VA Medical Center to help Alzheimer’s patients, family and caregivers. AGE is also opening a new facility in South Austin and efforts are being made to bring a program to San Antonio. Anyone interested in helping out should reach out to Monte Cely. More information about the program can be found on the information page: https://www.sabrhornsby.org/about-basebalz/

Jan’s Excellent Ballpark Tour

Jan Larson reported that with his visit to Truist Park in Atlanta earlier this season, he has now attended a game at all 30 of the current ballparks. This brings his overall MLB ballpark total to 59. He’s planning a presentation about his ballpark journey at the winter meeting in January.

Caribbean Series in Miami

Monte Cely, a veteran of past Caribbean classics, shared that the Caribbean Series (Serie del Caribe) is coming to loanDepot Park, home of the Miami Marlins in February. The series, which features teams from the Caribbean Professional Baseball Confederation (Venezuela, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and Mexico, and one representative each from Panama and Colombia), puts on 25 ballgames in nine days (Feb. 1 to 9).

Meiji Jingu Stadium in Tokyo

I shared that I was able to attend a Tokyo Yakult Swallows game at Meiji Jingu Stadium in Tokyo in June. It’s renowned for being one of the few remaining active stadiums where Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig and other Major League ballplayers participated in a baseball tour in 1934. This tour and its immense popularity gave birth to Nippon Professional Baseball. However, there are plans to demolish the stadium and the surrounding area in the face of intense local and international opposition.

Steven Gietschier, author of “Baseball: The Turbulent Midcentury Years,” will join us on Zoom at 1 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 5, for the August monthly meeting.

Based on the member survey earlier this year, we heard from some respondents to include more Zoom meetings throughout the year. And, if you haven’t noticed, it’s been so hot that maybe staying inside to talk baseball isn’t such a bad idea!

To join the Zoom meeting on Aug. 5, please register at this link: https://txstate.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIucemgpj4oHtSWKf4MM2tDyS8NKG94JT2N

Gietschier, a long-time archivist and archival consultant for The Sporting News, presented at SABR 51 in Chicago earlier this month and won SABR’s Henry Chadwick Award at the awards luncheon. You can learn more about his new book on the University of Nebraska Press website: https://www.nebraskapress.unl.edu/nebraska/9781496235374/

With the trade deadline just days away, we’ll also talk about which teams had the best deals and which teams didn’t do enough to improve their chances for October/November glory.

July 2023 Newsletter

Monthly Meeting Summary

On July 23rd, 12 chapter members braved the 102-degree heat and 65-degree dew point to watch the Round Rock Express host the Reno Aces at Dell Diamond in Round Rock, TX.

The game was a tense affair that the Aces won by a score of 3-1. They took an early 1-0 lead and threatened to expand it with 10 hits, but failed to actually increase the lead until Pavin Smith hit a two-run home run in the 8th inning. In the bottom half, the Express managed to load the bases with a few walks but could push across only one run. The Aces won, 3-1. Here’s the box score.

The gathering was the 200th consecutive monthly meeting of the chapter, dating from December 2006. Hornsby Chapter Commissioner Gilbert Martinez was unable to join the meeting but praised chapter members for their dedication and commitment. “This streak demonstrates the strong community that founder Bill Gilbert created and that we have all maintained for more than 16 years during the streak,” Martinez said. “We’ve fostered strong friendships built around all aspects of baseball.”

Here’s a photo of attendees gathered around a commemorative “200” sign comprising two baseball jerseys:

The #20 jersey is from a Josh Gibson Homestead Grays jersey; behind it is the “0” from a #10 worn by chapter member Jerry Miller.  

While watching the game unfold, members discussed many baseball topics including the Orioles’ takeover of first place in the AL East (and conversely, the once-dominant Rays falling to second place), speculation on whether the Angels will trade Shohei Ohtani, the absence of 15+ inning games due to the automatic runner on second base, and LSU’s recent victory at the College World Series. Additionally, several on-field challenges to balls and strikes prompted discussion about whether this challenge system should be used instead of automated balls and strikes, or even at all!

Prior to the game, chapter member Nancy Finley threw out the first pitch. Here she is walking off the mound:

Nancy’s book, Finleyball, is an excellent history of the A’s move from Kansas City to Oakland under owner Charles Finley. Nancy is Charles’ niece and had a close-up view; her father Carl helped run the team for many years. 

Chapter News

Hornsby Chapter Named as One of Best

The Rogers Hornsby Chapter proudly received the “Starting Lineup” certification from SABR HQ. It’s one of only eight chapters, out of more than 80 worldwide, to receive one of the available “Starting Lineup”, “All Star”, or “MVP” certifications. SABR HQ now certifies chapters nationwide who do things like elect officers and establish chapter bylaws.

“We’re thrilled with this recognition from SABR,” Commissioner Gilbert Martinez said. “We’ve long known that we’re a good, active chapter with great members, but it’s encouraging to be recognized by the national organization.”

In addition to having regular monthly meetings, an annual winter meeting and baseball prediction contests and trivia quizzes, the Hornsby Chapter took major steps to meet criteria created by SABR. For example, the chapter held its first election for chapter commissioner in May. In addition, the chapter is working on bylaws to meet another requirement by SABR.

“We look forward to doing more to achieve a higher ranking in the coming years,” Martinez added.

Research Highlights and Discussions

Chapter members utilize the email listserv to share research and socialize between meetings. Here’s some of what we shared since the last update:

• Syd Polk kept us apprised of the Oakland A’s chances at being a historically bad team. He’s been updating us on their chances all season! And he had plenty to write about: not only did the A’s win seven in a row to start June, but the team may not even finish with the sport’s worst record, thanks to the fumblings of the we-thought-they’d-be-bad-but-not-this-bad Kansas City Royals.
• Tom Thayer quizzed the group with the question: “Who is the only player who played at least 10 years in MLB with an OPS+ of 125 or more each year in the majors?” (You can find the answer at the bottom of this post.)
• The group panned the A’s seemingly finalized move to Las Vegas. The main discussion revolved around the fact that Las Vegas is not only a much smaller market than the Bay Area, the city also has popular NHL and NFL teams that will compete for fans’ attention and dollars.
• Jerry Miller shared an informative New York Times article about Carl Erskine, still going strong at age 96. 
• Don Dingee started a lively discussion about the rule that prevents catchers from blocking home plate if they don’t have the ball in hand. The rule reared its head on back-to-back days in June; first Texas’ Jonah Heim was called for violating it, then San Diego’s Gary Sanchez was called the very next day.

That’s just the tip of the iceberg! We talked about many more things. If you’re a chapter member, email Jan Larson at jan.a.larson@gmail.com to participate in the discussions. 

Baseball Memories Project Update

On July 19th, Monte and Linda Cely, Ira Siegel, Jerry Miller and Mike Dillon facilitated a Baseball Memories session at the Round Rock AGE of Central Texas for a diverse group of 29 attendees at the facility. The Baseball Memories project, active since 2015, is a community service outreach program that uses baseball as a theme to improve the quality of life for those living with dementia, isolation, loneliness, and other long-term health issues. The program is resuming in-person sessions after a hiatus caused by the pandemic.

Likewise, Jim Kenton and the “Baseball Guys” team are now back in person at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Kerrville.  This program is a big hit with the resident veterans, and Jim advises that twelve vets attended the most recent gathering.

For more information or to get involved, visit the website.

Predictatron Update

Jim Baker runs the chapter’s Predictatron contest, wherein members submit pre-season predictions of teams’ end-of-season win totals and predict who will make the playoffs. Jim updates the standings weekly as teams’ records change.

In the most recent update, he shared how he had gained enough points recently to tie Ryan Pollack for the most points in not just his division, but also the entire contest. Many other players improved their scores as well, a contrast to earlier updates in which many players lost points overall.

Awardatron Update

The Awardatron contest challenges chapter members to predict the four major BBWAA awards in both leagues: MVP, Cy Young, Rookie of the Year, and Manager of the Year. Members submit predictions prior to the season’s first pitch and receive points for how their picks place in the voting. Members can change one pick during the All-Star Break in exchange for reduced points.

At the Break, two categories shuffled around the most. Perhaps owing to a large amount of uncertainty around pitchers’ value, three members changed their AL Cy Young pick and three also changed their NL Cy Young pick. In the AL, two participants changed to Framber Valdez; one changed to Shane McClanahan. In the NL, Spencer Strider, Marcus Stroman, and Zac Gallen got midseason votes of confidence. Shohei Ohtani remains the AL MVP favorite, Ronald Acuña Jr. remains the NL MVP favorite, Gunnar Henderson remains the AL ROY favorite, and Corbin Carroll remains the NL ROY favorite.

Next Meeting

The Rogers Hornsby Chapter isn’t satisfied with 200 consecutive monthly meetings! The 201st is planned for Saturday, August 5th at 1 PM. It will be an online Zoom meeting; link details will be shared on the Google Group listserv soon.

Trivia Answer: “Indian” Bob Johnson who played for the A’s and Red Sox in the 30’s and 40’s.

The July meeting of the Rogers Hornsby Chapter will be at the Dell Diamond on SUNDAY, July 23 to see the home standing Round Rock Express take on the Reno Aces.  The first pitch will be at 6:05 pm.  With the pitch clock speeding up games, there is a good chance that the game will wrap up before 9:00 pm.  This will mark the 200th consecutive monthly meeting for the chapter and we will take group photos to commemorate this milestone.

For anyone interested, we will gather at the adjacent Salt Lick restaurant at 4:00 pm (don’t be late!) for a late lunch/early dinner.  Anyone at the Salt Lick by 4:00 pm is welcome to join the group to kick off our 200 meeting festivities.

Game tickets may be purchased ON YOUR OWN from the Express’ website.  We will be sitting at the rear of section 121 which is under cover, close to restrooms and concessions and usually is situated where a welcome (especially in July) south breeze can be easily felt and enjoyed.  Get your tickets at the link below.  The group is centered on sec. 121, row 23, seats 11 and 12, so if you get seats near these, you’ll find yourself in the middle of our group.

https://mlb.tickets.com/?orgId=22433&agency=MILB_MPV&eventId=22625&tfl=#/event/E22625/seatmap/?seatmapId=9504&selectBuyers=false&minPrice=13&maxPrice=72&quantity=2&sort=price_desc&ada=false&seatSelection=true&onlyCoupon=true&onlyVoucher=false

 

 

June 2023 Newsletter

By Gilbert D. Martinez

Hornsby Chapter Commissioner

A quiz about 1970s baseball prompted an epic battle between two heavyweights as Bailey Hall and her parents, Nicole Bryan and Brian Hall, hosted the June meeting on Saturday at their lovely home in Old West Austin.

Eighteen chapter members, guests and Bailey’s family members joined us for the meeting, which was the 199th consecutive month with a meeting. Brian Hall grilled hot dogs and sausages, accompanied by cole slaw, orzo pasta salad and fruit salad made by Nicole Bryan. We also had delicious brownies for dessert. We are so grateful for their hospitality and generosity in hosting the meeting!

Over the years, Cy Morong and Jim Baker have often clashed mightily in our trivia quizzes, testing their baseball acumen, and Saturday was no different. They played to a 26-point tie, triggering Jan’s tiebreaker question. When they tied again on the tiebreaker question (both successfully naming each of the World Series winners in the 1970s), they resorted to lobbing their own questions on the fly.

How many home runs did George Foster hit in 1977, Cy asked. Jim nailed it (52). When was the last walk-off steal of home, Jim asked. We had to turn to Jan Larson, the resident expert on steals of home to end ballgames, for that answer: 1997. When the dust settled, Jim said he conceded to Cy because he had answered one of the questions in his head but didn’t write it down.

Usually, the quiz winner writes the next quiz, but Cy passed on that honor to second place finisher Ira Siegel, who had 24 points. Tom Wancho had 22 points, and Don Dingee had 21 points.

Take a swing at Jan’s ’70s quiz below. The answers immediately follow the questions.

Bailey Hall Goes to Houston

Expanding her presentation at the 17th Annual Bill Gilbert Winter Meeting, Bailey Hall has been invited to the Larry Dierker Chapter’s June meeting to talk about a brief history of the use of statistics in baseball and how technology has changed how we watch and analyze the game.

The Dierker Chapter meeting will be at 7 p.m. Monday, June 12, at the Spaghetti Western Italian Café, 1608 Shepherd Dr. in Houston. All baseball fans are invited to attend.

There will also be a Zoom option for those out of town. Please contact Dierker Chapter President Joe Thompson at splendorajoe@gmail.com for details.

Baseball Memories

Chapter volunteers continue to collaborate with AGE of Central Texas in Round Rock to assist Alzheimer’s patients, family and caregivers. They’ve had four successful monthly programs thus far with the next program on June 21.

Jim Kenton and the “Baseball Guys” are active at Kerrville VA Medical Center.

Monte Cely, who manages the chapter’s baseball memories program, reports progress in starting a program in San Antonio.

Any chapter members interested in volunteering should contact Monte Cely. For more information about the program, please go to the information page: https://www.sabrhornsby.org/about-basebalz/

Research Spotlight

Last month, I meant to include this nugget noted by Jim Baker, who, among many other things, keeps track of the most productive offensive games in baseball history. One such night was authored by Adolis Garcia of the Texas Rangers in a game against the Oakland Athletics on April 23.

“Totaling it all up, Garcia had five hits, five runs scored, 16 total bases and eight RBI,” Baker wrote in an email to the chapter’s Google Group. “In fantasy baseball, each one of these is worth one point, so he had a total of 29. (This is most definitely not sabermetric or deep-dive analysis.) This puts him right outside the top 10 for all-time single-game best performances and ties him for eleventh with Mike Schmidt (1976), Jimmie Foxx (1932) and Phil Weintraub (1944). Please note that a hit by pitch does not result in a point in fantasy, but an argument could be made that it should count in this context.”

More recently, Cy Morong wrote to the Google Group a few weeks ago that he noticed a significant drop in Astros’ right fielder Kyle Tucker’s defensive WAR, from 0.9 last year in which he won a Gold Glove to -0.9 thus far in 2023. Cy wondered if Tucker’s been playing poorly or playing hurt, or if it was a small sample. As a committed Astros fan who’s seen most every game this season, I responded that I hadn’t noticed any poor play by Tucker. Ryan Pollack took a deeper dive into Tucker’s numbers and offered that it could be both that Tucker’s playing more poorly than last year and it’s still a small sample size. “Looking at Statcast, he was consistently 4-5 outs above average for his career,” Pollack wrote. “This year so far he’s -5, a gap of 9-10 outs.  The problem is coming primarily from going back on balls. He’s -4 OAA there compared to -1 OAA on going in. So he’s having trouble with balls over his head. He’s also getting less of a Jump (yes, this is a tracked stat that measures how many feet along the best route outfielders cover when reacting to a ball). This year his jump is 2 feet below average whereas before it’s been about average or only slightly below. I wonder if he’s played in unfamiliar parks to start the year, given the new scheduling format. He might be having trouble reading balls off the bat or just getting a good sense of where, in an unfamiliar RF (different walls, foul line distances, foul territory, etc) he should be heading and how far, when a ball is struck — especially on balls he has to go back on. That or he may have a lingering leg injury or soreness.”

It may be that Tucker’s defensive WAR improves as the season progresses, but we’ll have to wait and see.

Tracking the Oakland Athletics against worst teams all-time

Chapter member Syd Polk shared with us an effort to track the A’s season. “At the end of the year, we can just watch the losses mount up and see where they end up all time,” Polk wrote on his blog. “Will they lose 100 games (almost certainly)? 110 (probably)? 117, like the franchise record 1916 Philadelphia Athletics (it could happen)? 120, like the 1962 New York Mets (they are on pace to pass it)? 134, like the 1899 Cleveland Spiders (probably not)?”

Read more and follow along all season at his blog: https://sydneyrandall.blogspot.com/2023/05/the-train-wreck-that-is-2023-oakland.html

Election results and chapter leadership team

As announced in May in the email lists, Jan Larson and Ryan Pollack informed the chapter that Gilbert Martinez was unanimously voted as the chapter commissioner in the chapter’s first-ever election. His three-year term began this month. On Saturday, Martinez announced that Jan Larson, Monte Cely, Ryan Pollack and Jerry Miller have been appointed as directors in various areas. Jan will continue to organize chapter outings to ballparks; Monte will manage the chapter’s volunteer efforts in the baseball memories program; Ryan will continue to serve as webmaster, manage an annual survey of chapter members and run Awardatron; and Jerry Miller will continue to coordinate the chapter winter meeting. Martinez welcomed Don Dingee to the leadership team; he’ll serve as a membership coordinator, looking for ways to expand and retain and expand membership.

Martinez thanked Monte Cely for his work welcoming new chapter members for many years. With the addition of Don, this will allow Monte to focus on the baseball memories program. Many thanks to Monte, Don and the rest of the leadership team.

July meeting details

Please join us for our July meeting, which will be a big milestone for us! It will be the 200th consecutive month with a meeting, a streak dating to December 2006.

For our 200th meeting, we’re going out to see the Round Rock Express host the Reno Aces at 6:05 p.m. Sunday, July 23. If you’d like to attend and sit near us, go to this link to purchase tickets in Section 121, Rows 22 and 23: https://shorturl.at/cvw28

Many thanks to Jan Larson for organizing this. He has purchased Seats 12 and 13 in Row 23, so you can look for available tickets close to that.

The 1970s

By Jan Larson

(Note: For this quiz, the decade of the 1970s includes the years 1970-1979 inclusive)

1. This club won two World Series in the 1970s defeating the same opponent on both occasions and has not returned to the World Series since. Name the club, the club they defeated and the years (4 points).
2. Only one player hit 50+ home runs in a single season during the 1970s. Name the player, his club and the year (3 points). 
3. One club won three consecutive World Series in the 1970s. Name this club and the years and the teams they defeated (5 points). 
4. One of the recognized all-time best clubs played in four World Series in the 1970s, winning two and losing two. Name the club and the clubs that they defeated in their two World Series wins (3 points).
5. How many clubs won back-to-back World Series in the 1970s? (1 point). 
6. This Hall-of-Famer executed a walk off steal of home to win a game in the mid-1970s. The author has spoken of this feat at length and was in attendance at the game in which this occurred.  Name the player that executed the walk off steal of home, his club, the opponent and name the author of this question (4 points).
7. In his playing days, Joe Torre, now a special assistant to the commissioner and former Yankees manager, won the National League MVP and led the NL in batting during the 1971 season. What was Torre’s batting average that season (+/- 0.010) (1 point)?
8. This Hall-of-Fame slugger launched a massive All-Star game home run over the roof at Tiger Stadium in 1971. He went on to achieve greater notoriety later in his career with another club.  Name the player, the club he was with when he hit the All-Star home run and the later club in which he achieved notoriety (3 points). 
9. These two players shared the National League MVP award in 1979. Name the players and their clubs (4 points). 
10. This Hall-of-Famer hit a 12^th inning walk off homerun to win Game Six of the 1975 World Series. Name the player and his club (2 points).

Tiebreaker:  Chronologically name all ten World Series winning clubs in the 1970s.

Answers

1. Pittsburgh Pirates, Baltimore Orioles, 1971, 1979
2. George Foster, Cincinnati Reds, 1977
3. Oakland A’s, (1972-74), Cincinnati Reds, New York Mets, Los Angeles Dodgers.
4. Cincinnati Reds (The Big Red Machine), Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees
5. 3 or 4 (if you count Oakland twice): Oakland A’s (‘72, ‘73, ‘74), Cincinnati Reds (‘75, ‘76), New York Yankees (‘77, ‘78)
6. George Brett, Kansas City Royals, Cleveland Indians, Jan Larson
7. .363 (accept .353 to .373)
8. Reggie Jackson, Oakland A’s, New York Yankees
9. Keith Hernandez (St. Louis Cardinals), Willie Stargell (Pittsburgh Pirates)
10. Carlton Fisk, Boston Red Sox

Tiebreaker:  Baltimore Orioles, Pittsburgh Pirates, Oakland A’s (x3), Cincinnati Reds (x2), New York Yankees (x2), Pittsburgh Pirates

Our youngest member, Bailey Hall, along with her parents Nicole and Brian have graciously offered to host a lunch cookout at their house in Central Austin on Saturday, June 3 starting at 12:00 noon.  Please bring along any specific beverage that you may like along with a swimsuit and towel (if you choose to make use of the pool).  The address will be provided to anyone sending their positive RSVP to jan.a.larson@gmail.com.

 

MAY 2023 NEWSLETTER

By Gilbert D. Martinez

Chapter Commissioner

A dozen chapter members and guests gathered at Mister Tramps Sports Pub in North Austin for an afternoon of baseball chatter, bar food and a game on the big screens on Saturday.

We watched the Tampa Bay Rays race to a 6-0 lead on the New York Yankees, who battled all the way back to win 9-8, bringing great joy to the Yankees fans among us.

Jim Baker brought a quiz inspired by his contemplation of his own mortality, challenging us to name the longest-lived ballplayers. Cy Morong took first place with 11 points, followed by Jerry and Jan with 10 points each for a second-place tie. Don’t waste any time taking a stab at this quiz, dubbed “Tales of the Super Aged,” below. The answers immediately follow the questions.

A frequent quiz winner, Cy declined a prize, but Jerry and Jan split a set of baseball cards for their second-place finish.

It was nice to see Bailey Hall and her dad, Brian Hall, join us on Saturday. She’s been busy with her high school volleyball team, causing her to miss recent meetings. She also shared that she’s working part-time with the Round Rock Express doing a variety of things around the ballpark. She’ll go full-time once the school year ends (which can’t come soon enough for Bailey! Hang in there, Bailey! It’ll be over soon!).

Speaking of Bailey and her parents, they have graciously offered to host next month’s meeting on June 3 at their home in Central Austin. We’ll share more details and ask members to RSVP soon.

We talked about how the Rays, despite the loss at Yankee Stadium on Saturday, have been dominating MLB and what’s happened to the St. Louis Cardinals. Some Houston Astros fans among us are more optimistic about the team’s chances, despite the team hovering around .500 for most of the season thus far. We also talked about the impact of the new baseball rules. Most of us like the new pitch clock rules and the faster pace of play, but we appear split on the shift ban.

This was the 198th consecutive month in which the chapter has met, a streak dating to December 2006.

SABR 51 in Chicago

With the annual convention in Chicago in July, SABR will welcome the 20,000th attendee to a national convention. To celebrate, all attendees will be automatically entered to win free attendance and hotel accommodations at the next five annual conventions! More information about the raffle and SABR 51 at this link: https://sabr.org/latest/celebrating-20k-win-free-registrations-to-the-next-5-sabr-conventions/

First Chapter Election

Jan Larson and Ryan Pollack with the Hornsby Chapter leadership team announced the results for the chapter’s first-ever election for the commissioner position. In an election that concluded on May 12, Gilbert Martinez was elected as commissioner of the Rogers Hornsby SABR Chapter for the 2023-26 term. Gilbert received 27 of 27 votes for a 100% vote share. Turnout was 34.6%. Anyone who wishes to see the summarized, anonymized results may contact Ryan (ryan9379@gmail.com).

Baseball Memories

Monte and Linda Cely led a baseball memories session at AGE’s Thrive Social & Wellness Center in Round Rock on May 3. Chapter members Ira Siegel, Jerry Miller and Mike Dillon also volunteered their time to connect with and support Alzheimer’s patients and their families and caregivers by using their memories of baseball for therapy care. This was the fourth session by Hornsby Chapter volunteers at AGE of Central Texas. Monte also shared that he’s in touch with SABR members in San Antonio and elsewhere who are interested in starting their own baseball memories program in their communities.

For more information about our baseball memories program, please see the About page at this link: https://www.sabrhornsby.org/about-basebalz/

Rest in peace to Deacon Jones

We were sad to learn of the passing of former Major League player and coach Deacon Jones (pictured above at the 14th Annual Bill Gilbert Winter Meeting in 2020) . He filled the room with stories of his playing days with the Chicago White Sox and coaching days with the Houston Astros. May he rest in peace.

Jan’s Ballpark Quest

Jan Larson told us that he continues his lifelong ambition to visit all Major League ballparks. He’s planning to add Truist Park, home of the Atlanta Braves, this week, the last park he needs to complete all current 30 MLB stadiums. It would bring his overall total to 59 ballparks.

Predictatron

Jim Baker reported changes atop both divisions in the Predictatron contest, with Ryan Pollack securing the overall lead and Jim himself taking the top spot in his division. Meanwhile, last year’s division winners (Chuck Kaufman and Gilbert Martinez) find themselves in last or tied for last in their respective divisions. The most recent report of May 7 covers 21.3 percent of the season. Participants eagerly await the weekly updates to learn if fortune favors or spurns us.

Awardatron

Ryan Pollack sent his first update in May after the first month of the season. He noted that Shohei Ohtani is having another solid season on the mound and at the plate, accumulating 2 WAR (FanGraphs), more than any other AL player except for Gerrit Cole. Not only is Ohtani on his way to another MVP, Ryan writes, but he may receive a record-setting contract when he becomes a free agent this offseason (or prior, if he wants to sign an extension). Ryan also gave updates on favorites for a variety of awards, such as Ronald Acuña Jr. and Pete Alonso, favorites for NL MVP; Cole and Ohtani (quoting Ryan, “What can’t the man do? Sheesh”) for AL Cy Young; and Spencer Strider and Zac Gallen for NL Cy Young. Some of the participants are already anticipating the All-Star break when competitors can switch one (and only one) award prediction to bolster contest chances.

June meeting details

As mentioned earlier, we’re happy to accept the generous offer from Bailey Hall, Nicole Bryan-Hall and Brian Hall to host next month’s meeting on Saturday, June 3. There will be baseball on the screens inside and outside at their Central Austin home. They’ll grill food and provide salads, veggies and snacks. Please bring beverages to share with the group. There’s also a pool, so attendees are welcome to bring swimwear and towels. Please RSVP to Jan Larson (jan.a.larson@gmail.com) by May 30 if you plan to attend. Jan will share the address and Nicole’s cell phone number with attendees. Hope to see you there!

TALES OF THE SUPER AGED

By Jim Baker

(info as of May 13, 2023)

Part 1. The Centenarians

1. This player was a four-time All Star and later went on to be the GM of the Atlanta Braves. The highlight of his career, however, was being guest speaker at the Hornsby Chapter annual meeting. He lived to be 100 years and 293 days and passed away in Bastrop in October of 2021.
2. Silas Simmons played for the Lincoln Giants in 1926 and is considered the longest-lived man in major league history. Within two years, how old was he when he passed away?
3. The longest-lived player who played in either the American or National Leagues was pitcher Red Hoff. He broke in at the age of 20 with the New York Highlanders. His player/manager that season was this infamous character of the early 20^th Century. (For an extra point, tell us Hoff’s age when he passed; within two years.)
4. While there are no centenarians in the baseball Hall of Fame, there is one in the Pro Football of Fame and he also spent some time as a big league ballplayer. He was NFL MVP with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1941 and was elected to Canton in 1972. He played for Philadelphia Athletics in 1937 and 1938, where he didn’t hit well, but it allowed him to eventually earn the distinction of being the last living person to have played against our own Rogers Hornsby. He passed away at the age of 101 in 2013. Hint: While not a pitcher, his nickname would suggest he was one.
5. This question is here just so I can name drop Howdy Groskloss. Howdy played sparingly with the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1932 to 1934. In 2006, he passed away at the age of 100 years and 96 days in this town, the winter home of the Dodgers until two years after his death.
6. The last year a centenarian was active in the major leagues was:
   1. 1977
   2. 1967
   3. 1957
   4. 1947
7. Pitcher Milt Gaston passed away in 1996 at the age of 100 years and 90 days. He pitched for five big league teams and his first roommate with the 1924 Yankees was Lou Gehrig. His career lasted 11 years in which he led the league in losses twice. He holds the dubious record for most games under .500 in a career. What was his career record?
   1. 97-164
   2. 102-211
   3. 88-125
   4. 46-159
8. Billy Werber was a third baseman in the 1930s and early ’40s who passed away in 2009 at the age of 100 years and 216 days. He led his league in stolen bases three times and starred in the 1940 World Series. Which two (2) of the following are not about Mr. Werber?
   1. First player to ever come to bat in a televised baseball game
   2. Only player to be hit by five pitches in a game
   3. The last living teammate of Babe Ruth
   4. Once arrested by Philadelphia police for stealing signs
   5. Only player to hit four consecutive doubles in both leagues
9. In what year did the first player reach 100 years old?
   1. 1953
   2. 1963
   3. 1973
   4. 1983

Part 2. Oldest Living Ballplayers

For the purposes of this quiz, we’re considering the start of big league play to be the National Association in 1871. Therefore, the very first so-called “oldest living ballplayer” was an active player, which makes perfect sense when you think about it. His name was Bill Lennon and his reign as such lasted exactly one day: May 4, 1871.

10. Lennon lost the title to this 36-year-old fellow who had already made a national name for himself when he assembled and played with the famous 1869-70 Cincinnati Red Stockings. He would also manage for 25 years, winning four National Association titles and two more in the National League. He is “credited with introducing innovations such as backing up infield plays from the outfield and shifting defensive alignments based on hitters’ tendencies.” He was so famous that when he died, baseball dedicated a day to him. What is his name?
11. Sixty-four years later, his kid brother—also a Hall of Famer—also became the oldest living ballplayer. They were teammates on that famous Cincinnati team as well as the Boston National Association championship teams of 1872 to 1875. He shares a name with a Texas Rangers center fielder of the 1980s.
12. This man held the title of oldest living ballplayer for an astounding 29 years and took the title away from the man who signed him in 1871—the answer to the first question in this section. He played a grand total of one game for Boston in 1871 at the age of 39, going 0-for-4. He is, therefore, the earliest-ever born major leaguer. You don’t need to give his first name, just know that his last name is synonymous with a brand of sandal footwear favored by hippies (although it’s spelled slightly differently).
13. This all-time great former player, who had had his 92^nd birthday on May 6, 2023, is the oldest living Hall of Famer.
14. Like his 19^th century contemporary Albert Spalding, this player went on to have his own sporting goods company (his name was on American League baseballs as late as 1976) and to publish a very popular annual baseball guide. As an executive, he helped found the Philadelphia Phillies in 1883. His reign as oldest living player lasted from 1912 until his passing in 1928.
15. At 91 years and 185 days, this man is the oldest living manager of a World Champion team. He was voted into the Hall of Fame by the Veterans’ Committee in 2010 on the strength of a career .532 managerial record, three division titles in the American League, three National League pennants and one World Series win. You’ve probably never heard him referred to by his birth name, which is Dorrel.
16. This slugging Red Sox second baseman was the oldest living player for most of 2017. A longtime teammate of Ted Williams, he was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1986. He hit 223 career homers and was an All Star nine times. Unlike Williams, he tore it up in their lone World Series (1946), slashing .409/.458/.591.
17. At 97 years and 229 days, this diminutive southpaw is the oldest living former MVP and the fourth-oldest living player. He won the award by going 24-7 for the 1952 Philadelphia Athletics and shares a first name with the answer to the previous question.
18. Born deaf, this man was the oldest living player from 10/31/1956 to 12/15/1961. He amassed over 2,000 career hits in four leagues (American Assoc., Player’s League and the NL, and AL), mostly in the 19^th Century. He was often a topic of conversation when Curtis Pride was playing in the 1990s. Last name only is an acceptable answer.

Bonus Question

For a whopping five points, name any one of the three current oldest living ballplayers.

ANSWERS

Part 1. The Centenarians

1. Eddie Robinson, died at 100 years and 293 days
2. 111 years, 15 days; died in 2006
3. Hal Chase; 107 years, 132 days
4. Ace Parker
5. Vero Beach, Florida
6. 4. 1957; Eddie Robinson on the Indians, Tigers and Orioles
7. 1. 97-164 with the Yankees, Browns, Red Sox, Senators, and White Sox
8. 2 and 4; He batted leadoff for the Reds in the first televised game at Ebbets Field on August 26, 1939; played with Ruth on the Yankees from 1930 to 1933.
9. 3. 1973; Ralph Miller, who played with Brooklyn (1897) and Baltimore (1898)

Part 2. Oldest Living Ballplayers

10. Harry Wright
11. George Wright
12. Nate Berkenstock
13. Willie Mays
14. Al Reach
15. Whitey Herzog
16. Bobby Doerr
17. Bobby Shantz
18. Billy Hoy

Bonus Question

Art Schallock; 99 years, 18 days

Bill Grearson; 98 years, 252 days

Larry Miggins; 97 years 266 days

The May and June lunch meetings of the Rogers Hornsby chapter have been determined.  On Saturday, May 13, we will meet for lunch, baseball and beverages at Mister Tramps Sports Pub at 8565 Research Blvd, Austin, TX 78758 (near Ohlen Road and US 183).  The games start at 12:00 noon and we would encourage all attendees to arrive between noon at 12:30.  We have reserved a private meeting room so we can be as loud as necessary while we watch afternoon baseball.    Please send your RSVP to Jan Larson so we can have an accurate headcount.  Visitors and guests welcome!

The June meeting will be hosted by chapter member Bailey Hall and her parents at their house starting at 12:00 noon on Saturday, June 3.  More information to follow as the date approaches.  Mark your calendar now!

APRIL 2023 NEWSLETTER

With the baseball season under way, nearly a dozen chapter members and guests gathered for barbecue and baseball chatter on Sunday.

Among the topics of discussion were the fast start by the Tampa Bay Rays (they won 13 times to start the season but dropped the first two this weekend against the Toronto Blue Jays, who were just three games back going into Sunday’s play), the unexpectedly poor pitching early on by the St. Louis Cardinals and the slightly below .500 start for the defending World Series Champions Houston Astros.

As chapter commissioner, I made two important announcements involving the national SABR office’s efforts to work with chapters and make the SABR experience more uniform. First, under direction from SABR HQ, the Hornsby Chapter will hold an election for the chapter commissioner position next month. More details will be shared with chapter members about the self-nomination process early in May, followed by an online election open to all members who have the Hornsby Chapter designated as their primary chapter in mid-May.

Second, this month’s summary marks the chapter’s first newsletter. Moving forward, the monthly summary will be called the monthly newsletter, which will include a summary of the monthly meeting, along with other items, such as occasional research tidbits being worked on and discussed by our members, updates from Jim Baker’s Predictatron, Ryan Pollack’s Awardatron contest and other items.

As winner of last month’s quiz, Cy Morong gave us a quiz in which we had to identify teammates that led (first and second on the team) in various statistics. His hint was that all answers were Hall of Famers.

With a quiz maximum of 60 points, Jim Baker took the contest with 46, squeaking by Jerry Miller with 45, followed by Jan Larson with 42 and Ira Siegel with 37. Cy brought prizes for everyone – Jim traded a National Baseball Hall of Fame trivia book with second-place finisher Jerry (pictured below) and got the privilege of picking three postcards from a set featuring Hall of Famers who played for the Minnesota Twins.

Give the quiz a try below. The answers follow the questions.

Baseball Memories

Several of our  chapter members are actively involved in volunteer efforts in our Baseball Memories program, which uses memory therapy and exercises to support Alzheimer’s patients and their family and caregivers. The program got a nice mention in an article published on MLB.com: SABR’s ‘Baseball Memories’ keeps people with memory disorders connected to the game

For more information about our baseball memories program, please see the About page at this link: https://www.sabrhornsby.org/about-basebalz/

Predictatron

On April 9, Jim Baker shared the first update on his Predictatron contest in which 21  chapter members attempt to forecast division standings, playoff teams and the World Series champion. With divisions named after last season’s winners (Chuck Kaufman and Gilbert Martinez), Jan Larson got off to a quick start to lead the Martinez Division and the entire contest, followed by Jerry Miller and Brian Rogers. In the Kaufman Division, Syd Polk leads early, with Ryan Pollack and Chuck Kaufman trailing. In Baker’s summary, he noted that I was “anchoring” my division, which is another way of saying I was in last. Somehow, it sounds better the way he said it! But as Predictatron veterans know, the contest is cruel and merciless. Those on top can easily find themselves dropping faster than an Ohtani sinker. It’s a long season filled with twists and turns. Will Jan lead from beginning to end? Will I keep anchoring the whole contest? We’ll find out!

Awardatron

For the second consecutive year, Ryan Pollack challenged members to predict the winners of baseball’s major awards (MVP, Cy Young, Rookie of the Year, Manager of the Year). It’s hard to predict these awards in March, but that’s what he tasked us to do. With 17 prognosticators, Ryan created two divisions named after the first MVP award winners by the BBWAA in 1931, Lefty Grove and Frankie Frisch. Among the favorites predicted are Shohei Ohtani for AL MVP and AL Cy Young, Ronald Acuña for NL MVP, Corbin Burnes for NL Cy Young, Gunnar Henderson for AL Rookie, Corbin Carroll for NL Rookie, Phil Nevin for AL Manager, and Bob Melvin for NL Manager. Contestants win points for correct predictions, but also earn some points for predictions that are near misses. Ryan also allows predictors to make one change before the All Star Break, but those selections earn fewer points. Who’s going to win these awards? Who knows, but it’ll be fun to track this all season long.

Research Spotlight

On Twitter, Cy Morong (@CyrilMorong) put together a list of active left-handed batters with the highest OPS against left-handed pitchers (minimum of 500 plate appearances). Care to guess who? That would be the Astros’ Yordan Alvarez with an OPS of 0.966, followed by Joey Votto (0.851) and Max Muncy (0.842). Others include Charlie Blackmon (0.83),  Juan Soto (0.83), Ohtani (0.824), Bryce Harper (0.821), Kyle Tucker (0.812), Seager (0.797), and Anthony Rizzo (0.794).

This is a new feature for the newsletter. If you’re a Hornsby Chapter member and have a research tidbit you’d like to share in the monthly newsletter, please email me (gmartinez46@mac.com).

On a personal note, I was very happy to receive a small gift from Jim Baker. He found old photos of the Astrodome from a thrift store. Based on printing on the back of the photos, they may have been taken in May 1967. (Thanks so much, Jim! – Gilbert)

This was the 197th consecutive month in which the chapter has met. The streak started in December 2006. Information for next month’s meeting will be shared via our email lists soon.

One-Two Quiz

By Cy Morong

This is a quiz about teammates that finished first and second in their league in some stat in a given year. The answer to each question is a Hall of Famer. Fill in the blanks. Last name is enough.

You get 1 point if a player you list is one of the two needed even if it is in the wrong slot (like you put Smith #1 but he should be #2). But if you list the correct player in the correct slot, that gets you 2 points (Smith was actually #1 and you put him #1). Then you get 1 additional point if you are within a certain range for the stat itself. If you say Smith hit 40 HRs but it was actually 44, you are within 5 so you get 1 point for that. But, the stat total goes with the player named in the same slot. If you had Smith at #2 and he was really #1 and you are off by more than 5 for Smith’s total you don’t get a point even if the HR total you listed is within 5 for whoever actually was in slot #2.

So you can get a total of 6 points for each question. That means the maximum score is 60. You have to be within .020 for AVG, 0.25 for ERA and so on.

First place wins a Hall of Fame Quiz book. Second place gets to pick 3 Hall of Famer post cards from a set of 28. Then third place gets to pick one of the cards, then 4^th place, 5^th and so on. Any cards left at the end go to second place. I will pass a sheet around for everyone to write their scores on. Then I will go around with the postcards so each person can pick one in order of their finish. Ties will be broken by seeing who is closer on numerical answers starting with question 1.

Answers