Category: Hornsby News

Getting Ready for Baseball

The Rogers Hornsby Chapter will attempt to quell our baseball excitement as we hold our March lunch meeting on Saturday, March 18 at 1:00 p.m.   We will be meeting at the Hurricane Grill located at 2701 Parker Road in Round Rock.  Parker Road is perpendicular to the westbound service road (W. Louis Henna Blvd) of Toll 45 just west of I-35 at the La Frontera shopping area.  You do NOT need to spend any money on tolls in order to get there.

As a REMINDER, please bring your new or used baseballs for donation to the “Baseball Memories” program.  For more information on the Baseball Memories program please contact chapter member, Monte Cely.

Please RSVP to Jan Larson if you plan to attend the meeting so we can get an accurate head count.

Brownie delights chapter on SABR Day for February meeting

To celebrate SABR Day, the Rogers Hornsby Chapter welcomed longtime Astros broadcaster Bill Brown for the February meeting on Zoom. Less than a month ago, he was named to the Class of 2023 for the Houston Astros Hall of Fame.

Fourteen SABR members and guests were delighted to hear about Brownie’s career – from his professional start as the play-by-play broadcaster for the Cincinnati Stingers, a professional hockey team in 1975, and later for the Cincinnati Reds. After joining the Houston Astros in 1987, he began building a Hall of Fame career.

Check out the recording of the meeting, which features Brownie’s observations on joining an Astros club one year after the team lost the NLCS to the Mets in 1986, and one year before future Hall of Fame player Craig Biggio joined the club in 1987. He also talked about how much broadcasting has changed since his professional start. He also told a humorous story about how he got a sudden baptism into broadcasting baseball for the first time in 1972 when he was tapped to fill in for beloved Reds broadcast Waite Hoyt (also legendary Hall of Fame pitcher for the New York Yankees). Not only was it his first game, but the Reds went on to clinch the division in that game, and it happened in Houston.

Brownie also personally thanked chapter member Monte Cely for his help over the winter with research about Latin American baseball for his latest work, “Swinging for Glory: A baseball novel.” For Monte’s help, Brownie promised to send him a copy of the book.

Click here for the full recording of Brownie’s visit with our chapter: https://youtu.be/WFLSkReZ2a4

We’re so grateful for Bill joining us on a Saturday afternoon to help us celebrate him and SABR Day. We look forward to seeing his induction, along with second baseman Bill Doran, in August 2023 at Minute Maid Park.

Afterward, Jerry Miller challenged us with a quiz about pitchers being batters. With 18 questions totaling 20 points, Jan Larson batted .300 on the quiz (earning 6 out of 20 points) to win the quiz. Cy Morong from San Antonio and Dixie Tourangeau from Boston tied for second, batting .250 (earning 5 out of 20 points). Miller will present Jan with a the team photo of the 1966 Atlanta Braves featuring one of the quiz answers for his top prize. Cy will receive a photo of another quiz answer, whom Jerry called the “worst hitting pitcher,” for second place. Dixie will get his second-place-tie prize next time he’s in town.

You can take a swing at Jerry’s quiz below (note that the answers are at the end of this post, and also in the video recording linked above, so if you want to try taking the quiz and aren’t ready to hear the answers, avoid watching the video or pause accordingly).

This was the 195th consecutive month in which the chapter has met, a streak dating to December 2006.

As is our custom, quiz winner Jan Larson will prepare one for the March meeting, which is scheduled for 1 p.m. Saturday, March 18.

We’ll be deep into spring training and quarterfinals for the World Baseball Classic by then. The regular season will start less than two weeks later! Hope to see you at the March meeting!

PITCHERS AS BATTERS QUIZ (20 points total)

By Jerry Miller

Depending on your perspective, 2022 marked either the year baseball entered the 21st (or the 20th or even the 19th) century, or the end of civilization as we know it. Barring a miracle or some bizarre Joe Madden or Tony LaRussa strategy, this year marks the end of pitchers as real athletes, errrrrrr, hitters. And so, we mark this sea change the best way we know how, by testing your knowledge of pitchers who tried (and sometimes succeeded, but mostly failed miserably) to help their own causes.

1)  Which San Diego Padres pitcher gave up Bartolo Colon’s one and only major league HR?

2)  Who was the last pitcher (in the 2018 NLCS) to hit a post-season home run? Brownie points if you know the future Hall of Fame pitcher he hit it off of.

3)  Who was the first pitcher (in 1920) to hit a home run in the World Series? More brownie points if you can name the two other firsts that occurred in that game (one of which has yet to be duplicated).

4)  Who was the last pitcher to hit a home run in the World Series? (Hint #1: he did it in 2008 for the Phillies. Hint #2: Next year is his first year of eligibility for the Hall of Fame, but he will be lucky if he even gets on the ballot.)

5)  Who are the only two pitchers to both hit a home run and win the MVP award in the same World Series? Hint: they did it in consecutive Series.

6)  Which San Diego Padres pitcher was the last to hit a walkoff home run?

7)  Who is the only pitcher to hit two grand slams in a game? (Hint: for the Atlanta Braves in 1966).

8)  Who holds the career mark for most home runs hit as a pitcher? (Hint: he isn’t in the Hall of Fame, but his brother is.)

9)  Within three, how many of his 714 home runs did Babe Ruth hit as a pitcher?

10)  Within twenty, what number home run of Ruth’s 714 was his last hit as a pitcher?

11)  Name the Hall of Fame pitcher who twice hit seven home runs in a single season.

12)  Who was the first American League pitcher to hit a home run after the adoption of the designated hitter? (Hint: his son now plays in the major leagues).

13)  What Baltimore Oriole was the last American League pitcher to hit a home run as a pitcher (not counting Shohei Ohtani)?

14)  What pitcher hit two home runs while also pitching a no-hitter the same day? Hint: He was traded, on separate occasions, for two different Hall of Famers.

15)  Which Astro (again not counting Ohtani) was the last pitcher (in Game 5 of the 2021 World Series) to bat in a major league game prior to the adoption of the universal DH? Hint: another Astro pitcher batted in the same game, but did so as a pinch hitter.

16)  Who are the only two pitchers to hit two World Series home runs? Hint #1: Both of them played for teams named after birds. Hint #2: One is a Hall of Famer; the other had a lasting impact on the game, for very different reasons, and only after he retired.

17)  The player with the most at bats against Nolan Ryan without striking out is Julian Javier, with 16. This pitcher, however, who won two Silver Slugger awards, is close by, with 12. Hint: He once beat out Ryan for the Cy Young Award (Ryan finished fourth), and his name has been in the news recently.

18)  Speaking of the Silver Slugger award, who is the only pitcher to win it more than three times (a total of five)? Hint: He did it five years in a row, for four different teams.

ANSWERS:

1)  James Shields, SDP 5/7/16.

2)  Brandon Woodruff (MIL) off Clayton Kershaw (LAD), 2018 NLCS.

3)  Jim Bagby (CLE) 1920 WS. In the same game, Elmer Smith hit the first WS grand slam, and Bill Wambsganss turned the first (and only) unassisted triple play.

4)  Joe Blanton (PHI).

5)  Bob Gibson (STL 1967) and Mickey Lolich (DET 1968).

6)  Craig Lefferts 4/25/86.

7)  Tony Cloninger.

8)  Wes Farrell (brother of undeserving HOFer Rick Farrell, 37 plus one as PH). Also holds the single season record (9).

9)  14.

10)  # 686 (10/1/33).

11)  Don Drysdale.

12)  Bobby Witt TEX (6/30/97).

13)  Zack Britton (BAL 7/3/11).

14)  Rick Wise (traded for both Steve Carlton and Dennis Eckersley).

15)  Kendall Graveman (Zack Greinke pinch hit in the game).

16)  Bob Gibson (1967 and 1968) and Dave McNally (1966 and 1970).

17)  Fernando Valenzuela.

18)  Mike Hampton (Astros, Mets, Rockies, and Braves).

Astros Hall of Fame inductee Bill Brown joins us for February meeting

We’re happy to announce that we’ll have longtime Astros broadcaster Bill Brown on Feb. 11 on Zoom for our monthly chapter meeting.

At Astros Fan Fest last week, Brownie – along with Bill Doran – were named as the Class of 2023 for the Houston Astros Hall of Fame. It’s just the latest accolade in his career, as he’s already a member of the Texas Baseball Hall of Fame and the Houston Media Wall at Minute Maid Park. In addition, he was named the Texas Sportscaster of the Year in 2013 by the National Sport Media Association in North Carolina.

In addition, Brownie has long been a good friend to the Hornsby Chapter, many of whom remember his visits in past winter meetings and on Zoom meetings.

Bill and Dianne Brown with Gilbert and Raeanne Martinez at Astros Fan Fest on Jan. 21, 2023

 

In addition, the chapter will recognize and celebrate SABR Day.

Please join us at 1 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 11, on Zoom for the February meeting. To join the meeting on Zoom, please register at this link:

https://txstate.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJApdO6qpzgqHdTJG9xLtpP760SzqP2dKhYo

Speakers bring Charlie Finley, Gaylord Perry and Vin Scully to life at annual winter meeting

Insights about Oakland A’s owner Charlie O. Finley, biographies about major league players, perspectives about the life and career of the late Gaylord Perry and a personal remembrance of Vin Scully were among the highlights of a fun-filled day of baseball talk at the 17th Annual Bill Gilbert Winter Meeting on Saturday, Jan. 7.

For the first time in three years, the winter meeting was held in person at Old Main on the campus of Texas State University in San Marcos. Forty members and guests joined us as we also got a preview of the Round Rock Express from General Manager Tim Jackson and Mike Capps, longtime broadcaster and voice of the Express. In addition, high school student Bailey Hall discussed the history of statistics in baseball and how they’ve changed how we analyze the game, and her great-uncle, Mike Bryan, shared stories about writing biographies with Cal Ripken Jr., Keith Hernandez and Kirby Puckett.

Nancy Finley

Nancy Finley, the niece of Charlie O. Finley (pictured above), shared anecdotes from her book, “Finley Ball: How Two Baseball Outsiders Turned the Oakland A’s into a Dynasty and Changed the Game Forever.” She shared how her uncle and her father, Carl Finley, ran the ballclub and oversaw the three-time champion Oakland A’s in the 1970s. She said the main motivation in writing the book, published in 2016, was to correct a common misconception about moving the franchise from Kansas City to Oakland in 1968. She said sports articles depicted her uncle as hating Kansas City and its fans, but she said it wasn’t true.

Nancy Finley also shared that she wrote her first press release for the ballclub when she was 14 years old and saw how easy they were to write. She commented that the modern-day front office in baseball, in her opinion, employs too many people compared to what she experienced in Charlie O.’s front office. “I feel like I could run a front office with my eyes closed,” she said with a smile.

She also noted that there was a great mutual respect between Charlie Finley and Marvin Miller, the longtime executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association.

Mike Bryan

Feature writer Mike Bryan shared anecdotes of working with Cal Ripken Jr., Keith Hernandez and Kirby Puckett in writing books with them about their lives. When Ripken was interviewing writers, Bryan was invited to Ripken’s home in Florida as a possible collaborator for the book. Later, Ripken’s handler told Bryan that Ripken felt like he was the one being interviewed, instead of the other way around, likely helping him land the job. Bryan recalled writing a first draft for the book without Ripken’s help because he was too busy playing ball.   Once the season was done, Ripken wanted to make corrections on the early draft, sat down with Bryan and went through the draft line by line, making it better. He said he was impressed with Ripken’s intense focus and dedication.

Bryan also shared stories of his continued friendship and collaborations with Keith Hernandez, the former Mets great and broadcaster. He also sought the group’s help for ideas about future writing projects to pitch to Hernandez.

David Vaught

Vaught, a Texas A&M history professor and author of “Spitter: Baseball’s Notorious Gaylord Perry,” told of Perry’s life and career of a pitcher known to use foreign substances while pitching. In fact, he shared that Perry struggled early in his career, bouncing between the big leagues and minor leagues, until a catcher persuaded him. “Gaylord, it’s time to try it out,” Vaught recounted. From that point, Gaylord Perry became one of the best pitchers of his generation.

“I think (Perry)’s one of the more underappreciated Hall of Famers,” Vaught said, noting that many remember when Nolan Ryan broke Walter Johnson’s strikeout record in 1983. In fact, Ryan wasn’t alone. Two other pitchers broke Johnson’s record that year: Steve Carlton and Gaylord Perry.

While he conducted his research for this book, Vaught said he was struck at the intensity of the sibling rivalry between Gaylord Perry and his older brother, Jim Perry, who had a 17-year pitching career with Cleveland, Minnesota, Detroit and Oakland. Vaught said Gaylord was never able to escape Jim’s shadow, from childhood to the end of his life.

Round Rock Express (Tim Jackson and Mike Capps)

Express General Manager Tim Jackson (pictured on Zoom above) talked about the success of the 2022 season in which the team played a 150-game schedule, going about a month longer than they have in the past. He said he’s seen the benefits of some of MLB’s rules experimentation at the minor league level, such as the pitch clock, automatic balls and strikes, the challenge system and larger bases. He said players liked that the pitch clock brought Express games down to two hours and 38 minutes on average, and that fans liked it, too. He said that the larger bases brought about more action in the game, with more stolen base attempts.

He said MLB hasn’t yet met with the minor league clubs, so he’s not sure what other rules changes may come in the 2023 season.

He said MLB’s push to improve facilities has helped minor league baseball as a whole. He said that the effort to unionize minor league players might lead to other changes, such as the number of ballclubs.

He invited us to the Round Rock Classic at the Dell Diamond from Feb. 24 to 26, featuring LSU, Iowa, Kansas State and Sam Houston State.

Mike Capps, chapter member and longtime broadcaster for the Round Rock Express, shared his thoughts about the much-improved Texas Rangers and how that may impact the Triple-A club. He pointed to the hiring of manager Bruce Bochy and pitching coach Mike Maddux as key acquisitions to manage the mix of veterans and young players on the ballclub.

With the Rangers acquiring Jacob deGrom, Nathan Eovaldi and Andrew Heaney, Capps said he wasn’t sure that prospects Jack Leiter and Kumar Rocker would pitch at Triple-A this coming season.

While the Express have a vacancy at manager, Capps said he hopes the team hires a veteran manager to help with the young players at the Express.

Capps also talked about his book, “Grinders: Baseball’s Intrepid Infantry,” published in 2022. He said he was excited when the publisher told him that an audiobook version was being recorded for the book. His excitement, however, turned to panic when he was told he was going to do the audio – and it was two days before the start of the baseball season! But nine hours and 38 minutes of recording later, he’s happy to have done it.

Bailey Hall

One of our newest members, Bailey Hall, gave a brief history of the use of statistics in baseball and how technology has transformed how we watch and analyze the game we love. She said “a wise man” told her that to truly appreciate the game, one had to learn and know the history of the game before one was born. She’s taken that to heart, learning about baseball and applying her love of numbers and statistics to better understand how the game has evolved over time.

You can download her presentation slides here: Bailey’s SABR Talk.

Vin Scully

Jerry Miller, winter meeting coordinator, gave a touching remembrance of Vin Scully, perhaps the greatest baseball broadcaster of all time, who passed away in 2022. Miller shared how Scully’s career started just before he was born and carried him and his family as Dodgers fans throughout his life. He also shared a few choice broadcasts by Scully and his brief interactions with Scully, in person and through correspondence. Jerry helped us remember that baseball creates a strong bond between broadcasters and fans, but also among parents and children.

You can download his presentation slides by clicking here: Vin Scully video project.

Miller also provided a quiz about the no-hitters Scully called during his career. Mark Wernick of the Larry Dierker Chapter took top honors with 13 points, winning a program from the 2022 All-Star Game in Los Angeles. Peter Myers and Cy Morong tied for second with 11 points.

You can take the quiz yourself at the end of this page. Answers follow the quiz.

Baseball Memories of 2022

Jerry Miller led a presentation featuring his memories and memories of some chapter members of the 2022 season. Memories by Miller, Jan Larson (who was unable to attend), Ira Siegel (pictured) and Gilbert Martinez were followed by contributions from audience members. Later, Frank Rechtorovic remarked that our group could’ve talked for hours about our baseball memories. So true, Frank!

You can download the presentation slides by clicking here: Baseball Memories 2022.

Mock Hall of Fame vote

A popular feature of the winter meeting involves participants playing the part of BBWAA voters for the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Our vote has often served as an accurate prediction of the actual vote. With Jan Larson unable to attend, Ryan Pollack (pictured) grabbed the ballots and pitch-hit admirably for Larson.

With 31 ballots, no player on the ballot reached the minimum threshold of 75 percent.

The highest vote-getter was Scott Rolen with 58 percent, followed by Todd Helton with 51.6 percent. No other player reached at least 50 percent. Billy Wagner and Andruw Jones had 45.1 percent. Other notable results include Carlos Beltrán and Andy Pettitte (both 35.4 percent); Bobby Abreu and Jeff Kent (both 29 percent); and Alex Rodriguez and Gary Sheffield (both 25.8 percent).

Predictatron

Jim Baker presented trophies to the winners of Predictatron, the full-season prediction contest and the postseason contest. For predictions for the season and postseason made in March, Chuck Kaufman (pictured above, right, with Baker) took home the trophy for the year. For his postseason predictions, David Curtoys (pictured below, right, with Baker) won the Postseason Predictatron trophy.

Kaufman also has the honor of having a division named in his honor. Gilbert Martinez successfully defended his division name for the 2023 Predictatron. Be on the lookout for a call from Jim Baker for predictions in March prior to the start of the new season.

Overview

At the beginning of the meeting, we took time to remember Bill Gilbert, the founder of the Rogers Hornsby Chapter and the Larry Dierker Chapter. He conceived of having an annual winter meeting, and we know how much he would have enjoyed the championship season by the Houston Astros and the continuing success of the Hornsby Chapter and its winter meeting.

Thanks to everyone able to join us in San Marcos! Many thanks to Jerry Miller for coordinating this year’s winter meeting, his first! We think he hit it out of the park. We also want to thank all of our special guests and presenters for talking about our favorite sport of all — baseball!

And we are so grateful for Monte and Linda Cely for organizing a ballpark lunch of hot dogs, chips, Cracker Jack and snacks for lunch on site.

We look forward to another great year of baseball in the Hornsby community.

QUIZ – 23 No-hitters called by Vin Scully

By Jerry Miller

During his 67-year broadcast career, Vin Scully called 23 no-hitters, which at one point was approximately 7% of all no-hitters ever thrown. Using the below clues, identify the pitchers that threw those 23 no-hitters (total 23 points).

  1. An easy one to get you started: this pitcher accounted for four of the 23 (4 points).

  2. Of the 23 no hitters that Vin called, three were perfect games. One of them was by the answer to # 1. Name the pitchers that threw the other two (2 points).

  3. Two no-hitters, both thrown by Dodger left-handers, would have been perfect games but for errors committed by the Dodger SS. Name these (slightly) unlucky lefties (2 points).

  4. Of the 23 no-hitters, only one did not involve the Dodgers. It came during the NBC Game of the Week and was thrown by a member of the Hall of Fame. Name him.

  5. Two of the no-hitters were pitched in the State of Texas. One broke a record established by the answer to #1. The other was thrown by a pitcher who later became persona non grata for the same team that the first pitcher played for. Name them (two points).

  6. Three of the no-hitters were by Brooklyn Dodger pitchers, all by right-handers. Two of them were by the same pitcher, who also formerly held the record for most strikeouts in a World Series game and is one of the last living Brooklyn Dodgers. The other was the losing pitcher in one of the perfect games referred to in #2. Name them (three points).

  7. Eleven of the 23 no-hitters were thrown by Los Angeles Dodger pitchers: four by right-handers, and seven by left-handers. Of the four righties, one of them was a 20-game winner and the brother of a Hall of Famer. One pitched the only no-hitter ever in this ballpark, and later pitched a second no-hitter for a different team. The other two were journeymen who had their moments in the sun in 1970 and 1992, respectively. Name them (four points).

  8. Of the seven Dodger left-handers, six of them are encompassed in the answers to #1 and #3. The remaining lefty was a Cy Young Award winner, but pitched his no-hitter nine years after his Cy Young season, on the down side of his career. Name him.

  9. Eight of the 23 no-hitters were thrown by opposing pitchers against the Dodgers. Four are encompassed within # 2 and # 5. Of the other four, two were thrown by various iterations of the Braves franchise, one of which was the first no-hitter called by Vin in his initial year of broadcasting. The third was a combined no-hitter and came during an interleague game. The last of the four was thrown by a tall, mid-70s LHP, in a city which saw no no-hitter during the 60-year history of the team’s former ballpark. (For the combined no-hitter, you need name only the starting pitcher) (four points). Note: this is by far the hardest question, so don’t spend too much time on it.

ANSWERS:

  1. Sandy Koufax (1962, 1963, 1964 and 1965).

  2. Don Larsen (1956 World Series); Dennis Martinez (1991).

  3. Jerry Reuss (1980) (error by SS Bill Russell); Clayton Kershaw (2014) (error by SS Hanley Ramirez).

  4. Jack Morris, DET vs. CWS (1984).

  5. Nolan Ryan (1981) and Mike Fiers (2015).

  6. Carl Erskine (1952 and 1956); Sal Maglie (1956).

  7. Ramon Martinez (1995), Hideo Nomo (1996), Bill Singer (1970) and Kevin Gross (1992).

  8. Fernando Valenzuela (1990).

  9. Vern Bickford (Boston Braves 1950); Kent Mercker (Atlanta Braves 1994); John Candelaria (Pittsburgh Pirates 1976); Kevin Millwood, Charlie Furbush, Stephen Pryor, Lucas Luetge, Brandon League and Tom Wilhelmson (Seattle Mariners 2012).

Here’s the complete list:

1. Vern Bickford, Boston Braves vs. Brooklyn Dodgers, Aug. 11, 1950

2. Carl Erskine, Brooklyn Dodgers vs. Chicago Cubs, June 19, 1952

3. Carl Erskine, Brooklyn Dodgers vs. New York Giants, May 12, 1956

4. Sal Maglie, Brooklyn Dodgers vs. Philadelphia Phillies, Sept. 25, 1956

5. Don Larsen, New York Yankees vs. Brooklyn Dodgers (World Series, perfect game), Oct. 8, 1956

6. Sandy Koufax, Los Angeles Dodgers vs. New York Mets, June 30, 1962

7. Sandy Koufax, Los Angeles Dodgers vs. San Francisco Giants, May 11, 1963

8. Sandy Koufax, Los Angeles Dodgers at Philadelphia Phillies, June 4, 1964

9. Sandy Koufax, Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Chicago Cubs (perfect game), Sept. 9, 1965

10. Bill Singer, Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Philadelphia Phillies, June 20, 1970

11. John Candelaria, Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Los Angeles Dodgers, Aug. 9, 1976

12. Jerry Reuss, Los Angeles Dodgers at San Francisco Giants, June 27, 1980

13. Nolan Ryan, Houston Astros vs. Los Angeles Dodgers, Sept. 26, 1981

14. Jack Morris, Detroit Tigers at Chicago White Sox, April 7, 1984

15. Fernando Valenzuela, Los Angeles Dodgers vs. St. Louis Cardinals, June 29, 1990

16. Dennis Martinez, Montreal Expos at Los Angeles Dodgers (perfect game), July 28, 1991

17. Kevin Gross, Los Angeles Dodgers vs. San Francisco, Giants, Aug. 17, 1992

18. Kent Mercker, Atlanta Braves at Los Angeles Dodgers, April 8, 1994

19. Ramon Martinez, Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Florida Marlins, July 14, 1995

20. Hideo Nomo, Los Angeles Dodgers at Colorado Rockies, Sept. 17, 1996

21. Kevin Millwood, Charlie Furbush, Stephen Pryor, Lucas Luetge, Brandon League, Tom Wilhelmson, Seattle Mariners vs. Los Angeles Dodgers, June 8, 2012

22. Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Colorado Rockies, June 18, 2014

23. Mike Fiers, Houston Astros vs. Los Angeles Dodgers, Aug. 21, 2015

17th Annual Winter Meeting set for Jan. 7!

We hope y’all are having a great holiday season with the new year just around the corner. And you know that means?

It is almost time for the 17th annual Bill Gilbert Winter Meeting, which is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 7, 2023, at Texas State University in San Marcos (directions below).  Named after our late chapter founder and president, it will be our first in-person winter meeting in three years since the pandemic.

As usual, we have arranged a series of presentations and speakers, both chapter members and others, on a variety of baseball topics.  Our tentative schedule includes the following:

Morning sessions:

  • Baseball Memories, in which chapter members will reflect on their favorite moments of 2022 that they personally witnessed, including Aaron Judge’s 62nd home run, and the Astros winning the World Series.
  • Mike Bryan is an author and uncle/great-uncle of two chapter members.  He has co-written autobiographies by Hall of Famers Kirby Puckett and Cal Ripken, Jr., as well as All-Star first baseman Keith Hernandez.  He will lend his insights into those personalities, and the experience of being a professional “ghost writer” or “as told to.”  In addition, his grandniece Bailey Hall will offer a presentation on the history of statistics in baseball, and how they have changed the game. 
  • Chapter member (and Winter Meeting coordinator) Jerry Miller will offer a presentation on “A Dodger Fan Remembers Vin Scully,” which will include a theme-related quiz (with prizes!).

Afternoon sessions:

  • We will have our annual presentations by Round Rock Express general manager Tim Jackson and broadcaster and chapter member Mike Capps, who will preview the 2023 Round Rock season and discuss developments in Central Texas baseball and with the parent Texas Rangers. (Session with Tim Jackson will be on Zoom.)
  • Local trainer Rocky Galindo is the personal trainer for a number of prominent major leaguers and will discuss the state of training and how he keeps players game-ready.
  • Nancy Finley is a Texas native who has recently moved back to her home state.  She will discuss her book, “Finley Ball: How Two Outsiders Turned the Oakland A’s into a Dynasty and Changed the Game Forever,” a unique perspective on the three-time World Series champions as the niece of former Oakland A’s owner Charles O. Finley and the daughter of his right-hand man and brother Carl. (UPDATE: This session will be in-person).
  • David Vaught is a chapter member and a professor of history at Texas A&M University who has written on baseball in rural America.  He will discuss his recent book, “Spitter: Baseball’s Notorious Gaylord Perry,” about the late Hall of Fame pitcher.  Expectorations will no doubt be high for this one. (Session will be on Zoom.)

In addition to the above, we will observe several annual traditions, including awards to the winner of chapter member Jim Baker’s annual Predictatron contest, and our highly awaited (and unfailingly accurate) mock Hall of Fame voting, conducted by chapter member Ryan Pollack (filling in for Jan Larson). 

We also encourage members to bring their baseball memorabilia for “show and tell” and to bring baseball-related books for exchange with other members.  (All non-claimed books will be donated to local libraries).

Lunch

This year, we’ll have the Inflation Buster Lunch Special! Thanks to Linda and Monte Cely, we’ll be rolling back prices for some ballpark food at lunch!  For $5 per person, you’ll get two all-beef hot dogs, a bag of chips, a box of Cracker Jack, and a 500 ml ice cold water (sorry, no beer).*  Cash only please, and exact change will be appreciated.  You can pay as you enter and register. (*You can substitute one vegan ‘dog instead of the two all-beef ‘dogs, while limited supply lasts; you can also buy an additional hot dog, water, etc., for $1 per item after everyone has been served.)

Directions to Old Main on the campus of Texas State University in San Marcos

  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. At 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 the 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 of Old Main in Room 320. There is an elevator on the first floor, or you can take the stairs.

A note about the Zoom sessions

The above-marked presentations with Tim Jackson and David Vaught will be conducted on Zoom. To receive the Zoom details, please use this link to register for the event:

https://txstate.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJMvceygrT8qH9H1GHOMsG2rz_BI1e2lpn7i

This is THE annual event for baseball aficionados in Central Texas.  We hope you can join us on Jan. 7, 2023!

 

Breakfast tacos with World Cup action kick off December meeting

Breakfast tacos, hot stove talk and a quiz featuring players whose last names begin and end with vowels filled our December chapter meeting while Argentina and France battled for the World Cup on Sunday.

Eleven chapter members gathered at Rudy’s BBQ on 360 to catch up on the latest free agent signings while a large group of soccer fans, mostly rooting for Argentina with a sprinkling of France fans, filled the dining area.

Cy Morong brought a quiz that challenged us to name players with last names that begin and end with vowels. Jerry Miller, pictured below, had his vowels in order to win the contest with 15 points, winning the prize of “Sho-Time: The Inside Story of Shohei Ohtani and the Greatest Baseball Season Ever Played” by Jeff Fletcher. Cy noted before the quiz that the book prize was related to the theme of his quiz.

 Jim Baker was the only other contestant with double figures; he scored 10. Jan Larson and Ira Siegel tied with nine points, and Monte Cely had eight. Take a swing at Cy’s quiz below. The answers follow the questions.

Meanwhile, fans of Argentina had a lot to cheer about when their team took a 2-0 lead in the first half of the championship match. But when France scored two goals within a few minutes of each other late in the second half, many of the Argentina fans were stunned, as were Raeanne Martinez and Bailey Hall (pictured below).

Raeanne Martinez (left) and Bailey Hall react to the late goals by France in the World Cup.

Some of the topics we talked about included Aaron Judge re-signing with the New York Yankees, Carlos Correa joining the San Francisco Giants, the New York Mets adding Justin Verlander and keeping Brandon Nimmo, the Houston Astros signing Jose Abreu and the Texas Rangers signing Jacob deGrom. We considered the risk of some of these long-term contracts, especially with some older players and those with a track record of health issues.

This was the 193rd consecutive month in which the chapter has had a meeting. That’s 16 full years!

Our next meeting will be the 17th Annual Bill Gilbert Winter Meeting on Saturday, Jan. 7, 2023, at Texas State University. Please save the date. More information about the meeting schedule along with directions and parking information will be forthcoming. Hope you can join us!

Quiz: Starts With a Vowel and Ends With a Vowel

By Cy Morong

The last name of each answer will start with a vowel and end with a vowel. In some cases, where noted, you will be required to also supply the first name. Y is not a vowel for the purpose of this quiz. So players like Chase Utley and Carl Yastrzemski will not be the answers to any questions.

  1. He won the 2022 NL Cy Young award.
  2. He won the 2021 AL MVP award.
  3. He won the 2020 AL MVP award. Need first name.
  4. He holds the record for most HRs hit by a rookie.
  5. A 3 time batting champ, he won the 2017 AL MVP award.
  6. He won the 2015 NL Cy Young award.
  7. A 2Bman, he had a streak of 5 straight years with 30+ HRs.
  8. He was the regular SS for the 2005 White Sox.
  9. He won 13 games for the 1998 Yankees.
  10. He tied Reggie Jackson for the AL lead in HRs in 1980.
  11. He won 18 games for the 1986 Mets.
  12. A Hall of Famer, he won the 1971 AL batting with the Twins (and 1964-65 as well). ROY in 1964.
  13. He started his career with the Giants but won the NL batting title in 1966 with the Pirates. He had a .307 career AVG. Need first name.
  14. He started his career with the Giants but was 2nd in AVG in the NL in 1966 with the Braves. He later managed the Expos for 10 years. Need first name.
  15. He started his career with the Giants but also played with the Astros (7 seasons), A’s and Mets. Had a .280 lifetime AVG. Need first name.
  16. A Hall of Fame SS, he was AL ROY in 1956 with the White Sox and once led the AL in SBs 9 straight years.
  17. He won 19 games for the 1961 Reds. His 10 year career ended with the White Sox in 1967.
  18. He went 21-7 with the 1954 Giants and led the NL in ERA.
  19. A 2Bman, he won the 1954 AL batting title with the Indians.
  20. He won exactly 200 games. A member of the 1920 Indians, he led the AL in wins twice with 26 & 27 wins.
  21. 2021 NL Rookie of the Year.
  22. 2021 AL Rookie of the Year.
  23. A surprise starter in game one of the 1929 World Series, he set a then record with 13 strikeouts in one World Series game.
  24. A Hall of Famer from the 1800s, his nickname was Orator Jim.
  25. He hit 41 HRs and stole 37 bases for the Braves in 2019.

Tie Breaker 1: How many career hits did Bobby Abreu have?

Tie Breaker 2: How many career HRs did Bobby Abreu hit?

Tie Breaker 3: In what year was Bobby Abreu born?

Answers

  1. Sandy Alcantara
  2. Shohei Ohtani
  3. José Abreu
  4. Pete Alonso
  5. Jose Altuve
  6. Jake Arrieta
  7. Dan Uggla
  8. Juan Uribe
  9. Hideki Irabu
  10. Ben Oglivie
  11. Bob Ojeda
  12. Tony Oliva
  13. Matty Alou
  14. Felipe Alou
  15. Jesús Alou
  16. Luis Aparicio
  17. Jim O’Toole
  18. Johnny Antonelli
  19. Bobby Avila
  20. George Uhle
  21. Jonathan India
  22. Randy Arozarena
  23. Howard Ehmke
  24. Jim O’Rourke
  25. Ronald Acuña

Tie Breaker 1: 2,470

Tie Breaker 2: 288

Tie Breaker 3: 1974

 

A ring, a card and a hard hot stove quiz highlight November meeting

A gift exchange between an Astros and a Phillies fan, a challenging baseball winter meeting-themed quiz and a chapter milestone kept us warm on a chilly, rainy day in Austin on Saturday.

Fourteen chapter members and guests gathered at Serranos in Southwest Austin to enjoy Tex-Mex lunch with a side of hot stove questions crafted by Ira Siegel.

With a maximum score of 49 on the quiz, the best we could muster was 12 points by Cy Morong for first place, 11 points by Jim Baker for second place, and nine points by Ryan Pollack for third. Some of us were grateful to get at least one right to prevent the goose egg.

Take your swing at Siegel’s quiz below. The answers follow the questions.

We were also happy to have the voice of the Round Rock Express, Mike Capps, join us for lunch. He’s one of the newest chapter members and is scheduled to join us again in January for the 17th Annual Bill Gilbert Winter Meeting. He shared stories about his experience as a broadcaster. One observation that stuck out was that 46 players who played in the 2011 World Series between the Texas Rangers and the St. Louis Cardinals had also played at the Dell Diamond earlier in their careers – a remarkable number!

Speaking of numbers, it was the 192nd consecutive month the chapter has meet, marking 16 full years of monthly meetings.

Phillies fan David Curtoys (left in photo below) gave Gilbert Martinez a replica of Dusty Baker’s 2021 AL Championship ring. It was the giveaway at the Phillies-Astros game on Oct. 3, when Philadelphia clinched the last playoff spot. Little did either one of us know that our teams would face each other in the World Series three weeks later!

Martinez, meanwhile, gave Curtoys a Kyle Schwarber Topps Now card documenting the slugger’s first-inning home run off Justin Verlander that, at the time, tied World Series Game 5.

For the record, no fights broke out as Astros and Phillies fans alike shared lunch and gifts with one another!

Speaking of Curtoys, he was the winner of the Hornsby Chapter Postseason Predictatron contest, while Chuck Kaufman was the winner of the Hornsby Chapter Regular Season Predictatron. Both will receive trophies for their amazing prognostication accomplishments from Predictatron impresario Jim Baker at the winter meeting in January.

We scheduled the next month’s meeting for 9 a.m. Sunday, Dec. 18, at Rudy’s BBQ (2451 S. Capital of Texas Highway).

Also, please save Saturday, Jan. 7, 2023, for the winter meeting at Texas State University. More information about the lineup will be forthcoming.

Baseball Winter Meetings Trades Quiz

By Ira Siegel

There are 20 questions. Each answer is worth one point. A perfect score is 49 points. Good luck!

1—Name the 3 players who went to the Reds from the Orioles in 1965 for Frank Robinson.

2 – In 2007, who were the 2 more significant acquisitions (i.e., NOT named Rabelo, de la Cruz, Trahern, or Badenhop) who Miami received from the Tigers in exchange for Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis?

3—Who were the two players sent to (A) Toronto and the two sent to (B) San Diego in their 1990 blockbuster? There were no others involved.

4—Name the two (left side of the) infielders swapped on 12/8/78 going from (A) Cleveland to Texas and (B) Texas to Cleveland. One played MLB for 17 years; the other, 18.

5—From the initial meeting in 1927 through 1945, all were held in NYC or Chicago, except for one. Name the year, the city, and why for one point each.

6—On 12/12/18, the Reds and Nationals exchanged pitchers with the same first name. What was that first name?

7—Name the other 6 players in the 1959 trade of Roger Maris to the Yankees for one point each.

8—Zac Gallen, who is now with Arizona, led the NL in 2022 in WHIP and fewest hits per 9 innings. He was previously traded along with three other players for an outfielder. Name the outfielder they were traded for and the headliner (a pitcher) who was traded along with Gallen, for a point each.

9—In 1941, Brooklyn sent four players to Pittsburgh for a future HOF infielder. He was an All Star from 1934-1942 and in his last year (1942) he led the league in runs scored, steals, and caught stealing. Who is that HOFer?

10—In 1991, the Mariners sent 3 RHPs to SF for 1989 MVP Kevin Mitchell and Mike Remlinger. For a point each, who were the 3 pitchers?

11—In 1980, a HOF pitcher and a catcher were traded by SD to StL. Four days later, StL sent the pitcher to the Brewers along with Pete Vukovich and a different HOFer. Name the HOF pitcher, the catcher, the other HOFer, and the Brewer acquired by the Cardinals. One point each…4 total.

12—In 2016, the White Sox acquired Yoan Moncada and 3 others from an AL team. Who was the one player they traded?

13—In 1950, Cleveland acquired a 36-year-old catcher from the Red Sox for cash. The catcher later managed the then Cincinnati Redlegs, then the then Milwaukee Brewers, and then the then Cleveland Indians. Who was he?

14—For a point each, what was the year and the city for the only Winter Meeting held outside the United States?

15—Also in 1967, the Mets traded RHP Bill Denehy and $100,000 to the Senators. Who did they acquire in the deal?

16—In 1967, the Twins sent 3 players (two were pitchers) to the Dodgers for 2 players (one was a pitcher). It’s a point each for these 5 players. Hint: all played in the 1965 World Series. Hint #2: arguably four of the players were really good players and the fifth one played for lots and lots and lots of teams.

17—For a point each, name the player traded in 1989 from Cleveland to San Diego and the 3 players sent to Cleveland. Hint: don’t waste too much time on one of the 3, even though he was 6th in NL ROY voting in 1987 with Philadelphia. Y’all know the other 3 players! Hint #2: none were pitchers.

18—In 2003, who did the Yankees get for sending Jeff Weaver and two other players to the Dodgers?

19—Who did the Cardinals get in the 1980 trade with Cubs for Leon Durham and Ken Reitz? He was an RHP.

20—2011 free agent signing: he had led his league in hits, doubles, and batting average once each…all in 2003.

Answers

1—MILT PAPPAS, JACK BALDSCHUN, & DICK SIMPSON

2—ANDREW MILLER & CAMERON MAYBIN

3—A) ROBERTO ALOMAR & JOE CARTER TO TOR B) FRED MCGRIFF & TONY FERNANDEZ TO SD

4—A) BUDDY BELL TO TX; B) TOBY HARRAH TO CLEVE

5—1939 IN CINCINNATI FOR “CENTENNIAL” (DOUBLEDAY) AS FIRST PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL TEAM

6—TANNER ROARK (TO REDS) FOR TANNER RAINEY (TO NATS)

7—JOE DEMASTRI & KENT HADLEY TO NYY
LARSEN, BAUER, SIEBERN, & THRONEBERRY TO KC

8—GALLEN: MARCEL OZUNA TO STL; SANDY ALCANTRARA TO MIAMI

9—ARKY VAUGHAN

10—BILL SWIFT, MICHAEL JACKSON, & DAVE BURBA

11—FINGERS (4 DAYS), TENACE, SIMMONS (HOF), & LEZCANO

12—MONCADA: CHRIS SALE TO BOSTON

13—BIRDIE TEBBETTS

14—1967 IN MEXICO CITY

15—GIL HODGES

16—ROSEBORO, PERRANOSKI, MILLER, GRANT, & VERSALLES

17—JOE CARTER TO SD
S. ALOMAR JR, CARLOS BAERGA, & CHRIS JAMES TO CLEVE

18—KEVIN BROWN

19—BRUCE SUTTER

20—ALBERT PUJOLS

November Lunch Meeting

The Rogers Hornsby Chapter will hold our November lunch meeting on Saturday, November 19 starting at 12:30 p.m. at Serranos-Mopac at 5030 Highway 290 West, Austin, TX 78735 (near intersection of MoPac & 290).  This meeting will mark 16 full years of regular monthly chapter meetings (192 meetings since December of 2006).  Since we need a headcount in order to reserve tables, 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, once again hosted a World Series watch party at which nine members and guests took in not only a lot of food but also Game Two of the 2022 World Series in which the Houston Astros defeated the Philadelphia Phillies, 5-2, to even the Series at one game each.

Tom Wancho, who was unable to attend, supplied a World Series quiz.  After debating one controversial question, it was determined that Jim Baker and Ira Seigel had tied for first place with 19 points each.  No tie breaker was provided so the judges ruled that the contest was a tie.

Information on the November chapter meeting will be forthcoming.