Rogers Hornsby Chapter

Eleven chapter members and guests pondered the final two weeks of the season while enjoying an Italian lunch on Saturday.

Inspired by a discussion of journeymen players at a prior meeting, I put together a quiz asking participants to name the franchises that the top five journeymen have played for. Edwin Jackson, currently pitching for the Detroit Tigers, is the all-time leader with 14 franchises, followed by Octavio Dotel (13), and Mike Morgan, Matt Stairs and Ron Villone (each with 12). Details can be found at baseball-reference.com (https://www.baseball-reference.com/leaders/leaders_most_franchises.shtml).

Jim Baker bested the field with 35 total points, correctly naming the most franchises for these players. For his effort, Jim took home a framed poster with baseball sayings by famous ballplayers (see photo above). For example, Rogers Hornsby is quoted on the poster (“I don’t want to play golf. When I hit the ball, I want someone else to go chase it”). Yogi Berra is also featured (“All pitchers are liars or crybabies”). And Nolan Ryan (“It helps if the hitter thinks you’re a little crazy”). Baker said he’s looking forward to adding the poster to his baseball-themed library at home.

Baseball-themed gear represented at our meeting included the Astros, Yankees, Cardinals, Orioles, Athletics, Rangers and Indians. Also making an appearance were the Astros’ Triple-A affiliate Round Rock Express, the Chunichi Dragons of Nippon Professional Baseball and the Naranjeros de Hermosillo of the Mexican Pacific League. Jerry Miller sported a cool baseball shirt with a clever equation: 6+4+3 = 2.

Also, Linda Nichols, who attended Game 3 of the Pacific Coast League Championship Series the night before, shared the giveaway for fans: a 2005 National League Championship Replica Ring with Craig Biggio’s name (see photo below)

Mike Dillon posed an interesting question for discussion — are starting pitchers worth or valued less today because they’re typically not pitching deep into games like in years past, or are pitchers who pitch 200+ innings worth or valued more today? Jan Larson surmised that in the coming years, the value for starting pitchers will likely decrease as they’re not expected to go much longer than five innings. It made us wonder: Would you rather have a pitcher go seven innings but give up two runs, or a pitcher that goes five innings with no runs?

With this meeting, the chapter met for the 154th consecutive month, matching the amount of games played in a baseball season before it was expanded to 162 games in 1961. This streak dates to 2006.

Next month’s meeting will be the long-anticipated World Series Watch Party at Jim Baker’s house on Saturday, Oct. 26. We don’t yet know who the pennant winners will be, but we do know that we’ll be watching Game 4 of the World Series. A call for RSVPs and details will be forthcoming in mid-October.

The September meeting of the Rogers Hornsby Chapter will be held at the Macaroni Grill in the Arboretum area in Austin on Saturday, September 14, 2019 at 12:30 p.m.  Please RSVP to Jan Larson at jan.a.larson@gmail.com if you plan to attend.

An All-Star Home Run Derby ball from Cleveland and a fun and challenging quiz about the 3,000 Hit Club were the highlights of the August monthly meeting at County Line Bar-B-Que on the Lake on Saturday.

Scott Jarret (pictured above) brought the baseball he caught during the Home Run Derby last month. He snagged it on the fly off of Joc Pederson’s bat, which was his 19th home run during the derby. This writer did not notice if Dodgers fan Jerry Miller was devising a plan to secure that home run ball for himself. More details may be known in time for next month’s meeting.

Tom Wancho brought a simple but challenging quiz to name all 32 MLB players with 3,000 hits or more in a career. Jim Baker (shown below) won a Gerrit Cole bobblehead for his score of 28. Tom said he was inspired to make this quiz based on a conversation with Jim in a prior meeting. The aforementioned Jerry walked away with second with a score of 27. A tiebreaker question, which was not needed in this contest, asked us to name the three players who achieved Hit No. 3,000 with a home run (bonus question answers are featured at the bottom). For a list of the 3,000 Hit Club, go to this link by baseball-reference: https://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/3,000_hit_club

Chuck Kaufman brought extra copies of the Dell Diamond program featuring Reid Ryan, owner and founder of the Express and currently the president of the Houston Astros. On Friday, Aug. 16, Ryan was inducted into the Express Hall of Fame. Thanks, Chuck!

Jan Larson shared some details of his Seven Days of Baseball last week (including an Express game in Round Rock, a pair of Astros games in Houston and four games in Detroit). He said he had a front row seat at Comerica Park just beyond the first base dugout, expecting to have a great vantage point from which to watch the game, but the rolled-up tarp blocked some of his view. He said he couldn’t see the bases on the field! After consulting with customer service, he was moved to a nearby seat with a better view.

Monte Cely told of an interesting play in a recent St. Louis Cardinals game in which Yadier Molina, while on the basepaths, was struck by a batted ball but, upon review, was not called out. The play in question involved a drawn-in infield, so because the fielder had a chance at the ball, Molina was not declared out, per MLB rules, even though he was struck by the ball.

Fourteen chapter members and guests enjoyed an afternoon of barbeque with heaping sides of baseball chatter. This meeting was the 153rd consecutive month in which the chapter has had a meeting.

A wide variety of baseball related gear appeared at our lunch meeting, including a shirt with the logo of the MLB All-Star Game in Los Angeles (Jerry); the Mexico team cap from the 2012 Serie del Caribe (Monte); an Albuquerque Isotopes shirt (Tom); an interesting pairing of a Dodgers cap and a Red Sox shirt (Mike); a Royals T-shirt (Dustin); a Chester Charge shirt (Raeanne); a New York Yankees shirt (Ira); a Detroit Tigers cap (Jan); a Cleveland cap (Scott); and an Ichiro Suzuki shirt (myself). Also included was a Gridley’s Bar-B-Q shirt (Jim).

As the regular season winds down, we have some favorite gatherings coming up. For many years, Jim has hosted a World Series Watch Party. He announced that World Series Game 4 on Saturday, Oct. 26, would be the date for this year’s watch party, which will also be our monthly meeting for October. Save the date!

Meanwhile, next month’s meeting is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 14, at Macaroni Grill (Arboretum). A call for RSVPs will be made in the weeks leading up to the meeting.

(Bonus question answers: Wade Boggs, Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez)

Our August lunch meeting will be once again held at the birthplace of the Rogers Hornsby Chapter – the County Line BBQ located at 5204 Ranch Road 2222 in Austin (a short distance east of Hwy 360 on 2222) at 12:30 p.m. on Sunday, August 18.  Members, guests and baseball fans in general are welcome to attend.

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

Fourteen chapter members and guests gathered for a potluck meal with a main dish of afternoon baseball games on Saturday, July 27.

Hosted by Ryan Pollack, we enjoyed a sandwich platter with a variety of side dishes and desserts. Many thanks to Ryan for hosting and to Linda Cely and Raeanne Martinez for bringing delicious homemade desserts. Thanks to everyone for their potluck contributions.

The first game of the day featured the Tampa Bay Rays hosted by the Toronto Blue Jays, giving us a chance to watch several rookies with famous names (Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Cavan Biggio). Early on, it seemed that the Rays had the game well in hand, leading 8-2 after five innings. After a vote of attendees, we opted to watch the Los Angeles Dodgers-Washington Nationals game. The Nats took a quick 2-0 lead on Clayton Kershaw and the Dodgers. But by the fourth inning, the Dodgers took the lead 4-2 on their way to a 9-3 victory.

Before long, we noticed that the Blue Jays had battled to a 9-5 deficit headed into the bottom of the ninth, so, we switched back to see if the Jays had a comeback in them. Sure enough, they did! Guerrero led the charge with a three-run home run to pull the Jays within one, and then Brandon Drury homered for the second time in two innings to tie the game. It took another three innings, but the Blue Jays prevailed with a solo home run by Teoscar Hernandez (former Astros player!), his second of the game. In fact, this game did not lack for home runs – Biggio hit his seventh of the year in the second inning.

This was the 152nd consecutive month that the chapter has had a meeting, a streak dating to 2006. We often gather for weekend lunches to talk baseball. We sometimes meet at the Dell Diamond to watch the Triple-A Round Rock Express. We also host baseball playoffs and World Series watch parties in October. This meeting is one of the few in which we gather to watch andtalk baseball.

Next meeting will be at 12:30 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 18, at County Line Bar-B-Q on the Lake (5204 FM 2222).

Our July get-together will be held on Saturday, July 27 at the home of Ryan Pollack starting at 1:30 p.m.  Ryan has graciously offered to host a baseball watch party (games start at 2:00 p.m.) and will supply a sandwich platter.  Attendees are requested to bring along a favorite side dish and/or dessert along with your favorite beverage.

For privacy reasons, Ryan’s address is not posted here but will be given to those that indicate that they plan to attend.

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

A game-tying A.J. Reed home run late in the game, an extra inning that featured runners placed at second and a game-winning single, clinching a win for the Round Rock Express, and a former National League batting champion making his debut with the Iowa Cubs were among the highlights at the June chapter meeting for seventeen chapter members and guests.

The Express topped the Iowa Cubs 2-1 in 10 innings at the Dell Diamond. It was the first time many of us saw the new extra inning rule in which a runner is placed at second base to start every inning until a winner emerges. The base runner is the hitter in the order previous to the leadoff batter in extra innings. The public address announcer explained the new rule at the top of the 10th inning, prompting at least one of our members to boo heartily. It caused a good amount of disagreeable grumbling among our group. The Cubs were unable to score their runner, while the Express walked it off with a Lorenzo Quintana base hit.

Many in the group were hoping to see 20-year-old Yordan Alvarez, who has 20 home runs on the season, but he had a rest day. Still, we kept an eye on the dugout for Hug Watch in case an Alvarez call-up was imminent.

Another hot prospect for the Astros, right fielder Kyle Tucker, who has 16 home runs, had a quiet night at the plate, going 0-4 with two strikeouts.

The most recognizable name on the Cubs’ starting lineup was Carlos Gonzalez, the former Colorado Rockies slugger and National League Batting Champ in 2010. He was most recently with the Cleveland Indians, who signed him this season, but after a lackluster performance, released him. He joined the Iowa Cubs on May 30 in an attempt to return to the big leagues. This game was his debut with the Triple-A team; he went 0-4 with a strikeout.

Some of us stuck around for the post-game fireworks. And, for completeness, Chicken White won the chicken race, granting our section coupons for five free wings at Plucker’s.

Prior to the game, 10 of us gathered for bbq dinner at the Salt Lick. Because of other reservations, we were not able to make our own reservation, but they were able to seat our group within a half hour and we made it to the game just prior to first pitch.

This meeting was the 151st consecutive month with a chapter meeting. The July meeting hasn’t been scheduled yet, so look for an announcement later this month.

Our annual chapter outing to see a Round Rock Express game with a pregame meal of barbecue is scheduled for Saturday, June 1. We have a block of 24 tickets priced at $14 each reserved for the game. If more than 24 people wish to go, additional tickets are available for $22 each (including convenience fee).

If there is a strong demand for tickets, I will limit each Hornsby Chapter member to two tickets before I force anyone to buy a high priced ticket.

We will meet at the Salt Lick BBQ which is located across the parking lot from the Dell Diamond. We will meet promptly at 5:30 p.m. The operative word is “promptly” as the Salt Lick’s policy is to not seat incomplete parties. Also, BRING CASH, as the Salt Lick has a “one check” per party policy.

After eating we will proceed to the Dell Diamond for the game between the Express and the Iowa Cubs. Our seats are in the upper rows of sec. 121 so we should be out of the sun, at least for the majority of the game.

Deadline: I need to have a count of the number of people in your party that will be (1) eating at the Salt Lick and (2) needing game tickets no later than Monday, May 27 (Memorial Day). I will be making a reservation at the Salt Lick and ordering the exact number of tickets that we need first thing on Tuesday, May 28. Please send your information to me privately at jan.a.larson@gmail.com.

Once tickets have been ordered, I will deliver them to each purchaser via email with a pdf file attachment. You may pay by either cash or check on the day of the game if you wish. Note that if you order tickets and subsequently cannot attend, it is up to you to find someone to use your tickets. The Hornsby Chapter does not offer a ticket brokerage service.

BE SURE TO PRINT YOUR TICKETS AND BRING THEM WITH YOU!

Fifteen chapters members and guests struggled with clever but tricky trivia questions at the 150th consecutive monthly meeting on Saturday, May 18.

Dan Walsh, author of the “Sliders, Curves and Junk” quiz, stumped many of us with a mostly multiple-choice quiz that had us swinging and missing. Mike Dillon dominated the quiz, scoring 12 points and winning a triple bobblehead featuring Jackie Robinson, Don Newcombe and Roy Campanella. Tom T. and Ira tied for second with 10 points each. Try your hand a Dan’s filthy pitches by clicking here: http://www.sabrhornsby.org/2019/05/dan-walshs-sliders-curves-and-junk-quiz/

There was a nice variety of ballclubs represented at the meeting. Spring training was represented by Mike D. with an Arizona shirt and Don with a Colorado Rockies shirt. New York was another theme: Ira wore a Yankees shirt; Jan wore a Mets cap; and guest Tim wore a Mariano Rivera jersey. Dan wore a Pirates shirt; the die-hard Dodgers fan explained that he purchased the shirt for a presentation at the chapter’s baseball reminiscence program. The Astros were well-represented: Linda wore an Astros jersey with the rainbow stripes on the shoulders; Tom T. wore an Astros shirt; and I wore a George Spring jersey with a World Series champion patch. David paired a Mike Trout Angels shirt with a FDNY cap. Tom M. wore a Cleveland jersey and cap. Other notables: Mike D. wore a San Juan Caribbean Series cap; Ryan wore a Marvel Comics shirt; and Tom W. wore a “Cool Summer Nights” shirt from the Bullock Texas State History Museum.

This was the 150th consecutive month in which the chapter has had a meeting, a streak that dates to December 2006.

In other news, Predicatron impresario Jim Baker presented Dan Walsh with a certificate for winning last year’s Gilbert Martinez Division.

I also brought two Japanese newspapers published in New York at the end of March to share with the group. The newspapers featured stories of Ichiro Suzuki’s retirement after the two games in Japan to kick off the 2019 season.

Our next outing will be Saturday, June 1, at the Dell Diamond to watch the Round Rock Express host the Iowa Cubs. More information will be coming soon.