March Lunch at Third Base

We will be returning to a new, but familiar establishment for our March lunch meeting.  As many will recall, we used to be regulars at the now defunct West Sixth Street Third Base restaurant so it will be just like old times when we gather at the Third Base located at 13301 US 183 on Saturday, March 18 at 12:30 p.m.

If you’re traveling from the south, take the Anderson Mill exit and travel up the service road until you see the sign for Main Event.  There is an entrance to the shopping area just past that sign and just before you get to Third Base.  If you miss it, don’t worry you can proceed up the service road to the Kerbey Lane sign and enter there or, failing that proceed to Anderson Mill Road, take a right, enter immediately after the Walgreen’s and proceed to double back through the shopping area to the restaurant.

Map here.

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

February Lunch Meeting Wrap-Up

Fourteen members and guests gathered at the birthplace of the Rogers Hornsby Chapter, County Line by the Lake barbecue, on Saturday, February 18 to consume meat and to talk baseball.  With spring training beginning in Florida and Arizona, everyone is looking forward to the start of the 2017 season.  When asked about his outlook on the upcoming season, lifelong Indians fan Tom Wancho explained that he was “cautiously pessimistic.”

Monte Cely recently returned from his annual pilgrimage to the Caribbean Series (Serie del Caribe) held this year in Culiacan, Mexico.  He answered questions about his trip and also provided a Serie del Caribe/South of the Border-themed trivia quiz.  Jan Larson won the prize in a tie-breaker over the always formidable Raeanne Martinez and took home a replica of the caps worn by the Mexican Pacific League champion Aguilas de Mexicali in the Series.

Our March meeting has been tentatively set for Saturday, March 18 at a new, but somewhat familiar venue, Third Base Sports Bar/Restaurant located at 13301 US 183 in Austin.  Watch this space for more information.

Chapter celebrates 8th Annual SABR Day

Thirteen chapter members and guests joined SABR members across the country to help celebrate the Eighth Annual SABR Day.

The two most recently elected members of the National Baseball Hall of Fame were on our minds as Craig Lukshin wore his autographed Tim Raines Montreal Expos jersey, and I wore a Jeff Bagwell t-shirt featuring a silhouette of his distinctive crouching batting stance. Other notable attire included Ira Siegel’s Eddie Gaedel Society t-shirt.

Our next meeting will be on Saturday, Feb. 18, with a location to be determined.

BasebALZ Completes Season 4 and Season 5 Gets Underway

Season Four of the Alzheimer’s Talking Baseball program, held at Westminster Senior Living in Central Austin, ran from September 12 to November 14, 2016.  Eleven participants and caregivers were in attendance.  The program continues to be a success for all involved.

Dr. Michael Ego, a fellow SABR member and Professor of Human Development & Family Studies at the University of Connecticut, visited during Season Four to observe the program, conduct interviews, and worked with us to create an informational video about the BasebALZ program.  The video (about 10 minutes) is here.

Season Five got underway on January 23 at the Alzheimer’s Texas offices in northwest Austin.  We had 100% return of our previous season’s participants and caregivers.  Everyone involved had a great time at the “season opener”.

SABR volunteers getting ready for the Season Five home opener at Alzheimer’s Texas

The Season Five announcement and schedule are here:

Basebalz Spring 2017 flyer

Baseball tales abound at 11th annual winter meeting

Baseball stories involving Yogi Berra, Tommy Lasorda, Andre Dawson and Dizzy Dean were among the gems shared at the 11th Annual Rogers Hornsby Chapter Winter Meeting on Saturday, Jan. 14, at Texas State University.

Thirty-nine chapter members and guests enjoyed presentations by Dr. Bobby Brown, former World Series champion with the Yankees and retired cardiologist; Mark Saccomanno, former Astros first baseman who hit a homerun on the first pitch he saw in the big leagues; Mike Capps, entering his 18th season as broadcaster for the Round Rock Express; and Bo Carter, longtime college sports information director who co-authored a book about Dizzy Dean, and Sara Kirby Burke, daughter of longtime broadcaster Gene Kirby who collected and wrote much of the text in the Dizzy Dean book.

In addition, chapter member Jim Baker presented “Stadia Mania,” a quiz involving images of ballparks, and led the group to select baseball season predictions for 2017. The group, more or less, predicted a rematch of the last World Series, Cubs-Indians, with Cleveland chosen to win it all in 2017.

The group also held its own Hall of Fame vote. Using the same ballot as the one used by eligible baseball writers, our group elected only one to the 2017 class: Houston Astros slugger Jeff Bagwell, by 89.2 percent of the vote. Tim Raines, in his last year on the ballot, was one vote short with 73 percent of the vote. Other notables in our vote included: Ivan Rodriguez, 67.6 percent, Edgar Martinez, 54.1 percent and Roger Clemens, 48.6 percent.

Larry Dierker Chapter member Joe Thompson made a call for anyone interested in helping out with research about Mexican-Americans in baseball in Central Texas. Thompson has helped on a book project that discusses Mexican-Americans in baseball in Houston and El Paso and sais that those books are set to be published in the summer.

Many thanks to everyone who joined us on Saturday. Please consider joining us at 12:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 28, when the Hornsby Chapter celebrates SABR Day. Watch for more information on our email list.

(Photos by Ryan Pollack)

 

Chapter members celebrate end of 2016 season, offseason

Eleven chapter members gathered in South Austin on Dec. 17 to catch up on the World Series, MLB awards and offseason moves.

Bill Gilbert brought his Astros and 2016 season trivia quiz, which included some general baseball trivia, too. Jan Larson bested the crowd with an impressive showing.

Many thanks to Monte and Linda Cely for the delicious homemade desserts. This was also the 121st consecutive month with a meeting for the chapter.

The group also looked forward to the 11th Annual Winter Meeting, scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 14, at historic Old Main on the Texas State University campus in San Marcos.

Ryan Pollack and the leadership team have assembled an impressive lineup, featuring Dr. Bobby Brown, former player and president of the American League; Mike Acosta, authentication manager with the Houston Astros; Mike Capps, director of broadcasting with the Round Rock Express; Mark Saccomanno, former Astros player; and Bo Carter, co-author of “Dizzy: Dean of Baseball and My Podnah.”

Hope to see y’all at Old Main on Jan. 14!

Announcing the 11th Annual Hornsby Chapter Winter Meeting

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

Details

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

    From I-35, take exit 206 (Aquarena Springs Dr.) Travel west on Aquarena Springs Drive, which turns into University Drive. After crossing the San Marcos River, you will come to a traffic light. Turn right onto Sessom Drive. Just before the first light, turn left on State Street and go up a steep road toward Old Main. Go through a gate (the gate should be up) and continue up the hill. At the top of the hill, make a sharp left turn and drive up to Old Main. Look for parking on this road that winds around the side and back of Old Main.

    You can find additional parking at the Pleasant Street Garage, located at the corner of N. LBJ and Pleasant Street. To reach this garage, after you pass through the gate, continue up the hill, then down the hill to the stop sign on Pleasant Street. Turn left; the entrance to the parking garage will be on your left.

    You do not need a parking pass to park on campus – however, do not park in spaces not marked as parking spaces or in handicapped parking (unless you have the appropriate tag displayed).

    The meeting room is on the third floor in Room 320. There is an elevator on the first floor, or you can take the stairs.

Lineup

Dr. Bobby Brown

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

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

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

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

Mike Acosta

Authentication Manager, Houston Astros

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

Mike Capps

Director of Broadcasting, Round Rock Express

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

Mark Saccomanno

Former first baseman, Houston Astros

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

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

Bo Carter

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

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

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

Activities

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

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

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