Hornsby Chapter joins SABR Day celebration

SABR Day 2015 group photo

A dozen chapter members and guests celebrated SABR Day on Saturday, Jan. 24, along with nearly three dozen chapters across North America.

Cy Morong, who traveled from San Antonio to join us, brought a copy of “Computerized Baseball Guide,” a paperback book filled with baseball statistics and rankings published in 1974. Published by Stadia Sports Publishing, Inc., the book authors are listed as the Compu-Scout System, though no names are given. Morong found that the book had some system for the computerized rankings, but did not fully explain how calculations were made.

The group shared a toast in memory of Mr. Cub, Ernie Banks, who passed away the day before. Speaking of Banks, Morong shared research he did that showed that Banks led the National League in RBIs and fielding WAR (for all players, not just shortstops) in 1959. Morong said that a cursory check showed that the two others who have led in those categories were Honus Wagner and Johnny Bench.

SABR shared the Hornsby Chapter group photo above on their Facebook page and Twitter account, which were liked, commented upon and shared even more.

Check out SABR Day on social media by clicking on this link and you’ll see the above photo, which I shared on my social media networks/ You’ll also see photos from many other SABR Day celebrations, including our friends with the Larry Dierker Chapter, which had a table at the Astros FanFest.