Ten chapter members gabbed about the season that just was, the end-of-year awards, the upcoming clash between players and owners, the free agent market and the new collective bargaining agreement at the November meeting on Saturday.
We discussed how many of us weren’t surprised by Shohei Ohtani’s selection as the AL MVP but were surprised that the vote was unanimous. There was some discussion about Corbin Burnes edging out Zack Wheeler and Max Scherzer for the NL Cy Young Award, despite having the fewest innings pitched among the finalists.
While we enjoyed Mexican food at Serranos for lunch in Southwest Austin, some said they were looking forward to seeing how the negotiations between MLB owners and players will go, while others did not find that appetizing in the least.
Based on attendance, we had brief discussions of our favorite teams, among them (in alphabetical order): Angels, Astros, Dodgers, Mets, Orioles and Yankees.
We also talked about the Astros re-signing Justin Verlander and pondered where Carlos Correa might end up.
Among the teams and baseball-related attire were a sharp Seattle Pilots No. 56 Jim Bouton jersey worn by Jerry Miller. Thrilled by the recent signing of Noah Syndergaard, Don Dingee wore an Angels shirt. Jim Baker wore an Astros shirt, while Jan Larson, true to form, wore the cap from the most recent World Series champion, Atlanta Braves. Just two months removed from the induction ceremony at the National Baseball Hall of Fame, Ira Siegel wore a “Class of 2020” shirt. Ryan Pollack wore a FanGraphs t-shirt featuring details from a modern baseball scorebook. I wore a Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters cap in honor of Ohtani, who played for the Fighters for five years in Japan before joining the Los Angeles Angels in 2018.
Joe Gallagher brought a bag of vintage baseball cards to give away over lunch. Lots of great cards to admire, including cards of Felipe Alou, Curt Flood, and an Astros 1970 Rookie Stars card featuring John Mayberry and Bob Watkins, among others.
This was the 180th consecutive month with a meeting, a streak that dates to December 2006.
If you haven’t already, save Saturday, Jan. 8, 2022, on your calendar. We’re planning our 16th Annual Bill Gilbert Winter Meeting at Texas State University. More details to come.
The December meeting will be at 1 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 18, at County Line Bar-B-Q on the Lake in Northwest Austin.
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