Society for American Baseball Research, Rogers Hornsby Chapter

Our youngest member, Bailey Hall, along with her parents Nicole and Brian have graciously offered to host a lunch cookout at their house in Central Austin on Saturday, June 3 starting at 12:00 noon.  Please bring along any specific beverage that you may like along with a swimsuit and towel (if you choose to make use of the pool).  The address will be provided to anyone sending their positive RSVP to jan.a.larson@gmail.com.

 

MAY 2023 NEWSLETTER

By Gilbert D. Martinez

Chapter Commissioner

A dozen chapter members and guests gathered at Mister Tramps Sports Pub in North Austin for an afternoon of baseball chatter, bar food and a game on the big screens on Saturday.

We watched the Tampa Bay Rays race to a 6-0 lead on the New York Yankees, who battled all the way back to win 9-8, bringing great joy to the Yankees fans among us.

Jim Baker brought a quiz inspired by his contemplation of his own mortality, challenging us to name the longest-lived ballplayers. Cy Morong took first place with 11 points, followed by Jerry and Jan with 10 points each for a second-place tie. Don’t waste any time taking a stab at this quiz, dubbed “Tales of the Super Aged,” below. The answers immediately follow the questions.

A frequent quiz winner, Cy declined a prize, but Jerry and Jan split a set of baseball cards for their second-place finish.

It was nice to see Bailey Hall and her dad, Brian Hall, join us on Saturday. She’s been busy with her high school volleyball team, causing her to miss recent meetings. She also shared that she’s working part-time with the Round Rock Express doing a variety of things around the ballpark. She’ll go full-time once the school year ends (which can’t come soon enough for Bailey! Hang in there, Bailey! It’ll be over soon!).

Speaking of Bailey and her parents, they have graciously offered to host next month’s meeting on June 3 at their home in Central Austin. We’ll share more details and ask members to RSVP soon.

We talked about how the Rays, despite the loss at Yankee Stadium on Saturday, have been dominating MLB and what’s happened to the St. Louis Cardinals. Some Houston Astros fans among us are more optimistic about the team’s chances, despite the team hovering around .500 for most of the season thus far. We also talked about the impact of the new baseball rules. Most of us like the new pitch clock rules and the faster pace of play, but we appear split on the shift ban.

This was the 198th consecutive month in which the chapter has met, a streak dating to December 2006.

SABR 51 in Chicago

With the annual convention in Chicago in July, SABR will welcome the 20,000th attendee to a national convention. To celebrate, all attendees will be automatically entered to win free attendance and hotel accommodations at the next five annual conventions! More information about the raffle and SABR 51 at this link: https://sabr.org/latest/celebrating-20k-win-free-registrations-to-the-next-5-sabr-conventions/

First Chapter Election

Jan Larson and Ryan Pollack with the Hornsby Chapter leadership team announced the results for the chapter’s first-ever election for the commissioner position. In an election that concluded on May 12, Gilbert Martinez was elected as commissioner of the Rogers Hornsby SABR Chapter for the 2023-26 term. Gilbert received 27 of 27 votes for a 100% vote share. Turnout was 34.6%. Anyone who wishes to see the summarized, anonymized results may contact Ryan (ryan9379@gmail.com).

Baseball Memories

Monte and Linda Cely led a baseball memories session at AGE’s Thrive Social & Wellness Center in Round Rock on May 3. Chapter members Ira Siegel, Jerry Miller and Mike Dillon also volunteered their time to connect with and support Alzheimer’s patients and their families and caregivers by using their memories of baseball for therapy care. This was the fourth session by Hornsby Chapter volunteers at AGE of Central Texas. Monte also shared that he’s in touch with SABR members in San Antonio and elsewhere who are interested in starting their own baseball memories program in their communities.

For more information about our baseball memories program, please see the About page at this link: https://www.sabrhornsby.org/about-basebalz/

Rest in peace to Deacon Jones

We were sad to learn of the passing of former Major League player and coach Deacon Jones (pictured above at the 14th Annual Bill Gilbert Winter Meeting in 2020) . He filled the room with stories of his playing days with the Chicago White Sox and coaching days with the Houston Astros. May he rest in peace.

Jan’s Ballpark Quest

Jan Larson told us that he continues his lifelong ambition to visit all Major League ballparks. He’s planning to add Truist Park, home of the Atlanta Braves, this week, the last park he needs to complete all current 30 MLB stadiums. It would bring his overall total to 59 ballparks.

Predictatron

Jim Baker reported changes atop both divisions in the Predictatron contest, with Ryan Pollack securing the overall lead and Jim himself taking the top spot in his division. Meanwhile, last year’s division winners (Chuck Kaufman and Gilbert Martinez) find themselves in last or tied for last in their respective divisions. The most recent report of May 7 covers 21.3 percent of the season. Participants eagerly await the weekly updates to learn if fortune favors or spurns us.

Awardatron

Ryan Pollack sent his first update in May after the first month of the season. He noted that Shohei Ohtani is having another solid season on the mound and at the plate, accumulating 2 WAR (FanGraphs), more than any other AL player except for Gerrit Cole. Not only is Ohtani on his way to another MVP, Ryan writes, but he may receive a record-setting contract when he becomes a free agent this offseason (or prior, if he wants to sign an extension). Ryan also gave updates on favorites for a variety of awards, such as Ronald Acuña Jr. and Pete Alonso, favorites for NL MVP; Cole and Ohtani (quoting Ryan, “What can’t the man do? Sheesh”) for AL Cy Young; and Spencer Strider and Zac Gallen for NL Cy Young. Some of the participants are already anticipating the All-Star break when competitors can switch one (and only one) award prediction to bolster contest chances.

June meeting details

As mentioned earlier, we’re happy to accept the generous offer from Bailey Hall, Nicole Bryan-Hall and Brian Hall to host next month’s meeting on Saturday, June 3. There will be baseball on the screens inside and outside at their Central Austin home. They’ll grill food and provide salads, veggies and snacks. Please bring beverages to share with the group. There’s also a pool, so attendees are welcome to bring swimwear and towels. Please RSVP to Jan Larson (jan.a.larson@gmail.com) by May 30 if you plan to attend. Jan will share the address and Nicole’s cell phone number with attendees. Hope to see you there!

TALES OF THE SUPER AGED

By Jim Baker

(info as of May 13, 2023)

Part 1. The Centenarians

1. This player was a four-time All Star and later went on to be the GM of the Atlanta Braves. The highlight of his career, however, was being guest speaker at the Hornsby Chapter annual meeting. He lived to be 100 years and 293 days and passed away in Bastrop in October of 2021.
2. Silas Simmons played for the Lincoln Giants in 1926 and is considered the longest-lived man in major league history. Within two years, how old was he when he passed away?
3. The longest-lived player who played in either the American or National Leagues was pitcher Red Hoff. He broke in at the age of 20 with the New York Highlanders. His player/manager that season was this infamous character of the early 20^th Century. (For an extra point, tell us Hoff’s age when he passed; within two years.)
4. While there are no centenarians in the baseball Hall of Fame, there is one in the Pro Football of Fame and he also spent some time as a big league ballplayer. He was NFL MVP with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1941 and was elected to Canton in 1972. He played for Philadelphia Athletics in 1937 and 1938, where he didn’t hit well, but it allowed him to eventually earn the distinction of being the last living person to have played against our own Rogers Hornsby. He passed away at the age of 101 in 2013. Hint: While not a pitcher, his nickname would suggest he was one.
5. This question is here just so I can name drop Howdy Groskloss. Howdy played sparingly with the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1932 to 1934. In 2006, he passed away at the age of 100 years and 96 days in this town, the winter home of the Dodgers until two years after his death.
6. The last year a centenarian was active in the major leagues was:
   1. 1977
   2. 1967
   3. 1957
   4. 1947
7. Pitcher Milt Gaston passed away in 1996 at the age of 100 years and 90 days. He pitched for five big league teams and his first roommate with the 1924 Yankees was Lou Gehrig. His career lasted 11 years in which he led the league in losses twice. He holds the dubious record for most games under .500 in a career. What was his career record?
   1. 97-164
   2. 102-211
   3. 88-125
   4. 46-159
8. Billy Werber was a third baseman in the 1930s and early ’40s who passed away in 2009 at the age of 100 years and 216 days. He led his league in stolen bases three times and starred in the 1940 World Series. Which two (2) of the following are not about Mr. Werber?
   1. First player to ever come to bat in a televised baseball game
   2. Only player to be hit by five pitches in a game
   3. The last living teammate of Babe Ruth
   4. Once arrested by Philadelphia police for stealing signs
   5. Only player to hit four consecutive doubles in both leagues
9. In what year did the first player reach 100 years old?
   1. 1953
   2. 1963
   3. 1973
   4. 1983

Part 2. Oldest Living Ballplayers

For the purposes of this quiz, we’re considering the start of big league play to be the National Association in 1871. Therefore, the very first so-called “oldest living ballplayer” was an active player, which makes perfect sense when you think about it. His name was Bill Lennon and his reign as such lasted exactly one day: May 4, 1871.

10. Lennon lost the title to this 36-year-old fellow who had already made a national name for himself when he assembled and played with the famous 1869-70 Cincinnati Red Stockings. He would also manage for 25 years, winning four National Association titles and two more in the National League. He is “credited with introducing innovations such as backing up infield plays from the outfield and shifting defensive alignments based on hitters’ tendencies.” He was so famous that when he died, baseball dedicated a day to him. What is his name?
11. Sixty-four years later, his kid brother—also a Hall of Famer—also became the oldest living ballplayer. They were teammates on that famous Cincinnati team as well as the Boston National Association championship teams of 1872 to 1875. He shares a name with a Texas Rangers center fielder of the 1980s.
12. This man held the title of oldest living ballplayer for an astounding 29 years and took the title away from the man who signed him in 1871—the answer to the first question in this section. He played a grand total of one game for Boston in 1871 at the age of 39, going 0-for-4. He is, therefore, the earliest-ever born major leaguer. You don’t need to give his first name, just know that his last name is synonymous with a brand of sandal footwear favored by hippies (although it’s spelled slightly differently).
13. This all-time great former player, who had had his 92^nd birthday on May 6, 2023, is the oldest living Hall of Famer.
14. Like his 19^th century contemporary Albert Spalding, this player went on to have his own sporting goods company (his name was on American League baseballs as late as 1976) and to publish a very popular annual baseball guide. As an executive, he helped found the Philadelphia Phillies in 1883. His reign as oldest living player lasted from 1912 until his passing in 1928.
15. At 91 years and 185 days, this man is the oldest living manager of a World Champion team. He was voted into the Hall of Fame by the Veterans’ Committee in 2010 on the strength of a career .532 managerial record, three division titles in the American League, three National League pennants and one World Series win. You’ve probably never heard him referred to by his birth name, which is Dorrel.
16. This slugging Red Sox second baseman was the oldest living player for most of 2017. A longtime teammate of Ted Williams, he was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1986. He hit 223 career homers and was an All Star nine times. Unlike Williams, he tore it up in their lone World Series (1946), slashing .409/.458/.591.
17. At 97 years and 229 days, this diminutive southpaw is the oldest living former MVP and the fourth-oldest living player. He won the award by going 24-7 for the 1952 Philadelphia Athletics and shares a first name with the answer to the previous question.
18. Born deaf, this man was the oldest living player from 10/31/1956 to 12/15/1961. He amassed over 2,000 career hits in four leagues (American Assoc., Player’s League and the NL, and AL), mostly in the 19^th Century. He was often a topic of conversation when Curtis Pride was playing in the 1990s. Last name only is an acceptable answer.

Bonus Question

For a whopping five points, name any one of the three current oldest living ballplayers.

ANSWERS

Part 1. The Centenarians

1. Eddie Robinson, died at 100 years and 293 days
2. 111 years, 15 days; died in 2006
3. Hal Chase; 107 years, 132 days
4. Ace Parker
5. Vero Beach, Florida
6. 4. 1957; Eddie Robinson on the Indians, Tigers and Orioles
7. 1. 97-164 with the Yankees, Browns, Red Sox, Senators, and White Sox
8. 2 and 4; He batted leadoff for the Reds in the first televised game at Ebbets Field on August 26, 1939; played with Ruth on the Yankees from 1930 to 1933.
9. 3. 1973; Ralph Miller, who played with Brooklyn (1897) and Baltimore (1898)

Part 2. Oldest Living Ballplayers

10. Harry Wright
11. George Wright
12. Nate Berkenstock
13. Willie Mays
14. Al Reach
15. Whitey Herzog
16. Bobby Doerr
17. Bobby Shantz
18. Billy Hoy

Bonus Question

Art Schallock; 99 years, 18 days

Bill Grearson; 98 years, 252 days

Larry Miggins; 97 years 266 days

The May and June lunch meetings of the Rogers Hornsby chapter have been determined.  On Saturday, May 13, we will meet for lunch, baseball and beverages at Mister Tramps Sports Pub at 8565 Research Blvd, Austin, TX 78758 (near Ohlen Road and US 183).  The games start at 12:00 noon and we would encourage all attendees to arrive between noon at 12:30.  We have reserved a private meeting room so we can be as loud as necessary while we watch afternoon baseball.    Please send your RSVP to Jan Larson so we can have an accurate headcount.  Visitors and guests welcome!

The June meeting will be hosted by chapter member Bailey Hall and her parents at their house starting at 12:00 noon on Saturday, June 3.  More information to follow as the date approaches.  Mark your calendar now!

APRIL 2023 NEWSLETTER

With the baseball season under way, nearly a dozen chapter members and guests gathered for barbecue and baseball chatter on Sunday.

Among the topics of discussion were the fast start by the Tampa Bay Rays (they won 13 times to start the season but dropped the first two this weekend against the Toronto Blue Jays, who were just three games back going into Sunday’s play), the unexpectedly poor pitching early on by the St. Louis Cardinals and the slightly below .500 start for the defending World Series Champions Houston Astros.

As chapter commissioner, I made two important announcements involving the national SABR office’s efforts to work with chapters and make the SABR experience more uniform. First, under direction from SABR HQ, the Hornsby Chapter will hold an election for the chapter commissioner position next month. More details will be shared with chapter members about the self-nomination process early in May, followed by an online election open to all members who have the Hornsby Chapter designated as their primary chapter in mid-May.

Second, this month’s summary marks the chapter’s first newsletter. Moving forward, the monthly summary will be called the monthly newsletter, which will include a summary of the monthly meeting, along with other items, such as occasional research tidbits being worked on and discussed by our members, updates from Jim Baker’s Predictatron, Ryan Pollack’s Awardatron contest and other items.

As winner of last month’s quiz, Cy Morong gave us a quiz in which we had to identify teammates that led (first and second on the team) in various statistics. His hint was that all answers were Hall of Famers.

With a quiz maximum of 60 points, Jim Baker took the contest with 46, squeaking by Jerry Miller with 45, followed by Jan Larson with 42 and Ira Siegel with 37. Cy brought prizes for everyone – Jim traded a National Baseball Hall of Fame trivia book with second-place finisher Jerry (pictured below) and got the privilege of picking three postcards from a set featuring Hall of Famers who played for the Minnesota Twins.

Give the quiz a try below. The answers follow the questions.

Baseball Memories

Several of our  chapter members are actively involved in volunteer efforts in our Baseball Memories program, which uses memory therapy and exercises to support Alzheimer’s patients and their family and caregivers. The program got a nice mention in an article published on MLB.com: SABR’s ‘Baseball Memories’ keeps people with memory disorders connected to the game

For more information about our baseball memories program, please see the About page at this link: https://www.sabrhornsby.org/about-basebalz/

Predictatron

On April 9, Jim Baker shared the first update on his Predictatron contest in which 21  chapter members attempt to forecast division standings, playoff teams and the World Series champion. With divisions named after last season’s winners (Chuck Kaufman and Gilbert Martinez), Jan Larson got off to a quick start to lead the Martinez Division and the entire contest, followed by Jerry Miller and Brian Rogers. In the Kaufman Division, Syd Polk leads early, with Ryan Pollack and Chuck Kaufman trailing. In Baker’s summary, he noted that I was “anchoring” my division, which is another way of saying I was in last. Somehow, it sounds better the way he said it! But as Predictatron veterans know, the contest is cruel and merciless. Those on top can easily find themselves dropping faster than an Ohtani sinker. It’s a long season filled with twists and turns. Will Jan lead from beginning to end? Will I keep anchoring the whole contest? We’ll find out!

Awardatron

For the second consecutive year, Ryan Pollack challenged members to predict the winners of baseball’s major awards (MVP, Cy Young, Rookie of the Year, Manager of the Year). It’s hard to predict these awards in March, but that’s what he tasked us to do. With 17 prognosticators, Ryan created two divisions named after the first MVP award winners by the BBWAA in 1931, Lefty Grove and Frankie Frisch. Among the favorites predicted are Shohei Ohtani for AL MVP and AL Cy Young, Ronald Acuña for NL MVP, Corbin Burnes for NL Cy Young, Gunnar Henderson for AL Rookie, Corbin Carroll for NL Rookie, Phil Nevin for AL Manager, and Bob Melvin for NL Manager. Contestants win points for correct predictions, but also earn some points for predictions that are near misses. Ryan also allows predictors to make one change before the All Star Break, but those selections earn fewer points. Who’s going to win these awards? Who knows, but it’ll be fun to track this all season long.

Research Spotlight

On Twitter, Cy Morong (@CyrilMorong) put together a list of active left-handed batters with the highest OPS against left-handed pitchers (minimum of 500 plate appearances). Care to guess who? That would be the Astros’ Yordan Alvarez with an OPS of 0.966, followed by Joey Votto (0.851) and Max Muncy (0.842). Others include Charlie Blackmon (0.83),  Juan Soto (0.83), Ohtani (0.824), Bryce Harper (0.821), Kyle Tucker (0.812), Seager (0.797), and Anthony Rizzo (0.794).

This is a new feature for the newsletter. If you’re a Hornsby Chapter member and have a research tidbit you’d like to share in the monthly newsletter, please email me (gmartinez46@mac.com).

On a personal note, I was very happy to receive a small gift from Jim Baker. He found old photos of the Astrodome from a thrift store. Based on printing on the back of the photos, they may have been taken in May 1967. (Thanks so much, Jim! – Gilbert)

This was the 197th consecutive month in which the chapter has met. The streak started in December 2006. Information for next month’s meeting will be shared via our email lists soon.

One-Two Quiz

By Cy Morong

This is a quiz about teammates that finished first and second in their league in some stat in a given year. The answer to each question is a Hall of Famer. Fill in the blanks. Last name is enough.

You get 1 point if a player you list is one of the two needed even if it is in the wrong slot (like you put Smith #1 but he should be #2). But if you list the correct player in the correct slot, that gets you 2 points (Smith was actually #1 and you put him #1). Then you get 1 additional point if you are within a certain range for the stat itself. If you say Smith hit 40 HRs but it was actually 44, you are within 5 so you get 1 point for that. But, the stat total goes with the player named in the same slot. If you had Smith at #2 and he was really #1 and you are off by more than 5 for Smith’s total you don’t get a point even if the HR total you listed is within 5 for whoever actually was in slot #2.

So you can get a total of 6 points for each question. That means the maximum score is 60. You have to be within .020 for AVG, 0.25 for ERA and so on.

First place wins a Hall of Fame Quiz book. Second place gets to pick 3 Hall of Famer post cards from a set of 28. Then third place gets to pick one of the cards, then 4^th place, 5^th and so on. Any cards left at the end go to second place. I will pass a sheet around for everyone to write their scores on. Then I will go around with the postcards so each person can pick one in order of their finish. Ties will be broken by seeing who is closer on numerical answers starting with question 1.

Answers

The April meeting of the Rogers Hornsby Chapter will be held at the birthplace of the Chapter – the County Line BBQ located at 5204 Ranch Road 2222 in Austin (a short distance east of Hwy 360 on 2222) at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, April 16, 2023.  Members, guests and baseball fans in general are welcome to attend.

So we can have an accurate headcount, please RSVP to Jan Larson at jan.a.larson@gmail.com if you plan to attend.

A day after St. Patrick’s Day and as teams competed in the World Baseball Classic and NCAA basketball’s March Madness, a lucky 13 members and guests gathered to talk preseason baseball on Saturday.

Some of us donated baseballs to Monte Cely for use in the chapter’s baseball memories program for Alzheimer’s patients and guests. Volunteers assisted 19 participants at AGE of Central Texas on March 15.

Jan Larson brought an Opening Day-themed quiz that proved that most of us need more spring training games to get back in quiz shape. Before the quiz, Jan remarked that most of us wouldn’t be shut out, but he doubted any perfect scores.

Cy Morong (pictured above, right) took top prize, an Adrián Beltré bobblehead, with 5 points, while Jim Baker (pictured above, left) and Jerry Miller tied for second with 4 points each. However, Jim eked by Jerry on a non-baseball tiebreaker question, winning a Kyle Tucker bobblehead.

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

Our February meeting was on Zoom, so Jerry Miller (above, left) delivered to Jan the prize for winning last month’s trivia quiz – a team photo of the Atlanta Braves in 1966.

We’ve set next month’s meeting for 1 p.m. Sunday, April 16, at County Line BBQ on the Lake (5204 FM 2222 in Austin). Hope you can join us!

Opening Day Quiz

By Jan Larson

Note:  Opening Day is considered to be a team’s first game of the season, home or road, unless otherwise noted.

1. Which franchise has the longest Opening Day winning streak? (1 point)
2. Which franchise has the best overall winning percentage in Opening Day games?  (1 point)
3. Which team was no-hit on Opening Day? (1 point)
4. Name the three players tied for the most career home runs on Opening Day. (3 points)
5. Name the team that lost its Opening Day game by forfeit. (1 point)
6. Which president threw the first Opening Day ceremonial first pitch? (1 point)
7. What career home run did Henry Aaron hit during the Cincinnati Reds’ Opening Day in 1974? (1 point)
8. What pitcher holds the record for most pitching wins without a loss on Opening Day? (1 point)
9. This Hall of Famer played his one and only game against Lou Gehrig on Opening Day of 1939. Name him.  (1 point)
10. This Hall of Fame pitcher threw a total of nine Opening Day shutouts in his career. Name him.  (1 point)

Tiebreaker:  Who are the Mythbusters?

Answers

1. Astros (10) (current)
2. Mets (40-21) .656
3. White Sox
4. Frank Robinson, Ken Griffey, Jr., Adam Dunn (eight each)
5. New York Giants (1907, forfeit to Phillies due to fans throwing snowballs)
6. William Howard Taft (1910)
7. 714
8. Jimmy Key
9. Ted Williams
10. Walter Johnson

Tiebreaker: Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman

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.

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).

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.

 

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