The prospect of barbecue and good baseball conversation brought out 16 members and guests to the Rogers Hornsby Chapter’s 181st consecutive monthly meeting on Saturday, Dec. 18.
The lunch meeting at the County Line BBQ, the birthplace of the chapter 18 years ago, included talk of the Texas Rangers’ rash of big moves, the lockout and related startling absence of all current players and news from the MLB website, and the presumed expansion of postseason teams and use of the designated hitter. We were generally impressed by the home run potential of the Rangers’ infield and optimistic that the lockout will end without too much disruption to spring training.
We also discussed the new independent team the Austin Weirdos, which currently lacks players or managers but does have some merchandise and a field in East Austin on which to play. Enthusiasm is high, and a chapter outing is surely on the horizon once the team actually gets going.
The esteemed leader of the annual season-long and postseason Predictatron contests, Jim Baker, presented two beautiful new trophies that he generously acquired and had engraved with all past winners to this year’s double winner, chapter commissioner Gilbert Martinez. Gilbert won with a rather low number of points since this year was pretty rough for all of us, as Jim noted, but a win is a win. Jim also read aloud all the names of the past regular-season winners, including that of chapter founder Bill Gilbert and quite a few folks in attendance.
The other big event of the day: Dan Walsh’s entertaining quiz about MVPs, which generated many laughs but also groans. The crossword-clue-style quiz seeking player names and the year they won MVP was tougher than it first appeared, and scores ranged from 1 point to winner Cy Morong’s 54. Second place went to Jim Baker with 34; both won a selection of postcards of baseball-related lithograph prints. See the quiz and answers below.
Gilbert also announced that SABR is awarding a number of grants to chapters for creative projects. Contact chapter leadership with ideas.
The next meeting is the 16th Annual Bill Gilbert Annual Winter Meeting, to be held Saturday, Jan. 8, at Texas State University.
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MVP DEFINED By Dan Walsh |
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| There’s a constant debate about how to define an MVP, and now we have a solution. Below are 40 clues defining the name of an AL or NL MVP. After you determine the MVPs full name, then provide the year he won the MVP award. For a player who received more than one MVP, only need to indicate one year. | ||
| DEFINITION/CLUE | PLAYER’S NAME | MVP YEAR |
| Here’s to you Mrs. _________, Jesus loves you… | ||
| Farmer Hoggett’s runt | ||
| Government certificates with a fixed rate | ||
| American maker of guitars | ||
| Musician who plays a stringed instrument | ||
| Keaton of silent films | ||
| A machine for grinding up tree limbs | ||
| A type of bed that folds out of a wall | ||
| An L-shaped wrench | ||
| A medieval coin worth four pence | ||
| College or university official | ||
| A central Texas university | ||
| Gin, soda and lime cocktail | ||
| Historically black university in D.C. | ||
| Land sloping down to a river | ||
| A person who is not a slave | ||
| It sounds at the end of a round | ||
| An injury caused by exposure to heat or flames | ||
| Caring for a child that is not one’s own | ||
| Older brother of Moses | ||
| Manufacturer of motorcycles | ||
| County in southeast England | ||
| A grain product staple in Asia | ||
| A judge’s seat in court | ||
| An award-winning Broadway musical | ||
| Device used by a disabled person for support | ||
| A small group of trees | ||
| Legal documents for settling an estate | ||
| A cloak or covering | ||
| A limbless vertebrate valued as food | ||
| A barrel maker | ||
| A sly or cunning person | ||
| Bush that bears fragrant flowers | ||
| Capital of Mississippi | ||
| Birth name of Huck’s author | ||
| Parts of a hand | ||
| A dealer in supplies for ships or boats | ||
| A person who gives an oral presentation | ||
| Feeling depressed or sad | ||
| Hindu meditator | ||
| Scoring: 1 point for each correct player, 1 point for the correct year. Total possible points = 80. | ||
PLAYER MVP YEAR
Brooks/Jackie/or Frank ROBINSON 1964/1949/1961,66
BABE Ruth 1923
Barry BONDS 1990-92-93, 2001-02-03-04
Bob or Kirk GIBSON 1968 or 1988
Bryce HARPER 2015 or 2021
BUSTER Posey 2012
CHIPPER Jones 1999
Dale MURPHY 1982-83
Dick ALLEN 1972
Dick GROAT 1960
Dizzy DEAN 1934
Don BAYLOR 1979
Eddie COLLINS 1914
Elston or Ryan HOWARD 1963 or 2006
Ernie BANKS 1958-59
Freddie FREEMAN 2020
George BELL 1987
George BURNS 1926
George FOSTER 1977
Hank AARON 1957
Ichiro SUZUKI 2001
Jeff KENT 2000
Jim RICE 1978
Johnny BENCH 1970-72
Josh HAMILTON 2010
Larry WALKER 1997
Lefty GROVE 1931
Maury WILLS 1962
Mickey MANTLE 1956-57-62
Mike TROUT 2014-16-19
Mort COOPER 1942
Nellie FOX 1959
Pete ROSE 1973
Reggie JACKSON 1973
Roger CLEMENS 1986
Rollie FINGERS 1981
Spud CHANDLER 1943
Tris SPEAKER 1912
Vida BLUE 1971
YOGI Berra 1951-54-55
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