March 2026 Newsletter
By Gilbert D. Martinez
In one of the best attended in-person meetings (not counting winter meetings), 21 chapter members and guests gathered to talk about the World Baseball Classic and the new season. In addition to a summary of the March meeting in the March Newsletter, you can find a report about the SABR Analytics Conference by scholarship recipient Bailey Hall, a new SABR Games Project article written by Larry Rice, a Black History Month presentation by Dick Butler and announcements for the annual Predictatron and Awardatron contests.
Cy Morong brought a quiz inspired by interruptions to baseball seasons past called “Pandemics, Strikes and Wars.” The 24-question multiple-choice quiz featured two questions that had two correct answers and an optional final question worth a bonus 6 points if correct and a deduction of 6 points if incorrect. Jim Baker took top honors with 25 points, and, surprise surprise, Gilbert Martinez, chapter commissioner, took second place with 23 points.
For his prowess, Jim selected a limited-edition Fergie Jenkins photocard commemorating his National Baseball Hall of Fame induction in 1991, leaving the Jeff Bagwell photocard for Gilbert (thanks, Jim!). Jim gifted the Mike Mussina photocard (not pictured) to well-known Yankees fan Ira Siegel.
Take your swing at Cy’s quiz here: March 2026 Pandemics, Strikes and Wars Quiz
Here’s the answer key: March 2026 Pandemics, Strikes and Wars Quiz answer key
We also welcomed Hornsby Chapter member Mark Escamilla, who grew up in Austin and attended his first chapter meeting. He recently contributed to the chapter email list discussion about Eduardo Rodriguez’s dominant pitching performance for Venezuela against Team USA in the World Baseball Classic championship last week. Mark also did statistical analysis for the Australian National Team in the World Baseball Classic. Welcome, Mark!
This was the 232nd consecutive month in which the chapter has met, a streak dating to December 2006.
Park renaming and historical marker in honor of MLB star and Austinite Don Baylor
A few chapter members attended the unveiling of a new historical marker at an Austin city park recently renamed in Don Baylor’s honor.
You can learn more from the various local media coverage, including KXAN (https://www.kxan.com/news/local/austinite-mlb-star-has-park-named-after-him/) and Cedric Golden’s column in the Austin American-Statesman: https://www.statesman.com/sports/columns/article/don-baylor-mlb-austin-park-21949779.php
Ms. Hall goes to Phoenix
[Congratulations to chapter member Bailey Hall for being awarded SABR’s Sarah Langs Women in Baseball Analytics Scholarship, which covered registration and accommodations for the SABR Analytics Conference last month and provided a travel stipend. I asked Bailey to share her impressions of her experience. – GDM]
By Bailey Hall
Hi, everyone! I hope everyone is doing well since I last saw y’all, and I can’t wait to come back for another meeting this summer. Gilbert has asked if I would do a quick writeup of my experience at the SABR Analytics Conference that just happened (Feb. 27-March 1) in Phoenix, Arizona, so here is what I thought of it!
SABR offers so many incredible opportunities for students in both high school and college, but one of the most meaningful is the scholarships they provide to attend the national conferences. This year, I was honored to receive the Sarah Langs Women in Baseball Analytics Scholarship, which allowed me to attend the conference in Phoenix. Because of this opportunity, I was able to meet so many amazing college women who share a passion for baseball and who were also able to attend thanks to this scholarship.
So, with the scholarship, I arrived in Phoenix on a Wednesday morning. A man named Tyrone Brooks, who works for MLB but works closely with SABR, had a few events for the other scholarship winners before the conference began on Friday. Tyrone, who has worked in baseball for about 30 years and seems to know every person who works in MLB, was able to take us to about 12 front offices of the teams in Phoenix. At each facility, we were able to get a bit of a tour of the spring training complex, and then we were able to speak with a panel of employees about what their jobs look like. We spoke to scouts, coaches, player development employees, data analysts, performance scientists, biomechanics specialists, therapists, nutritionists, and more! It was really interesting to see how each team presented themselves. What I found interesting is that the general vibe you get from watching a team (cocky, big/small market, data driven, etc.) seemed to align with the vibe of the front office staff.
As for the actual conference, which began that Friday, I found it quite different from the national convention held each summer. It was much more about networking and connecting for jobs, and the presentations were very data focused rather than historical. My favorite presentation was about developing a stat for third base coaches and determining their added value to a team. The idea was to perfect a third base coach’s accuracy in determining when to send a player home or not, and it took into account things like distance, runner speed, outfielder momentum, game time scenario, etc. The broader concept of expanding stats past just the players was recurring at the conference. Another presentation discussed the development of statistics to measure a manager’s added value to a team, almost like wins above replacement but for the coaching staff. I found this to be an interesting new area of interest, and I am curious to hear what you guys think about this as well.
Another interesting part of the conference was that they embraced sports betting quite significantly. They had a panel of experts who were telling people which players they would bet on and which they would not, how much they believed each player was valued at, etc. Many of the speakers also talked about how listening to Vegas can really help perfect your statistical models because Vegas is almost never wrong about player predictions of injury, longevity, and overall value. Again, I am curious what you guys think about that!
There were many other interesting talks at the conference, and I believe some of them can be watched virtually if anyone is interested in checking them out. I also want to mention that Gilbert wrote me an incredible recommendation letter for my scholarship application, and I’m sure that played a big role in me receiving it. I’m very grateful for his support and wanted to thank him for that.
If anyone has questions about the conference, I’d be happy to talk more about it, and I’d also love to hear everyone’s thoughts. Happy spring training, everyone—I hope to see you all soon!
A chance for glory: Predictatron begins anew!
By Jim Baker
It won’t be long now until the regular season gets underway, which means that another installment of the Predictatron contest comes along with it.
Attached you will find everything you need to know about getting your ballot submitted so that you can participate in this chapter institution. The deadline is 11:59 p.m. Friday, March 27.
Everyone is gunning for defending champion Mike Harrell, who will be looking to repeat. Last season, we had 25 participants, an all-time high. New players are welcome and encouraged.
Instructions: 2026 Hornsby Predictatron Rules and Instructions
Ballot: 2026 Hornsby Predictatron Ballot
Another chance for glory: Awardatron seeks prognosticators!
By Ryan Pollack
Hear ye, hear ye — we are less than a week from the MLB season opener, which means the 2026 Awardatron contest is now open for submissions!
You know the drill: predict the BBWAA award winners in each league and win big points, I mean, bragging rights to your friends!! Unskilled at prognostication? Don’t fret, you’ll have the chance to change one pick in each league at the All-Star Break in exchange for reduced points.
Either way you could join the ranks of these esteemed contest winners from years past:
2025: Ryan Pollack
2024: Mike McNulty
2023: Mike Cohen
2022: Scott Gay
Yes, if your name is Mike, you have a 50% chance of winning!
Ballots are due 9 a.m. (Central Time) on Wednesday, March 25. The season kicks off that evening with the Giants & Yankees before a full slate of games the following day.
Don’t delay, submit your picks today!!
Congrats to chapter member Larry Rice for his Games Project article!
At the invitation of SABR Games Project coordinator John Fredland, chapter member Larry Rice submitted “September 4, 2006: Home run, near no-hitter make it a Labor Day to remember for Ramón Ortiz,” published last month. Here’s a link to the article: https://sabr.org/gamesproj/game/september-4-2006-home-run-near-no-hitter-make-it-a-labor-day-to-remember-for-ramon-ortiz/
Congrats, Larry!
Black History Month presentation about baseball by Dick Butler
Dick Butler, along with Clifton Fifer Jr., gave a Black History Month presentation on baseball titled “Kerrville All-Stars: Black Town Baseball in the Jim Crow Era” at the Patrick Heath Public Library in Boerne last month. Dick talked about the Kerrville All-Stars, a Black town baseball team that played from the 1920s until about 1970. Mr. Fifer provided anecdotes and personal stories about the All-Stars. His father was a player and manager for the All-Stars.
In September, Dick is scheduled to publish “Hill Country Ball: Depression-Era Baseball in the Texas German Belt” (Texas Tech University Press). Click here for more about the new book.
Congrats, Dick!
Nicole Bryan joins Hornsby Chapter leadership
I’m pleased to announce that Nicole Bryan has joined the chapter leadership team to serve as a director, along with Dick Butler, who joined the team in January. They join Commissioner Martinez, Monte Cely, Ryan Pollack, Jerry Miller and Don Dingee on the leadership team.
Hornsby Chapter commissioner election process
It’s been nearly three years since the Hornsby Chapter adopted chapter bylaws and conducted its first chapter commissioner election. In accordance with the bylaws, we are preparing for the chapter’s second election. Many thanks to Dick Butler, election coordinator, Ryan Pollack, election observer, and Don Dingee, election registrar. A call for nominations will go out on April 2 with an online election to occur in mid-May. The newly elected commissioner will then assemble a team of directors to assist in running the chapter. Questions about this process can be directed to Don.
Next meeting
As has become a recent tradition and for the third consecutive April, Nicole Bryan and Brian Hall are generously opening their home to host the chapter monthly meeting at noon Saturday, April 18, in Central Austin. A call for RSVPs will go out in early April. Hope to see you there!
You must be logged in to post a comment.