Category: Chapter News

March meeting to mull Miami matchup over Mexican munchies on MoPac

It’s that time again, when Spring Training starts early to get players wound up for the triennial World Baseball Classic. One player we won’t see in the tournament is Mike Trout, who couldn’t secure insurance, so the marquee matchup may come down to Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge in Miami if we get a reprise of the Japan-USA final. Or will some Caribbean powerhouse step forward and get to the championship game? Questions abound. Hopefully, we’ll see an exciting tournament free of season-altering injuries to big-name MLB players.

We’ll know the answers before our March monthly meeting on Saturday, March 21, when we return to our classic location at Serranos MoPac (address link in the RSVP form) for lunch starting at 1 p. m.  We’d enjoy seeing everyone in person if you can make it out with us, and guests are welcome, too. To help us secure a table big enough for all, just hit the mobile-friendly RSVP form and let us know if you’re coming and who you’re bringing.

RSVP March 2026 Meeting

We’ll take reservations until Wednesday, March 18. Oh, and by then, we may know more about whether phenom Konnor Griffin or sleeper Kevin McGonigle make the Pirates or Tigers opening day rosters, respectively, or would be called up a few weeks into the season. Implications for the upcoming Predicatron and Awardatron contests rest on those and other decisions. Fun times ahead!

Hornsby SABR Day ’26 turns to memories in Interstate ’85

Officially, as I write this, SABR Day is today, but what could be better than extending our celebration of baseball by another week?

On Saturday, February 7, at 1 p.m. CST, we’ll meet on Zoom, where our featured presenter will be author Marshall Garvey discussing his recent book Interstate ’85: The Royals, The Cardinals, and The Show-Me World Series. Marshall lives near Sacramento, CA, and has also authored The Hidden History of Sacramento Baseball (pre-Athletics, I presume – we can ask him), and co-authored the novel Ellwood’s Odyssey, set in the Korean War. Interstate ’85 has received praise from Sports Collectors Digest and a former Kansas City Star editor. He also writes about baseball, gaming, and other topics on Substack.

The mental image burned into my brain from that 1985 World Series is Jim Sundberg, rounding third and raising his arms, heading for the plate in the bottom of the 9th with the Game 6 winner, which knotted the series at 3-3. That loss, and facing Bret Saberhagen, seemed to drain all the emotion from the Cardinals, who suffered an 11-0 drubbing in Game 7, giving the Royals the trophy. I’m sure Marshall will have much more to share from his in-depth research and interviews with players who lived that series. Here’s the Zoom registration page, you’ll get a link to join the session when you register.

Zoom Registration – Hornsby SABR Day ’26 – Sat., Feb. 7, 1 p.m. CST

Bring your questions for Marshall and we’ll see you there!

 

20th Annual Winter Meeting leads off 2026

[Please see below for updated parking information]

Happy New Year, everyone! If you’re already struggling with keeping up with your new year’s resolutions, here’s an easy one you can fulfill: attending the 20th Annual Bill Gilbert Winter Meeting!

Join us for a great day of baseball at our biggest meeting of the year from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 10, at Texas State University in San Marcos!

The winter meeting features Keith Moreland, a 12-year major league veteran, and longtime minor league broadcaster Mike Capps. We’ll also have representatives from the Round Rock Express and San Antonio Missions, along with various baseball presentations and activities during the day. See the agenda below for the full schedule.

Please consider bringing new or gently used baseballs, gloves, bats and other gear to donate to our baseball memories program.

Go to this link to RSVP and opt in for the pizza lunch.

IMPORTANT: The deadline to opt in for pizza is Thursday, Jan. 8. Payment is due on arrival Saturday: $5 cash (exact amount appreciated) for a few slices of pizza and a bottle of water. There will also be vending machines for snacks and beverages available onsite.

Also, a longtime tradition of the winter meeting is for chapter members to participate in our Mock Hall of Fame vote. You can vote the day of the meeting or submit your ballot online. Note that you can only vote once!

Here’s the link to the online ballot.

Schedule for the SABR Hornsby Chapter 20th Annual Bill Gilbert Winter Meeting

[Please note that while some presentations will be done via Zoom, we will not have a Zoom option for those unable to attend the meeting in person.]

All Day            
Accepting donations of donations of old baseballs, gloves, bats, and other gear for use in our “Baseball Memories” program, which supports baseball reminiscence activities as a means of improving the lives of persons dealing with dementia, chronic health problems, isolation, or loneliness.

9:30-9:45 a.m.
Welcome from Gilbert Martinez (Chapter President) and Jerry Miller (Winter Meeting Coordinator); Predictatron (Jim Baker) and Awardatron (Ryan Pollack) Presentations

9:45-10:15 a.m.       
Michael Gibbons, Director Emeritus, Babe Ruth Birthplace and Museum, Baltimore (via Zoom)

10:15-10:35 a.m.    
Ballpark Memories, featuring chapter members Ryan Pollack and Gilbert D. Martinez

10:35-10:55 a.m.    
Author and former chapter member Doug Kurkul, “It’s a Beautiful Day for Baseball: The National Pastime in the 1960s” (via Zoom)

10:55-11:05 a.m.    
Morning break

11:05-11:25 a.m.   
Author, Rob Sheinkopf , “Baseball Impostors: The Dark Side of Fandom” and “Hey Mom, Wanna Have a Catch? A Collection of Baseball Stories Honoring Moms and Dads Who Taught Us How to Love America’s National Pastime” (via Zoom)

11:25 a.m. – 12:10 p.m.  
“Speed dating” presentations – a series of individual workshops featuring chapter members, including SABRmetrics (Ryan Pollack) and “Tabletop Baseball Simulation Games: Introduction and Overview” (Dick Butler and Larry Rice)

12:10- 1 p.m.  
Lunch (pizza lunch available for pre-order)

1-1:20 p.m.              
Frank Rechtorovic, “The Emerald City”

1:20-1:40 p.m.     
Dick Butler, “Town Ball: Depression-era Baseball in the Texas Hill Country”

1:40-2:20 p.m.         
Honored guest former University of Texas national champion and 12-year major league veteran Keith Moreland, interviewed by author, broadcaster, and chapter member Mike Capps

2:20-2:30 p.m.        
Afternoon break

Minor League reports, featuring:

2:30-2:50 p.m.         
Tim Jackson, General Manager, Round Rock Express (via Zoom)

2:50-3:10 p.m.      
Texas State graduate Carly Earnest (master’s in digital media), photo presentation about the Sugar Land Space Cowboys

3:10-3:25 p.m.         
Afternoon break (may be cancelled in order to accommodate presentations)

3:25-3:45 p.m.         
J.J. Jimenez, Director of Ticket Sales, and Brian Yancelson, Public Relations and Broadcasting, San Antonio Missions

3:45-4 p.m.         
Mock HOF voting results; closing remarks

Directions to Old Main at Texas State, site of the Bill Gilbert Winter Meeting

Directions to the winter meeting are as follows:

  1. From I-35, take exit 206 (Aquarena Springs Dr.).
  2. Travel west on Aquarena Springs Drive, which turns into University Drive.
  3. After crossing the San Marcos River, you will come to a traffic light. Turn right onto Sessom Drive. At the first light, turn left on State Street and go up a steep road toward Old Main (pictured above). Go through a gate (the gate should be up) and continue up the hill.
  4. At the top of the hill, make a sharp left turn and drive up to Old Main (pictured above).
  5. Look for parking on this road that winds around the side and back of Old Main. You can find additional parking at the Pleasant Street Garage, located at the corner of N. LBJ and Pleasant Street. To reach this garage, after you pass through the gate, continue up the hill, then down the hill to the stop sign on Pleasant Street. Turn left; the entrance to the parking garage will be on your left.

UPDATED Jan. 9: Texas State no longer has free parking, even on the weekends. Instead, please purchase a $5 parking permit. This is done online. You enter your name, car information and license plate number. You will not receive a permit or anything to display. Your license plate number is your permit, so be sure to enter it correctly.

Steps to register for parking:

  1. Click here to Order Event Permit (Do Not use the login button at the top of the Page)
  2. Select Event Type Department Sponsored Events / Meetings
  3. Select 20th Annual Winter Meeting of the Rogers Hornsby Chapter of the Society for American Baseball Research 01/10/26
  4. Select permit type Single Day Event Standard Vehicle
  5. Click add vehicle button, enter vehicle information, click the add button at the bottom.
  6. Enter your Name and click Confirm followed by the red continue button.
  7. Scroll to the bottom of the checkout page. Enter your email address for receipt and email attachment with permit and parking information/instructions click continue.
  8. You will be taken to the payment gateway to complete your payment by credit/debit card or E-Check.

Meeting is on the third floor – both stairs and elevator are available.

December meeting returns to the County Line on the Lake

Welcome to December, Hornsbyites. While it’s a bit cooler to start the month, we thankfully don’t get much of this white stuff pictured above (Huntington Stadium, home of the Columbus Clippers, taken about three weeks ago). Baseball stadiums may be in their winter hibernation, but in Texas, the hot smoker is fully lit.

Almost 22 years ago, a small group planted the seeds for what would become the SABR Rogers Hornsby Chapter over barbeque platters at County Line on the Lake in Austin (RM2222 and Loop 360). Our December meeting returns to the site on Sunday, December 14, at 1pm. As usual, RSVPs are appreciated so we get a right-sized table for the group, with the form open until Wednesday, December 10:

RSVP December 2025 Meeting – County Line on the Lake Austin

Who knows, there may be much more to talk about on the free agent or trade front, and corresponding sadness or euphoria, depending on your perspective. We hope to see everyone, including our student members, if you are in town, to discuss any developments with your favorite club or player. 

Seeing SABR friends in a new place for our November meeting

Well, that was an entertaining World Series, coming to a memorable crescendo last night. Either you’re celebrating a Dodger win – the first NL repeat champion in nearly 50 years – or, you’re in the Matchbox Twenty camp: “We kept this hat of broken dreams / And we pulled them out, when we needed them around.” 

Hope’s embers for many of us still burn in places like the Arizona Fall League, which is midway through its season. (Featured photo credit: Megan Mendoza, Arizona Republic.) AFL players will more than likely be on major league rosters soon. It’s a unique experience if you get a chance to see a game, or even better, go in person with a couple of hundred people in the stands. 

Closer to home, congrats to Jerry Miller for his Dodger-fueled domination in the Postseason contest. Ryan is soliciting participants for the 2025-2026 installment of Contractatron; those entries are due via online ballot on November 5th.  Jim is also feverishly tallying the final results for this year’s Predictatron. 

We’ll be gathering in a new-to-most-of-us place for our November meeting – the aptly named Cover 3 restaurant on Anderson Lane (just south of the MoPac – 183 interchange). Per usual, we’ve put up a digital RSVP form to help secure a reservation for our group – please join us there on Sunday, November 16, at 1pm.

RSVP November 2025 Meeting – Cover 3 Anderson Lane

We’d like to hear from you via that form by Wednesday, November 12th. Thanks to Ryan for help in selecting this location and finalizing the reservation when we get an accurate headcount. In the meantime, have a joyous November!

 

 

A sudden influx of pitching could make for a wild 2025 Watch Party

Just when it looked like the Yankees might ride the Schlittler-bahn all the way to the World Series, the Blue Jays counter with a Ye-savage outing of their own. It’s remarkable that guys with basically a month’s worth of MLB starting experience can come in and make such an immediate impact in the postseason. (But maybe not surprising – live arms, not much of a book or video on them.)

Who’s going to survive this gauntlet and make it to the World Series? Who will we be watching on Saturday, October 25th, in Game 2? It’s October and anything can happen, but we do know one thing – many of us will be gathered at Jim Baker’s house for the annual Hornsby Watch Party. The festivities begin at 6 p.m., and as is customary, Jim is generously supplying the food and soft drinks, BYOB optional.

To help Jim gauge how much sustenance to procure, and to help you find your way to his house, we’re opening a digital RSVP form. It has a map to tell you roughly where you’ll be headed, and if you haven’t been there or need your memory refreshed, check the box and I’ll send a follow-up email with Jim’s address (not automatically when you submit the form, but well before the party, your patience is appreciated).

RSVP – 2025 Hornsby Watch Party

We’ll keep the form open until Wednesday, October 22. Until then, kick back and enjoy the division and league championship rounds. We’ll look forward to seeing Hornsby members and guests on the 25th!

September lunch meeting on the 20th and a second option farther south

First, a belated Happy Labor Day to all, I hope you fared better than Jordan Hudson’s boyfriend (way to go, TCU, and yes, please, ESPN, let Peter do more of blowout broadcasts). In other chapter news, we’re thinking of Bailey Hall (and mom and dad) as she has officially begun her adventure as a Badger in Madison.

Five months of the MLB season are in the books, and right now the Brewers and Tigers look to have things in hand for the postseason. The rest of the field remains competitive, with the Mets holding the final spot in the NL over the Reds and Giants, and the Mariners with a slimmer margin in the AL over the Rangers and Royals. As many point out, it’s not a pennant race anymore, but a scrum to get into the field and see what happens.

Jim Baker reminds us that the Hornsby Postseason Tourney is coming up, open to all in the chapter, not just Predictatron participants. Jim’s contest deftly sidesteps the Wild Card chaos and opens with the known Division Series opponents.

We’re embarking on an experiment in the coming weeks, offering two options for lunch – members and guests are welcome to attend either or both dates.

  • We’ll be back at the Hurricane Grill & Wings (2701 Parker Drive, D-200, Round Rock) on Saturday, September 20th at 1 pm. For a group our size, we make reservations with the restaurant, so we’ve opened a mobile-friendly RSVP form for you to let us know you’ll be there and how many folks are with you.
  • We’ll also be in San Antonio soon – I’m looking at Saturday, October 4th at Willie’s Grill & Ice House in Schertz, and will announce that via the Google Group when we get closer to that date.

Here’s the link to RSVP for the 20th in Round Rock. Please let us know by Wednesday, September 17th if you’ll be there.

August virtual meeting examines no-hitters with author Kevin Hurd

We’ve made it past the trade deadline of the 2025 season, and our favorite teams fall somewhere on the spectrum of buying with both hands, filling one or two specific needs, standing pat or close to it, or tossing in the towel. And I’m still recovering from last night’s gigantic WHEEEEEE the Rockies put on the Pirates, a flashback to late-inning (and some earlier-inning) Coors Field magic of seasons past.

Which brings us to this month’s meeting, a virtual Zoom affair featuring author Kevin Hurd. On August 24, 1975, Ed Halicki spun a no-hitter pitching for the Giants at home against the Mets. Halicki, with a lifetime record of 55-66, is proof that no-hitters do not always come from elite pitchers – and that got a young Hurd, who was in the stands at Candlestick that day, thinking about the accomplishment.

After retiring from a 20-year career in the USAF as a navigator on RC-135s and KC-135s, his interest in the lore rekindled in 2014 with no-hitter feats from Tim Lincecum and Clayton Kershaw. Finally, in March 2020, with a pandemic just starting and his security job at the Western Currency Facility in Fort Worth just ending, a friend suggested turning his passion for no-hitters into a book. The result is a two-volume effort titled “From Randy Johnson to Dallas Braden: No-Hitters Beyond the Box Score,” available on Amazon.

Hurd documents 23 no-hitters with a unique perspective, looking at what went on around each game with first-hand accounts from many people who made baseball history. A twist to Hurd’s work is that he interviews not only the pitchers who accomplished the feat, but also others, including the catcher behind the plate. (I’ll be curious to see if Hurd talked to our old friend Robby Hammock, who my daughter got to know a bit as manager of the Missoula Osprey in 2013.)

Chapter commissioner Gilbert Martinez will interview Kevin Hurd live, and the event promises to be a WHEEEEEE for the Hornsby Chapter and our SABR friends around the country. We hope you can join us online on Saturday, August 9, starting at 2 p.m. CDT. Register for the Zoom at the following link. See you there!

SABR Hornsby Chapter – August 2025 Meeting

July meeting coming to the Wolff, trivia team on SABR53 podium

Greetings, Hornsbyites. We bring news regarding trivia at SABR53 and our upcoming July meeting. This month, we’ll be heading to Wolff Stadium on Saturday, July 19 at 7:05 p.m. when the Missions host the Amarillo Sod Poodles. We’ve scoped out Section 204 for a block of seats in rows R, S, T, and U, seats 1-6, listed at $26.52 each. Please purchase your tickets directly from the Missions website (link below goes directly to Section 204) as soon as possible to secure a seat in this block. We’re looking forward to seeing everyone there!

Sod Poodles vs Missions, Sat, July 19, 2025, 7:05 p.m.

Now, for highlights from our chapter participation in last week’s SABR53 conference. I counted 15 heads from the Hornsby Chapter at the Westin in Irving, including four presenters: Eric Bynum, John Fredland, new member Brenden Gilbreath, and Ira Siegel. We also stormed the new-format trivia contest, which featured three competitions: team trivia, individual trivia, and Immaculate Feud (a mashup of Immaculate Grid and Family Feud, with 5-person teams using Baseball Reference questions and data from the last eight months for responses).

Several of our members attempted the insanely hard written questions in the preliminary round of the individual competition, with none advancing. The Hornsby Team, consisting of Mike Lassman, Jim Baker, Cy Morong, and Eric Bynum, took on the 40-question written-response team preliminary on Thursday, where the top team scored 24. The top six, plus ties, advanced, and we scored 18 points in a tie for the last spots. In the eight-team semifinal with 40 more questions, we placed a solid second with 20 points.

The final team trivia round shifted to a live Jeopardy format on Saturday night. The board presented six categories: Mascot Names, That Sounds Familiar, Numbers Game, Cy Young Colleges, Rookies of the Year, and Texas Trades. With Cy, Jim, and Mike firing first, we took an early lead before the ringers on the other team (all-stars from the individual competition!) got going. Mid-game, Eric dominated the Texas Trades category to mount a comeback. Still, as the board emptied, we fell behind (OMG, 2002 NL RoY Jason Jennings and mascot Dinger were two answers), lacking enough points to close the gap with their correct final Jeopardy answer of Ugueth Urbina as a double-unique name no other player has. It was a valiant effort and a fantastic runner-up achievement, nonetheless, in a highly competitive field.

Here are a few more photos I caught of our folks at SABR53.

Our presenters received kudos for their strong presentations from the judges, and everyone I spoke to had a great time at the conference – still, I’m glad to be home. See you all soon.

 

 

It’s June, and we said, “What about breakfast at Rudy’s?”

Our next Hornsby Chapter monthly meeting brings us together at an earlier start time, 9:30 a.m., Saturday, June 14, for an inviting selection of breakfast tacos and self-serve beverages on the covered patio of Rudy’s Country Store, just off TX 360 at Stoneridge Road (drivers may notice the Shell station first).

Ryan Pollack will host our trivia quiz, and I’m pretty sure the 2025 Colorado Rockies will not be any of the correct answers. It’s sure to be intriguing where this month’s quiz goes. We will also have insight on the field for Omaha and the 2025 Men’s College World Series by that time.

While seating should be open in the 9:30 a.m. window, hitting the mobile-friendly RSVP form helps us know who and how many to expect, especially if you are joining us for the first time (or first in a while). We’ll see you there!

June 2025 Monthly Meeting RSVP form