Category: Chapter News

Eight members enjoyed barbeque in downtown Austin while discussing the announcement of various baseball awards.

Jan Larson pitched a fun quiz focusing on prominent players and plays throughout baseball history, holding the group to high expectations. Tom Thayer took first prize, a Tim Kurkjian book, while Jim Baker placed second and took home a Dusty Baker toothpick-holder bobble-head. Click here to try your hand at the quiz, or go to the Contests tab above.

Discussions also included initial reaction to the latest franchise fire sale of the Miami Marlins franchise, the Silver Slugger Awards, the prospect of an Ozzie Guillen-Bobby Valentine talk show, the National League and American League Managers of the Year, and Brian Kenny’s Clubhouse Confidential show on MLB Network.

This was the 72nd consecutive month that the chapter has met. In December, we seek to tie Barry Bonds’ single-season home run record of 73.

The next meeting will be at 6 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 20, at Iron Works BBQ in downtown Austin.

Nine members and guests watched the San Francisco Giants continue their good baseball play, taking a three-games-to-none lead on the Detroit Tigers.

Jim Baker hosted the watch party, supplying a delicious barbeque assortment of ribs, brisket, turkey and sausage, along with yummy sides such as potato salad and baked beans. Special thanks to Jim for hosting for the second consecutive year.

Most of us were impressed with Giants catcher Buster Posey’s inexplicable catch of a fast ball that appeared to have gotten by him. Even home plate umpire Fieldin Culbreth, who was wearing a microphone during the game, thought the ball had gotten past Posey.

Pictured above are (seated, from left): Jan Larson, Michael Bass and Raeanne Martinez; (standing, from left): Ira Siegel, Tom Thayer, Jim Baker and Gilbert Martinez (Photo by Connie Larson).

Below is the graphic Jim Baker modified for the watch party announcement.

Eleven members of the SABR Rogers Hornsby Chapter met at Iron Works in Austin for dinner on the evening of Thursday, September 20.  We enjoyed great weather on the patio and far-ranging discussion of current baseball events.

Hot topics included the continued success of the Orioles, potential roster strategies for the one game wild card play-in game, playoff match-ups, the status of the Astros’ managerial search, Ichiro’s current adventures with the Yankees, and much more.

Jim Baker presented the quiz, "The 50 Years of Metiness", covering highlights over the fifty years of New York Mets’ history.  Jan Larson won the quiz with an outstanding 24 out of a possible 30 points.  The quiz is here.

Our next chapter meeting will be our annual Playoffs Watch Party, to be held Saturday October 27 (which should be Game Three of the World Series).  Jim Baker will host at his house.  More information will be forthcoming.

Also, remember to mark your calendars for Saturday January 12, 2013 for our chapter’s seventh annual Winter Meeting, to be held again at Texas State University in San Marcos.   

A near capacity crowd of 14 members and guests gathered on Thursday, August 23 at Iron Works BBQ in downtown Austin for barbeque and baseball talk.  The preliminary agenda for the Chapter’s 2013 Winter Meeting, the Nationals’ Stephen Strasburg dilemma, the current state of the major league divisional races and the 2012 wild card playoff format were among the topics discussed.

Bill Gilbert presented an entertaining quiz for which contestants were asked to name the all-time pitching wins leader for each current franchise.  Jan Larson came out on top with 16 of 30.  While points could only be scored for naming each all-time leader, Bill also had a list of the top three for each franchise.  Rob Radmer was deemed the unofficial (and unintentional) winner of naming the most runners-up.

The next monthly meeting will again be held at Iron Works on Thursday, September 20.

 

A group of Hornsby Chapter members traveled to Houston last weekend and watched the Astros win their first extra-inning game of the season.

After the Astros were walk-off winners for the first time all season the night before (4-3 over the Milwaukee Brewers), our group watched the Astros win 6-5 over the Brewers in a hard-fought 10 innings on Saturday, Aug. 11. Most of the group also attended the Sunday afternoon game, but the Astros lost 5-3 .

Most of us shared a rental van to travel to and from Houston, and Cy Morong entertained us with questions from a baseball trivia book that he had won at a chapter trivia contest. As often happens on road trips, we also took our fair number of detours into funny and odd conversations. For example, we discussed an All Animal Team (baseball players with names or nicknames of animals) and came up with a bunch, including Mike Trout, Kevin Bass, John Jay, Jim “Catfish” Hunter and numerous others.

Cy Morong also impressed us with an impromptu rendition of all World Series winners, in reverse order, from 2011 to 1903, in a matter of minutes.

In addition, during the weekend, Jan Larson, Ira Siegel, Cy Morong and Gilbert Martinez met with Marsha Franty of the Larry Dierker Chapter to brainstorm about the SABR Convention when it comes to Houston in 2014. She asked about our convention experiences through the years and sought our input on what Houston can offer during its convention.

Pictured in the photo above, (back row from left), are Tom Thayer, Steve Braccini, Ira Siegel, Cy Morong; (middle row from left) Dung Le (Tom’s spouse), Annette Rothwell Braccini, Gilbert D. Martinez, Jan Larson and Connie Larson; and (front row) Scott Barzilla (Dierker Chapter member). Much thanks to Pat Hareski, a friend of the Larsons, for taking the photo.

This is the second year that a group of Hornsby Chapter members have traveled together for baseball (Click here to read about chapter members enjoying the “owner’s experience” at Whataburger Field, home of the Corpus Christi Hooks, in 2011). Once again, we had a good time and hope to plan more of these in the future. Stay tuned!