October Watch Party recap

Seven Hornsby chapter members spent an enjoyable Saturday afternoon and evening at the home of Gilbert and Raeanne Martinez watching the Kansas City Royals’ 6-3 win over the Toronto Blue Jays in Game Two of the 2015 ALCS followed by the New York Mets’ 4-2 triumph over the Chicago Cubs in Game One of the 2015 NLCS.

The entire time was spent discussing baseball, from the 2015 playoffs, in particular the Houston Astros’ surprising run to the post-season and their disappointing exit to speculation on which curse would be broken – the Cubs’ famous "Curse of the Billy Goat" or the Mets’ not-quite-as-well-known "Curse of Bobby Bonilla."

It was noted that if the Mets go on to win the NLCS and appear in the World Series, this year’s Series will be the first between expansion teams.  There had been 21 previous appearances by expansion teams in the Fall Classic but in each case, their opponent was one of the "original 16" AL or NL clubs.

Thanks to all attendees for their respective contributions to the bountiful assortment of food and snacks, especially Mike McNulty and Ryan Pollack for their homemade contributions.  Although the attendees were not polled when the gathering broke up, it seemed apparent that no one went home hungry.

The next monthy meeting has been tenatively set as a lunch meeting on Saturday, November 14 at a place and time to be determined.  Watch this space for more details.

MLB Playoff Watch Party in October

The Commissioner of the Rogers Hornsby Chapter of the Society of American Baseball Research requests the honor of your presence at the chapter’s annual MLB Playoff Watch Party on Saturday, Oct. 17 (this will also be our regular chapter monthly meeting).

 

That day, NLCS Game 1 and ALCS Game 2 are set to be played. Teams are yet to be determined – will it be a Lone Star Affair involving the Astros and the Rangers or the Battle of the Blues between the Blue Jays and the Royals? Or some other combination? The next five days will reveal the answer!

 

Game times haven’t yet been announced, but our best guess is a 3 p.m. start for one game and a 7 p.m. start for the other.

 

Therefore, we propose an open house at Casa Martinez in Southwest Austin from 2:30 p.m. to whenever the second game ends. Let’s have a potluck – we’ll provide sandwich fixins; you bring side dishes, desserts or beverages.

 

Please RSVP to Gilbert directly (gmartinez46@mac.com) by Friday evening, Oct. 16. Let Gilbert know if you have any questions.

 

Hope you can make it!

Chapter members ponder playoff chase at September meeting

Eight chapter members and guests gathered to talk about the waning baseball season and playoff chase over a Tex-Mex lunch on Sunday, Sept. 27. It was the 106th consecutive month in which the chapter has met.

 

In addition to discussing the prospect of a Yankees-Astros Wild Card matchup, we also talked about the hard-charging Pittsburgh Pirates and Chicago Cubs, as well as the disappointing season of the Washington Nationals.

 

Ryan Pollack brought a friend and prospective SABR member to lunch. Ryan also talked about how much he enjoyed the Inaugural Fall Forum in Waco last month.

 

Members were also reminded to mark Saturday, Jan. 9, 2016, at Texas State University for the 10th Annual SABR Rogers Hornsby Chapter Winter Meeting. More details to follow this fall.

 

Also, inspired by my visit to the HOF Induction Weekend, I brought a quiz about the 2015 Class of Biggio, Johnson, Martinez and Smoltz. Jim Baker won a copy of the latest issue of “Memories and Dreams,” the official publication of the National Baseball Hall of Fame. It features the 2015 Class. He won by scoring 8 points out of a possible 26. Try your hand at the quiz by clicking here.

 

For October, we are planning a double-header playoff watch party on Saturday, Oct. 17. That day features Game 1 of the National League Championship Series and Game 2 of the American League Championship Series. We usually schedule a gathering for a World Series game, but because Game 4 of the World Series is scheduled for Halloween night, we opted for an earlier playoff watch party. Location to be determined. More details soon.

September meeting — Sunday lunch

As the Major League season winds down, the Rogers Hornsby Chapter will have its monthly meeting at 12:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 27, at Serranos (5030 Hwy. 290 West) in southwest Austin. This Serranos is located on U.S. 290 and MoPac and is in the same shopping center as Best Buy and Sam’s Club.

Please RSVP to Gilbert Martinez directly at gmartinez46@mac.com before noon Saturday, Sept. 26.

 

Chapter members watch Express come back to win

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(Photo by Raeanne R. Martinez)

 

Nine chapter members and guests had a pre-game meal at Dell Diamond’s Intel Club and then watched the Round Rock Express come-from-behind late to win 4-3 against the Salt Lake Bees on Sunday, Aug. 23.

We had some of the best seats in the park, located directly behind home plate. We also had the benefit of the cool air conditioning in the Intel Club when we needed a break from the warm summer night.

For September, we hope you consider attending the Inaugural Baseball History Forum on Saturday, Sept. 19, in Waco. Click here for more details.

This was the 105th consecutive month that the chapter has had a monthly meeting.

Later in the month, the chapter will have its regular monthly meeting at lunch in southwest Austin on Sunday, Sept. 27. More details to come.

Inaugural Fall Forum in Waco a Big Success

SABR members and guests turned out in force for the inaugural Fall Forum held in Waco on Saturday, September 19.  The Fall Forum was organized and hosted by SABR member David Skelton, with the goals of providing an enjoyable baseball-themed forum and promoting interest in SABR in the Waco area.

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Former major league pitcher Lindy McDaniel was the Fall Forum headliner

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Eric Robinson presented and David Skelton hosted

More information and a picture slideshow are at the sabr.org site here.

 

*** agenda follows ***

Inaugural Baseball History Fall Forum

Saturday, September 19, 2015

9:30am – 4:15 pm

Emergency Services Education Center

7601 Steinbeck Bend Drive, Waco, Texas 76708

Join SABR members and other interested baseball fans for the inaugural Fall Forum to be held in the Heart of Texas.

The current roster of guests and presenters include:

Lindy McDaniel – will share memories from his 21-year major league career.

John Wood (retired Baylor professor) – will preview his book on ethics in baseball.

Mark Presswood (author) – will discuss Texas League history and teams.

Eric Robinson (educator) – will present some of his research on Negro League baseball, with a focus on the Waco area.

Eugene Baker (Baylor professor emeritus) and David Lintz (museum director) – will tell the story of Waco’s Katy Park.

Robert Gamboa (civic leader and historian) – will discuss Hispanics in baseball.

Gale McCray (SABR member) – will present a skit on baseball and life.

Admission is free and attendees will be able to order lunch online for delivery.

If you have any memorabilia you’d like to discuss with the audience, feel free to bring it and there will be time to discuss.

To help with planning the logistics for this event, please RSVP your intent to attend to:

David Skelton — phone at 254-723-9603 or via email at dsbaseballfan@yahoo.com

 

 

July meeting summary

071115 hornsby lunch meeting

Nineteen Hornsby Chapter members and guests gathered in north Austin on Saturday, July 11, to chatter about baseball over an Italian lunch. This was the 104th consecutive month that our chapter has had a monthly meeting.

After a long string of regular monthly meetings during the week in downtown Austin at a barbeque restaurant, we decided to try meeting on a Saturday away from the traffic congestion and construction in downtown. This first effort proved promising, with nearly 20 in attendance.

Over the remainder of the year, we’ll endeavor to move the meeting around some in the Austin metro area.

For the meeting in August, we’ll return to the Dell Diamond for a 6 p.m. game on Sunday, Aug. 23. The Round Rock Express take on the Salt Lake Bees, the AAA affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, California.

More details to come on next month’s meeting.

June Meeting Summary

A total of 19 members and guests gathered for BBQ and baseball on Saturday, June 6.  The group enjoyed a pre-game meal at the Salt Lick BBQ and then ventured to the nearby Dell Diamond where we watched the hometown Round Rock Express fall to the visiting Oklahoma City Dodgers by a score of 9-6.  The game featured not only six home runs but also six errors.

Starting in July, we will be changing our chapter meetings from the traditional Tuesday or Thursday evening dinner meetings to Saturday lunch meetings.  These will be held at various locations around the Austin area in order to make it easier for more people to attend.  Watch this space for details.

July Meeting – Saturday lunch

We’re going to change things up a bit starting in July and begin a series of Saturday lunch meetings at various locations around the Austin area instead of the Tues or Thurs evening meetings at Iron Works.  The hassle of traveling downtown during rush hour is becoming just too much of … well, a hassle, so we thought we would dial back the travel intensity a bit and make it easier for more people to attend.

Our first Saturday lunch meeting will be at the Macaroni Grill at Great Hills Trail and 183 in the Arboretum Area.  This is the same location as we’ve met for SABR Day lunches in recent years.

We will plan to meet at 12:15 p.m. on Saturday, July 11.  Please RSVP so we can provide an accurate headcount for seating purposes to Jan Larson at jan.a.larson@gmail.com.

May Meeting Summary

Nine members of the Hornsby Chapter gathered on May 19, 2015 at Iron Works BBQ in downtown Austin.  After consuming goodly portions of tasty barbeque, the topic of baseball was addressed.   The main focus of discussion was the tremendous (and unexpected) start by the AL West leading Houston Astros.  Two trivia quizzes were presented, the first by Ryan Pollack and the second by Bill Gilbert.  The June meeting will be held on Saturday, June 6 and will be the first chapter outing of the season to the Dell Diamond for the Round Rock Express vs. Oklahoma City Dodgers game.