Rogers Hornsby Chapter

October 2025 Newsletter

By Gilbert D. Martinez

A baker’s dozen gathered at Jim Baker’s house on Saturday for our annual World Series Watch Party and watched Dodgers ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto shut down the Blue Jays, retiring the last 20 consecutive batters and evening the series at one game apiece.

By tradition since 2011, Jim Baker generously provided pork sliders, sides, dessert and beverages for the watch party with delicious dessert additions by Linda Cely and Raeanne Martinez.

In the middle innings, quizmaster Jerry Miller treated us to a trivia contest focusing on players who were born or grew up in either the Greater Los Angeles area or Canada.

The room grew as quiet as Rogers Centre as Yamamoto continued to deal. Unlike the Blue Jays sluggers, four contestants made some noise. Tom Thayer took the contest with 17 points, followed by Ryan Pollack (14), host Jim Baker (13) and Ira Siegel (12).

Miller presented book prizes to the top three finishers.

 

Take your swing at Jerry’s Los Angeles v. Toronto quiz. Answers follow at the bottom of the document.

As for the 5-1 Dodgers victory, Cy Morong shared on the chapter email list that Yamamoto’s game score was an 83, the highest in a World Series game since Madison Bumgarner’s 87 game score in a 5-0 Giants victory over the Royals in 2014. Cy also shared the list of highest game scores in the World Series on statheadbaseball.com.

Many thanks to Jim for his generosity and for opening his home to host the watch party, to Linda and Raeanne for adding to the dessert spread, to Jerry for his worldly trivia quiz, and to everyone able to join us!

Post-season Predictatron update: It’s Miller vs. Martinez!

By Jim Baker

With all but two teams cleared off the board, we’ve come to just two possibilities for the winner of the 2025 Hornsby Chapter Postseason Tourney. It’s pretty simple:

If the Dodgers win the World Series, Jerry Miller is the champion.

If the Blue Jays win the World Series, then Gilbert Martinez claims the trophy.

Unless…

There is one slight chance that they could be co-champions. If the Blue Jays sweep the Series, Gilbert will lose two points and drop down into a 24-24 tie with Jerry. Since they both predicted 36 games for the postseason, there would be no way to break the tie and, as is written, the trophy will be sawed in half at the January meeting. [Editor’s note: With the Dodgers winning Game 2, this possibility, as intriguing as it might seem, is now off the table.]

One thing worth noting is that, while nobody broke the magic 40-point threshold this year, just about everybody is going to finish with a positive score. That doesn’t happen very often, so bully for us!

Full-season Predictatron update

Jim Baker shared that the full-season Predictatron contest also hinges on the outcome of the World Series. The winner of this prestigious contest (in which prognosticators committed to their picks in March!) and the winners of their respective divisions will all be announced at the November chapter meeting on Nov. 16 (meeting details below).

Trophy presentations for both the full-season and postseason Predictatron contests will occur at the 20th Annual Hornsby Chapter Bill Gilbert Winter Meeting on Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, at Texas State University. Make your plans to be there!

Announcing: Contractatron!

By Ryan Pollack

 STEP RIGHT UP, FOLKS! 

Gather ’round, ladies and gentlemen, and feast your eyes on the most thrilling, the most dazzling, the most sensational contest of the baseball offseason – IT’S THE CONTRACTATRON! 

Yes, sir, yes, ma’am, it’s your chance to outguess the experts, outwit the wise guys, and predict the biggest free-agent contracts in all the land! Can you forecast how many of those glorious greenbacks the mightiest ballplayers in the world will land? Well, step right up and test your wits in this rip-roarin’, high-flyin’ extravaganza!

Make your predictions here!

 CONTEST BEGINS WHEN?! 
Ballots are open! Your entries are due at high noon CST on November 5th – that’s right, folks, don’t delay, don’t dilly-dally! If a player signs before this time, poof! They’re gone from the contest! And we’ll keep the good times rollin’ right up until 9 AM CST on Opening Day of the U.S.-based season! Any signings that happen after that? Why, they’re as good as erased! Overseas MLB games? Japan, Korea, Australia? Bah! They don’t count for this here contest!

 HOW DO YA PLAY, YA ASK? 

1. PICK YOUR PLAYERS and predict their contracts with your finest crystal-ball skills!
2. SCORIN’ IS SIMPLE! We’ll judge ya on how close you can get to the real deal! The closer you are, the lower and better your score – it’s as easy as pie! We measure the difference as a percentage of the actual contract, and the smaller the number, the better!

EXAMPLES, YOU SAY?

• You guess Charles Johnson will get $500M, but he only gets $300M. That’s a 66% score!
• You guess Frank Smith will get $5M, but he ends up with $6M. That’s a 25% score!
• Average ‘em out and ya get a grand total of 45.5%! Ain’t that somethin’?!

3. TIE-BREAKERS?! If it’s neck and neck, we’ll settle it the old-fashioned way: whoever guessed first wins! It’s all about timing, folks!

 RULES AND REGULATIONS, NOW DON’T FORGET ‘EM! 

• ONLY THE GUARANTEED BUCKS COUNT! We’re talkin’ cold, hard cash, no incentives, no options, no escalators – and certainly no conditional salaries!
• MAJOR LEAGUE MONEY ONLY! None of that minor league mumbo-jumbo here!
• QUALIFYIN’ OFFERS ARE FAIR GAME! If a player accepts one, it counts!
• AND IF THEY DON’T HIT FREE AGENCY? Why, then we never heard of ‘em! Gone, forgotten, erased!
• NO EXTENSIONS ALLOWED! It’s free agency or bust, folks!

So, step right up! Roll up your sleeves, sharpen those pencils, and let’s see who’s got the sharpest mind in the land when it comes to predictin’ those big money contracts! It’s the Contractatron, folks – the contest that’ll have ya on the edge of your seat all winter long! 

Don’t dilly dally! Make your predictions today! Again, the deadline is at high noon CST on Nov. 5th!

Shared birthdays

It just so happens that your chapter commissioner shares a birthday (Oct. 20) with two members of the Baseball Hall of Fame and two MVP winners: Mickey Mantle with 110.3 WAR, Juan Marichal with 62.87 WAR (turned 88), Keith Hernandez with 60.4 WAR (turned 72) and Juan Gonzalez with 38.7 WAR (turned 56). Cap tip to Cy for letting me know!

Want to check to see which ballplayers share your birthday? See if you can top 272.27 WAR! Here’s the link to Baseball Reference. Just enter the date and then sort by WAR and other categories: https://www.baseball-reference.com/friv/birthdays.cgi?month=1&day=1

Next meeting

The November meeting will be at 1 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 16, at Cover 3 (2700 Anderson Lane, Austin). We’ll post a meeting announcement and request RSVPs at the beginning of November, and we’ll make a reservation for the group.

 

September 2025 Newsletter

By Gilbert D. Martinez

A dozen chapters members and guests gathered on Saturday to ponder the tightening races for spots in MLB’s postseason (some were more enthused than others) and the potential MVP in each league.

Over lunch at Hurricane Grill & Wings in Round Rock, we marveled at the unreal winning streak by Tom Wancho’s Cleveland Guardians and wondered if the Seattle Mariners’ time has come to overtake the Martinezes’ Houston Astros.

We also talked about New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge’s substantial lead by WAR over the Mariners’ Cal Raleigh. Some thought that Judge, by the numbers, should be the AL MVP, but others thought that Raleigh is the better story that might attract votes from baseball sportswriters. We won’t know until November when the baseball awards are announced. Stay tuned!

Before we find out about the awards, we have a week left in the season and the World Series Watch Party next month to look forward to! As is our long tradition, chapter member Jim Baker will host the watch party. It will be the evening of Saturday, Oct. 25. We know that it will be World Series Game 2, but it’s anyone’s guess as to who will battle for the championship. Speaking of guesses, see the Predictatron update below from Jim Baker to see how our group of prognosticators are doing with a week left!

We’ll announce the meeting in early October and call for RSVPs later in the month. In the meantime, save the date for one of the chapter’s most anticipated meetings of the year!

Cubaball in November
By Monte Cely

Cubaball is back and heading to Havana in November.  There are a few seats left on the tour and if you’ve ever dreamed of seeing baseball and the many wonders of the “Pearl of the Antilles,” now’s your chance.  

Fellow SABR member Kit Krieger is again leading the popular Cubaball journey, the first since the pandemic.  The tour runs November 14-21.  You’ll stay at a private hotel in Havana and take in béisbol cubano in Havana (2 games), Matanzas, Pinar del Rio, and Artemisa.

Cubaball is very popular among SABR members, and I went on the tour in 2017.  I can say that it’s a great experience and a unique baseball journey that you’ll never forget!

For more information, email Kit Krieger at ejkrieger@shaw.ca – or contact me at cely@swbell.net and I’ll forward your inquiry to Kit.

Predictatron Update: Topmost Turvy!

By Jim Baker

With but a single week to go in the season, we’ve got ourselves a case of the upheavals in both divisions and for the very control of this contest! Mr. Harrell has reasserted himself as the leader of these proceedings after posting one of the better performances this week while previous pacesetter Ms. Martinez was experiencing a negative week. Meanwhile, in the Brian Rogers Division, Mr. Martinez has surged to the lead on the back of a nine-point outpouring of pointly goodness.

As we head into the final turn, here’s how the top five look:

809 Mike Harrell
800 Raeanne Martinez
797 Gilbert Martinez
794 Ryan Pollack
793 Bob Windham

Our Player of the Week is Mr. Dillon who led the way with 13 points. This afforded him a two-place jump in the Eric Robinson Division. Our best weeks look like this:

13 Mike Dillon
12 Mike Harrell
12 Tom Wancho
10 Michael Bass
 9 Gilbert Martinez, Jerry Miller

We now have four pursuers in single digits out of first in the Brian Rogers Division and the final week is going to prove pivotal in the outcome of that particular argument.

As you can see from the playoff grid now affixed to the standings, only six players still have their full load of potential playoff points. They are:

Tom Wancho
Don Dingee
John Rechtorovic
Mike Harrell
Raeanne Martinez
Jerry Miller

Buckle up, batten down the hatches and brace yourself for a wild finish to the regular season portion of the 2025 Hornsby Chapter Predictatron!

Through games of Sunday, September 21, or 96.3 percent of the 2025 season:

	PLAYER	Points	PB	Last	^/v	prev	move	alcs	alcs	nlcs	nlcs	alws	nlws	champ	Pot
1	Gilbert Martinez	797		788	9	3	2	BAL	HOU	PHI	LAD	HOU	PHI	HOU	44
2	Ryan Pollack	794	3	797	-3	1	-1	BOS	HOU	ATL	LAD	BOS	LAD	LAD	44
3	Jim Baker	792	5	790	2	2	-1	BAL	NYY	PHI	LAD	BAL	LAD	BAL	20
4	Tom Wancho	791	6	779	12	6	2	BOS	NYY	LAD	SDP	BOS	LAD	LAD	48
5	Scott Gay	789	8	786	3	4	-1	BAL	NYY	PHIL	LAD	BAL	LAD	LAD	36
6	Team Hall	781	16	780	1	5	-1	BAL	BOS	ATL	LAD	BAL	ATL	BAL	8
7	Brian Rogers	777	20	776	1	8	1	BAL	HOU	ATL	LAD	BAL	ATL	ATL	8
8	Don Dingee	776	21	773	3	9	1	BOS	SEA	NYM	LAD	BOS	NYM	BOS	48
9	Kevin Barnes	775	22	778	-3	7	-2	NYY	TEX	PHI	LAD	TEX	PHI	TEX	20
10	John Rechtorovic	752	45	745	7	10	0	BOS	NYY	NYM	LAD	NYY	NYM	NYY	48
11	Mike McNulty	749	48	742	7	11	0	BOS	TEX	ATL	LAD	TEX	ATL	ATL	8
12	Syd Polk	714	83	714	0	12	0	BAL	TEX	ATL	LAD	TEX	ATL	TEX	4

	PLAYER	Points	PB	Last	^/v	prev	move	alcs	alcs	nlcs	nlcs	alws	nlws	champ	Pot
1	Mike Harrell	809		797	12	2	1	BOS	DET	PHI	LAD	BOS	LAD	LAD	48
2	Raeanne Martinez	800	9	805	-5	1	-1	BOS	HOU	CHC	LAD	HOU	CHC	HOU	48
3	Bob Windham	793	16	789	4	3	0	BOS	NYY	ATL	LAD	DET	LAD	LAD	44
4	Jerry Miller	786	23	777	9	8	4	BOS	SEA	ARI	LAD	SEA	LAD	LAD	48
5	Eric Robinson	785	24	780	5	7	2	BAL	TEX	ATL	LAD	BAL	LAD	LAD	28
6	Gary McIntosh	781	28	782	-1	5	-1	BAL	DET	PHI	LAD	DET	LAD	LAD	44
7	Dan Walsh	777	32	785	-8	4	-3	BAL	HOU	ATL	LAD	BAL	LAD	LAD	32
7	Ira Siegel	777	32	771	6	10	3	NYY	KCR	MIL	LAD	NYY	LAD	NYY	44
9	Mike Dillon*	775	34	762	13	11	2	BOS	NYY	ATL	LAD	NYY	LAD	NYY	44
10	Frank Rechtorovic	774	35	775	-1	9	-1	NYY	TEX	ATL	LAD	LAD	NYY	NYY	40
10	Chris Crombar	774	35	782	-8	5	-5	BAL	TEX	ATL	LAD	TEX	LAD	LAD	28
12	Jan Larson	757	52	761	-4	12	0	BAL	SEA	PHI	LAD	BAL	LAD	LAD	36
13	Michael Bass	702	107	692	10	13	0	BAL	SEA	PHI	LAD	BAL	LAD	BAL	20
	*Player of the Week

Colorado Rockies evade a dubious honor

Some of us have been watching the Rockies’ serious attempt to top the Chicago White Sox for most losses in a season, achieved just last year. Jan Larson shared on our Google group email list when the Rockies saved themselves on Sept. 19.

“The Rockies won their 42nd game of the season this evening and have thereby mathematically eliminated themselves from any chances of breaking the 2024 White Sox modern Major League Baseball record for most losses in a season.  The Sox continue to hold that record with 121 losses having wrested that title from the ’62 Mets.”

SABR Rocky Mountain Chapter member and friend to the Hornsby Chapter Peter Myers, who just finished his third year as an usher at Coors Field, responded, “And I was there to experience the joy.”

Upcoming meetings

As mentioned above, the October meeting will be the World Series Watch Party for Game 2 on Saturday, Oct. 25, at Jim Baker’s home in Cedar Park.

For the November meeting, we’ll meet for lunch at Cover 3 on Anderson Lane in Central Austin on Sunday, Nov. 16.

We haven’t set the date yet for the December meeting, but we’re planning a mid-month lunch meeting at County Line on the Lake. Details will be forthcoming soon.

August 2025 Newsletter

By Gilbert D. Martinez

Thirteen chapter members and guests were treated to a deep dive about the pitchers who have thrown no-hitters and the catchers who caught them throughout MLB history at the August chapter meeting on Zoom.

Kevin Hurd, a member of the SABR Banks-Bragan Chapter in Dallas-Fort Worth and retired U.S. Air Force lieutenant colonel, has long been intrigued by no-hitters. In fact, as a high school senior, he witnessed San Francisco Giants pitcher Ed Halicki’s no-hitter at Candlestick Park in 1975, which, in part, inspired him to research and write about no-hit games.

After retirement, he’s devoted four years to writing and publishing two volumes called “From Randy Johnson to Dallas Braden: No Hitters Beyond the Box Score.” His books addressed things he was curious about, such as whether no-hitters were attributable to skill or luck (his conclusion: both). He was also interested in examining no-hitters by eventual Hall of Fame pitchers and journeymen who were among the unlikeliest pitchers to author a no-hit gem.

His book includes descriptions of no-hit games, interviews with pitchers and catchers and informational tables to offer insight into these games.

In Volume I, he assesses the greatest no-hitters in history. In Volume II, he identifies the most unlikely no-hitters of all time.

For the Hornsby Chapter, he included a brief discussion and lists of no-hitters by Astros and Rangers pitchers.

See below for a recording of his presentation:

Hurd’s books are available at local bookstores and online sellers. For more information about Volume I: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DHYHBQ5W

For more information about Volume II: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DHYP3J46

Many thanks to Kevin for joining us for our August meeting!

Baseball memories program seeks volunteers, baseball props for sessions

By Larry Rice

Fellow SABR Members,

Do you have any old baseball gear or equipment sitting idle in your garage or attic?  Do you enjoy browsing at garage sales, yard sales or estate sales?

As you may be aware, several Hornsby Chapter members are associated with the SABR Baseball Memories program and, in particular, I volunteer with other Hornsby Chapter members to provide monthly presentations and visits to veterans with long-term mental and physical disabilities at the VA facilities in Kerrville and San Antonio (Audie Murphy).  These visits are very enjoyable and therapeutic to both volunteers and patients.

For use in these presentations, I’m interested in obtaining some used (as in low/no cost) baseball gear to use as “show and tell” items.  Letting these vets hold, grip, touch and see some of these items can be powerful memory motivators and bring back thoughts and joys of a simpler, happier time in their lives and – if able – they usually want to tell you all about it, a great way to gain some social interaction.

If you have or obtain any such items that you would be willing to donate and think I might be interested in, feel free to contact me at ukisno1@gmail.com.  I’ll be out of the country until mid-August and still putting thoughts together about the fall programs, so there’s no immediate rush; I just wanted to make you aware of this opportunity.

Speaking of opportunities, there’s also plenty of opportunity to participate in the visits as well.  If you live in the Kerrville/San Antonio and surrounding areas and wish more information, just let me know at the email address above and I’ll be glad to send you more information.

Next meeting: Sept. 20

Join us for the next monthly chapter meeting at 1 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 20, at Hurricane Grill & Wings (2701 Parker Dr. in Round Rock).

Looking ahead, please save Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, for the 20th Annual Bill Gilbert Winter Meeting! We’re planning another fun day of baseball chatter at Texas State University.

July 2025 Newsletter
By Gilbert D. Martinez

Twenty chapter members and guests enjoyed a breezy San Antonio evening on Saturday that was less comfortable for the hometown San Antonio Missions, which got blanked 5-0 by the Amarillo Sod Poodles.

The Missions, the Double-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres, were down 4-0 after five innings and were shut down by the Sod Poodles, the Double-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks, limiting the Missions to just two hits all night. Some of us stuck around after the game for an impressive fireworks display.

SABR 53 Reflections

(Chapter members Eric Bynum and Brenden Gilbreath gave research presentations at SABR 53 in Dallas last month. I asked them to share a little bit about their research and how the presentations went for them. Congratulations to them both! See their reflections below.)

By Eric Bynum

First, thank you, Gilbert, for the opportunity to share my story. My research presentation was on the controversy of the 1914 Texas League Pennant. As I was writing my article on the 1953-54 Waco Pirates of the Big State League for the journal, I came across a 1953 newspaper article on the 1914 controversy. In the article, writer Jinx Tucker mentioned how the Houston Buffaloes stole the title from the Waco Navigators. That was interesting to me but when he said they tried to play a tripleheader that day, I knew I had to research more. And so, for weeks, I dove into the archives of newspapers from Houston, Corpus Christi, Waco and more trying to piece together what really happened that day.

In a shortened version of the story, Houston apparently slow played the second game of a doubleheader. Yes, no tripleheader was scheduled, so the game would be called due to darkness. With that game incomplete, it gave the title to Houston by mere percentage points. Multiple teams protested, and the league president did something I have never seen before: he threw out games. He threw out the first games of doubleheaders that were seven innings. This led to a tie between Waco and Houston for the title. Now, there is still some controversy as to what went down, and there were some other accusations even before the final weekend of the season of gamblers and impropriety, but those may all be lost to history now.

As for the presentation itself, I was extremely nervous. I am a teacher by trade, and I am used to standing in front of teenagers all day long. But put me in front of adults, and I am a nervous wreck. Dan Wallach, who happened to be recording the event, was the one who really calmed me down beforehand. So, huge thanks to him. Looking back, the only thing I would do differently was look up once in awhile and engage more with the audience. I was nervous so my head was down reading my script most of the time, and I feel like I missed out on those connections. If you teach, you know what I mean. All the feedback was positive, and hearing I did well from total strangers was the boost I needed and greatly appreciated.

As for what might come next, there are a few things. I really want to write a book about the history of baseball in Waco (where I live) and Temple (where I grew up). There are some interesting stories from old minor league baseball teams that played here in the 1940s, 1950s and even back to the early 1900s. The research will continue, but now I am anxiously waiting to hear where next year’s convention will be because I want to give another presentation. And a huge shoutout to Don Dingee for arriving just in time to take some photos of me. I truly appreciate that.

By Brenden Gilbreath

I had an absolute blast speaking at SABR 53 last month. It is an opportunity that I cherished and only knew about through my first meeting with the chapter back in February. I applied for an oral presentation at SABR 53 right after that meeting, which I was honored to be invited to speak at. 

As I talked about during our first meeting, my presentation came from a law review article that I wrote this past year, my second year at Texas Tech Law. I started that process back in August 2024 with the help of Sean Gibson and the Negro League Family Alliance. With the help of the NLFA and the folks at Texas Tech Law, I was able to get it published with the Estate Planning & Community Property Law Journal and the Texas Entertainment & Sports Law Journal. 

It all could have stopped right there, and I would have been incredibly proud of the product I put together and the work that went into it. Whenever this chapter mentioned the oral presentations at SABR 53, I thought it would be the perfect capstone to a project that had taught me so much about baseball, the law, and introduced me to many great people. However, as I started working on the presentation to prepare, I realized I had become much more invested in this proposal than I had originally believed. 

I believe the presentation itself went well, or I guess it must have to get an honorable mention for best presentation, though it sped by in my mind. I enjoyed every bit of it; from the time I introduced myself as a small-town cowhand who loved baseball and somehow got into law school to the moment I thanked the NFLA and Rogers Hornsby Chapter for their immense help in this project. I was fortunate to meet some great people who provided great feedback, including an invitation to give the presentation again to the Elysian Fields SABR Chapter in New Jersey. 

Perhaps the greatest compliment was from Sean Gibson, who, even though he wasn’t there, reached out to me directly after my presentation about the great feedback that he had received back in Pittsburgh. While I had thought of this as a capstone to what was a big undertaking, feedback from Mr. Gibson and those at SABR 53 has made me want to take it up again. I am looking forward to the reception after its publication in the fall and hope to get this proposal that I believe can do some real good for people to more ears in the right places. 

Next meeting

Join us at 2 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 9, for a presentation on Zoom by Kevin Hurd, a member of the SABR Banks-Bragan Chapter (Dallas-Fort Worth), and author of “From Randy Johnson to Dallas Braden: No-hitters Beyond the Box Score: Volume I” (2024).

Growing up outside of San Francisco, he’s an avid San Francisco Giants fan and recalls witnessing Ed Halicki’s no-hitter at Candlestick Park in 1975, which, in part, inspired him to write this book after a distinguished career in the U.S. Air Force.

Learn more about Hurd and his research about no-hitters at the August meeting. To register for the August meeting, please click on this link: https://txstate.zoom.us/meeting/register/gp2pvzVfQz2lyvYdsLXqJw 

June 2025 Newsletter

by Don Dingee

A highlight of June baseball for me is always the split-screen action from the NCAA Men’s College Baseball regionals, with many games unfolding simultaneously in various locations across the country. The Hornsby chapter applied the split-screen concept for June, with meetings held over meals on consecutive weekends in San Antonio and Austin.

Our June 7 meet-and-greet lunch gathering at Stone Werks in The Vineyard (left image above), on the north edge of San Antonio, highlighted the analytics and historical storytelling aspects of SABR. Scott Lopez (with his wife, Britany, who was sporting an AAGPBL jersey), who holds level 1, 2, and 3 SABR Analytics Certification, swapped ideas with Cy Morong. Across the table, John Fredland, chair of the SABR Games Project, and Bob Windham shared some of their favorite stories. There was also a vigorous conversation between Steve Braccini and Mike Lassman on the finer points of two popular baseball board games, Strat-O-Matic and APBA.

Our official monthly chapter meeting on June 14 (right image above) drew a bit larger crowd to Rudy’s Country Store and BBQ on Loop 360 in Austin. For the first hour, over choices of breakfast burritos and brisket plates around the table, the baseball chatter among the 15 members present became fascinating. Conversations I overheard spanned topics including what’s right with the Astros, what’s still wrong with the Cubs despite their improvement, and the age-old debate among those growing up in or near New York City over being a Mets fan or a Yankees fan, but never both.

Best dressed for the day went to Cy Morong, who wore a White Sox-emblazoned Hawaiian shirt. We also welcomed long-time SABR member Dick Butler, who joined us from Boerne, sharing some of his White Sox stories. (Dick is also an APBA aficionado – maybe there’s a demo or even a tournament in our future.) Nicole Bryan brought some of her family’s memorabilia, including a Colt .45s game program and a signed ball, along with a Ty Cobb game-used baseball and a  tin container miniature of the Astrodome. This commemorative miniature used to contain confetti samples from the final game, lost during a hush-hush incident involving parental housecleaning.

Ryan Pollack prepared and emceed the quiz, which featured a theme of breakfast and food-related names in baseball. The winner was Dan Walsh (note his use of a pencil) with 14 out of 17 correct answers, and runner-ups Ira Siegel and Tom Thayer (playing with a surgically repaired wrist) with 13 each. Dan received a copy of “Rickey” by Howard Bryant for his showing. Tom Wancho is also recuperating from his Spring Training voyage mishap; thanks to Jim Baker for providing Tom a lift so he could join us.

You can test your knowledge on this quiz in its original form. 

Or, you can slide into the answer key, with correct answers in bold.

Contest updates and member perspectives

While I’m pinch-hitting for chapter commissioner Gilbert Martinez in this month’s newsletter, we heard from Gilbert in real time as we met in Austin with a multicultural baseball perspective from his hotel in Japan. We also have the latest updates on our chapter contests, Predictatron and Awardatron. I must note that my picks in Awardatron have eerily foreshadowed UCL tears in two consecutive seasons: Spencer Strider for NL CY last year and Jackson Jobe for AL RoY this year. For participants with similar issues involving injured players or underperforming picks, Ryan’s next update will provide instructions on making one adjustment to a pick with a half-off points penalty.

Remembering Mr. Pro Baseball, Shigeo Nagashima
by Gilbert D. Martinez
Chapter Commissioner

For as long as I can remember, my parents had a signature-stamped baseball of Yomiuri Giants great Shigeo Nagashima. I had long admired it, though I couldn’t read the name written in Japanese.

Arriving to Tokyo with my Texas State students for a study abroad program on June 3, I was saddened to learn that Nagashima, also known as Mr. Giants and Mr. Pro Baseball, had passed away that day. He and his teammate, Giants legend and home run king Sadaharu Oh, formed the ON (Oh-Nagashima) power attack, leading the Giants to nine straight Japan Series victories from 1965 to 1973.

He won five MVP awards with a .305 average, 444 home runs, .379 OBP and .540 slugging for his career.

After retiring as a player in 1974, he managed the Giants from 1975 to 1980 and again from 1993 to 2001, winning the Japan Series in 1994 and 2000.

His death made for front-page news in The Yomiuri Shimbun and The Sankei Shimbun, among others.

Do you have a cool baseball story that happened to you this season? Want to share it with your friends in the Hornsby Chapter and beyond? This may be perfect for you! Please reach out to Gilbert D. Martinez (gmartinez46@mac.com) with a brief description of your cool baseball story (write in first-person and limit your story to no more than 300 words, please) and accompanying photo if available.

 

Predictatron Update: Back In the Black
by Jim Baker
[Note: Jim shared this Predictatron update with the Hornsby Google Group on June 11, 2025.]

There is much better news on the scoring front this time around as only three players were in the red on the week and we averaged a median increase of 13 points each.

Sadly for our previous leader Team Hall, they were one of those three and lost the most ground to the tune of 11 points. This cost them the overall lead and the lead in the Brian Rogers Division, which has been regained by Mr. Gay. The overall lead, however, is now in the hands of rookie sensation Mr. Windham.

Our Player of the Week is Mr. Pollack and his 24 points. This raised him up from sixth to fourth in the Eric Robinson Division. Don’t look now, but Defending Champion Mr. Rogers is not too far off the track for a repeat. Here are the top five scores:

719 Bob Windham
717 Scott Gay
712 Brian Rogers
709 Team Hall
707 Ryan Pollack

Our scores would all be a lot higher had the Braves not gone winless. After a terrible start, they had battled back to decency only to completely go into the tank again. We are now down 23 points to them, the second-worst in the contest.

Through games of Sunday, June 8, or 40.2 percent of the 2025 season:

	PLAYER	Points	PB	Last	^/v	prev	move
1	Scott Gay	717		708	9	2	1
2	Brian Rogers	712	5	703	9	3	1
3	Team Hall	709	8	720	-11	1	-2
4	Ryan Pollack*	707	10	683	24	6	2
5	Kevin Barnes	695	22	698	-3	4	-1
6	Gilbert Martinez	693	24	676	17	9	3
7	John Rechtorovic	693	24	679	14	8	1
8	Jim Baker	692	25	688	4	5	-3
9	Tom Wancho	686	31	672	14	11	2
10	Don Dingee	685	32	683	2	6	-4
11	Syd Polk	677	50	674	3	10	-1
12	Mike McNulty	658	69	654	4	12	0
	*Player of the Week

 

	PLAYER	Points	PB	Last	^/v	prev	move
1	Bob Windham	719		700	19	1	0
2	Dan Walsh	704	15	689	15	3	1
3	Mike Dillon	701	18	686	15	4	1
4	Raeanne Martinez	697	22	676	21	6	2
5	Frank Rechtorovic	695	24	682	13	5	0
6	Jerry Miller	692	26	692	0	2	-4
7	Mike Harrell	688	31	670	18	7	0
8	Eric Robinson	686	33	665	21	9	1
8	Jan Larson	686	33	670	16	7	-1
10	Ira Siegel	666	53	665	1	9	-1
11	Gary McIntosh	656	63	636	20	13	2
12	Chris Crombar	652	67	642	10	12	0
13	Michael Bass	651	68	652	-1	11	-2

 

Awardatron Update #2
by Ryan Pollack
[Note: Ryan shared this second Awardatron update of the season with the email list on May 26, 2025.]

Ahoy mateys!!  We’re about 2 months through the baseball season. It’s time to check in on our Awardatron … awards.

AL MVP
Favorites: Judge, Witt Jr, Cal Raleigh

Raleigh is breaking out at age 28. He set a career high in WAR with 5.4 last year, and this year he’s up to 3.0 already. He’s cut his strikeouts a tad but has boosted his walk rate to a superlative 15%. That’s happening because of his massive power spike — .577 SLG, highest by far in his career if it sticks — and Raleigh’s willingness to take pitches and not chase. He’s barreling a crazy 22.5% of balls and has already socked 17 HR, halfway to his career high total of 34 last year and we’re not even in June yet. He’s doing all this while maintaining above-average defense behind the plate. This isn’t just luck, either – his .277 BABIP is normal, and his xWOBA of .394 is only slightly behind of his actual wOBA of .404.

NL MVP
Favorites: Ohtani, Tatis Jr., Betts

Ohtani had a .405 wOBA in March & April, and I thought — ah he’s kinda starting off a little slowly. He hit a mere 7 home runs with a .287 average, after all. Ho hum. In May he’s been more Ohtani-like, banging 11 HR so far and hitting .304 for a wOBA of .457. That’s more like it. And oh yeah — remember he’s still supposed to pitch sometime this year, too. 

AL Cy Young
Favorites: Skubal, Fried, Crochet

It pains me to write positive things about any Yankee, but Max Fried is having a very good year in the Bronx. Now, he isn’t as good as his 1.29 ERA might indicate. He is stranding an absurd amount of runners and benefiting from a crazy-low .246 BABIP. He will regress this year; mark my words. But he’s definitely keeping runs off the board and Cy Young voters love that. And he has ticked up his K rate while vastly lowering his walk rate, so his improvement isn’t all a mirage. It’s the same old Max honestly, just this time with some really great luck to start the year out.  

NL Cy Young
Favorites: Wheeler, Webb, Skenes

Webb, on the other hand, seemingly has found another level. He’s running a career-high 26.9% K rate alongside his usual low walk rate (5.8%). He’s keeping hitters off balance — just a 4.9% barrel rate. And he’s doing it while suffering from a .341 BABIP. But they’re mostly singles. He’s been good-to-great for most of his career, showing pieces of the puzzle before, but this year they’re coming together more.

AL ROY
Favorites: Jacob Wilson, Carlos Narvaez, Will Warren

Narvaez is a 26 year old rookie catcher for the Red Sox. The age should be a giveaway that big things aren’t expected of him. So while he is mashing the ball with a .372 wOBA, it should be noted his BABIP is a sky-high .372 and his xWOBA is .339. These numbers scream ‘regression’. That said, it doesn’t mean he’s terrible. He’s got a little thump in his bat, with 5 HR and 10 doubles so far, he’s walking at an above-average rate (9.5%), and his strikeouts aren’t crazy high either. So he has the potential to be quite good despite the regression, especially considering he’s a catcher. 

NL ROY
Favorites: Drake Baldwin, Chad Patrick, Ben Casparius

Casparius is a reliever and spot starter for the Dodgers. He’s got a great strikeout rate, but what catches my eye is his minuscule 4.5% walk rate. His Statcast page is lit up with high percentile rates: 89th percentile expected ERA, 89th percentile average exit velo, 97th percentile hard-hit rate — the list goes on. He’s got a lot of row to hoe if he wants to win ROY over a position player, and he may yet suffer the curse of being on the Dodgers’ staff (where they are apparently trying to push the limit of just how many pitchers they can break, and by how much) but he seemingly has the stuff to do it. 

AL Manager of the Year
Favorites: Hinch, Boone, Baldelli

Rocco Baldelli would be an interesting one here. The Twins were slightly favored to win the division to start the year, but it was a toss-up. They looked dead to start the year but then reeled off a 13-game winning streak to climb right back in the race. Hinch is the clear favorite in my opinion, but if the Tigers slip and the Twins get in, maybe Baldelli has a shot. 

NL Manager of the Year
Favorites: Counsell, Mendoza, Melvin

The Giants have scuffled somewhat but had a strong start to the season. They’ve got Logan Webb on the mound and Jung-Hoo Lee, Matt Chapman, and Heliot Ramos on the diamond. If they can hang around, and maybe if Willy Adames can figure out how to hit in Oracle Park, maybe they can hang around and make the postseason. If they can do that, look for Bob Melvin to finish on the podium.  

 

SABR 53 is just over the horizon

The Hornsby Chapter will be well-represented in DFW for SABR 53, with an anticipated 13 members attending on various schedules. Of note are Eric Bynum’s presentation (scroll down to RP08 on the agenda) on a controversy surrounding the 1914 Waco Navigators, who had to share the Texas League championship that season, on Thursday, June 26, at 11:30 a.m., and Ira Siegel’s remarks in the Baseball Memories committee meeting at noon on Friday, June 27. Eric is also slated to compete in the 4-Person Trivia Contest alongside Jim Baker, Mike Lassman, and Cy Morong, and individual contests are also open to anyone. There are no formal plans for chapter meetings at the conference; however, we encourage attendees to support the speakers and contestants or grab a meal or beverage with a few folks, time permitting.

Next meeting: San Antonio Missions game outing

Looking ahead to July, we’ll be heading to Wolff Stadium for a game on Saturday, July 19, at 7:05 p.m., when the Missions host the Amarillo Sod Poodles. We’ve had the best luck identifying a somewhat open section where individuals can purchase their tickets directly from the Missions’ online platform. Family members and guests are welcome to join us there. We’ll have more details around July 1 via the Hornsby Google Group and SABR chapter lists.