May meeting summary

Six enthusiastic and dedicated chapter members met on Thursday, May 16, to catch up on recent umpire (mis)rulings and judgment calls, the change in Astros leadership, the resiliency of Rick Ankiel and an update on SABR 44, which will be co-hosted by the Larry Dierker Chapter and our chapter in summer 2014 in Houston.

I thought that the Reid Ryan hiring as the new Astros president was a good move, though Monte Cely suggested I may be overly optimistic about what impact the hiring will have. Indeed, Jan Larson wondered what, exactly, does a team president do? The hope is that the team president will address and prevent some of the very bad instances of public relations by the Astros front office in recent months. Perhaps the first order of business is taking care of the ongoing diaster involving getting the Astros on cable television in Houston and around Texas.

I gave an update on the national SABR conference. I attended a meeting in Houston earlier this week with Marc Appleman, SABR executive director and Deb Jayne, SABR membership and events manager, along with the leadership in the Dierker Chapter. Appleman and Jayne toured several hotels in downtown Houston as potential sites for the convention. We won’t have a date for the convention until late August after the 2014 MLB schedule is known. The plan is to pick a weekend in which the Astros are in town. Organizers also hope to include an outing to see the independent-league Sugar Land Skeeters.

Dierker and Hornsby Chapter members will be needed as volunteers, mostly as room monitors for research presentations throughout the conference. If you are interested in serving as a volunteer, please speak to me.

The next chapter meeting will be on Thursday, June 13.

May Meeting

We will be gathering at Iron Works BBQ located at 100 Red River in downtown Austin on Thursday, May 16 starting at 6:00 p.m.

There is a small parking lot on-site, a larger lot on the south side of Cesar Chavez plus large pay lots across the street to the east.  Please RSVP to Jan Larson at jan.a.larson@gmail.com if you plan to attend.

April Meeting Wrap-up

Nine members and spouses met at Bill and Evelyn Gilbert’s home in Lakeway for the April chapter meeting.

Among the appetizers, delicious dinner and sumptous dessert, we did manage to talk some baseball.  Topics of conversation were:  the recent release of the movie 42 (which several chapter members had viewed the preceeding weekend), early-season surprises among MLB teams’ performance, the status of the Astros’ TV contract and personnel issues, and much more.

A date will be determined for the May chapter meeting and a general announcement will be forthcoming.

A big "Thank You" to Bill and Evelyn for hosting the meeting at their beautiful home.

March Meeting Wrap-Up

A group of 11 members and guests gathered for dinner at Iron Works BBQ to discuss the World Baseball Classic, the upcoming 2013 season and various other baseball-related topics.

Jim Baker discussed his heretofore unsuccessful attempt to monetize his "Predictatron" contest.  New member Mike McNulty described the elation that long suffering Red Sox fans felt when the Sox finally won a World Series championship in 2004.  Other topics discussed included the Astros’ 2013 outlook, the preponderance of retired Yankee uniform numbers, Nelson Figeroa’s career, Ted Williams’ managerial career and Joe Dimaggio.

Dan Walsh presented a fun Hall of Fame quiz.  Bill Gilbert took first prize with a score of 17 of 20 correct.

Bill and Evelyn Gilbert graciously offered to host the April meeting at their home in Lakeway, TX.  The date has been tentatively set for Tuesday, April 16.  More information will be forthcoming.

Hall of Fame Fun

Hall of Fame Fun

by Dan Walsh

Presented at chapter meeting March 19, 2013

Name the Hall of Famer described by the two word phrase.  The first letter of each word in the phrase is also the initials of the player.  For example:  If I say Fourteenth President", you mgiht answer "Franklin Pierce" or you might say, "Huh?  Who does he play for?"

(Move the mouse over the blank space to see the answer)
1. Outstanding Shortstop

Ozzie Smith
2. No-hit Ranger
 Nolan Ryan
3. Lippy Dodger Leo Durocher
4. Terrific Slinger
 Tom Seaver
5. Giant Pitcher
 Gaylord Perry
6. WhiteSox VIP
 William Veeck
7. Homer Artist
 Henry Aaron
8. Dodger Slugger
 Duke Snider
9. Winning Southpaw
 Warren Spahn
10. Yankee Backstop
 Yogi Berra
11.

Strikeout King

 Sandy Koufax
12. Homerun King
 Harmon Killebrew
13. Boston Hitter
 Billy Hamilton
14. A’s Slugger
 Al Simmons
15. Poisoned Whacker
 Paul Waner
16. Pirate Thirdbaseman Pie Traynor
17. Managing Catcher
 Mickey Cochran
18. Fordham Flash Frankie Frisch
19. Chicago CEO Charles Comiskey
20. Catcher Manager Connie Mack

 

 

March Meeting

We will be gathering at Iron Works BBQ located at 100 Red River in downtown Austin on Tuesday, March 19 starting at 6:00 p.m.

There is a small parking lot on-site, a larger lot on the south side of Cesar Chavez plus large pay lots across the street to the east.  Please RSVP to Jan Larson at jan.a.larson@gmail.com if you plan to attend.

Book Review: Trading Bases

Trading Bases

A Story About Wall Street, Gambling and Baseball
(not necessarily in that order)
 
by Joe Peta
 
A Baseball Book Review
Monte Cely
(512) 310-9777
                                               
            “To Caitlin, an 8 WAR wife, with a replacement-level husband.” Reading this opening dedication to the author’s wife, I knew I would probably enjoy this book. I wasn’t disappointed. 
 
            Trading Bases is essentially an autobiography by Joe Peta, a Stanford MBA and baseball fan. Due to circumstances beyond his control, Peta finds himself physically disabled and unemployed after a 15-year career as an equities trader. To keep himself financially and emotionally sustained while recovering from a serious automobile accident, the author decides to use sabermetrics and risk-management principles to “invest” in a baseball betting fund.
 
            Peta uses Bill James’ “pythagorian theorem”, WAR and other sabermetric approaches, along with a concept he calls “cluster luck”, to develop a betting edge against Las Vegas baseball oddsmakers. He has solid success in 2011, leading to his creation of a baseball betting “fund” and the writing of this book.
 
            Peta’s story is filled with anecdotes and examples of his equity trading experiences and how those informed his approach to the development of his baseball betting model. He gives concrete examples of his use of sabermetrics to find inefficiencies in the odds developed by Las Vegas sports books. He then reports month-by-month results for his baseball betting “fund”. He does all of the above with humor and a flair for the dramatic. He makes the math very accessible via numerous well-chosen examples.
 
            This book is a quick read and should be an enjoyable one for a baseball or investment fan, and definitely a must-read for anyone who is both!
 
Here are the key statistics:
 
Book: Trading Bases – A Story about Wall Street, Gambling and Baseball
Author:  Joe Peta
Author’s Credentials: Peta is a former Wall Street market maker and hedge-fund stock trader. This is his first book
Published: 2013, Dutton; ISBN 978-0-525-95364-7            Length: 369 pages
Price: Retail list – $27.95; Online – from $17.95 + shipping.
 

Ready for Baseball at February Chapter Meeting

Thirteen members and friends of the Rogers Hornsby SABR Chapter met at Iron Works BBQ in downtown Austin Thursday night, February 21. 

Jan Larson reported on his visits to spring training sites in Arizona earlier this week.  Jan was at the Reds/Indians complex in Goodyear and the Diamondbacks facility in Scottsdale.  Jan brought a batting-practice home-run ball that he corraled, plus spring training rosters.  Jan had opportunities to speak to sports reporter Tim Kurkjian and Indians OF/1B Nick Swisher, among others.

Monte Cely reported on his visit to Hermosillo, Mexico for the 2013 Serie del Caribe.  Highlights included the new Estadio Sonora, sell-outs on all seven days of the tournament, and Mexico’s dramatic 18-inning victory in the final game to take the title on their home turf.

Jim Griffin will be visiting Kissimee, Florida for a collegiate softball tournament and some Astros spring training.

The quiz topic, in keeping with the Caribbean Series having been hosted in Mexico, was "Beisbol Latinoamericano, con un sabor mexicano" (Latin American baseball – with a Mexican flavor).  Jim Baker took the prize, an official 2013 Serie del Caribe – Hermosillo ball cap, with a very good score of 15 correct answers out of a possible 25.  See the quiz here.

Other topics included remaining free agents to be signed and the prospects for everyone’s favorite teams.

Our March meeting will be Tuesday, March 19 at 6pm back at Iron Works BBQ. 

Beisbol Latinoamericano – con un sabor mexicano

Beisbol Latinoamericano – con un sabor mexicano

"Latin American baseball – with a Mexican flavor"

(presented at the monthly meeting on Feb. 21, 2013)

(Move the mouse over the blank space to see the answer)
1.  This year’s Serie del Caribe was held in Estadio Sonora in what Mexican city?

Hermosillo, Sonora, Mex.
2.

Match the four countries’ playoff winners to their home cities

Yaquis                                   Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

Navegantes Magallanes     Caguas, Puerto Rico

Criollos                                  Cuidad Obregon, Mexico

Leones del Escogido           Valencia, Venezuela

 Yaquis de Ciudad Obregon, Mex

Navegantes Magallanes de Valencia, Ven

Criollos de Caguas, P.R.

Leones del Escogido, Santo Domingo, D.R.
3.

The Mexican winter league is officially called the Liga Mexicana del Pacifico (abbreviated LMP) and consists of eight teams.  Match the team nicknames with their host cities:

Aguilas                          Mazatlan

Algodoneros                Culiacan

Caneros                        Hermosillo

Mayos                           Los Mochis

Naranjeros                   Mexicali

Tomateros                   Ciudad Obregon

Venados                      Navojoa

Yaquis                         Guasave

 Aguilas de Mexicali

Algodoneros de Guasave

Caneros de los Mochis

Mayos de Navajoa

Naranjeros de Hermosillo

Tomateros de Culiacan

Venados de Mazatlan

Yaquis de Cd. Obregon
4.

 The LMP has some colorful and unique team names.  Match the team nickname to its English translation:

Aguilas                        Sugar cane growers

Algodoneros              A native tribe and a river in Sonora

Caneros                     Eagles

Mayos                         Deer

Naranjeros                 Cotton growers

Tomateros                 Orange growers

Venados                   A native tribe from the north of Mexico

Yaquis                      Tomato growers

 Aguilas-Eagles

Algodoners – cotton growers

Caneros – sugar cane growers

Mayos – a tribe and river in Sonora

Naranjeros – orange growers

Tomateros – tomato growers

Venados – deer

Yaquis – a tribe from the north of Mexico
5.

 What Mexican-born player has hit the most career MLB home runs?

 Vinny Castilla – 320
6.

What Mexican-born pitcher has the most career MLB wins?

 Fernando Valenzuela – 173
7.

Name the Mexican-born player to win an MLB batting title.

 Beto "Bobby" Avila – .341 with ’54 Indians
8.

The site of the 2013 Serie del Caribe, Estadio Sonora, will replace a 40-year-old stadium in Hermosillo for next season’s LMP games.  That stadium was named for the "Mexican Babe Ruth", the all-time Mexican Leagues home run champ.  Name him.

 Hector Espino, who hit 783 professional HRs
TB

Rodrigo Lopez started the championship game of the 2013 Serie del Caribe on the mound for Mexico.  He is also the active leader in MLB wins by a Mexican pitcher.  How many does he have?

 81