Rogers Hornsby Chapter

50 Years of Metiness (highlights of 50 years of Mets’ history)

50 Years of Metiness

by Jim Baker

(presented September 20, 2012)

(Move the mouse over the blank space to see the answer)

1.	What is "Mets" short for? (1 pt)	Metropolitans
2.	After the Giants and Dodgers bolted for the West Coast, the concept of the Mets was created for a new league that never came into being. What was the name of that league? (3 pts)	the Continental League
3.	In 1965, the Mets’ first manager, Casey Stengel, broke his hip and retired. He was replaced by this former New York Giants catcher. (2 pts) Was it Alvin Dark, Wes Westrum, Bill Rigney, or Walker Cooper?	Wes Westrum
4.	On September 11, 1966, a fresh-faced, 12th round selection in the very first amateur draft (held the year before) made his major league debut with the Mets with two innings of relief against the Braves. Who is he? (2pts)	Nolan Ryan
5.	How many division titles have the Mets won? How many National League pennants? How many World Championships? (2 pts each)	5 division titles. 4 NL pennants 2 Worlds Championships
6.	The Mets have never been known for their sluggers. Who holds the all-time team record for home runs with 252? (2pts) Was it David Wright, Dave Kingman, Darryl Strawberry, Howard Johnson, or Mike Piazza?	Darryl Strawberry
7.	No pitcher has won 200 games in a Mets uniform and only three have won as many as 100. Which of the following is NOT one of those three? (2pts) Jerry Koosman, David Cone, Tom Seaver, Dwight Gooden.	David Cone
8.	The Mets are hosting the All-Star Game in 2013. When is the last time they were its host? (2pts) Was it 1962, 1964, 1978, or "never hosted"?	1964, coincident with the World’s Fair in NY and the inaugural season of Shea Stadium.
9.	Who pitched the only no-hitter in Mets history? (1 pt)	Johan Santana
10.	Since their catastrophic first years in which they lost 100 games five times in six seasons, how many time(s) have the Mets reached the century mark in losses? (2pts) Is it – four, three, one, zero ?	one
11.	Aside from the aforementioned Casey Stengel, three other Mets managers have also managed the hated crosstown Yankees. Name them (2 pts each)	Joe Torre, Yogi Berra, and Dallas Green
12.	This man is on the verge of losing his place as the all-time Mets hit leader to David Wright. Who is he? (1 pt)	Ed Kranepool

September Meeting Wrap-Up

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.

September Meeting

We will be gathering at Iron Works BBQ located at 100 Red River in downtown Austin on Thursday, September 20 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.

Pitching Wins Leaders by Franchise

by Bill Gilbert

Presented at Hornsby Chapter meeting, August 23, 2012

(Move the mouse over the blank space to see the answer)

Baltimore Orioles*

Jim Palmer 268

McNally 181

Mussina 147

Boston Red Sox

Roger Clemens 192

Cy Young 192

Wakefield 186

New York Yankees

Whitey Ford 236

Ruffing 231

Pettitte 206+

Tampa Bay Rays

James Shields 84+

Price 57+

Kazmir 55

Toronto Blue Jays

Dave Stieb 175

Halladay 148

Clancy 128

Chicago White Sox

Ted Lyons 260

Faber 254

Walsh 195

Cleveland Indians

Bob Feller 266

Harder 223

Lemon 207

Detroit Tigers

Hooks Dauss 222

Mullin 208

Lolich 207

Kansas City Royals

Paul Splittorf 166

D. Leonard 144

Gubicza 132

10.

Minnesota Twins*

Walter Johnson 417

Kaat 190

Blyleven 149

11.

Los Angeles Angels

Chuck Finley 165

Ryan 138

M. Witt 109

12.

Oakland A’s*

Eddie Plank 284

Grove 195

Bender 183

13.

Seattle Mariners

Jamie Moyer 145

R. Johnson 130

F. Hernandez 97+

14.

Texas Rangers*

Charlie Hough 139

K. Rogers 138

B. Witt 104

15.

Atlanta Braves

Warren Spahn 356

Nichols 329

P. Niekro 268

16.

Miami Marlins

Ricky Nolasco 73+

Willis 68

J. Johnson 55+

17.

New York Mets

Tom Seaver 198

Gooden 157

Koosman 140

18.

Philadelphia Phillies

Steve Carlton 241

Roberts 234

Alexander 190

19.

Washington Nationals*

Steve Rogers 158

D. Martinez 100

B. Smith 81

20.

Chicago Cubs

Charley Root 201

TF Brown 188

Hutchison 182

21.

Cincinnati Reds

Eppa Rixey 179

Mullane 163

Derringer 161

22.

Houston Astros

Joe Niekro 144

Oswalt 143

Dierker 137

23.

Milwaukee Brewers*

Jim Slaton 117

Caldwell 102

Higuera 94

24.

Pittsburgh Pirates

Wilbur Cooper 202

Leever 195

B. Adams 194

25.

St. Louis Cardinals

Bob Gibson 251

Haines 210

B. Forsch 163

26.

Arizona Diamondbacks

Randy Johnson 118

Webb 87

Schilling 68

27.

Colorado Rockies

Aaron Cook 72

Francis 59

Jennings 58

28.

Los Angeles Dodgers*

Don Sutton 233

Drysdale 209

Vance 190

29.

San Diego Padres

Eric Show 100

Peavy 92

R. Jones 92

30.

San Francisco Giants*

C. Mathewson 372

Hubbell 253

M. Welch 240

*Includes years in other locations

+Currently active with franchise

August Meeting Wrap-Up

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.

Hornsby group witnesses history: Astros’ first extra-inning win of 2012

081112 Hornsby group photo

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!

August Meeting

We will be gathering at Iron Works BBQ located at 100 Red River in downtown Austin on Thursday, August 23 starting at 6:00 p.m.

Houston Road Trip

The Hornsby Chapter will be venturing to Houston on Saturday, August 11 and Sunday August 12 to take in a pair of games between the Astros and the Milwaukee Brewers. Game time on Saturday is 6:05 p.m. and Sunday is 1:05 p.m.

Those interested in attending are responsible for making their own hotel reservations. The Hilton Americas hotel at 1600 Lamar Street is within walking distance of Minute Maid Park and is the suggested hotel but there are a lot of hotels in downtown Houston so attendees may choose to stay elsewhere if so inclined.

Orders for field level tickets for both games are due by 12:00 noon on Saturday, August 4. Please email Jan Larson at jan.a.larson@gmail.com with questions or to place a ticket order.

Rogers Hornsby Chapter Annual Report (January 2011 to May 2012)

The Rogers Hornsby Chapter continued to remain active throughout the year – extending its consecutive monthly meeting streak, hosting winter meetings and SABR Day celebrations, organizing baseball trips for members and honoring the chapter founder with a lifetime achievement award.

The chapter met for the 66th consecutive month in May 2012, a streak dating to December 2006.

Chapter members honored the Hornsby Chapter founder and longtime SABR member Bill Gilbert with the inaugural Rajah Award for his significant contributions to the chapter.

At the chapter winter meeting at Texas State University in January 2011, Houston Astros television broadcaster Bill Brown, Round Rock Express radio broadcaster Mike Capps and his radio booth partner Jerry Grote, former catcher with the 1969 “Miracle Mets,” were special guests. Later that month on SABR Day, members gathered for a viewing of “Field of Dreams” and “The Natural.”

Among the highlights of the year, a dozen chapter members and guests enjoyed the “owner’s experience” at Whataburger Field, home of the Corpus Christi Hooks, the AA affiliate of the Houston Astros, in late April and early May 2011. Other chapter activities in the year included an outing to a Round Rock Express game and hosting a watch party for Game 3 of the World Series. The group also attended a showing of the film, “Moneyball,” and discussed it with Brian McNulty, a production manager on several Hollywood films.

Chapter commissioner Gilbert D. Martinez gave a research presentation at SABR 41 in Long Beach, California, in July 2011. The presentation examined the no-decision statistic. More information about the presentation can be found on the chapter website (http://chapters.sabr.org/hornsby) under the research and articles tab.

In 2012, the chapter held their Sixth Annual Winter Meeting, which included presentations by Branch Rickey III, president of the Pacific Coast League; Frank Coffland, a retired minor league umpire; Norman Macht, baseball historian, former SABR board member and author of the multi-volume biography of Connie Mack; and Scott Barzilla, author of “The Hall of Fame Index.”

Another 2012 chapter highlight was the book signing by Macht of his newly published “Connie Mack: The Turbulent & Triumphant Years, 1915-1931,” the second volume of his biography of the great manager.

Hornsby Chapter member Monte Cely completed the last of three years of service as a judge for the SABR Baseball Book Research Award. For more information on these awards, go to the SABR website announcement (http://sabr.org/about/sabr-baseball-research-award).

Midseason baseball talk and bbq

Fifteen chapter members enjoyed barbeque and baseball talk at the midseason break on Thursday, July 12.

Despite quiz-maker Jim Baker’s best efforts, a few of us eked out a few correct answers in Baker’s “The Perfect Quiz,” which focused on the 22 perfect games in Major League Baseball history.

Bill Gilbert was the only one to reach double-digits in overall score with 10 total points. Ira Siegel was second with seven points. Try your hand in the ‘Contests’ tab above, or by clicking here.

This was the 68th consecutive month that the chapter has met. On the horizon are Mark McGwire’s 70 and Barry Bonds’ 73.

Next meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 23.