November Meeting Summary

A total of 15 members and guests gathered at Iron Works BBQ for dinner and baseball talk.  Discussion topics included the sale of the Houston Astros to Jim Crane and the impending move of the club to the American League West.  The Astros fans in the group were not happy about this turn of events, to put it mildly.

Chapter member Monte Cely discussed his trip to game seven of the 2011 World Series in St. Louis.  Monte had purchased a game seven ticket prior to game six and flew to St. Louis a few hours after game six ended and was there to witness the Cardinals clinch their eleventh World Series championship.

Other topics included the 2011 post-season awards, the Marlins’ new uniforms, the addition of a second wildcard team to each league and the 2011-12 free agent season.  The Hornsby Chapter Winter Meeting agenda was also discussed.  The program is shaping up nicely and it should be an interesting day of presentations and discussions on January 14.

Bill Gilbert presented a trivia quiz on the 2011 regular season.  Steve Fall and Jan Larson tied for the top spot and with no tie-breaker question available, the judging committee declared the contest to be a draw.

The place, date and time of the December meeting is TBD.  Watch this space for details.

November Meeting

We will be gathering at Iron Works BBQ located at 100 Red River in downtown Austin on Thursday, November 17 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.

 

Triple Milestones – 2011

Triple Milestones – 2011

 

 

 

By Bill Gilbert

 

 

 

      Offensive production in the major leagues continued to decline slightly in 2011 but not as much as in 2010.  The number of runs per game has declined each year from 9.72 in 2006 to 8.57 in 2011.  The home run rate of 1.87 per game was the lowest since 1993. The major league batting average, on-base percentage and slugging average were all down slightly from 2010. All offensive categories are significantly below the peak year of 2000 as illustrated in the following table:

 

 

 

Year  Runs/Game HR/Game  BAVG   OBA    SLG    OPS     Triple Milestone Hitters

 

—-  ——— ——-  —-   —-   —-   —     ————————

 

1990     8.51     1.58   .258  .324   .386   .710                 2

 

1991     8.62     1.61   .255  .323   .384   .707                 3

 

1992     8.23     1.44   .256  .322   .377   .699                 2

 

1993     9.20     1.78   .266  .332   .404   .736                 5

 

1994     9.85     2.07   .270  .339   .424   .763                 3

 

1995     9.69     2.02   .267  .338   .417   .755                 8

 

1996    10.07     2.19   .270  .340   .427   .767                21

 

1997     9.53     2.05   .267  .337   .419   .756                 7

 

1998     9.58     2.08   .266  .335   .420   .755                14

 

1999    10.17     2.28   .271  .345   .434   .779                19

 

2000    10.28     2.34   .271  .345   .437   .782                26

 

2001     9.55     2.25   .264  .332   .427   .759                21

 

2002     9.24     2.09   .261  .331   .417   .748                12

 

2003     9.46     2.14   .264  .332   .422   .754                 8

 

2004     9.63     2.25   .266  .335   .428   .763                12

 

2005     9.18     2.06   .265  .330   .419   .749                10

 

2006     9.72     2.22   .269  .336   .432   .768                13

 

2007     9.59     2.04   .268  .336   .423   .759                 8 

 

2008     9.30     2.01   .264  .333   .417   .750                 7

 

2009     9.23     2.02   .262  .333   .418   .751                 6

 

2010     8.77     1.90   .257  .325   .403   .728                 6

 

2011     8.57     1.87   .255  .321   .399   .720                 7

 

 

 

      Jose Bautista of Toronto led the majors with 43 home runs in 2011, two more than Curtis Granderson.  Bautista was the only player over 50 in 2010 with 54.  In a bit of a surprise, the 30 home run level was reached by 24 players in 2011 compared to 18 in 2010. 

 

 

 

      A useful indicator for tracking offense is the number of players who hit for both power and average by achieving a .300 batting average, 30 home runs and 100 runs batted in.  A record 26 players reached all three milestones in 2000, but that figure has dropped significantly in recent years. Only seven players reached all three milestones in 2011, up from six in 2010.  Paul Konerko and Miguel Cabrera were the only players who made it in both 2010 and 2011.  For the first time in his eleven year career, Albert Pujols is not on the list, missing by a couple of whiskers (.299-37-99).  

 

 

  There were four newcomers to the .300-30-100 club in 2011, Jose Bautista, Matt Kemp, Jacoby Ellsbury and Troy Tulowitzki bringing the total to 170 players who have registered at least one .300-30-100 season starting with Babe Ruth in 1920.

 

 

 

      Following is a listing of players who achieved triple milestones

 

in 2011:

 

 

 

Player           Times  BAVG-HR-RBI         Comments

 

National

 

Ryan Braun         3    .332-33-111         Consistently productive.

 

Matt Kemp          1    .324-39-126         Breakout year.

 

Troy Tulowitzki    1    .302-30-105         Came close in 2010.

 

 

 

Player           Times  BAVG-HR-RBI         Comments

 

American

 

Miguel Cabrera     4    .344-30-105  Barely made it on home runs.

 

Paul Konerko       3    .300-31-105  A model of consistency.

 

Jose Bautista      1    .302-43-103  Led majors in HR last 2 years.

 

Jacoby Ellsbury    1    .321-32-105  New highs in HR and RBI.

 

 

 

      Four players achieved triple milestones in 2010 but fell short in 2011:

 

 

 

Player           Times    BAVG-HR-RBI    BAVG-HR-RBI    

 

                 In Past      2011           2010     Comments

 

Albert Pujols     10     .299-37- 99    .312-42-118  Missed for the first time..

 

Josh Hamilton      2     .298-25- 94    .359-32-100  Slowed by injuries.

 

Joey Votto         1     .309-29-103    .324-37-113  Needed one more HR.

 

Carlos Gonzalez    1     .295-26- 92    .336-34-117  Held back by injuries.

 

 

 

 

 

      The biggest obstacle in reaching triple milestones in 2011 was batting average.  Five players had 30 home runs and 100 RBIs in 2011 but fell short of a .300 batting average.

 

 

 

Prince Fielder           .299-38-120      Had better year than Pujols.

 

Adrian Beltre            .296-32-105      Strong in all 3 categories.

 

Curtis Granderson        .262-41-119      Batting average hurt by strikeouts.      

 

Ryan Howard              .253-33-116      6 years with 30+ HR and 100+ RBI.

 

Mark Teixeira            .248-39-111      Career low batting average.

 

     

 

      A growing list contains the names of players, active in 2011, who have had multiple .300-30-100 seasons in the past but have not done it in the last three years.  Many have been limited by injuries. Some are still very productive players like Lance Berkman and David Ortiz, but not at the same level they were in their peak years.  Since this list was started in 2004, not one player has come back with another .300-30-100 season.

 

 

 

                                 Last

 

                .300-30-100  .300-30-100 

 

Player            Seasons       Season       2012     Comments

 

 

 

Manny Ramirez       10           2008    .059- 0-  1  An inglorious end.

 

Alex Rodriguez       8           2008    .276-16- 62  Worst year of career.

 

Vladimir Guerrero    8           2006    .290-13- 63  Clearly in decline.

 

Todd Helton          5           2003    .302-14- 69  Pretty good comeback year.

 

Chipper Jones        5           2001    .275-18- 70  Might be time to retire.

 

Jason Giambi         4           2002    .260-13- 32  Still has power off the bench.

 

Magglio Ordonez      4           2002    .255- 5- 32  Too many injuries. 

 

Lance Berkman        3           2006    .301-31- 94  Comeback player of the year.

 

David Ortiz          3           2007    .309-29- 96  Similar numbers as Berkman.

 

Mark Teixeira        3           2008    .248-39-111  Career low batting average.

 

Jim Thome            2           2002    .256-15- 50  Reached the 600 HR mark.

 

Aramis Ramirez       2           2004    .306-26- 93  Still a dangerous hitter.

 

Miguel Tejada        2           2004    .239- 4- 26  Looks like end of the line.

 

Travis Hafner        2           2006    .280-13- 57  Essentially duplicated 2010.

Vernon Wells         2           2006    .218-25- 66  Big disappointment in Anaheim.

 

Matt Holliday        2           2007    .296-22- 75  Too many injuries.

 

Aubrey Huff          2           2008    .246-12- 59  Mixes bad years with good ones.

 

David Wright         2           2008    .254-14- 61  Bring back Shea Stadium.  

 

 

 

      In his 1988 Baseball Abstract, Bill James referred to triple milestone seasons as "Hall of Fame Seasons".  This was because all of the eligible players with 5 or more triple milestone seasons had been elected to the Hall of Fame.  This correlation was broken in 2011 when Juan Gonzalez and Jeff Bagwell fell short of election in their first year of eligibility.

 

 

 

            No teams had two players with triple milestones in 2011.  Twenty nine of the thirty major league teams have now had at least one triple milestone hitter since the year 2000. Kansas City has not had a triple milestone hitter since Danny Tartabull in 1991.    

 

 

 

 

 

      Minor league players also recorded triple milestone seasons in 2011. 

 

 

 

Player            Team (Level)      Organization     Age   BAVG-HR-RBI  

 

 

 

Bryan LaHair      Iowa (AAA)         Chicago Cubs      28   .331-38-109

 

                  Chicago (NL)                              .288- 2-  6

 

                                                            .326-40-115

 

 

 

Mike Carp         Tacoma (AAA)       Seattle           25   .343-21- 64

 

                  Seattle (AL)                              .276-12- 46

 

                                                            .307-33-110

 

 

 

Matt Adams        Springfield (AA)   St. Louis         22   .300-32-101

 

 

 

      Another was on the verge of a triple milestone season in the minor leagues before he was called up to the majors.                        

 

 

 

Paul Goldschmidt  Mobile (AA)        Arizona           23   .306-30- 94

 

                  Arizona (NL)                              .250- 8- 26

 

                                                            .289-38-120

 

 

 

      Goldschmidt had a minor league triple milestone season in 2010.

 

 

 

      Two former major leaguers had triple milestones in 2011 in the Mexican League.

 

 

Luis Terrero      Mexico City (MEX)  None              31   .390-38-110

 

 

 

Mendy Lopez       Puebla (MEX)       None              37   .321-31-106           

 

     

 

      No college players achieved triple milestones in 2011                                          

 

      Pitchers also strive for triple milestones – 20 wins, 200 strikeouts and an ERA under 3.00. Two pitchers made it in 2011, the same number as in 2010, Justin Verlander (24-5, 250, 2.40) and Clayton Kershaw (21-5, 248, 2.28).  Both made it for the first time and they both won the triple crown for pitchers in their leagues.

 

 

 

      A complete list of players with triple milestone seasons since 1920 can be found at Baseball-Almanac, with the following link.

 

 

http://www.baseball-almanac.com/legendary/triple_milestones.shtml

 

Book Review: Las Estrellas Orientales

Las Estrellas Orientales

The Eastern Stars – How Baseball Changed
the Dominican Town of San Pedro de Macoris
 
by Mark Kurlansky
 
A Baseball Book Review
Monte Cely
(512) 310-9777
                                               
            “What do Rico Carty, Alfredo Griffin, Pedro Guerrero, George Bell, Julio Franco, Juan Samuel, Sammy Sosa, Alfonso Soriano, and Robinson Cano all have in common? They all come from the small sugar-mill town of San Pedro de Macoris in the Dominican Republic. Coincidence? Hardly.”   — NPR
 
            Las Estrellas Orientales (in English, The Eastern Stars), is a story about baseball in the Dominican Republic, and much more. The title is taken from the name of San Pedro’s professional baseball team in the Dominican Winter League, but the story is really about the history of this Dominican town and how it has come to pass that 86 major-leaguers have come from this small city.
 
            The book has a good dose of Dominican history, from pre-Columbian settlement through Spanish colonization, the Trujillo dictatorship, and up to the 21st Century. San Pedro’s development as a sugar mill center in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and its subsequent economic decline, set the stage for a baseball boom fueled by the drive of destitute Macorisanos to escape a life of poverty. Coupled with MLB’s search for cheaper and more plentiful labor, baseball becomes a “be-all-end-all” for a better life for ball-playing youngsters and their families.
 
         This book is an interesting cultural and economic history with a baseball theme. It’s also a very current look at Latin American baseball, having been just recently published. SABR members should enjoy it, especially if you’ll be following the Caribbean World Series in 2012 from Santo Domingo (just an hour to the west of San Pedro de Macoris).
 
Here are the key statistics:
Book: Las Estrellas Orientales (the Eastern Stars) – How Baseball Changed the Dominican Town of San Pedro de Macoris
Author:  Mark Kurlansky
Author’s Credentials: Kurlansky has written extensively on history, food, and culture. He was a Chicago Tribune reporter on Caribbean topics for seven years.
Published: 2010, Riverhead Books; ISBN: 978-1-59448-505-3
Length: 332 pages.
Price: Retail list – $16.00; Online – from $1.00 (used) + shipping.
 
 

Watching the World Series and talking baseball

Eight chaper members gathered in Cedar Park to watch Game 3 of the World Series and witnessed Albert Pujols of the St. Louis Cardinals hit three home runs in three consecutive at-bats.

The Cardinals beat the Texas Rangers, 16-7, in a slugfest. Pujols led the charge; his three home runs in a World Series game matched Reggie Jackson and Babe Ruth, who accomplished the feat twice.

During the game, the group discussed the broadcast team of Joe Buck and Tim McCarver. Raeanne Martinez posted on Twitter something Jim Baker said here’s something you never hear in discussing Buck: "No, no, here’s why Joe Buck is good." That tweet was re-tweeted by eight others on Twitter! Our conversation was in Jim’s living room, but thanks to the magic of social media, it was viewed and read by countless people that night.

Speaking of Jim, he was the perfect host, serving scrumptous pizza with homemade toppings and delicious cookies. Much thanks to Jim for hosting the watch party.

We spoke longingly of Monte Cely, who is well known as a Cardinals fan and unable to join us. We figured he enjoyed the game.

Next meeting will be at 6 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 17, at Iron Works. A reminder will be sent out next month.

World Series Watch Party

The next meeting will be a watch party at the home of esteemed member Jim Baker.

We’ll watch Game 3 of the World Series on Saturday, Oct. 22, between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Texas Rangers.

Jim will have food for everyone, but you must bring your own beverages. The party starts at 6:30 p.m.

He lives in Cedar Park. Please see the email announcement sent out on the chapter email list for the address.

And, please RSVP to Jim directly at jimbaker1066 AT yahoo.com by Thursday, Oct. 20.

Hope to see you there!

Book Review: The Empire Strikes Out

The Empire Strikes Out

How Baseball Sold U.S. Foreign Policy
and Promoted the American Way Abroad
 
by Robert Elias
 
A Baseball Book Review
Monte Cely
(512) 310-9777
                                               
            Did you know that Richard Nixon killed Roberto Clemente?  
 
            The Empire Strikes Out is a review of two centuries of U.S. foreign policy thru the lens of baseball history. The book explores baseball’s links to American interests overseas, the export of U.S. culture and products, and support for the U.S. military. The fundamental premise of this book is that baseball (read “organized baseball”) has been a willing proponent and partner of American imperialism and militarism. In a not-atypical linkage, the author asserts that “… Nixon’s support for the Nicaraguan dictatorship was substantially responsible for Clemente’s death.”
 
            This book incorporates a lot of research. There are 96 pages of notes, and they’re worth reading as a supplement to each chapter. The author gets most of the baseball facts and history correct, but his interpretation of their interaction is highly skewed by his political views. The book lacks objective balance. American foreign policy, and baseball’s role in it, is consistently presented as self-serving and hypocritical. Even efforts against totalitarianism are viewed with a jaundiced eye. Regarding World War II, the author states: “What ‘everyone knows’ about the war may not be entirely true. Was the Japanese attack really unprovoked? Was the White House really unaware of the impending assault?” 
 
            This book will certainly make you think more deeply about baseball’s political efforts and motivation. For those fans that may sometimes be annoyed or offended by organized baseball’s jingoism and flag-waving, Elias presents some reinforcing stories. Others will dismiss his views. Regardless, keep an open mind when reading.
 
Here are the key statistics:
Book: The Empire Strikes Out – How Baseball Sold U.S. Foreign Policy and Promoted the American Way Abroad
Author:  Robert Elias
Author’s Credentials: Author and editor of eight books, most recently Baseball and the American Dream. He teaches law and politics at the University of San Francisco.
Published: 2010, The New Press; ISBN: 978-1-59558-195-2
Length: 418 pages.
Price: Retail list – $27.95; Online – from $6.60 (used) + shipping.

October meeting set for Game 3 of the World Series

The Major League Baseball playoffs are underway and cool weather has finally returned to Central Texas. Both are reasons for joy.

 

To celebrate, the chapter will meet for Game 3 of the World Series on Saturday, Oct. 22, at the home of Jim Baker in Cedar Park.

 

More details to come, but please save the date. It’s going to be fun!

 

“Moneyball” delivers and gives us a lot to talk about

IMG_0517

Fifteen members and guests enjoyed “Moneyball” Saturday evening, finding lots to like for die-hard baseball fans and nonfans alike. The statistical approach to baseball gets the royal treatment — with mentions of Bill James, the importance of having players reach base and small-market tactics against big, rich ballclubs.

Scouts don’t get portrayed real well, but as you may have heard, this movie, which is based on the book, “Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game,” by Michael Lewis, focuses on Oakland Athletics general manager Billy Beane. The movie opens with the A’s losing to the New York Yankees in the AL Division Series, after a 102-win season in 2001. In the off-season, the A’s lose stars Johnny Damon, Jason Giambi and Jason Isringhausen to free agency. Looking for a different strategy, Beane recruits a sabermetrician who argues that players with high on-base percentages can help a small-market team compete against the richer clubs.

Beane’s relationship with his daughter also figures in the story-telling, providing character development to balance out the baseball talk. But it is a baseball movie, so it’s no surprise that the film devotes a lot of time to the team’s 20-game winning streak in 2002, which is still an American League record.

Afterward, we were joined by Brian McNulty (pictured above, center), a production manager on a number of Hollywood films, including “A Perfect Storm,” “A Bug’s Life,” “Once Upon a Time in Mexico,” and most recently, “The Help.” While he was not involved with “Moneyball,” he gave his insight into the movie making process and discussed what he liked about the film.

Having lived in the San Francisco Bay Area, he said he was impressed with the movie’s accurate depiction of Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. He also noticed the sharp work on art design. Brian is a friend of Jim Baker’s and participates in Jim’s fantasy baseball league. Brian’s wife, Jennifer, and a couple of their friends also joined us at Hyde Park Bar & Grill.

Much thanks to Brian for visiting with us to share his insight about the movie, and to everyone who turned out for our change-up meeting, a movie and dinner.

In other news, Connie Larson announced that she won a week-long Caribbean cruise in a drawing at the Dell Diamond. She is taking a good friend of hers who missed an Alaska cruise earlier this year when her friend broke her foot. No word yet if Winter League games are on the cruise schedule. We hope Connie and her friend have a great time.

We’ve not yet set the October meeting, but we’re thinking of having a playoffs watch party. More details soon.

A movie and dinner

Here are the details for this month’s chapter meeting. Consider this a change-up from our usual routine.

On Saturday, Sept. 24, we’ll watch the 4 p.m. showing of Moneyball at the Regal Westgate Stadium 11, 4477 S. Lamar Blvd. (in the same shopping center as Central Market and Hyde Park Bar & Grill). Click here for a map.

To order tickets ahead of time, you can use fandango.com. Click here for more details. We don’t know if the movie will sell out, but if you know you’re attending, it may be wise to order tickets in advance.

After the movie, we have reservations at Hyde Park Bar & Grill. Click here for their website. We’ll get a chance to talk about the movie and may have a guest or two with movie industry experience to give us an additional perspective on Moneyball.

IMPORTANT: Please RSVP to Gilbert (gmartinez46@austin.rr.com) by Friday, Sept. 23, if you plan to attend dinner so we can reserve enough seats at Hyde Park.