July Meeting Wrap-Up

Ten members and guests attended the monthly meeting of the Rogers Hornsby SABR chapter on Monday, July 20 at Third Base in Austin.  Topics discussed included the recent All-Star game and both recent and upcoming trips by chapter members to various major league cities to see ballgames.  Tom Wancho presented an entertaining trivia quiz on the subject of unusual injuries in honor of Bill Gilbert who is currently on the chapter’s "disabled list."  Bill called in to the meeting and visited with most of the attendees for a few minutes.  Brian Rogers was the winner of the quiz and received game tickets and parking pass to a Round Rock Express game.

The next meeting was tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, August 25 at Third Base.

 

Stolen Victories

“Stolen Victories” is a Powerpoint presentation given by Jan Larson at the January 2008 winter meeting of the Rogers Hornsby Chapter.

You can download the presentation for viewing on your computer: Steals of Home.

Jan can be reached at jan.a.larson@gmail.com.

Author’s notes:

In the “Stolen Victories” presentation, the 35 game ending (“walk off”) steals of home that have occurred in the American and National Leagues since the founding of the American League in 1901 are documented.

The author’s motivation to pursue this research project and the research methodology are described.

Interesting tidbits of trivia regarding the players that stole and the pitchers stolen upon are included along with an explanation of why one of the 35 game ending steals has an asterisk (at least in the author’s opinion).

Finally, all those SABR members who assisted with the research and/or were consulted on the project are listed.

Monthly Meeting, June 2009

A total of 12 members and guests enjoyed BBQ at the Salt Lick restaurant followed by a once-every-20-years-or-so game between the New Orleans Zephyrs and Round Rock Express. Unfortunately, many of those in attendance at the Dell Diamond missed yet another example of why a baseball fan should *never* leave early regardless of the score.

After New Orleans broke open the scoreless pitchers’ duel by plating four runs in the top of the 11th inning, sending many in the crowd heading for the exits,  Round Rock came back with five in the bottom of the inning to pull out the win. The winning run scored on an errant throw from the catcher to first on an attempted 1-2-3 double play which would have ended the inning and sent the game to the 12th.

The next monthly meeting is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. on Monday, July 20 at Third Base in Austin.

Book Review: Odd Man Out

                                                                                                           
               Odd Man Out is written by Matt McCarthy, a Yale graduate who went on to attend Harvard Medical School and is currently doing a medical internship. In between Yale and Harvard, McCarthy was drafted by the Angels and spent a year pitching for their Provo, Utah farm team. This book is his first-hand account of a year in the minor leagues. 
 
An excerpt of this book was highlighted in Sports Illustrated earlier this year. McCarthy’s work has been described as a combination of the now-famous book,  Ball Four, and the classic baseball movie Bull Durham.  I think the description fits. The author takes us through his last few weeks at Yale in the Spring of 2002, his experience getting drafted & signed, his introduction to pro ball at the Angels training camp at Mesa, Arizona, his year pitching for and living in Provo, and the following year’s spring training back at Mesa.
 
Highlights include McCarthy’s first pro coach (Casey Kotchman’s father, whose good luck charm was the “Rally Penis”), the interactions between American and Latino players (the two groups segregate themselves), the team’s acclimation to Provo’s Mormon population and beliefs (difficult), and the author’s reaction to the many future major-leaguers that he meets. Players’ struggles with alcohol and drugs are also a part of this book.        
 
            I found Odd Man Out to be both entertaining and insightful. Once I started the book, I found it difficult to put down. SABR members should enjoy it, especially for those who find books such as Jim Bouton’s Ball Four and Jim Brosnan’s The Long Season appealing.
 
            Here are the key statistics:
 
Book:   Odd Man Out – A Year on the Mound with a Minor League Misfit
Author: Matt McCarthy
Author Credentials: the author is a graduate of Yale, Harvard Medical School, and is currently serving an internship at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center in New York City
Published: 2009, Viking, ISBN 978-0-670-02070-6
Length: 295 pages
Price: Retail list – $25.95;    Online: used from $11.00, new from $13.00 + ship.

Rogers Hornsby Chapter Annual Report for 2008

The Rogers Hornsby Chapter, serving Central and South Texas, was officially recognized as a SABR chapter early in 2006. The Chapter held 12 meetings in 2008 with one meeting in each month, continuing a streak of 25 straight months with a meeting. Ten were dinner meetings, held on a monthly basis, with an average attendance of ten people. In addition to baseball talk, these meetings allowed members to discuss areas of their research and were also used to plan chapter activities. Members are encouraged to bring guests to these meetings and some new active members have been added as a result.

The second annual winter meeting of the chapter was held in January 2008 on the campus of Texas State University in San Marcos. Thirty one people were in attendance at the meeting which included four research presentations by Chapter members and guest appearances by Kansas City Royals scout, Gene Watson, minor league pitcher, Chris Young, Round Rock Express Broadcaster, Mike Capps and Texas State University Baseball Coach, Ty Harrington. A new feature was a book exchange with several members bringing baseball books to exchange with other members. Remaining books were donated to the library at Texas State University.

One of the meetings in 2008 was held at Dell Diamond, the home of the Triple-A Round Rock Express. The meeting included a pre-game get together and attendance at the game as a group.

Five representatives of the Chapter attended the SABR Convention in Cleveland. Norman Macht and Gilbert Martinez made research presentations. Monte Cely had an article published in the 2008 Baseball Research Journal.

The Chapter is continuing a project to identify and commemorate former major league spring training sites in Texas. In February 2008, a three-part series ran in the Marlin, Texas newspaper detailing the history of major league spring training in that town from 1904 thru 1923. The newspaper series was timed to commemorate the 100th anniversary of John McGraw’s arrival in Marlin. A baseball display and book selection have also been established at the local library, and a historical plaque is being considered as further commemoration.

The Chapter’s official SABR-sponsored web site is in development and will be launched soon. Chapter communication and intra-chapter discussions are facilitated by a Yahoo Group mailing list.

The chapter has continued the monthly meetings in 2009. Another very successful Winter Meeting was held in January 2009 with former Astro pitcher, broadcaster and manager, Larry Dierker, as the featured speaker. The Winter Meeting is expected to be an annual affair.

Monthly meeting, May 2009

The Rogers Hornsby Chapter of SABR held its monthly get-together at Third Base in Austin on May 18, 2009.  Nine members were present. 

There was a lot of discussion about the season so far including some unusual plays.  Monte Cely presented a well-researched quiz on the St. Louis Browns which was won by Jim Baker (18 of 30) in a close race with Cy Morong (17) and Bill Gilbert (16).  Who knew that 1949 AL Rookie of the Year, Roy Sievers of the Browns, went to high school with Monte’s Mom.?
 
Jan Larson reported on the status of the Chapter web site which should be up and running in the next month.
 
The next meeting is scheduled for Saturday night, June 20 at Dell Diamond for the game between the Round Rock Express and the New Orleans Zephyrs.  Hornsby Chapter member and Express season ticket holder, Chuck Kaufman, is scheduled to throw out the first ball that night.  Jan Larson will handle communications and planning for the event.

Book Review: Venezuelan Bust, Baseball Boom

Venezuelan Bust, Baseball Boom is the story of former Astros instructor, scout and special assistant Andres Reiner. The son of a Hungarian refugee whose family eventually settled in Venezuela, Reiner picks up the sport as a child and eventually becomes a Latin American baseball impresario. 
 
The key event in the book is Reiner’s 1989 establishment of a Venezuelan baseball academy sponsored by the Houston Astros. In addition to Reiner’s story, background is also included on key Astros scouts and instructors in Venezuela. The book follows the successes and failures of prospects recruited by Reiner and his scouts, including such notables as Richard Hidalgo, Bobby Abreu and Johan Santana. The interaction with Houston’s home office and minor league system provides further background on the careers of the Venezuelan staff and their prospects.
 
            The author has traveled extensively in Latin America, sometimes accompanying the Astros’ staff on scouting trips in Venezuela, as well as in Colombia and Central America. His first-hand accounts add a lot to the book. Jamail seems to have great empathy for Reiner and his staff and recruits. 
 
            One criticism is that there are many grammatical errors in the book; they seem to increase in frequency as the book goes along.
 
            I found Venezuelan Bust, Baseball Boom to be very worthwhile. It should be especially appealing to SABR members with an interest in Latin American baseball and to Houston Astros fans. The book also has a Central Texas flavor as the author lives in Austin and several discussions/interviews took place at Dell Diamond.
 
            Here are the key statistics:
 
Book:   Venezuelan Bust, Baseball Boom
Author: Milton H. Jamail
Author Credentials: Full Count: Inside Cuban Baseball, a book about post revolutionary Cuban baseball published in 2000; Latin American baseball articles for Baseball America, USA Today Sports Weekly, Texas Monthly and other pubs
Published: 2008, University of Nebraska Press, ISBN 978-0-8032-1571-9
Length: 257 pages
Price: Retail list – $19.95;    Online: new from $7.50 + ship.

Book Review: The Long Season

 

The Long Season is considered by many to be a baseball classic, the first “tell all” book written by a baseball insider during his active career. Reviewers also claim this book is one of the best American diaries ever written.
 
The Long Season is written by pitcher Jim Brosnan about his 1959 season with the St. Louis Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds. Brosnan debuted in 1954 for the Chicago Cubs and returned to the majors in 1956. He pitched for nine seasons through 1963. He was a member of the 1961 pennant-winning Reds, of which he wrote a second book titled Pennant Race. Brosnan’s career record is 55-47, with 67 saves and an ERA of 3.54.
 
Brosnan uses a diary approach to write about his 1959 season. The narrative is organized by significant days and places, from his pre-season contract negotiations (January 26 at his home in Morton Grove, IL), to Spring Training (he arrives in St. Petersburg February 19), enduring early losing streaks with the Cardinals (he’s at his St. Louis apartment on June 8 when he finds out he’s been traded), and through the remainder of the season with Cincinnati (the closing entry is September 27 from Forbes Field in Pittsburgh).
 
The Long Season is often compared to pitcher Jim Bouton’s Ball Four. Brosnan wrote it 10 years before Bouton, and in retrospect after several decades this book seems much less controversial than Ball Four. However, at the time it stirred up resentment among some of Brosnan’s former teammates. In particular, Gino Cimoli threatened to punch Brosnan the next time they met. Solly Hemus, Brosnan’s Cardinals manager, had many choice words expressed in the press. Brosnan’s humor is subtle; I often found myself chuckling, as compared to laughing out loud at Bouton’s writing. 
 
I really enjoyed The Long Season. It should be an easy, entertaining read for SABR members. The book will also have a special appeal to those fans that were old enough to be following baseball in the late 1950s or early 1960s.
                       
Here’s the key statistics:
 
Book:   The Long Season
Author: Jim Brosnan
Author Credentials: Also wrote Pennant Race and numerous sports biographies.
Published: 1960, HarperCollins (hardcover), Ivan R. Dee (paperback)
ISBN 1-56663-418-0
Length: 276 pages
Price: Retail list – $16.95; Online: new from $11.00 + ship; used from $3.00 + ship.

 

Book Review: The Boys Who Were Left Behind

 

            The Boys Who Were Left Behind is the story of the 1944 “Streetcar Series”, the only all-St. Louis World Series. The book focuses primarily on the Browns and Cardinals players and managers, with emphasis on their war-years experiences. Of special interest is the story of Browns manager Luke Sewell, his recruitment to be the field boss, and how he assembled and motivated his wartime group of cast-offs and misfits.
 
After introducing the key players, along with managers Sewell and Southworth, and brief histories of the franchises’ activities in the late 1930s and early 1940s, The Boys Who Were Left Behind covers each of the six games of the ’44 Series. You’ll see the Series swing from the Browns’ stunning victories in games one and three, to the Cardinals’ extra-innings victory in game two and the Redbirds’ eventual overmatching of the Brownies to win the last three games (and the Series, four games to two).   
 
A key perspective of the book is the uncertainty of life during World War II. Players (and management) did not know if or when they might be drafted, and several struggled to juggle a defense-related job with playing baseball. The book is also loaded with baseball legend and trivia. One interesting twist of history is that the “Streetcar Series” almost never happened! The Browns were set to be sold to a Los Angeles group prior to the 1942 season, with the announcement to be made on Monday December 8, 1941!! After the attack on Pearl Harbor, those plans were obviously postponed.
 
SABR members with interests in wartime baseball history, baseball history in general, or in St. Louis baseball should enjoy this quick read.
                       
 
Here’s the key statistics:
 
Book:   The Boys Who Were Left Behind; The 1944 World Series between the Hapless St. Louis Browns and the Legendary St. Louis Cardinals.
Authors: John Heidenry and Brett Topel
Author Credentials: Heidenry is founding editor of St. Louis Magazine; Topel is a freelance sports journalist. 
Published: 2006, University of Nebraska Press; ISBN 0-8032-2428-1
Length: 152 pages
Price: Retail list – $29.95; Online: new from $18.95 + ship; used from $15.99 + ship.