The Rogers Hornsby Chapter will return to the venue of our June lunch meeting on Saturday, September 24 at 12:30 p.m. We will be meeting at the Hurricane Grill located at 2701 Parker Road in Round Rock. Parker Road is perpendicular to the westbound service road (W. Louis Henna Blvd) of Toll 45 just west of I-35 at the La Frontera shopping area. No tolls are required! Please RSVP to Jan Larson if you plan to attend so we can get an accurate head count.
Names quiz, baseball trips round out August meeting
A quiz about the given names of ballplayers known by their nicknames and discussions of baseball trips and major league players in local minor league games highlighted the August meeting on Saturday.
Twelve chapter members and guests enjoyed breakfast tacos at Rudy’s Bar-B-Q in Southwest Austin. The temperature in the 80s was quite comfortable as compared to our last breakfast meeting at the same location in March, when it was 40 degrees!
Jan Larson posed a multiple-choice quiz challenging us to identify the given names of baseball players widely known by their nicknames. Dan Walsh (pictured above, right) won the competition with 20 out of 25 points (plus three tie-breaker points). Jim Baker (pictured above, left) took second with 20 (plus one tie-breaker point). Gary McIntosh placed third with 18 points (plus two tie-breaker points).
Take a swing at Jan’s quiz below. The answers follow the quiz questions. For their efforts, Dan won a Yogi Berra bobblehead, and Jim won an Ernie Banks bobblehead.
We spent a little time talking about how much baseball has changed over the years and how the game itself – separate from the endless tweaks by MLB – has endured and kept our attention.
Round Rock Express season ticket holder Andrew York talked about Dallas Keuchel’s seven innings of shutout ball in a 4-0 win over the El Paso Chihuahuas on Friday, Aug. 19. Since being released by the Chicago White Sox and Arizona Diamondbacks earlier this season, the former Cy Young winner and Astros starter has been pitching for the Express for the past month and may get called up to the Texas Rangers soon.
Joining us for his first meeting, Scott Lopez from San Antonio shared a few photos from the 30th anniversary of the premiere of “A League of Their Own” in Rockford, Illinois. He also saw Fernando Tatis Jr. play for the San Antonio Missions at Wolff Municipal Stadium a few weekends ago, just before MLB announced its 80-game suspension of the Padres star for violating the league’s performance-enhancing drug policy.
On our Google group list, Mike Lassman, who’s attending this weekend’s SABR national convention in Baltimore, shared that SABR 51 will be in Chicago. The convention is scheduled for July 5-9, 2023. There’s interest in putting together a Hornsby Chapter group to attend next year.
This was the 189th consecutive month in which the chapter has met, a streak dating to December 2006.
Our next meeting will be at 12:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 24, at Hurricane Grill and Wings in Round Rock.
Also, save the following dates. We’ll have our October meeting on Saturday, Oct. 29, at Jim Baker’s house in Cedar Park for the World Series Game 2 watch party (teams to be determined).
And we’ll have our 17th Annual Bill Gilbert Winter Meeting on Saturday, Jan. 7, 2023, at Texas State University in San Marcos. More details will be forthcoming in the coming months.
What’s in a Name?
By Jan Larson
Circle each player’s given first name (per www.baseball-reference.com). One point for each correct answer.
- Lefty Grove: Robert, Charles, Gilbert, Samuel
- Lefty O’Doul: Joseph, Francis, Anheuser, Orel
- Babe Ruth: Roger, George, Calvin, Babe
- Rocky Colavito: Rockwell, Rocco, Domenic, Vito
- Buck O’Neil: John, Jordan, Robert, Orel
- Ozzie Smith: Oswald, Osborne, Leroy, Earl
- Boog Powell (1961-1977): Wesley, John, Samuel, Paul
- Chico Carrasquel: Carlos, Charles, Alfonso, Gomez
- Mudcat Grant: Mudcat, Timothy, Robert, James
- Home Run Baker: Double, Franklin, John, Robert
- Three Finger Brown: Two Finger, Mordecai, Murgatroid, Murray
- Sammy Sosa: Samuel, Samson, Sam, Bob
- Tony Gwynn: Keith, Antonio, Antoine, Anthony
- Spike Owen: Robert, John, Alan, Spike
- Biff Pocoroba: Robert, William, Biff, Martin
- CC Sabathia: Charles, Carsten, Carlton, Carroll
- Willie Stargell: William, Wilver, Willie, Bob
- Ty Cobb: Tyson, Tyrone, Tyrus, Tyler
- Pie Traynor: Joseph, Harold, Caleb, Pumpkin
- Chipper Jones: Larry, Wayne, Robert, Willie
- Sandy Koufax: Santander, Sandy, Bob, Sanford
- Doc Medich: Francis, George, Bob, William
- Rusty Greer: Thurman, Clyde, Bob, Roger
- Dizzy Dean: Jerome, Darvin, Jay, Roger
- Duke Snider: Roger, Calvin, Donald, Edwin
Tie breaker: Rube Walker: Roger, Caleb, Albert, William
Tie breaker: Mookie Betts: Marvin, Markus, Mookie, Mohamad
Tie breaker: Rip Sewell: Roger, Ronald, Samuel, Truett
Correct answers in bold and underlined below.
- Lefty Grove: Robert, Charles, Gilbert, Samuel
- Lefty O’Doul: Joseph, Francis, Anheuser, Orel
- Babe Ruth: Roger, George, Calvin, Babe
- Rocky Colavito: Rockwell, Rocco, Domenic, Vito
- Buck O’Neil: John, Jordan, Robert, Orel
- Ozzie Smith: Oswald, Osborne, Leroy, Earl
- Boog Powell (1961-1977): Wesley, John, Samuel, Paul
- Chico Carrasquel: Carlos, Charles, Alfonso, Gomez
- Mudcat Grant: Mudcat, Timothy, Robert, James
- Home Run Baker: Double, Franklin, John, Robert
- Three Finger Brown: Two Finger, Mordecai, Murgatroid, Murray
- Sammy Sosa: Samuel, Samson, Sam, Bob
- Tony Gwynn: Keith, Antonio, Antoine, Anthony
- Spike Owen: Robert, John, Alan, Spike
- Biff Pocoroba: Robert, William, Biff, Martin
- CC Sabathia: Charles, Carsten, Carlton, Carroll
- Willie Stargell: William, Wilver, Willie, Bob
- Ty Cobb: Tyson, Tyrone, Tyrus, Tyler
- Pie Traynor: Joseph, Harold, Caleb, Pumpkin
- Chipper Jones: Larry, Wayne, Robert, Willie
- Sandy Koufax: Santander, Sandy, Bob, Sanford
- Doc Medich: Francis, George, Bob, William
- Rusty Greer: Thurman, Clyde, Bob, Roger
- Dizzy Dean: Jerome, Darvin, Jay, Roger
- Duke Snider: Roger, Calvin, Donald, Edwin
Tie breaker: Rube Walker: Roger, Caleb, Albert, William
Tie breaker: Mookie Betts: Marvin, Markus, Mookie, Mohamad
Tie breaker: Rip Sewell: Roger, Ronald, Samuel, Truett
August Breakfast Meeting
The Rogers Hornsby Chapter will hold our second breakfast meeting at 9:00 am on Saturday, August 20th at Rudy’s BBQ at 2451 S. Capital of Texas Hwy in Austin (same location as our previous breakfast meeting). This meeting promises to be warmer than the previous meeting held at Rudy’s in March.
Please send an RSVP email to Jan Larson at jan.a.larson@gmail.com if you plan to attend.
Weirdos Fall in 10 Innings
Five members and guests of the Rogers Hornsby Chapter braved 100+ degree temperatures to watch the home standing Austin Weirdos (Pecos League) fall to the visiting Roswell Invaders by a score of 25-11 in 10 innings in a game played in a not-so-snappy 5:08. 
Austin trailed 5-0 before plating eight runs in the bottom of the third, highlighted by a grand slam home run by center fielder Christian Jones, his ninth home run of the season.
Things would fall apart of the Weirdos in the ninth which started with Austin leading 11-8. Roswell tied the game by plating three runs and then, after holding Austin scoreless in the bottom of the ninth, exploded for 14 runs in the top of the tenth. The explosion was aided by 10 (count ’em) walks issued by the gassed Weirdo pitching staff in the tenth inning. By the time the dust settled (the field is not watered down before the game so there is actual dust flying) the Invaders had scored a 25-11 victory.
The gathering marked the 188th consecutive monthly meeting of the chapter. The August meeting will be another weekend breakfast meeting. More information to come.
Austin Weirdos Baseball!
The July meeting of the Rogers Hornsby Chapter will include a trip to an Austin Weirdos baseball game as the Weirdos take on the Roswell Invaders at Parque Zaragosa in East Austin at 6:30 pm. on Saturday, July 9. The Weirdos are playing their inaugural season in the independent Pecos League.
A Weirdos game is vastly different than a game at the home of an affiliated team, such as the Round Rock Express. Seating consists of covered bleachers behind home plate (bring along a stadium seat if you want anything resembling comfort). Concessions are very limited and the restrooms are porta-johns. The PA system consists of a guy and a bullhorn. There is no scoreboard so spectators must pay attention!
Game tickets are $10 each and may be purchased online on the Weirdos’ website. There is parking along both sides of Gonzales Street to the south of the field. Just be careful not to park in the home run zone beyond the right/right center field fence!
Ryan’s perfect score wows June meeting
For what may be the first time in chapter history, we had a perfect score on a trivia quiz. Congratulations to Ryan Pollack for this outstanding accomplishment!
Fifteen chapter members and guest enjoyed a laid-back beach-inspired setting at Hurricane Grill & Wings in Round Rock for the monthly meeting on Sunday, June 12.
Jim Baker created a quiz that challenged us to name the current manager of each of the 30 Major League teams. Ryan Pollack demolished the competition with a perfect score, winning a Hurricane Grill gift card generously provided by Jim. Jerry Miller took second with 20, and Jan Larson and I tied for third with 18. Because of Ryan’s perfect score, the tie-breaker questions were not needed. Try your hand at the quiz below. The quiz answers are provided after the quiz questions.
Our newest member, Bailey, brought a book she found at library book sale called “Change Up: An Oral History of 8 Key Events that Shaped Modern Baseball” by Larry Burke and Peter Thomas Fornatale with the chapter’s very own Jim Baker! She asked Jim to sign it for her.
It was the chapter’s 187th consecutive month with a meeting, a streak dating to December 2006.
Our next chapter meeting will be to watch the Austin Weirdos, which is part of the independent Pecos League, at Parque Zaragosa on Saturday, July 9. More details will be shared on the chapter’s email list in the coming weeks. For more information about the Weirdos, please go to their website: http://www.weirdosbaseball.com/
Jim Baker’s Manager Quiz
Name the current manager of each Major League team.
BAL ________ ATL ________
BOS ________ MIA ________
NYY ________ NYM ________
TBR ________ PHI ________
TOR ________ WAS ________
CWS ________ CHC ________
CLE ________ CIN ________
DET ________ MIL ________
KCR ________ PIT ________
MIN ________ STL ________
LAA ________ ARI ________
HOU ________ COL ________
OAK ________ LAD ________
SEA ________ SDP ________
TEX ________ SFG ________
Tie Breaker #1: Which of these managers has been in his current managerial job the longest?
Tie Breaker #2: Which of these managers has a perfect managerial record (before game play on Sunday, June 12)?
Tie Breaker #3: Aside from the answer to #2, which of these managers has the best career winning percentage?
Answers
BAL Brandon Hyde ATL Brian Snitker
BOS Alex Cora MIA Don Mattingly
NYY Aaron Boone NYM Buck Showalter
TBR Kevin Cash PHI Rob Thompson
TOR Charlie Montoyo WAS Dave Martinez
CWS Tony LaRussa CHC David Ross
CLE Terry Francona CIN David Bell
DET A.J. Hinch MIL Craig Counsell
KCR Mike Matheny PIT Derek Shelton
MIN Rocco Baldelli STL Oliver Marmol
LAA Phil Nevin ARI Torey Lovullo
HOU Dusty Baker COL Bud Black
OAK Mark Kotsay LAD Dave Roberts
SEA Scott Servais SDP Bob Melvin
TEX Chris Woodward SFG Gabe Kapler
Tie Breaker #1: Terry Francona
Tie Breaker #2: Rob Thompson
Tie Breaker #3: Dave Roberts
June Lunch – New Location!
The Rogers Hornsby Chapter will be dining at a different venue for our June lunch meeting; one that hopefully is more accessible to chapter members in the northern reaches of the Austin metro area. We will be meeting on Sunday, June 12 at the Hurricane Grill located at 2701 Parker Road in Round Rock. Don’t be confused by the obscure address, Parker Road is perpendicular to the westbound service road (W. Louis Henna Blvd) of Toll 45 just west of I-35 at the La Frontera shopping area. In other words, it is easy to get to the Hurricane Grill. Note that no tolls are required. We will be meeting at 12:30 on the 12th. Please RSVP to Jan Larson if you plan to attend so we can get an accurate head count.
Rogers Hornsby Chapter Annual Report (June 2021 to May 2022)
Society for American Baseball Research
Rogers Hornsby Chapter (Central and South Texas)
Annual Report, June 2021 – May 2022
By Gilbert D. Martinez
Chapter Commissioner
The last year has been a mixed bag for the Rogers Hornsby Chapter; while we have mostly returned to in-person meetings, we’ve also had to shift to virtual meetings as precautions against the continuing pandemic.
In addition to lunch meetings, the chapter organized multiple outings to the Dell Diamond and a World Series watch party.
One particular highlight was the May 2022 meeting in which chapter members gathered for a barbeque dinner before a Round Rock Express game at the Dell Diamond. The game was followed by a screening at the ballpark of “Facing Nolan,” the new documentary about the career of Nolan Ryan.
For our in-person gatherings, we usually met for lunch, but in March, we had breakfast tacos at a local barbeque restaurant. We plan to mix breakfast and lunch meetings in the coming year.
We also had our 16th annual Bill Gilbert Winter Meeting in January on Zoom, featuring former Astros executive Tal Smith, baseball writer Rob Neyer, umpiring pioneer Perry Barber and Mike Capps and Tim Nolan of the Express. In addition, Ryan Pollack coordinated this, his sixth winter meeting, and elected to step down from that role, but he remains an active member and continues to serve as our webmaster. Active member Jerry Miller will take on the coordinator role and lead the effort to organize our winter meeting next year.
Whether in-person or virtually, the chapter continued its streak of meeting at least once monthly for 186 months, a streak dating to December 2006.
In addition, Hornsby volunteers are beginning their eighth year offering Talking Baseball programs to participants and care partners living with Alzheimer’s, dementia, or living in isolation or institutionalized. Biweekly programs are held in Austin and Georgetown.
Volunteers are hoping to restart the program soon at the Kerrville VA Medical Center and are exploring starting a program in Seguin. Chapter members have also been instrumental in the expansion of these programs to other SABR chapters. Currently, SABR “Baseball Memories” programs are offered in seven other cities nationwide, with several other SABR chapters exploring local possibilities.
Also, longtime SABR and chapter member Jim Baker continued running Predictatron, a contest to predict win totals for all teams and playoff teams and World Series champions. This year, he added trophies for the season-long Predictatron champion and for the playoff portion of the contest. The trophies include the names for each winner, going back to 2008 for the season champion and 2007 for the postseason champion.
Dodgers-Express matchup, Nolan Ryan documentary highlight May meeting
Eleven chapter members saw a minor league game at Dell Diamond on Saturday that featured former Blue Jays/Giants/Red Sox/Rockies/Mets outfielder Kevin Pillar and Eddy Alvarez, a winter and summer U.S. Olympic champion.
Both Pillar and Alvarez, who play for the Oklahoma City Dodgers, contributed to building a lead against the Round Rock Express. Pillar was 2-for-3 with a run and RBI, while Alvarez was 3-for-3 with 2 RBI.
Though the Express lost to the Dodgers 5-1, fans were treated after the game to a screening of a new documentary, “Facing Nolan,” about the career of Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan.
The documentary opens in a limited release on May 24, including some screenings in the Austin area.
A smaller group gathered at Salt Lick BBQ for an early pre-game dinner.
This was the 186th consecutive month in which the chapter has had a meeting.
The chapter’s next meeting will be at 12:30 p.m. Sunday, June 12, at Hurricane Grill & Wings (2701 Parker Road, Round Rock). A request for RSVPs will go out on the email list soon.
Baseball in May
The Hornsby Chapter’s monthly meeting in May will include a trip to the Dell Diamond to take in the Round Rock Express versus the Oklahoma City Dodgers in exciting AAA baseball action starting at 6:05 p.m. on Saturday, May 14.
Different this year is that, unfortunately, I will no longer be able to use discounted vouchers to obtain seats. Instead, each party will be responsible for obtaining their own tickets prior to the game. The link to the ticket selection page is shown below:
I have reserved two seats for myself in section 121, row 23, seats 18 and 19. On the seat map accessible via the above link, these seats are shown grayed out near the right end of row 23. Members wishing to attend and sit with the group are encouraged to select seats near these (same row, row below, row above as desired) and are also encouraged to purchase seats as soon as you have identified your ticket requirements.
We will meet at the nearby Salt Lick restaurant for a pregame BBQ dinner at 4:30 pm. Those wishing to attend the dinner should send their RSVP to jan.a.larson@gmail.com so we can have a headcount to give to the staff at the Salt Lick. NOTE: The Salt Lick does NOT do separate checks so please bring sufficient cash to cover the cost of your meal + tip.
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