MARK YOUR CALENDARS!!!

Our SABR Day in America / Hot Stove chapter meeting is to take place at Blake St. Tavern (in LoDo) at 11am Sat. Jan 28th.

First… Chapter business and The Rockies Prediction Contest awarded to participant with the closest number of wins for past Rockies season (with themed baseball trivia to be presented throughout this years hotstove event).

Then…

A research presentation by Alan Rice and Matthew Repplinger on the expansion / contraction of the minor leagues 1953-2011.

Followed by…

Our Annual Rockies Report (aka the Slyvester Report) given annually by Walter Sylvester (Baseball Operations with Rockies) on the current state of the local 9′s minor league prospects and things to look forward to in the upcoming 2012 season.

Concluded with…

A mass game of catch (regardless of the weather) in parking lot adjacent to Coors Field (great photo opportunity) .

(this event will be MC’d by Marc Stout of Root Sports)

Bobby Doerr, Dom Dimaggio and Ted Williams met Johnny Pesky while all four were associated with the Portland Beavers of the Pacific Coast League. In what capacity was Pesky employed by the Beavers? The answer can be found by reading the first few pages of “The Teammates” by David Halberstam, Rocky Mountain SABR’s current book discussion selection. Join the discussion by answering the Pesky question. There will be more to come.

We’ll have a face-to-face discussion of “The Teammates” on February 25 at the Village Inn at Colorado Blvd. and Mexico Avenue. That’s just north of Interstate 25.

And, if you attend next Saturday’s Rocky Mountain SABR Day in America at the Blake Street Tavern, you may win a free copy of “The Teammates.”

Join us for a discussion of “The Teammates,” the story of four Red Sox — Ted Williams, Dom DiMaggio, Bobby Doerr and Johnny Pesky.

In October 2001, Dom Dimaggio and Johnny Pesky begin a 1,300-mile trip to visit their beloved teammate Ted Williams, knowing that he is dying. The fourth member of this close-knit group, Bobby Doerr, is unable to make the trip because he’s tending to his wife who has just suffered her second stroke.

This is the beginning of Halberstam’s “The Teammates,” a profoundly human story of four great ballplayers who have made the passage from sports icons — then they were young and seemingly indestructible — to men dealing with the vulnerabilities of growing older. At the core of the book is the friendship of these four very different but extraordinary men, who stayed close to each other for more than 60 years.

First among them was Ted Williams, not only a dominating player but a dominating personality as well. Johnny Pesky joined the Red Sox and soon became one of the league’s toughest hitters and something of a little brother to Williams.

Dom DiMaggio, the center fielder, was an athlete carried as much by his remarkable intelligence as by his natural talent. Small and bespeckled, he grew up partially in the shadow of his older brother, but would end up a seven-time American League All-Star.

And then htere was future Hall of Famer Bobby Doerr, a professional ballplayer at sixteen, who right from the start displayed a natural grace and maturity that made him the perfect buddy for the tempermental Williams.

Join the discussion on the Rocky Mountain SABR website or on the chapter’s Facebook page. And you can meet for a face-to-face discussion on February 25 — breakfast at Village Inn, Colorado Blvd. and Mexico Avenue, just north of Interstate 25.

Seems like a lot of money for a 32 year old who looks like an absolutely average player. Baseball-reference.com compares him to Larry HIsle, Troy O’Leary, and Milton Bradley.

STAN COOK

An early Christmas present for everyone!

Jim Armstrong, master of ceremonies

Keynote Speaker John Thorn signing copies of his book "Baseball in the Garden of Eden"

Rob Neyer speaking, with the rest of the dais captivated by his eloquence

Alan Rice accepts the John Zajc Award

Matt Repplinger accepts his election as chapter president

The outgoing board

The incoming board

Outgoing chapter president Paul Parker with John Thorn and his latest book

Outgoing board member Herb Shankman with his grandson

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This came to me through SABR’s Business of Baseball committee. It’s concepts of various existing stadium renovations and ideas for new stadiums.

Posted by Jim Powers

http://www.stadiumpage.com/concepts/index.html

If you like to read, here’s a free book from SABR. You can download “Can He Play A Look at Basebal Scouts and Their Profession” edited by Jim Sandoval and Bill Nowlin from the SABR site. the ebook is a free download until February of 2012.

Just go to:

http://sabr.org/ebooks

Posted by Jim Powers

This also came to me through the SABR Black Sox Committee. Thanks to Jacob Pomrenke for sending this out.

John Thorn pointed out some incredible footage from a Hearst newsreel of Game 1 of the 1917 World Series that was posted at CriticalPast.com:

http://www.criticalpast.com/video/65675045978_base-ball-match_New-York-Giants_Chicago-White-Sox_Comiskey-Park

You can see clips of Eddie Cicotte and Slim Sallee warming up, the pregame meeting between Pants Rowland and John McGraw, a few in-game clips of plays, a shot of an African-American in the Giants dugout — could this be the White Sox’s longtime trainer, William Buckner? — and a scoreboard outside Comiskey Park as the White Sox are scoring in the third inning.

And here’s a different video from Games 3-4 at the Polo Grounds:

http://www.criticalpast.com/video/65675045977_base-ball-match_New-York-Giants_crowd-cheering_Giants-win

This one shows (around the 1:05 mark) Eddie Cicotte making a throwing error to first base in the fourth inning to let in the Giants’ second run! You can also see a Benny Kauff home run in Game 4 and the crowd exiting the Polo Grounds after the game.

Posted by Jim Powers

Here’s a link to some current discussions about the Black Sox. This came to me through SABR’s Black Sox Committee, of which I’m a member.

Jim Powers

http://blacksox.tv/