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The Newsletter of the Halsey Hall Chapter
Society for American Baseball Research (SABR)


February 2018

Editor:
Stew Thornley

  • Twinsfest
  • On-line Baseball Research Tools Panel Presentations
  • Spring Chapter Meeting April 21
  • New Members
  • Cow Chips
  • Calendar
  • Board of Directors
  • Resources

    Twinsfest

    Halsey Hall Chapter exhibit at Twinsfest

    The Halsey Hall Chapter had its new display at Twinsfest, showing Hall of Famers who played in Minnesota. Doug Skipper organized our chapter’s participation and coordinated the volunteers who staffed the booth: Brenda Himrich, Rich Arpi, Damian Schaab, Jerry Janzen, Stew Thornley, Howard Luloff, Sarah Johnson, Joe O’Connell, Jeff Lenz, and Jim Cox, who got an article placed in the Quad Community Press earlier in the week to promote out presence:

    Article in the Quad Community Press

    Click on the image to enlarge; click on it a second time to enlarge more.

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    On-line Baseball Research Tools Panel Presentations
    The Halsey Hall Chapter Research Committee is conducting a workshop, On-line Baseball Research Tools Panel Presentations, at 7:00 p.m. on Monday, February 12, 2018 at the Brookdale Library, 6125 Shingle Creek Parkway, Brooklyn Center 55430. The workshop, which will be open to the public, will demonstrate on-line baseball research tools, including those listed in the chapter’s Baseball Research Primer. Among other presenters, Hans Van Slooten, the primary developer of baseball-refererence.com, will give an overview of the site, and S. Thornley will do the same on Retrosheet. Bob Tholkes will show the research potential in Protoball, Jim Cox will demonstrate resources at the Library of Congress, and Tom Flynn will demonstrate on-line newspaper research.

    In advance of the event the committee will hold a regular meeting at Brookdale Library on Tuesday, January 30 at 7 p.m. It will be in the same room as the workshop, allowing an opportunity for a dry run of internet connections and projection.

    The Research Committee consists of Dan Levitt, Jim Cox, Brenda Himrich, Sarah Johnson, Doug Skipper, Stew Thornley, Rich Arpi, Dave Lande, and Bob Tholkes.

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    Spring Chapter Meeting April 21
    The 2018 Spring Chapter meeting will be Saturday, April 21 at Faith Mennonite Church, 2720 E. 22nd Street in south Minneapolis.

    Registration for the meeting is at 8:30 with research presentations beginning at 9:00. A business meeting will be held during lunch with a featured guest to follow. The cost for the meeting and lunch is $10. The meeting only is $5. Those wanting lunch must RSVP to Howard Luloff, 952-922-5036.

    Members are invited to submit a proposal to make a research presentation at the meeting. Proposals must be sent to Research Committee co-chairs Brenda Himrich or Sarah Johnson and include a title and brief outline of what the presentation will consist of with emphasis on the research that will be included. Standard presentations are 20 minutes (with an additional eight minutes for questions) although the duration may be longer or shorter depending on the needs of the presenter and of the schedule.

    During the business meeting, the chapter will elect three members to a two-year term on the board of directors. Anyone interested may contact nominating committee chair Stew Thornley, 652-415-0791.

    Other upcoming events:
    SABR Day is Saturday, January 27. The event will be commemorated with a gathering of baseball enthusiasts at Grumpy’s Bar and Grill, 2200 4th Street Northeast, Minneapolis 55418, starting at 5 p.m.

    SportCon MMXVIII
    A number of Halsey Hall Chapter members will be presenting at the SportCon Minne Analytics Conference February 2 at Optum in Eden Prairie:

    • Dan Levitt, The Kansas City Royals Baseball Academy: Baseball’s First Systematic Attempt to Analyze, Discover, and Train Unknown Players
    • Stew Thornley, Analysis of the Unique Role of the Official Scorer in Baseball
    • Peter Gorton, How Statistics Have Improved the Legacy Restoration of Blackball’s Greatest Left-handed Pitcher
    • Doug Ernst, Numbers in Baseball: How Numbers Change Our Perception of Baseball

    Book Club
    The Halsey Hall Chapter Book Club will meet Saturday, February 3 at 9:30 a.m. at the usual spot, Barnes & Noble in Har Mar Mall in Roseville. The book selection is No More Mr. Nice Guy: A Life of Hardball by Dick Williams and Bill Plaschke. The group will also discuss the broadcast of Game Six of the 1975 World Series. It is available on YouTube: 1975 World Series, Game 6: Reds @ Red Sox

    2018 Caribbean Series Watch Parties (Venezuela vs. Dominican Republic) will be Saturday, February 3 at 2:00 p.m. at Adelita’s Mexican Restaurant, 2405 Central Avenue NE, Minneapolis 55418. A viewing party for the championship game will be at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, February 8, also at Adelita’s.

    Logo for Serie Del Caribe

    Dairy Queen Classic Baseball Tournament
    Howard Luloff is organizing a chapter outing to see the Washington Huskies play the Minnesota Gophers in the DQ Classic at U. S. Bank Stadium on Saturday, March 3 at 7:00 p.m. Gather by the ticket windows at 6:30 or join others starting at 5:30 p.m. at Erik the Red Bar (formerly Hubert’s) on Sixth Street and Chicago Avenue. The group will be sitting on the first-base side and should be easy to find.

    If interested, contact Howard Luloff, 952-922-5036.

    Fred Souba Hot Stove Saturday Morning
    The next Fred Souba Hot Stove Saturday Morning, an informal breakfast gathering for the purpose of talking baseball, will be at 9:00 on Saturday, March 3 at Bunny’s Northeast, 34 13th Avenue NE, Minneapolis 55413, 612-545-5659 (in what was the keg warehouse of the Grain Belt Brewery).

    Road Trip
    Saturday, July 21: Northwoods League game with the St. Cloud Rox at the Willmar Stingers at Bill Taunton Stadium. The game is at 7:05 p.m., and Howard Luloff is arranging pre-game activities with the Stingers.

    Keep up to date with chapter activities on social media:

    SABR Halsey Hall Chapter Facebook page

    Halsey Hall Chapter Twitter page

    Regular Events

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    New Members
    Tom Froemming is a native of Minnesota who now lives in Richfield with his wife and 1-½ year old daughter. He has an Uncle Bruce, but it’s not Bruce Froemming the umpire. By day, Tom works for a payroll service provider; by night, he writes for Twins Daily.

    Tom caught baseball fever at a young age; he was two and six with the Twins won the World Series. He played baseball as early as he could and continued through high school. He was at the Twins-Athletics scheduled doubleheader at the Metrodome May 26, 2001 and Cal Ripken’s 2,000th consecutive game August 1, 1994. His favorite game, though, was an August 23, 2005 duel between Johan Santana of the Twins and Freddy Garcia of the White Sox August 23, 2005. The game was scoreless in the last of the eighth when Jacque Jones broke up Garcia’s no hitter with a home run, and the Twins won 1-0.

    “ I love looking at the numbers, but I think the thing I’m most excited about in regard to joining SABR is looking back. Baseball history is not my strong suit, so I was excited to see so many great resources even just on the SABR.org site. A lot of my free time is either spent with my wife and daughter or writing, but I’m hoping to find more time to discover the game’s past.”

    Tom shares his February 3 birthday with Larry MacPhail, Bake McBride, Fred Lynn, Joe Coleman, Live Oak Taylor, Slim Sallee (who was born 100 years before Tom), Dick Tracewski, Celerino Sanchez, Rougned Odor, Gale Gillingham, Fran Tarkenton, Norman Rockwell, James Michener, Kerry Von Erich, Gertrude Stein, Emile Griffith, Les Kouba, and Pretty Boy Floyd.

    Also new to the Halsey Hall Chapter: Ryan Corkrean and Anthony Jensen

    Know a potential member? Here are resources for getting that person happily involved in SABR:

    Halsey Hall Chapter events

    Membership application

    Have you attended a Minnesota college, and would you be willing to contact it about the possibility of integrating SABR into some departments? If so, please contact Membership Committee Chair Hans Van Slooten.

    Hans has written an article on SABR and our chapter for Twins Daily: Interested in Baseball Research? Join SABR!

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    Cow Chips

    Paul Spyhalski

    A pair of chapter members from the Twin Cities went to Austin January 8, stopped by Marcusen Park, saw parts of the Austin water supply system, shopped at the Spam Store, ate at the Piggy Blues BBQ, and went to the Hormel (pronounced Hormel) Historic Home to hear a lecture by Paul Spyhalski (pictured above) on the 1937 to 1942 seasons of the Southern Minny League.

    Lloyd Kepple and Scott Erickson

    Lloyd Kepple (pictured above with Scott Erickson) attended his sixth Twins Fantasy Camp and the third in which he played with his son, Ben. The Kepples were part of the champion X-Terminators, which beat the Reboots 6-0 in the title game. Ben had a “booming double over the centerfielder’s head,” and Lloyd, in his words, struck out twice, “the first on an unhittable 0-2 fastball, and the second time on an 0-2 curve that was the best I’ve ever seen from a batter’s box. Lucky I had teammates who could catch up to his stuff.”

    Several members have had articles published recently:

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    Calendar
        January 27—SABR Day, Grumpy’s Bar and Grill, Northeast Minneapolis, starting at 5:00 p.m.

        January 30—Research Committee meeting, Brookdale Library, 7:00 p.m. For more information, contact Brenda Himrich, 651-415-0791, or Sarah Johnson.

       February 2SportCon MMXVIII, Optum, Eden Prairie

       February 3Book Club and Vintage Game Video Club, Barnes & Noble, Har Mar Mall, Roseville, 9:30 a.m., No More Mr. Nice Guy: A Life of Hardball by Dick Williams and Bill Plaschke, and Game 6 of the 1975 World Series.

       February 3 and February 9—Caribbean Series Watch Parties, Adelita’s Mexican Restaurant, Minneapolis (2:00 p.m. on February 3 and 7:00 p.m. on February 9)

        February 12—On-line Baseball Research Tools Panel Presentations, Brookdale Library, 7:00 p.m. For more information, contact Brenda Himrich, 651-415-0791, or Sarah Johnson.

        March 3—Fred Souba Hot Stove League Saturday Morning, Bunny’s, Minneapolis, 9:00 a.m.

        March 3—Minnesota Gophers vs. Washington Huskies, 7:00 p.m, U. S. Bank Stadium. For more information, contact Howard Luloff, 952-922-5036.

        April 21—Spring Chapter Meeting, 9:00 a.m, Faith Mennonite Church, Minneapolis. For more information, contact Howard Luloff, 952-922-5036.

        July 21—Northwoods League: St. Cloud Rox at Willmar Stingers, 7:05 p.m. (pre-game events starting mid-afternoon), Bill Taunton Stadium. For more information, Howard Luloff, 952-922-5036.

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    Board of Directors 2017-2018
    President—Tom Flynn
    Vice President—Frank Kadwell
    Secretary—Brent Heutmaker
    Treasurer—Jerry Janzen
    Gene Gomes
    Bob Komoroski
    Hans Van Slooten

    Membership Committee Chair—Hans Van Slooten
    Events Committee Chair—Howard Luloff
    Research Committee Chairs—Brenda Himrich and Sarah Johnson

    The Holy Cow! Editor—Stew Thornley
    Webmaster—John Gregory 
    Ass. Webmasters—Stew Thornley and Frank Kadwell
    Social Media Director—Tom Flynn

    Halsey Hall Chapter Web Page

    Past issues of The Holy Cow! are available on-line.

    Chapter History

    Chapter Procedures and By-Laws

    Society for American Baseball Research

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    Resources

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