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

SABR MVP Chapter 2022-2023

November 2023

Editor:
Stew Thornley

Index to past stories in The Holy Cow!

  • Logic Conundrum
  • Andre Lanoue to be Featured Guest at Fall Chapter Meeting November 18
  • Other Upcoming Events
  • Committee to be Named Later Named
  • Membership
  • Guess the Theme Quiz
  • Cow Chips
  • Logic Conundrum Answer
  • Answers to Guess the Theme Quiz
  • Calendar
  • Board of Directors
  • Resources

    Logic Conundrum
    Kaczynski had four plate appearances, did not make an out, did not score a run, and had a two-out, game-ending (what some of you call a walk-off) hit to give her team a 6-5 win. Where in the batting order did Kaczynski hit? [Note: No tricks in the question—no one batted out of order or anything like that. The game lasted at least nine innings.]

    Conundrum answer below

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    Andre Lanoue to be Featured Guest at Fall Chapter Meeting November 18

    Andre Lanoue making the call

    Noted amateur and professional umpire Andre Lanoue will be the featured guest at the Fall Halsey Hall Chapter meeting Saturday, November 18 at Faith Mennonite Church, 2720 E. 22nd Street in south Minneapolis. Registration begins around 8:15 a.m. with the program beginning at 8:45. The cost for the meeting and lunch is $10. People can pay by cash (with correct change appreciated) or check at the door.

    Andre has umpired in the Northern League although he is more prominent for his years as one of the top college umpires in the country. He has worked three NCAA regional tournaments—at Louisiana State, Clemson, and Florida State. He cut back on umpiring in recent years but is still active at some levels, including townball. Andre is shown above making the call for the final out in the 2023 Class B championship game in Dassel.

    Andre will speak in the afternoon, right after lunch. The meeting will wrap up with Howard Luloff and his Almost New and Improved Jeopardy trivia quiz and then door prizes.

    The morning will consist of research presentations by members:

    • 9:15 to 9:45—Our (Eventual) Hall of Famer: Joe Mauer’s Case for Cooperstown by Sam Sundermeyer. The presentation will focus on four topics: Baseball Card Review, Sabermetrics, Hall of Fame Comparison, and Hall of Fame Prediction.

    • 10:00 to 10:30—Past Speed-Up Attempts in Major League Baseball by Stew Thornley. The pace of games in Major League Baseball has been slowing for more than 35 years. Knee-jerk reactions have focused on added time for commercials, although research indicates that this should not have been a factor in regular-season games. The presenter has done research and analysis on pace of play, particularly with 1995 attempts to speed up the game, attempts that were quickly abandoned.

    • 10:45 to 11:15—KeystonE of Candy CARDS by Glenn Renick. One city, and the surrounding area, generated the majority of baseball cards produced between 1905 and 1925. This presentation will cover the companies and individuals who distributed these card sets and why this area was the center of their production. Included will be a display of actual cards presented in archival presentation holders (devoid of grading slabs).

    • 11:30 to Noon—Minnesota Town Ball 2023 State Tournament, by Brian “Bookie” Larson and Armand Peterson, who will talk about the 100th state tournament and past tournaments.

    Audience members, please note: The chapter has purchased a wireless amplifier and microphone, which will be passed around to those wanting to ask questions of the presenters. It is necessary for on-line attendees to hear the questions. No longer will audience members be able to shout out questions. They will have to raise their hands and wait to be called on by the presenter or moderator and have the mike passed to them. Note: The equipment purchased is a karaoke machine, so if you can set it to the proper beat, you can ask your questions rapper style.

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    Other Upcoming Events
    The next Research Committee meetings, via Zoom, will be November 13 and December 11 at 7:00 p.m. Research Committee members are co-chairs Dave Lande or Gene Gomes as well as Brenda Himrich, Sarah Johnson, Dan Levitt, Doug Skipper, Stew Thornley, Rich Arpi, Anders Koskinen, Hans Van Slooten, Mike Haupert, Bob Tholkes, Daniel Dorff, Darryl Sannes, Tom Swift, David Karpinski, Glenn Renick, John Buckeye, Terry Bohn, Ed Wehling, John Gregory, Art Mugalian, Ed Edmonds, and Bob Komoroski. Let Dave or Gene know if you would like to attend and/or join the committee.

    The Fred Souba Hot Stove Saturday Morning, an informal breakfast gathering for the purpose of talking baseball, will be at Manning’s at 22nd and Como in southeast Minneapolis on Saturday, November 11 at 9:00 a.m.

    The next Book Club meeting will be Saturday, December 9 at Barnes & Noble in Har Mar Mall at 9:30 a.m. The book selection is You’re Missin’ a Great Game: From Casey to Ozzie, the Magic of Baseball and How to Get It Back by Whitey Herzog. Brent Heutmaker has organized a list of all the book selections since the book club started in August 2002: Halsey Hall Book Club Selections

    SABR 52 Logo The SABR convention is coming to Minneapolis. Are you? The event is scheduled from Wednesday, August 7 to Sunday, August 11, and the Core Four (John Buckeye, Daniel Dorff, Gene Gomes, and a retread) encourages members to indicate your interest to be a volunteer by sending a note to Jessica Smyth, jsmyth@sabr.org.

    We can use people during the day on Tuesday, August 6 to assemble swag bags at the hotel (Hyatt Regency at 13th and Nicollet). During the convention, warm bodies are needed for a whole plethora-load of things: greeters, timekeepers for researcher presentations, staffers at the registration table. Let Jessica know if you have a particular interest in any of those things or if you’re up for anything.

    Keep up to date with chapter activities on social media:

    SABR Halsey Hall Chapter Facebook page

    Halsey Hall Chapter Twitter page

    Please visit both pages, and, if you haven’t yet, “Like” the Facebook page and “Follow” the Twitter page and set your notifications to be alerted to new posts. (The Facebook page now has 274 members. Bob Komoroski has established rules —essentially, don’t be a dink.— The page is still public although Bob has set up a series of questions for new members to cull out spammers, trollers, and other wankers.)

    Also:

    Regular Events

    Video Archives of Past Events

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    Committee to be Named Later Named
    The committee formerly known as the Committee to be Named Later is now the MVP Chapter Committee. Established by the board of directors at is last meeting, the committee has Gene Gomes as its chair. Gene will monitor the chapter’s progress toward fulfilling all activities to once again achieve MVP status within SABR. The board will adopt procedures for the committee, which will be among the procedures established for other committees and activities in the chapter.

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    Membership
    Our chapter has welcomed 10 new members since our previous chapter meeting and has 174 members.

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

    Membership application

    Get more out of your membership experience by checking out SABR Member Benefit Spotlight Series.

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    Guess the Theme Quiz
    The October Research Committee meeting included a quiz submitted by your trusty crusty editor.

    1. Hurling with the only arm he needed, this righthander pitched in all three major leagues of the 1880s with a career won-lost record of 73-87. He topped out with 28 wins in the Union Association in 1884.

    2. Possibly the only nine-toed player to pitch a perfect game, this righthander later became a free agent under unusual circumstances and received a multi-million contract, which was regarded as a lot of money at the time.

    3. After only three seasons, this player landed a lucrative contract as a free agent because he had signed his 1976 contract before the collective bargaining agreement was reached, one that required that a player had to have six seasons in before being eligible for free agency. A crash into an outfield wall in his first season limited his playing time, but he finished fourth in batting average in his league in 1976 and second in 1977. On July 23, 1977, he lined into a triple play with the final out being made by another player in this quiz.

    4. An American League umpire from 1977 to 1991, he was regarded as one of the best in the majors despite an early reputation for having rabbit ears. He wore uniform number 14, which has never been worn by another umpire. He worked in the commissioner’s office for many years and headed up efforts to increase the pace of play in 1995. He received the Arthur Ashe Courage Award the year before.

    5. The president of the National League from 1903 to 1909, he had served in the Kentucky legislature at the same time he was president of the Louisville team in the National League. As National League president, he backed umpires Bob Emslie and Hank O’Day in the Merkle’s Boner game.

    6. The only major leaguer born in this territory, he played cricket in his initial homeland and then baseball after his family moved to Hawaii. He’ll earn you big points in Immaculate Grid when you need to match up someone who played for the Yankees although his prime years were with the Royals and Angels. He later played four seasons with the Nippon Ham Fighters after concluding his career in the North American major leagues in 1979 (splitting his final season with two Canadian teams). He recorded the final out of a triple play hit into by another player in this quiz.

    7. A steady star on the left side of the infield for the Cubs in the 1930s, he played in three World Series with a future Hall of Famer (and future player with the Minneapolis Millers) as his keystone partner. He was named to the National League All-Star team three times although he never played in the game. He went to New York after the Giants and Cubs swapped shortstops following the 1938 season but returned to Chicago after the war.

    8. One of the few players to homer into the center-field bleachers at the Polo Grounds, a feat he performed with the Homestead Grays, he then played six seasons for Cleveland, twice topping 100 runs batted in.

    9. The lady friend of this player received posthumous notoriety because of her connection to a player who was one of the top centerfielders in the National League in the 1970s. A five-time Gold Glove recipient, this player stole at least 50 bases six years in a row. Name the player or the lady friend or both.

    10. This right-handed reliever was involved in a World Series play that brought goat (not Greatest of all Time) status to a teammate. The following spring, he suffered a testicular contusion in a skirmish with Ernest Hemingway. He shares a first name with the answer to question number 1.

    Bonus question 1: What is the theme of this quiz?

    Bonus question 2: What do William McKinley and the movie The Natural have in common?

    Quiz answers below

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    Cow Chips
    The SABR Games Project has new game stories by members:

    These articles are from the SABR Digital Library book, Yankee Stadium 1923-2008: America’s First Modern Ballpark.

    Ed Edmonds got an 8 on Immaculate Grid in September. Who can top that? (Note: A lower score is better, so please don’t say that you won with a score of 869 or anything like that.)

    Ed Edmonds’s Immaculate Grid

    Brent Peterson is in the news again, in an article in a local newsletter about grant money being used for history spots in Stillwater, which could include baseball sites related to Bud Fowler. As the director of the Washington County Historical Society, Brent has been around the block a few times as a media maven, including on public television’s Almanac.

    Between innings of games at Target Field, the Twins show pictures of celebrities and then put the camera on a look-alike fan. At the second game of the playoff series versus Toronto, the fan matched up as a look-alike with Lee Trevino was our own Bob Tholkes.

    Lee Trevino Bob Tholkes

    Whom’s who?

    Ev Cope is downsizing. His possessions include Harmon Killebrew’s personal library from his broadcasting days with Twins and Athletics. Harmon wrote his name in many of the books, and Ev is looking for a good home for this collection.

    Harmon Killebrew’s personal library

    Anyone interested in obtaining these items as a lot may contact Ev, evcope@gmail.com.

    The October 2023 edition of Keltner’s Hot Corner, the newsletter of the Ken Keltner Badger State Chapter, is on-line:

    Keltner’s Hot Corner, October 2023

    For past Keltner’s Hot Corner newsletters:

    Keltner’s Hot Corner

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    Answer to Logic Conundrum
    Kaczynski batted ninth. Since she didn’t make an out and didn’t score a run, she was left on base four times. The Bombers made 26 outs and scored 6 runs. Since we know they had at least four runners left on base, they had at least 36 batters. Kaczynski was the final batter and had only four plate appearances, so the team could not have gotten back to the top of the order after having gone through it four times. So ipso ergo facto farto, Kaczynski was the 36th batter and ninth in the batting order.

    This was adapted from a new book, The Baseball Mysteries: Challenging Puzzles for Logical Detectives, by Jerry Butters and Jim Henle. It’s a fun book full of box scores to decipher along with other intriguing questions. (There are some basic errors that proofreaders missed and some incorrect statements based on getting scoring rules wrong, but you can usually work around these.) Despite a few too many typos and errors, I recommend this to anyone who likes puzzles and loves baseball.

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    Answers to Going Out with a Bang Quiz

    1. Hugh “One-Arm” Daily
    2. Catfish Hunter
    3. Lyman Bostock
    4. Steve Palermo
    5. Harry Pulliam
    6. Tony Solaita
    7. Billy Jurges (his partner around second base was Billy Herman)
    8. Luke Easter
    9. Altagracia de la Cruz (lady friend); Cesar Cedeno (player)
    10. Hugh Casey

    Bonus answer 1: This is the All-Gunshot-Wound Team. At least one of the people in each answer was wounded (or worse) by a firearm.

    Bonus answer 2: They were both shot in Buffalo.

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    Calendar
        November 11—Fred Souba Hot Stove League Saturday Morning, 9:00 a.m., Mannings’s, Minneapolis.

        November 13—Research Committee meeting, 7:00-9:00 p.m. via Zoom. For more information, contact Dave Lande or Gene Gomes.

        November 18—Fall Chapter Meeting, 8:45 a.m., Faith Mennonite Church, Minneapolis. For more information, contact Howard Luloff, 952-922-5036, or Bob Komoroski.

       December 9Book Club, Barnes & Noble, Har Mar Mall, Roseville, 9:30 a.m., You’re Missin’ a Great Game: From Casey to Ozzie, the Magic of Baseball and How to Get It Back by Whitey Herzog.

        December 10—Halsey Hall Chapter Board of Directors meeting, 7:00 p.m. For more information on attending, contact Rich Arpi.

        December 11—Research Committee meeting, 7:00-9:00 p.m. via Zoom. For more information, contact Dave Lande or Gene Gomes.

        August 7-11—SABR Convention, Minneapolis.

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    Board of Directors 2023-2024
    President—Rich Arpi
    Vice President—Bob Tholkes
    Secretary—Daniel Dorff
    Treasurer—Jerry Janzen
    John Buckeye
    David Karpinski
    Howard Luloff

    Events Committee Co-Chairs—Howard Luloff, Bob Komoroski
    Research Committee Co-Chairs—Dave Lande, Gene Gomes
    Membership Committee Co-Chairs—Stew Thornley, John Buckeye
    MVP Chapter Committee Chair—Gene Gomes

    The Holy Cow! Editor—Stew Thornley
    Ass. Editors—Jerry Janzen, Brenda Himrich, and John Buckeye
    Webmaster—John Gregory
    Ass. Webmasters—Frank Kadwell, Hans Van Slooten, and Stew Thornley
    Social Media Directors—Bob Komoroski, Facebook; Hans Van Slooten and Tom Flynn, Twitter

    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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