Resources
Highlights of SABR Convention On-Line
Dan Levitt and Mike Haupert flank the other panelists in Cleveland.
A recording is available of the panel that included Dan Levitt and Mike Haupert on the 60th anniversary of the Major League Baseball Players Association as a viable union at the SABR convention in Cleveland along with other panels:
SABR 54: Listen to highlights from MLB Players Association 60th Anniversary Panel with Mark Armour, Ezra Frankel, Michael Haupert, Dan Levitt
Listen to highlights from 1990s Cleveland Indians panel with Sandy Alomar Jr., Carlos Baerga, Mike Hargrove, Kenny Lofton, Charles Nagy
Listen to highlights from Cleveland Guardians Analytics Panel with Sky Andrecheck, Kyle Burris, Keith Woolner
A recording and powerpoint slides are available for all the research presentations, including a few by chapter members, at the convention:
SABR 54: Research Presentations
The 2027 SABR convention will be August 4-8 in Birmingham, Alabama.
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Met Stadium Final Game on YouTube
Chapter stalwart Tom Flynn passed on the news that the entire broadcast of the final baseball game at Metropolitan Stadium is on YouTube:
Last Twins Game at Met Stadium 1981
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Fall Chapter Meeting
The fall chapter meeting will be Saturday, October 17 at the Plymouth branch of the Hennepin County Library system, 15700 36th Ave North, Plymouth 55446. Registration begins when the library opens at 9:00 a.m. with the program beginning soon after, so punctuality is encouraged. Instead of a set admission price, it will be a Pay as You Can with donations of all amounts accepted.
Members are invited to submit a proposal to make a research presentation at the meeting. Proposals may be sent to Research Committee co-chairs Dave Lande or Gene Gomes and include a title and brief outline of what the presentation will consist of with emphasis on the research that will be included. Standard oral 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.
Two presentations have been approved so far:
Remembering Saul Davis by Terry Bohn
Abstract: Saul Davis spent eight seasons in the Negro Leagues on teams that included stars such as Satchel Paige, Rube Foster, Cool Papa Bell, Pop Lloyd, Mule Suttles, Willie Wells, and Turkey Stearnes. He played on semi-pro and barnstorming teams well into his forties competing against white major leaguers including Babe Ruth, Cy Young, and Grover Cleveland Alexander.
However, Davis lived most of his life in Minot, North Dakota. This presentation will touch on his career in baseball but emphasize the remarkable life he lived until age 92, at which time he was recognized as the oldest living member of the original Negro National League. The talk will conclude with the effort to place a fitting marker on his grave site at Rosehill Cemetery in Minot.
The Demise of the Reserve Clause 1966-1975 by Stew Thornley
Abstract: This will focus on the period from Marvin Miller becoming the full-time executive director of the Players Association and the 1975 Seitz decision that created free agency. Miller and Bowie Kuhn were among the most visible people (Kuhn becoming commissioner in 1969) during this period. I had the chance to interview Kuhn in a small media scrum and got some responses to questions about all that happened. I had more contact with Miller—via telephone and mail and interviewing him in New York in 2003. Miller explained the strategy the union followed, and I cover the players who played into the regular season on unsigned contracts and became challengers to the interpretation of the reserve clause.
One presentation slot is always reserved for a first-time presenter until four weeks before the chapter meeting (September 19). If a slot remains after that, any member can submit a proposal until October 3, two weeks before the meeting, when the Research Committee will wrap up the schedule of events.
Mary Shea will be coming to the meeting from Milwaukee and possibly at least one other out-of-town SABR member, so, as we did last year, we will have a gathering the night before, October 16, at Manning’s at 22nd and Como in southeast Minneapolis. This can also serve as a watch party for the any playoff games that might be on television.
Other Upcoming Events
The fifth annual 9-Online Virtual Baseball Conference will be September 3-4, 2026.
Daniel Dorff is planning on going to the amateur state tournament game, possibly with others from the chapter, in Chaska at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, September 4. Others are welcome to join them. Contact daniel.dorff@gmail.com for more information.
Jay Wigley will discuss his book, How Retrosheet Saved Baseball History, on a zoom call Wednesday, September 9 at 7:00 p.m. Registration information
The Fred Souba Hot Stove Saturday Morning, an informal breakfast gathering for the purpose of talking baseball, will be Saturday, September 12 at 9:00 a.m. at the Shortstop Bar and Grill, 1298 East Moore Lake Drive, Fridley 55432.
The next Book Club meeting will be Saturday, October 3 (the 75th anniversary of Bobby Thomson’s Shot Hear ‘Round the World) at Barnes & Noble in Har Mar Mall at 9:30 a.m. The book selection is Land of the Giants: New York’Polo Grounds.
Brent Heutmaker has organized a list of all the book selections since the book club started in August 2002: Halsey Hall Book Club Selections.
The eighth annual SABR/International Women in Baseball Virtual Conference will be October 9-11, 2026.
Dave Lande will work with the Events Committee to organize a group outing for a play on Toni Stone, which will be at the History Theatre January 30 to February 12, 2027.
Keep up to date with chapter activities on social media:
SABR Halsey Hall Chapter Facebook page
SABR Halsey Hall Chapter Bluesky page
Please visit the pages, and, if you haven’t yet, “Like” the Facebook page and “Follow” the Bluesky page and set your notifications to be alerted to new posts. The Bluesky page has 132 followers/71 following, and the Facebook page 364 members.
Bob Komoroski has established rules for the Facebook—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, wankers, tossers, trollers, and other degenerates.
Also:
Regular Events
Video Archives of Past Events
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Research Roundtable
Research projects, web pages, and blogs of chapter members are highlighted on the home page of the Research Committee. They include:
The next Research Committee meetings, via Zoom, will be September 21 and October 19 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, 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, John “Sparky” Seals, Ed Edmonds, Mike Zarling, Chrstian Towalski, and Bob Komoroski.
Let a committee member know if you would like to attend a meeting and/or join the committee.
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Mike Zarling’s Baseball Quiz
For the August 24 Research Committee meeting, Mike Zarling presented this quiz:
- This pitcher made his major league debut in 1987 and pitched to a 3.93 ERA in his first four seasons, all with Cleveland. He missed all of the 1991 and 1992 seasons due to injury and pitched poorly in 1993, now with the Angels, going 3-12 with a 7.35 ERA. He pitched in parts of the next 3 seasons with California, Cleveland, and Detroit, but never found the success he had in the 80s, finishing his career with a record of 36-46 and a 4.56 ERA.
- Kevin Slowey and the Twins held him and the Royals in check in his major league debut, but he was still named to Topps All-Star Rookie Team in 2008. He was traded to Boston during the 2011 season where he was one of the few productive players for the next year and a half. He swapped places with Toronto’s David Carpenter following the 2012 season, but he never played there as he was traded to Cleveland just a few days later. He would spend the next three seasons there before ending his career with stints in Detroit and Miami.
- This Venezuelan shortstop wore number 13 in honor of his favorite player, fellow Venezuelan shortstop Dave Concepcion. He was traded to the White Sox in the 1984/1985 offseason. He made his major league debut on opening day and ultimately won Rookie of the Year, helping Chicago go 85-77, an 11 game
improvement over 1984. He would spend 13 of his 16 seasons on the South Side, making stops in Baltimore and Atlanta before playing for the last time with Tampa Bay in 2000.
- This pitcher debuted for the Marlins in 2010, pitching 2.2 innings. He also pitched 2.2 innings in 2012, this time for the White Sox after being traded alongside Osvaldo Martinez. He would not reach the bigs again until 2016 with the Rays. Although he pitched well in a small sample size, they DFA’ed him and he was picked up by Milwaukee where he continued to have success. He started the 2017 season with the Brewers, but also pitched for the Pirates and Rangers. He pitched 8 games with Baltimore in 2018, finishing his career with a 3.56 ERA in 103 games pitched, all in relief.
- This outfielder had cups of coffee with Baltimore in 1964 and Cleveland in 1968 before being selected by the Seattle Pilots in the 1969 Expansion Draft. However, he was traded to Kansas City—the other expansion team—during spring training. He went 4-5 on Opening Day against Minnesota, collecting the first hit and first run in Royals franchise history. He would go on to win Rookie of the Year. He was traded to the Yankees following the 1973 season where he would play until his retirement in 1984.
- Drafted by the Marlins in 1995, he made his debut with the Devil Rays after being selected in the Expansion Draft. He was an all-star in 2002 and then swapped places with Seattle’s Antonio Perez. He was traded to San Francisco at the 2005 deadline where he would hit 14 home runs, tying his career high mark in just two months. He split the 2010 season with the Yankees and Cardinals before retiring.
- This outfielder was signed by the Boston Braves in 1946, but did not make his debut until 1955 now in Milwaukee. He started the season with the eventual 1957 champions, but ended it with the Cubs where he was finally given a chance to play every day. He retired following the 1962 season after minimal chances with the Indians and Angels.
- This catcher played 13 seasons from 1967-1980. They were all with Pittsburgh except for 1977 which was spent with Oakland following a trade. He ended up being on the same team as his trade counterpart for 1978-1980, winning the World Series in 1979.
- This Hall of Fame first baseman signed with the Dodgers in 1943 and appeared in the final game of the season, going 0-2 with a walk, stolen base, and two strikeouts. However, he would not see the majors again until 1947 due to military service. He had a breakout year in 1949 hitting .285 with 23 home runs and 115 RBI. He continued to be a threat in the middle of Brooklyn’s line up, but when they moved to Los Angeles, his bat went cold. After four seasons in LA, he was drafted by the expansion Mets and went back to NYC. After two seasons, he was traded to the Washington Senators for Jim Piersall where he promptly retired and became their manager.
- This pitcher made his debut in 1967 for the Mets and tied the franchise record for most strikeouts in a debut (8) until Matt Harvey struck out 11 in 2012. Unfortunately for him, he was still tagged with the loss as the hapless Mets lost 2-0 to the Phillies. That would also turn out to be the pinnacle of his career as he finished the season 1-7 with a 4.70 ERA. He was traded that offseason to Washington where he had an ERA of 9.00 across 3 games and 2 innings pitched. He ended up back in the Mets system after the 1969 minor league draft, but would not make it back to the majors until 1971 with Detroit. He finished his career with a 1-10 record and 4.56 ERA.
Bonus: Which two people are the only ones to fit this quiz and be traded mid-season? They are also the only ones to be traded for each other.
Answers below
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New Members
The Halsey Hall Chapter welcomes Amy Duchsherer to SABR.
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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Thoughts of the Month from Thom Brennaman and Pedro Martinez
August 19, 2020: “I pride myself and think of myself as a man of faith . . . there’s a drive into deep left field by Castellanos . . . ”—faux apology by Thom Brennaman for a hateful slur on a hot mike being ruined (or saved) by Nick Castellanos.
Also in the Nice Save category:
Amended answer by Pedro Martinez when being interviewed for Sports Illustrated for Kids in 2001 after being asked his secret ambition and then being reminded the interview was for a children’s magazine: “I would like to [blank] Sandra Bullock” to “I would like to sleep with Sandra Bullock.”
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Cow Pies
The SABR Games Project has a new game story by a chapter member:
The Special Summer Edition II of Keltner’s Hot Corner, the newsletter of the Ken Keltner Badger State Chapter, is on-line:
Keltner’s Hot Corner, Special Summer Edition II
Past Keltner’s Hot Corner newsletters:
Keltner’s Hot Corner
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Answers to Mike Zarling’s Baseball Quiz
- John Farrell
- Mike Aviles
- Ozzie Guillen
- Jhan Mariñez
- Lou Piniella
- Randy Winn
- Chuck Tanner
- Manny Sanguillen
- Gil Hodges
- Bill Denehy
Bonus: Joe Gordon and Jimmy Dykes (managers traded for each other).
Theme: Involved in a trade that included a manager for a player (and vice versa).
Note to quizzees: If you have any comments about gaffes or anything else, please direct them to the author of the quiz, not the newsletter editor.
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Calendar
September 3-4—Fifth anal. 9-Online Virtual Baseball Conference.
September 4—State amateur tournament outing, 7:30 p.m., Chaska. Contact daniel.dorff@gmail.com for more information.
September 9—Zoom meeting with Jay Wigley about his book, How Retrosheet Saved Baseball History, 7:00 p.m.
September 12—Fred Souba Hot Stove League Saturday Morning, 9:00 a.m., Shortstop Bar and Grill, Fridley. For more information, contact John Buckeye.
September 13 (new date)—Halsey Hall Chapter Board of Directors meeting, 7:00 p.m. For more information on attending, contact Mike Haupert.
September 21—Research Committee meeting, 7:00-9:00 p.m. via Zoom. For more information, contact Dave Lande or Gene Gomes.
October 3—Book Club, Barnes & Noble, Har Mar Mall, Roseville, 9:30 a.m., Land of the Giants: New York’Polo Grounds by Stew Thornley. Contact Ed Edmonds for more information.
October 9—Eighth anal. SABR/International Women in Baseball Virtual Conference.
October 16—Reception for Mary Shea and other out-of-towners and World Series Watch Party, 6:00 p.m., Mannings’s, Minneapolis.
October 17—Fall Chapter Meeting, 9:00 a.m., Hennepin County Library, Plymouth. For more information, contact Howard Luloff, 952-994-5217, or Bob Komoroski.
October 19—Research Committee meeting, 7:00-9:00 p.m. via Zoom. For more information, contact Dave Lande or Gene Gomes.
August 4-8, 2027—SABR Convention, Birmingham, Alabama.
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Board of Directors 2026-2027
President—Mike Haupert
President-Elect—Terry Bohn
Immediate Past President—Ed Edmonds
Secretary—John Buckeye
Treasurer—Rich Arpi
Directors—Jacob Sayward, Howard Luloff, Mike Zarling
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—Hans Van Slooten and Stew Thornley
Social Media Directors—Bob Komoroski and John Buckeye
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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