SABR 38 Day One: Bookbags, Minnesota, CWS, Manila, Australian Girls, and Indians Media
Sadly, the gift bags that came with registration this year weren’t as whimsically filled as they were last year in St. Louis. They were, however, filled with some nice publications.
First, there was a copy of John Montgomery Ward’s baseball book, which laid down the rules and practices of baseball in the late 1800s — a very important and influential book in its time, and an interesting glimpse into that era.
Also included were two older editions of the SABR baseball research journal, the annual assemblage of the best baseball research by SABR.
There was also the convention program, and the annual convention research journal, containing articles related to area baseball historical interests near Cleveland.
The bag itself is a nice cloth bookbag with the SABR 38 logo, but since I’m not a librarian or market shopper, I don’t anticipate getting too much use out of it.
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I’ve been splitting a room with fellow SABRite Kyle Eliason, who writes for Minnesota Twins GameDay Magazine up in the Twin Cities.
There are a pretty fair number of Minnesotans here — as opposed to Nebraskans, of which I believe I’m the only representative. Among the Minnesota contigent are Aaron Gleeman and Ben Curtis, a couple of guys that I sat near at last year’s Cardinals game in St. Louis.
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The first presentation of the convention was about the short-lived integration of the Manila baseball league in the Phillipines in 1914. Oscar Charleston and Bullet Joe Rogan, who were serving in the Army at the time, were some of the players to take part in the integrated league.
Charleston, of course, went on to have a very successful career in the Negro Leagues back in the United States. In 1976, Charleston was elected to the Hall of Fame.
It was a good presentation by Ball State professor Geri Strecker, and a nice way to kick off the day.
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Last night, looking to watch the College World Series final, I ended up finding a nice little sports bar just a couple blocks away from the hotel. At “Cleats,” I watched the Fresno State-Georgia contest while enjoying a very reasonably priced Labatt and some excellent hot wings.
And oh, what a game that was. With Steve Detwiler going 4-for-4 with a pair of dingers to lead the Fresno-based Bulldogs over the southern Bulldogs, it capped off one of the more improbable runs to a championship in NCAA history. The expressions of joy on the faces of the Fresno State players was amazing to watch, and I couldn’t help but laugh at their enthusiasm. I’m just sorry that I wasn’t home in Omaha to watch the final.
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The second presentation today was all about women’s club baseball in Australia. Far from being the novelty that it is here in the home of the game, Aussies take their female baseball seriously. Of course, baseball isn’t exactly on the nightly news in the southern continent, since rugby, cricket and Australian rules football are by far the dominant sports there.
The presenter, Anne Aronson, a professor from Metro State in St. Paul, Minn., gave an interesting, informative and engaging presentation. I’d expect no less from a college professor, after all.
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I just talked with Mickey “The Lip,” a fellow from New York who plays on a vintage Base Ball team. It looks like I’ll be playing alongside him in tonight’s Base Ball game, versus a local Ohio nine.
We’ll be using the 1860 New York rules, which mean that the pitcher throws underhand, there are no gloves, foul ball aren’t strikes, and there are no leads off the bases. It’s a fairly different game than today — or even just 30 years later, when the game took on most of its modern rules.
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Two of the presentations were canceled. I’m guessing that the presenters’ flights didn’t get in on time…
I’m a little disappointed to miss Tim Wiles’s talk on the history of “Take Me Out to the Ballgame.” Wiles is the director of research for the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.
The other presentation was to be a biography of Billy Doyle, one of the early scouts in baseball. Craig Lammers apparently isn’t here to talk about him.
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The fire alarm just went off, and not a person in the SABR end of the hotel seemed to leave. We’re all waiting to hear the from the media panel now assembling in the Gold Ballroom here at the Renaissance. Retired Cleveland Plain Dealer sportswriter Russ Schneider joins play-by-play man Tom Hamilton and color guy Rick Manning on the stage.
Highlights:
Manning, on his start in cable as a color commentator in 1989: “Back then, we didn’t have any graphics, even the count. We could just make stuff up half the time, and no one would know. Now, they have all the numbers right there.”
Hamilton, on his love for the Cleveland ballpark: “We used to have municipal stadiums, where many sports were played. Now, we’ve got a ballpark in town. People always say, ‘Look at Dodger Stadium, isn’t it nice?’, but it’s a dump. We’re lucky to have the park we do here.”
Hamilton also stated his case that Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa should be in the Hall of Fame. His opinion is that it’s part of the game, and part of the era. He said that he thinks they were singled out in an era where many used performance enhancing drugs. It’s a controversial opinion, but I can understand where he’s coming from. When you recognize that what they are suspected of doing — and likely did — you can still probably enshrine them for their on-the-field effort, but it’s a sketchy proposition.
Even though we are in Indians country, we get a question about Pete Rose. Schneider believes that as long as the commissioner has Rose banned, he shouldn’t be in the Hall, even simply to recognize his accomplishments on the field. That prompts a rambling response from a SABR member, who is then reminded that he’s not here to give speeches.
Manning doesn’t mince words, and says that Rose has no place on the Hall because he broke one of the cardinal rules of the game. Hamilton says that Rose has no business getting anywhere near Cooperstown. They make the point that when a player comes into baseball, there are just two rules: never touch an umpire, and don’t gamble on the game. It’s that simple.
And finally, someone brings up the movie “Major League.” They want to know if it changed how people viewed the Indians, and how they broadcast them. Manning says he loves the movie, and really feels like that was they way that some of the teams he played on were run.
Hamilton loves it, too, and thinks that the Indians’ success in 1997, when they made the World Series, has eroded the meaning a bit, but it’s still very close to home.
There’s some love for Bob Uecker, too, brought on by the mention of the movie. Schneider and Hamilton tell a story about how Uecker disregarded the script, and just winged it for most of the movie. So, those classic lines we all remember are more Uecker than Hollywood — which only enhances the classic nature. Speaking of which, they all agree that the sequels were horrible.
Hamilton, on his career as a play-by-play guy: “I’m just happy I’m not still back in Wisconsin milking cows.” Hamilton says that he feels that broadcasters in his home state had a big influence on him, and were of exceptional quality. Uecker’s name comes up again. “If you’re not able to play the game, this is about the best job in the world,” says Hamilton.
Interestingly, Hamilton says he refuses to state a player’s salary on air because he believes it’s nobody’s business. He doesn’t think that fans have a right to talk about a player’s salary as if they’re “paying” it, because in a sense, we all pay each other’s salary. Just as you don’t have a right to ask the manager of a supermarket what he makes because you’re buying a loaf of bread, Hamilton says.
Schneider talks about the changing media, and says he’s thankful he retired before he had to write for the web. He says that if he had to write up a short afternoon story, it might leak his game story that features something he’s been sitting on, and other papers might pick it up. Schneider, while remaining modest, also takes some credit for opening up the clubhouse to the media. Apparently he went down to the clubhouse after a game to try and figure out what happened after a pitcher failed to field a ball, and helped open things up with his questions after each game.
Hamilton feels that the web is becoming cheap and mean-spirited. He apparently belongs to the Buzz Bissinger school of thought on the internet, without the angry, vulgar element.
Manning feels that pitchers hitting needs to be eliminated from the National League, and it’s a ridiculous idea to have two sets of rules. He agrees with Hank Steinbrenner’s assertion that the NL needs to get out of the 19th century. Surprisingly, most of the SABR audience — a group of traditionalists if there ever was one — seems to agree with Manning.
All in all, a very nice panel discussion.
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Next up: a presentation about the decline of the inside-the-park home run. Should be fascinating stuff, I’m guessing.