The Squibber

DAVIDS CHAPTER E-NEWSLETTER -- ISSUE #4

September-October 2001

Produced by the Bob Davids Chapter of the Society of American Baseball Research, which serves SABR members in Maryland, Virginia, the District of Columbia, and parts of Pennsylvania and Delaware. Visit the Chapter's website at: http://www.sabrdc.org/

This bimonthly newsletter is distributed electronically to members. It has been designed mainly to survive emailing; a less clunky version is likely available on our site [look on the "Links" page] and at: http://members.bellatlantic.net/~mccrayl/NewNL.htm. The deadline for material for the next newsletter is October 25. Keep those ideas for squibs coming!

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CONTENTS -- September/October 2001

1) Baseball Datebook: September, October, and Beyond

2) Chapter News: A New Youth Essay Contest, Etc.

3) Across the Plate: Member News: Three New Books, Etc.

4) On Deck: What Some Members Are Up To

5) Local Baseball News: Local Draftees, 33rd Street Blues, Etc.

6) Around the Horn: Our Minor League Parks

7) Dave's Stumpers . . .(and Lesser Oddments)

8) Name That E-Rag Contest: Results

9) Editorial Stuff

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1. BASEBALL DATEBOOK -- September, October, and Beyond

September 25 (Tuesday) -- Griffith Stadium Commemoration

In collaboration with SABR, Howard University and Howard University Hospital will christen the first stage in its Griffith Stadium renaissance. Beginning at 8:30AM, Tuesday's star-studded symposium will take place at the Blackburn Center of Howard University, 2400 6th Street NW, Washington. Admission is free, but space could be severely limited. The symposium commemorates Griffith Stadium as the home of the Washington Senators, The Negro League Homestead Grays, the Washington Redskins, and Howard University teams. Program details are at: http://www.huhosp.org/griff_stadium.htm

October 12 (Saturday) -- Talkin' Baseball

The Talkin' Baseball discussion group will meet at 9AM at Border's Bookstore in Columbia, MD, in the Columbia Crossing Shopping Center near the intersection of Route 175 and Dobbin Road, less than 2 miles west of the Interstate 95/Rte 175 junction. For more information, call Dave Paulson at (301) 854-2244 or email him at d2244@erols.com.

Ongoing, to October 15 -- A Roberto Clemente Exhibit in DC

The National Postal Museum in Washington has an exhibit devoted to Hall of Famer Roberto Clemente. The exhibit includes the two postage stamps that have honored the great right fielder since his untimely death, his batting helmet, several of his baseball cards, a baseball signed by the 1960 World Champion Pirates, and other items. . To browse the items online, go to http://www.si.edu/postal/clemente/exhibit.html. The Postal Museum is at

2 Massachusetts Avenue NE, Washington, adjacent to Union Station.

November 8 (Thursday) -- Bill James Talks at the Smithsonian

Fabled sabermetrician Bill James will talk about his "Win Shares" metric, and about The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract, at the Smithsonian Institution at 6PM on November 8. Unless you're a member of the Resident Associates, your admission will be $16. To register online, go to:

http://residentassociates.si.edu/rap/otonov/baseball.asp

November 10 (Saturday) -- Talkin' Baseball

[Prospective Speaker: Jane Leavy [Washington], author of the 1990 novel, Squeeze Play, about a 1989 expansion team in DC, and a forthcoming work on Sandy Koufax.] The Talkin' Baseball discussion group will meet at 9AM at Border's Bookstore in Columbia, MD, in the Columbia Crossing Shopping Center near the intersection of Route 175 and Dobbin Road, less than 2 miles west of the Interstate 95/Rte 175 junction. For more information, call Dave Paulson at (301) 854-2244 or email him at d2244@erols.com.

November 17 (Saturday) -- Annual Chapter Meeting, Baltimore MD

Mark your calendar now! This year's Fall Regional Meeting will take place on November 17 at the Baltimore Best Western. Program details will be provided later. If you have questions, contact Bob Savitt or David Vincent . If you'd like to make a research presentation, contact Lyle Spatz at .

December 8 (Saturday) -- Talkin' Baseball

The Talkin' Baseball discussion group will meet at 9AM at Border's Bookstore in Columbia, MD, in the Columbia Crossing Shopping Center near the intersection of Route 175 and Dobbin Road, less than 2 miles west of the Interstate 95/Rte 175 junction. For more information, call Dave Paulson at (301) 854-2244 or email him at d2244@erols.com.

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1. CHAPTER NEWS

Youth Essay Contest is Launched: Help Needed! -- The chapter is sponsoring an essay contest for middle schoolers [grades 6, 7, and 8], a "Digging into Baseball" competition. Students can pick any baseball-related research topic for an essay, and entries are due on March 1. If you'd like more details, or to help in bringing the contest to shcools in your area, contact Lyle Spatz . Lyle and Jan Finkel [Swanton MD] have put the contest together.

The Chapter's "Day at the Ballpark" Attracts over 60 -- The rainy day may have discouraged some, and may have delayed the game, but it didn't water down the Chapter's June 2 affair at Shirley Povich Field in Bethesda. The program, organized by Paul Haas [Springfield VA], featured an introduction to the local Clark Griffith League -- a summer league for collegians -- a lively talk by Senator P Walt Masterson, a panel on college baseball, Dave Raglin's [Laurel] trivia contest, a ballpark tour, and a barbecue catered by the Hard Times Cafe.

Baltimore Baseball Weekend in May -- Glenn Spatz' [Bel Air MD] 2001 Baseball Weekend kept seventy SABR members busy as the Yankees of New York padded their lead over the O's by 3 games in 3 days. The program featured a barbecue luncheon outside the Ruth Museum, a tour of Camden Yards, Q/A sessions with Hargrove and Hendricks and others, some trivia jousts, and ballgames on Friday and Saturday and Sunday. Glenn provided a special publication, including offerings by local SABR members, to each attendee.

Lyle Spatz Bestows Allen Award -- Lyle [Edgewater MD], representing SABR at National History Day at the U of Maryland in June, presented the 2001 Lee Allen award to a Wisconsin student for his work on Jackie Robinson. Lyle reports that the number of History Day submissions on baseball topics is growing significantly.

Our Statheads Congregate -- A small group of members in the DC area with interest in quantitative analysis has met to discuss assorted work in progress.

Presenters have included Dave Tate [Alexandria], Stephen Lyman [Alexandria], Clay Davenport [Washington], and Charlie Pavitt [Rockville]. The informal group, which looks at "The Risks and Rewards of Baseball Decisions," was convened by Stephen Lyman [Alexandria] and Larry McCray [Arlington].

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3) CROSSING THE PLATE: MEMBER NEWS

Jim Roberts [Great Falls VA] published Hardball on the Hill: Baseball Stories from Our Nation's Capitol in May this year. Amazon and others are offering the book for about $16. The book covers hardball happenings hereabouts over the last 140 years or so.

Barbara Oremland [Baltimore] was the invited author for the Encyclopedia of Louisville's, entry on African-American Baseball in Louisville. Barbara is the former Director of the Kentucky SABR chapter (1993-1998) and has a strong interest in cultural issues in baseball. For this publication, she had the privilege of interviewing some of the surviving members of the Louisville Black Zulus and Black Colonels. She also documented that the first African-American in major league baseball, Moses Fleetwood Walker, made his debut in Louisville in 1884, playing for the Toledo Blue Stockings. The U. Press of Kentucky released the encyclopedia in early 2001.

David W. Smith [Newark DE] received the USA Today-Baseball Weekly prize for the Milwaukee Convention's Best Research Presentation. His talk was "A Play by Play Analysis of the 1951 National League Pennant Race."

John Holway [Springfield VA] saw his latest offering, The Complete Book of Baseball's Negro Leagues, hit bookshops in May. Capping off a long interest in the Negro Leagues that began when he was in high school in Alexandria, the compendium involved dozens of interviews with Negro League players and thousands of hours of statistical research. If you missed the Post's August feature article on John, it's at:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A28061-2001Aug18.html

Bruce Adelson [Alexandria VA] was a speaker on a panel on minor league baseball and integration this month at the Washington Post's book festival in Fairfax. Bruce's book on the subject is Brushing Back Jim Crow: the Integration of Minor League Baseball in the American South [U. Press of Virginia, 1999].

Mark Kanter [Arlington VA] repeated as a member of the winning 4-member

trivia team at the Milwaukee Convention. Mark's teammates this year were David Nemec, Eddie Gold, and Mike Caragliano.

Mat Olkin [Herndon VA] produced his seventh annual Mat Olkin's Baseball Examiner -- 2001 earlier this year. The book comprises brief profiles of all 30 MLB teams and over 175 players. You've probably also been charmed and amazed by Mat's regular "Mat at Bat" stat squib in Baseball Weekly.

Tom Hetrick [Clifton VA] spoke at the Hall of Fame in June on the St. Louis Browns' colorful owner Chris Von der Ahe, the subject of Tom's latest baseball book.

Ultra Dodger fan Ron Gabriel [Chevy Chase] received the "Spirit of SABR

Salute" this summer for his service to baseball research.

Note: to peruse the set of 28 recent squibs on Chapter member attainments, see

http://members.bellatlantic.net/~mccrayl/Member_News.htm.

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4) ON DECK: WHAT SOME MEMBERS ARE UP TO

Chapter President Bob Savitt [Potomac MD] is writing a book on the old Blue Ridge League, which operated in central Maryland, south-central Pennsylvania and the West Virginia panhandle from 1915 to 1930 (with time off for the First World War). The Blue Ridge League was one of the most successful Class D leagues in the country and spawned such major league stars as Lefty Grove, Hack Wilson and Jimmy Dykes.

A new member of the Chapter, Jimmy Keenan [Ellicott City] is conducting research on the pro baseball careers of his grandfather, Jimmy Lyston, and his great-grandfather, John Lyston, who played along with brothers Marty and William in the 1880's and 1890's. All of the Lystons were born in Baltimore. Jimmy also sends information on the Oldtimer's Baseball Association of Maryland, which was formed in Baltimore in 1952 and has a Hall of Fame display in Dundalk. If you want to learn more about the Association, Jimmy's number is 410-461-1249.

Frank Ceresi [Washington] is helping the Washington Historical Society organize a section on the history of sports in Washington for WHS' prospective City Museum. Frank would welcome input from Chapter members -- you can email him at .

Dave Raglin [Laurel] continues to serve as writer/sabermetrician for Tiger Stripes, a newsletter for "Tiger fans who always care." In the February issue, Dave presented an analysis of the how the adoption of the [more sensible] unbalanced MLB schedule for the 2001 season might be expected to affect the pennant chases [conclusion: it shouldn't be a big factor].

David Tate [Alexandria] has begun to look into the application of linear programming to certain batting performance variables. One issue is how to arrange a batting lineup to maximize team performance. Dave showed some preliminary results to a group of chapter number-crunchers in July.

Larry McCray [Arlington] is doing some research on the "embryology" of baseball -- how and why "base ball," and not some other game, evolved to become our national pastime in the mid-1800's. Also -- not that it qualifies as research, exactly -- Larry completed his bicycle tour of the New York-Penn League in August, watching his odometer pass 1200 miles as he wheeled limply out of the Vermont hills and into Lowell MA. He started in Youngstown, OH. Asked why he undertook the lonely task, he says, cryptically, "Well, wouldn't a chubby fellow want to walk to all the Dunkin' Donut shops between Washington and Baltimore?" Your editor doesn't know what he means by that, either.

Note: to see the current projects of 25 Davids Chapter members, see http://members.bellatlantic.net/~mccrayl/On_Deck.htm.

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5) LOCAL BASEBALL NEWS

Itty-Bitty, Sticky Green Cathedrals --Well, they picked Crosley Field over Griffith Stadium, and they like the Old Comisky better than the Good Old Mem on 33rd, but the Postal Service's "Legendary Playing Fields" offering -- revealed in June -- still bears a local tint. The 10 new first class stamps [depicting Ebbets, Fenway, Wrigley, the House that Balmer's Ruth Built, etc] were designed by Phil Jordan of Falls Church, and they are based on a vintage postcard collection amassed by Senators announcer Ron Menchine. You can buy sets of 10 stamps for $3.40, full panes of 20 for $6.80, or sets of 10 stamped cards for $6.95. [This squib was suggested by Dave Paulson.]

Local Maryland Neighbors Drafted 4th and 5th -- Mount St. Joseph Academy in Baltimore has supplied two of the top five players selected in the 2001 MLB draft. Picked fourth overall, by the Phillies, was RHP Gavin Floyd, a high school senior, and then the Rangers immediately named Georgia Tech junior 3B Mark Teixeira. The two players' parents live closer than home plate is to second base in Severna Park MD. Gavin's 93-95 mph fastball and Mark's .419 batting average probably had something to do with their appeal to scouts. Assuming they sign, we'll track their progress as prospects in future Squibbers.

Big, Gone Green Cathedral -- Quick, now: take your favorite memories of Memorial Stadium and transfer them out of medium-term storage and into long-term storage, where they'll be safe.

It was February 28, and your thoughts were swimming along the lines of "hey, pitchers and catchers report!" That day, you couldn't have known, is when some guys lugged a three-ton ball to 33rd Street, and began their terminal bashing. Memorial's concrete, they reported, flaked off like piecrust. Your field of dreams was becoming a field of 29,000 cubic yards of rubble. Yes, they're trying to save the 116-foot facade with the memorial inscription, but that's not what used to be our playground. In late May, a man's wife arrived and spread her husband's ashes where home plate had been. Former Oriole Curt Blefary, AL Rookie of the Year in 1965, had chosen Memorial as a final resting place. RIP, Curt. RIP, Ol' Mem.

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6) AROUND THE HORN -- BASEBALL ATTRACTIONS IN THE MID-ATLANTIC REGION [Edited by Marty Payne]

Note: Don’t forget to let Marty know of any baseball site, resource, or event in our chapter region that you'd like to see reviewed. Just send him a note at martyp@toad.net.

OUR AREA'S MINOR LEAGUE VENUES

One of the greatest baseball assets within our chapter region is the number of minor league franchises. Potomac and Frederick play in the Carolina League (Class A), while Delmarva (Salisbury) and Hagerstown play in the South Atlantic League (A), and. Bowie participates in the Eastern League (AA).

A recent trip into western Maryland afforded the opportunity to visit a couple of these sites.

Hagerstown -- On a chilled early June evening, the Hagerstown Suns (Giants) were host to the Charleston, S.C. Riverdogs. Hagerstown Municipal stadium is an older facility with a small cinderblock façade, skeleton bleachers, and two rows of box seats. With only a few hundred in attendance, the ballgame was an intimate experience. There was some good natured pre game banter between the Riverdogs and the home town fans, with the opposing manager chiding that to sit on the visitors side meant you had to root for them. It was a request met with scorn and duly ignored.

We settled in at the picnic area down the left field line, which we had to ourselves, as a handful of children and adults hung out below us with their gloves in hopes of snaring a foul ball. Between innings players passed between bullpen and dugout, always stopping to chat with the fans.

We stretched out and enjoyed the radio play by play piped over the PA system, but a bellowing fan somewhere on the first base side provided a more poignant, if sometimes biting commentary on the proceedings, which everyone could easily hear and appreciate. It was a well-played game, well worth the admission and concessions.

This homey little game was far different from what we experienced in Frederick the following night.

Frederick (like the Bowie and Salisbury stadiums) is a large ground level, block stadiums with the field slightly sunken, with high grassy banks down either line where the seating ends. There are skyboxes, a sit-down restaurant, plenty of box seats, amusement park down the right field line, and picnic area down the left. These are state of the art facilities that seat 10,000. A double header the previous day in Frederick had drawn 7,000 plus so we weren’t expecting the 8,000 that showed up on a school night. Although they have their off nights, these Oriole minor league franchises entertain such crowds regularly at all three locations.

There isn’t a bad seat or stand in these small parks, but with the crowd, this game lacked the homey environment of the previous evening in Hagerstown. The stadium bounded with children of all ages enjoying baseball, food, and amusements. Down either line on the grassy banks were a gang of kids with gloves. On one foul ball about twenty of them tumbled down the hill, slamming into a knot at the bottom of the chain link fence. There was a collective moan from about 4,000 parents; most doing a quick head count. After what seemed an eternity, but wasn’t more than a minute, one emerged triumphant from the scrum, running with the ball held high in the air. The rest scrambled to their feet in pursuit of the victor. The game was good too. Erik Bedard turned in a solid effort on the mound for the Keys, while the offense contributed three home runs for the home team.

The cost in Frederick was higher than Hagerstown, but a gracious hometown fan gave us a coupon while standing in line which got us in half price. The concessions had higher prices, too, but Frederick, like Bowie, and Salisbury, put on a good family-oriented show. Salisbury also has the Eastern Shore Baseball Hall of Fame Museum on site.

I haven’t had the chance to take in a Potomac game yet. Perhaps someone can send in something on the Cannons' facility. There are also a number of other minor league franchises just outside our immediate region and a reasonable distance for some. They include Charleston WV (A), Harrisburg and Reading, PA (AA), Wilmington, DE (A), Lynchburg (A), and Richmond and Norfolk, VA (AAA).

Whether you stay close to home, or are on a trip, a minor league game is a pleasant way to spend a summer evening, and there are plenty of options around.

[Note: The cumulative set of 5 "Around the Horn" reviews is at http://members.bellatlantic.net/~mccrayl/ATH.htm.]

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7) DAVE's STUMPER . . . AND LESSER ODDMENTS

Dave Raglin's trivia stumpers will resume in the next issue.

Didja Know . . . that of all pitchers to win 20 or more games in a season, only 30 also managed to hit over .300 in that season, and that leading this talented sesqui-score of overachievers is our own man/train Walter Johnson, who hit a very decent .433 in 1925? Didja Care?

Didja Know . . . that the father of salty old Baltimore writer H. L. Mencken, himself a well-known detractor of baseball, was part owner of the Washington club in the 1890's, and tried to bring the majors to Baltimore? Didja Care?

Chaaaarge, Schmaaaarge? You may like it, or you may loathe it, but P.A.-induced fan chants are now part of the game. Most common, perhaps, is the chaaaarge cheer -- you know, that's when the loudspeaker trumpets out "tootelly-toot-de-toot," and then the fans obediently scream "chaaaarge" . . . just as if they were sitting at a football game or someplace. [Except at Fenway, where the PA guy apparently hasn't found the musical score to this mass exhortation yet, and guess what happens . . . fans spontaneously make up their OWN rhythmic chants -- when the game situation warrants it!]

At Camden, the chaaaarge command is used moderately -- at Opening Day, for example, it only filled the air nine times [mostly when Cal was at bat, naturally] in eleven exciting innings. At an O's game last year, the command was issued 23 times [and it is the 8-year-olds who love it most, it was clear]. One might figure that 23 such commands in nine half-innings is about the human limit, no?

Well, no. At a Bowie game in May, the command rang out 48 times as the Baysox suffered a 2-0 shutout. Now, the next night they won by an impressive 14-4 margin. The reason for the sudden offensive outbreak? Well, maybe, just maybe, the Baysox put an 8-year-old enthusiast in control of the chaaaarge button, because the leather-lung fans were instructed to yell "chaaaarge" 69 times,. and maybe, just maybe, that rattled the opposing pitchers. Gee, 69 times. That's almost nine times per half-inning, according to the olde slide rule here. Is our sport overchaaarging us?

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1. NAME-THAT-E-RAG CONTEST -- A Report

A "squib" is defined as a short piece of writing, one that is often seen as sharp and incisive. A baseball "squibber," of course, implies a hearty swing that leads to a weak [but sometimes useful] ground ball.

Since this e-rag comprises short pieces and is sometimes useful, at least in small ways, "The Squibber" seems an apt name.

The prize money for winning contest entries will reach the winner[s] shortly.

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1. EDITORIAL STUFF

We welcome your ideas and contributions. And we accept your complaints.

Larry McCray, editor, Arlington VA -- mccrayL@bellatlantic.net

Richard Ottone, Baltimore MD -- rottone@hotmail.com

Marty Payne, St. Michaels MD -- martyp@toad.net

Barry Sparks, York PA -- absparks@gateway.net

Note: a hard copy of this newsletter can be obtained by sending a self-addressed, 55-cent-stamped envelope to Larry McCray, 6424 N. 26^th Street,

Arlington VA 22207. If you meet a member who isn't on the net, tell her/him that.

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And Finally: "I know of no subject, save perhaps baseball, on which the average American newspaper discourses without unfailing sense and understanding" -- The grumpy H. L. Mencken, cited in J. Light, The Cultural Encyclopedia of Baseball, p. 505.