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. "Talkin'" inaugurates its third year with speaker Burt Solomon (Arlington VA), author of "Where They Ain't," an account of the Baltimore Orioles of the 1890's and the formation of the American League. For more information, call Dave Paulson at (301) 854-2244 or email him at d2244@erols.com.

Noting that several Davids chapter members traditionally attend this annual SABR chapter meeting, Joe McGillen invites you to Philadelphia for the 2001 chapter meeting. It runs from 9AM to 4:30PM, and takes place at the visitors' locker room at Veterans Stadium. You can park in the VIP parking area on Broad Street. As usual, there will be research presentations during the AM session and a player panel in the PM. A buffet lunch will be served. Further details may be obtained from Joe Dittmar (a popular presenter at our chapter's November 2000 meeting), (610) 584-5988 (dittmar5@aol.com). A Cards-Phils game starts at 7:05 that night, and a few reduced-price tickets are still available from Joe.

The Big Train advertises a free-admission night for its opener. Check http://www.bigtrain.org/ for details. (For more on the Griffith League, try http://www.clarkgriffithbaseball.org/.)

Check http://www.arlingtonsenator.org/ for details on this Clark Griffith League team's opener and summer schedule.

Our summer Regional meeting this year takes place at Povich Field in Cabin John Regional Park in Montgomery County, the home of the Bethesda Big Train of the collegiate Clark Griffith League. It starts at 1:30PM and extends through a ballgame matching the Big Train and the visiting Silver Spring club. There will be talks by former Senator/Red Sox (and All-Star) pitcher Walt Masterson, a panel of college coaches, and key Big Train representatives, including Bruce Adams (Bethesda). The usual trivia contest, raffle, and meal (a barbecue dinner catered by the Hard Times Café) will take place. The fee, $19 for adults and is less for kids, is due by May 26. Contact Bob Savitt (bobsavitt@aol.com) for details.

The 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. The speaker will be Ernestine Miller, author of "The Babe Book: Baseball's Greatest Legend Remembered." For more information, call Dave Paulson at (301) 854-2244 or email him at d2244@erols.com

The 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. (Note that "Talkin' Baseball" takes place on the first Saturday of the month, not the second, because of the SABR Convention the following week.) For more information, call Dave Paulson at (301) 854-2244 or email him at d2244@erols.com

See details at http://www.sabr.org/conventions.shtml.

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.

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It's not always the rich kids, nor the Republicans, who choose to become catchers for their Little League teams -- it's a gritty, sweaty business back there, and the catcher's mask leaves little room for a silver spoon.

But, it's reported, George W. Bush did wear the dusty tools of ignorance for his team, and what's more, he went on to become the first Little Leaguer to win -- well, to gain, all would agree -- the Presidency. His baseball genes are very much in order. His father, George H. W. Bush, grew up admiring Lou Gehrig and following the Red Sox. He captained the Yale team and took it to the first NCAA championship game in 1947 (a ball signed by that team's members is in Frank Ceresi's (Washington) National Sports Gallery at the MCI Center). And W's grandfather, Prescott Bush, batted cleanup for the Elis in 1917.

A short article in the May Atlantic Monthly by Carl Cannon reviews the linkage between baseball and the U.S. Presidents. Cannon draws heavily on Baseball: The President's Game by Bill Mead (Bethesda) and Paul Dickson (Garrett Park MD). Do you remember that Ike dreamed of being a big leaguer, and adulated Honus Wagner? That Jimmy Carter was the first president in 70 years to not throw out a first ball on opening day? That George Washington is believed to have played catch with some of his troops at Valley Forge? That the besieged Richard Nixon idled away a few hours composing lists of all-star teams for different leagues and eras? That Rutherford Hayes may have watched the 1869 Cincinnati Red Stockings? That Ronald Reagan once called Cubs play-by-play over the radio?

The current incumbent does like the game. Cannon reports that George W. Bush's favorite movie is Field of Dreams, and that his campaign theme song was John Fogerty's Centerfield. When Bush was waiting nervously to debate Albert Gore, an aide tried to keep him loose by repeating the name of W's favorite ballplayer: "Willie Mays, Willie Mays."

As America's new First Signal-caller, Bush now knows the truth of the sign that Harry S Truman put on the Oval Office desk: The Buck Stops Here. However, the former backstop may not have left any room for such a sign himself, because he may need the space for the 250 autographed balls that he lugged up from Texas.

Now, it's terrific that Mr. Bush has laid out a baseball diamond for kids out on the White House lawn. Teddy Roosevelt would certainly approve -- he took a few cuts himself out there . . . and yes, of course, TR's bat is over at the National Sports Museum, too. But look. As owner of the Texas Rangers, George W. Bush derived much pleasure (and not just a little profit) from Washington's earlier pain from losing big-league baseball. Some would ask if, perhaps, it would ease his conscience to welcome an NL club back to town?

Curtis, born with a 95% hearing impairment (his mother contracted rubella when she was pregnant with him) is the sixth deaf player to make it to the Majors. He serves as a spokesman for the Better Hearing Institute and makes numerous benefit appearances. He was named one of "Ten Outstanding Young Americans" in 1995 by the Junior Chamber of Commerce, and in 1996 he won the Boston Baseball Writers' Tony Conigliaro Award for spirit, determination and courage in the face of adversity.

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Of seven graduates of the University of Maryland currently in the minors (the Twins' Eric Milton having already succeeded to The Show), outfielder Garry Maddox Jr has advanced the farthest. He is currently on the Trenton Thunder, the AA farm team of the Boston Red Sox. Maddox is batting .270 and has an decent OPS of .750

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Batting .304 in 79 at bats for the class A Western Michigan Whitecaps, Matt Walker is leading the charge for alums from George Washington University. He is trying to follow Devil Ray catcher John Flaherty's path from the Colonials to the Bigs.

In April Gallaudet University named its baseball field to honor William "Dummy" Hoy, who playedprofessional ball from 1886 to 1902. Hoy, who had become deaf at the age of two, asked umpires to signal balls and strikes so he would know the count, and that was said to be the beginning of the familiar system of arbiter arm signals. Hoy's major league debut was with the NL Washington Nationals in April 1886. The 5'4" outfielder led the NL in steals that year with 82, and in 14 years he assembled a career on-base average of .385 (he was twice a league leader in walks). At age 99, not long before he died, he threw out the first ball at the 1961 World Series.

The Delmarva Shorebirds, 2000 champs of the Class A Sally League, have initiated several programs to encourage both reading skills and baseball appreciation in the area's young people. The club's "Hit the Books with the Birds" program has provided free tickets to students from designated schools who read four books -- last year, 150 schools participated, and 120,000 free Shorebird tickets were distributed. Another initiative provides four free tickets to students who are named "Most Improved" by teachers in participating schools. And the team's new "Adopt-a-School" effort recently resulted in 1000 free tickets for students and their families at a winning school, Stevensville Middle School. Lois Nicholson (Easton MD) sent along the SMS Principal's note on the school's plans to attend the May 11 game, with the Shorebirds providing the game tickets and the local Elks Club footing the bill for transportation on a small fleet of school buses. For more details on Delmarva's programs, root around on http://www.theshorebirds.com/press.html.

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SABR Executive Director George Case III and others are continuing to explore the possibility of placing a market at the site of Griffith Stadium to honor its role as the home of the Washington Senators and the Negro League champion Homestead Grays. They report continuing progress and hope to report further news in the summer.

Members who made presentations included Norman Macht (Easton), who played taped interviews of Don Zimmer and Mel Parnell, both players on the Shore in the minors; Mark Millikin (Chesapeake Beach MD) on Jimmie Foxx; and Barry Sparks (York PA) on Frank "Home Run" Baker. Marty Payne (Saint Michaels MD), who convened the symposium, introduced the session with a rich account of the historical context.

Greg Schwalenberl (Ruth), Loretta Walls (Foxx), Leroy Muir (Eastern Shore) and Teddy Evans (Eastern Shore) represented the three museums. Leroy and Teddy provided a lively description of their experiences in minor league and semi-pro ball. It was an opportunity for SABR to work with those who share an interest in baseball, and many suggested that it be done again.

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