The Northwest Chapter of SABR met on Saturday November 5, 2011 from noon to 5 at the Seattle Pacific University library. Attendance ranged from 25-35 members and guests throughout the meeting.

Chapter vice president Rick Solomon discussed planning and scheduling the late spring Seattle meeting that we try to coordinate with a Mariners home game. Chapter treasurer Tim Herlich noted that the chapter currently has $116 in the bank, and that proceeds from a book sale (books donated by chapter members to be sold at 20% of cover price during meeting breaks) would go into the treasury.  Tim thanked those who donated. 

Bill Woodward, discussing John Thorn's recent book: 'Baseball in the Garden of Eden'

SABR member and meeting host Bill Woodward made the first presentation.  Bill is a professor at Seattle Pacific University and is teaching a course in the history of baseball for the twelfth consecutive year. This meeting was an official session of the course; many of Bill’s students attended all or part of the meeting.  Bill reviewed and discussed John Thorn’s recent book “Baseball in the Garden of Eden.” He credited Mark Armour, who in a prior chapter meeting had noted that stories are told for many reasons, not just historical accuracy.  Thorn’s book addressed some of the stories that were about the competing creation myths of the game of baseball (e.g. Abner Doubleday, Alexander Cartwright) and their relationship to the larger narrative of baseball history. Bill noted that Thorn unearthed stories that were previously suppressed, specifically the embracing of baseball by the working class, who played it in an "ungentlemanly" manner.  As with any work by John Thorn, Bill noted that the book is tremendously well-researched and documented, with such gems as the original 20 rules of baseball written down by the Knickerbockers.  Thorn merged the true stories with the ones that are told for other reasons. Bill discussed how we need creation myths and how baseball’s creation myth (Doubleday) served a larger purpose, establishing that baseball was a truly American game invented by a true American hero. 

Bill then compared the myth with the actual reality, which was also exaggerated as an "urban adult innovation." Bill said the three steps  of the creation and evolution of baseball were:  1) writing down the rules in 1845, which was the actual Knickerbockers contribution to the game;  2) The "N.Y. game" spreads, helped along by Civil War soldiers from the North playing the game ane introducing it to others; and 3) enclosing the fields, which made charging for admission possible. The written rules established foul territory, nine players, and nine innings. Cartwright’s actual contribution was that he was the scribe and organizer, but Bill noted that there were really four founding fathers of baseball.  These were William Wheaton (who wrote the rules based on an earlier set he had written for the Gotham club), Doc Adams (revising the rules to create nine innings), William Tucker (who assisted Wheaton), and Louis Wadsworth (set on nine innings and nine players, while the Knickerbockers wanted seven and seven).  Bill concluded that "history changes all the time" because it is based on our analysis of the available evidence.

Jon Wells, of Grand Salami, talking Mariners past, present and future

Our guest was Jon Wells, founder/writer/editor/publisher of Grand Salami.  Jon specialized in entertainment law before moving to the Seattle area. As the Mariners only published a program three times a year, he believed fans wanted more information and it needed to be more up-to-date. He started publishing Grand Salami in 1996. Grand Salami is not sanctioned by the Mariners and often has articles critical of them. At times, it has faced challenges such as off-duty policemen trying to kick the Grand Salami sales staff (who work on commission) off public sidewalks. Even so, Grand Salami has become successful and is well-known and much appreciated by Ms fans. Jon is writing a book about Mariners history for Epicenter Press, which will be out in March 2012. The book will be titled "Shipwreck: A People’s History of the Seattle Mariners" and starts with Mariners history from the Seattle Pilots.

Jon took many questions from attendees. Topics ranged from the Ms payroll (the reduction from 120 million to 90 million is one of the greatest reductions ever, and it followed a 20 million reduction in 2009), the ownership (which he noted focuses more on the team value off the field than on the field), Ichiro (who wants to get to 3,000 hits), and the dismal draft history of the franchise (losing first round picks and wasting others; he pointed to the 2001 draft as being particularly awful).

Steve Steinberg, bringing Horace Fogel to life

Steve Steinberg, chapter member, gave the third presentation, which was about early Phillies owner Horace Fogel. Fogel was banned from baseball in November 1912 as a result of what sports columnist Hugh Fullerton called "conversation in the first degree." Fogel had been dedicated to the honor of baseball, and had spoken publicly about "inside baseball" things that were threatening that honor. Those included an umpire bias in favor of the N.Y. Giants, favoritism in selecting umpires for the World Series, and an alliance between John McGraw and Roger Bresnehan where Bresnehan would rest his best players when the N.Y. Giants were the opponent. He also hinted at the wide prevalence of gambling in the game.  Once banned, Fogel was villainized by those inside baseball and columnists as a forsaken fanatic and a man who had been "trying to wreck baseball."  Billy Voltz offered to give Fogel an exclusive column titled "Inside Baseball," but Joe Jackson and Ban Johnson conspired to prevent newspapers from carrying it. Fogel threatened to provide evidence of gambling and baseball improprieties to the Gallagher Commission in Illinois that was investigating baseball. After the Black Sox scandal, Fogel’s reputation should have been somewhat redeemed. A N.Y. Herald headline reported that up to $150,000 had been offered to the Phillies in 1908, according to players Red Dooin and Kitty Bransfeld. Both asserted that they had been offered money by a notable Giants catcher. Fogel had a stroke in 1922, and was bedridden from then until his death in 1928.

Robert Garrett, discussing Horace Stoneham and the Giants

Rob Garrett's presentation conincidentally continued the theme of owners named Horace. Rob is writing a book about the Giants that covers their move to San Francisco from New York, shepherded by Horace Stoneham.  The move of the Giants has not been as  publicized or researched as much as that of the Brooklyn Dodgers to Los Angeles, and unlike Walter O’Malley (who was often vilified for the move), Stoneham was viewed as an affectionate, bumbling man who liked to drink.  Rob documented that this widespread characterization was inadequate and inaccurate. Stoneham’s involvement with the Giants began in 1919 when his father Charles worked for the team. At the age of 32, Horace took ownership of the team until he sold it to Bob Lurie. Unlike the more media-friendly O’Malley, Stoneham preferred to shy away from the spotlight and work deals in the side room. Stoneham had expressed interest in moving to the West Coast before O’Malley when he voted to accept a petition by the PCL’s Seals team. The myth has O’Malley as the mover/shaker and Stoneham playing a gullible partner, but the reality is that Stonheam was determined to leave New York as early as 1955 (three years before the actual move) and that he signaled his intent two months before O’Malley announced, when he traded his Minneapolis rights for rights to San Francisco.

Rob discussed Stoneham’s other achievements: founding the Cactus League in Arizona and helping break down racial barriers. Stoneham aggressively recruited and signed players from the Negro Leagues (in 1957, the Giants fielded the first all-black outfield) as well as Latin players and in 1964, he became the first owner to sign a player from Japan. 

Meeting attendees mused about why the move of the Dodgers has been more talked about than the move of the Giants. Unlike the Brooklyn Dodgers who embodied a particular borough of the city, the Giants fan base was more regional and therefore not as attached to the team. While individual Giants fans felt the loss, Dodgers fans formed more of an angry, hurt collective when their team moved. San Francisco was slow to warm to the Giants, however, as it had long supported the Seals (who had their own big stars) and didn’t need the Giants to move there to grant them "big league" status.

Stan Opdyke, talking about Pat Rispole and his legacy of recorded Dodger broadcasts

Stan Opdyke's presentation focused on the huge collection of audio recordings made by Pat Rispole, including thousands of baseball games. Rispole lived in Schenectady, New York. He taped Brooklyn Dodger broadcasts in 1957, then switched to recording Yankee broadcasts after the Dodgers moved. When the Mets and Expos came along in 1962 and 1969 , he bought more reel-to-reel recorders and began taping them, too. Stan described Pat as “one of us.” He convinced other people to tape games, and began trading tapes with them. Stan says the quality of these tapes has held up over time. Rispole died at just 53 in 1979. John Miley bought the baseball tapes from Rispole’s estate, and the Library of Congress acquired them this year. Some are available online, and more will be.

John Henshell concluded the day’s activities by revealing the results of the just completed NWSABR poll with the topic “past and present changes in baseball.” Response was terrific: of the 317 people who received invitations, 99 members participated.  John said if we had any stereotypes about SABR members, we should toss them in the recycling bin on our way out of the building. He asked the group, “What percentage of members do you think identified themselves as purists?” The consensus was two-thirds, with no one willing pick a much higher or lower figure. In fact, we were evenly split on the question.  Other results were also surprising. Members who didn’t attend the meeting will receive them this week. We briefly discussed the results. In particular, John wanted to know why so many people chose integration/internationalization as the most drastic change in baseball history. The thoughtful answers were compelling and convincing.

After the meeting, many attendees went to a nearby sports pub for more baseball discussion.