The Pacific Northwest Chapter of the Society for American Baseball Research held its Spring 2015 meeting on Saturday, May 16, 2015, at the Library Conference Room in the Seattle Pacific University Library. The meeting was once again hosted by SABR member and SPU professor Bill Woodward. The meeting was attended by 37 people.

The meeting opened with a welcome to members and guests from Tip Wonhoff, newly appointed chapter Vice President. Host Bill Woodward then introduced SPU President Bill Martin, JD, EdD. Dr. Martin welcomed SABR to the University for this meeting, but then had to depart for his own baseball related event; his son was involved in a game in Sultan. 

Following that, some brief announcements were made. Two new books were recently published by PACNW SABR members Steve Steinberg and Mark Armour. Steve's new book is his second collaboration with Lyle Spatz and is entitled The Colonel and Hug, telling the story of Jacob Ruppert and Miller Huggins. Steve's book is available now for purchase; for more information, please see http://www.stevesteinberg.net/. Mark's new book is also a collaboration with an author he has previously worked with, Dan Levitt, entitled In Pursuit of Pennants: Baseball Operations from Deadball to Moneyball. For more information on Mark's book, please see http://mark-armour.net/.

The first presentation at the meeting was from Ryan Divish, Mariner's beat reporter for the Seattle Times. Ryan had spoken to the chapter last year about the Mariners and it was great to once again get his input on the team. He approached his presentation much like last year's, leaving most of his time for Q and A. Ryan thought the team's fortune may improve if it plays better, or more precisely, the team would be better if the individuals played to their expectations. He pointed out Lloyd McLendon has the team doing extra infield each week and is trying to find ways to have the team gel and focus. Many questions for Ryan concerned some of the underperforming players. Regarding Dustin Ackley, Robinson Cano, Mike Zunino and others, Ryan pointed out a lot of factors can lead to the overall underperformance, and the impact is magnified then upon the team. Overall, he said the normal expectation would be that those underperforming would veer up and those overperforming, like Nelson Cruz, would veer down. Divish also talked about his role doing organization reports for Baseball America, and some of the prospects the Mariners expect to see results from in the next year or two.

The second presentation of the day was from SABR member and Senior Baseball Editor with foxsports.com, Rob Neyer. Rob's presentation was on "Bill Murray's Baseball Summer" and wove a fascinating and unique story. Rob talked about the process of discovering, uncovering, and writing the story, but then also the events themselves. In 1978, the Grays Harbor Loggers, through an incredibly unique turn of events involving the worlds of entertainment and unaffiliated minor league teams, had Bill Murray as part of the team for a short span. The team itself was competitive enough to win the Northwest League that year, and Bill is in Baseball Reference, with his one hit. It's a fascinating story which everyone can read on foxsports.com. Rob brought along Bill's teammate from that year, knuckleball pitcher Tracy Harris, who shared incredible stories and brought along his ring from that championship season. Rob's writing is available at his website, http://robneyer.com/.

The next presentation was from Aren Kaser, Baseball and the Dominican Republic: A Path to the Academies. Aren had first met some SABR members when we had a booth at the 2015 Mariners Fan Fest. He had done his Master's Thesis on the baseball academies in the Dominican Republic, and his research has continued to this day. Aren started off by highlighting some areas of impact Dominican players have had, with more than 600 making the majors since 1950. In the last few years, around 10% of all ball players are from the Dominican Republic, and up to 30% of minor league players. Presently, there are around 83 major leaguers from the Dominican Republic. Aren covered the academy structure, but was really able to shed light on the world of the junior academies, which are those not operated by MLB teams. He noted that in a poor country like the Dominican Republic, baseball accounts for at least 1,200 jobs, and as an example, between 2001-2003, around 1,000 players from there signed MLB offers as prospects for deals totaling $41.5 million. The success rate, though, is that for100 twelve-year-olds in a junior baseball camp, one will get to an MLB academy. From there, it's about 15 to 1 for those who make it to the minor leagues in the US, and again about 15 to 1 for those who get to the US. Around 50 to 80,000 Dominican children are in baseball camps, with the requisited positive but also negative impacts these have had on Dominican society.

Next up was local author and historian Lyle Wilson. Lyle gives presentation to local schools and community groups, and is also the author of an essential text on baseball history in the Pacific Northwest, Sunday Afternoons at Garfield Park: Seattle Black Baseball Teams, 1911-1951. Lyle presented much of the resource material he had collected in crafting that story, and others in a presentation titled A Photographic History of Washington’s African American Baseball Teams. This was a compelling journey through a seldom seen area of PacNW baseball history. 

Finally, SABR member Chuck Putnam closed out the meeting with his presentation on The Hit-Walk Combo: The Toughest Hitting Achievement in Major League History. Chuck provided attendees with a great handout detailing those who achieved this unique feat. He also included information on other players who came close to this accomplishment. Only four players in history have so far managed to lead their league in hits and walks in the same season. Can you name them?

The SABR meeting concluded at 5 PM, and many members made their way to Safeco Field. The evening game had Felix Hernandez pitching against the Boston Red Sox in a turn-back-the-clock night, this time featuring the Mariners in the uniform of the 1946 Seattle Steelheads and the Red Sox dressed as the Royal Giants. SABR member Dave Eskenazi has written a great history of the Steelheads, available at http://sportspressnw.com/.

Many PACNW SABR members will be attending the annual convention, SABR 45, in Chicago this year. The next chapter event will be the annual Vancouver meeting, once again at Nat Bailey Park. That meeting will be on August 8, 2015, and all are encouraged to attend. The next Seattle meeting is slated for November following the World Series, with another meeting in January on the weekend of SABR Day. Our next Oregon meeting will be February.