Approximately thirty NWSABR members and guests attended the meeting, which was held at Nat Bailey Stadium courtesy of Vancouver Canadians owner and SABR member Jake Kerr.  Featured guests were Ossie Chavarria and John Haar, pictured below.  Chavarria was a former utility man for the Kansas City A's and Vancouver Mounties who also enjoyed a long career as an umpire.  John was a standout UBC athlete, spent time in the minors for SF and NYY, and has contributed immensely to baseball in Canada.  Both received universal acclaim from a very appreciative audience as two of the best speakers we've had.

 

 

After the meeting, many gathered at the residence of Max Weder and Jennifer Ettinger for a social BBQ, then returned to Nat Bailey to watch the Canadians come from behind in the bottom of the ninth to beat Tri-City 6 to 5.  All in all, a great day of baseball and comradery!  Thanks to Max Weder and Kit Krieger for organizing the entire event.

On Saturday July 11, 2009 NWSABR had an informational booth at the AAA All-Star FanFest held at PGE Park in Portland, OR.  Reaching out to potential members were chapter president Tim Herlich (and wife Leslie), chapter vice-president John Henshell, former chapter president Bob Russon, and chapter members Mike Lynch and Mary Groebner.  The booth displayed publications distributed by SABR available to members only, numerous books that had been written by NWSABR chapter members, a special Portland-baseball focused quiz from John Henshell and the requisite SABR brochures.  Several attendees signed up for the NWSABR mailing list, but many more took brochures or just stopped to chat and check in on what SABR really is.  Special thanks to Bob Russon for working out the logistical details and booth set-up/breakdown.

 

 

 

The Northwest Regional Chapter of SABR (NWSABR) met on Saturday, May 16, from 12 noon to 5pm at Safeco Field.  Approximately twenty-five members and guests were in attendance. Featured guests were Tony Blengino of the Seattle Mariners, former major league ballplayers Bill North and Joe Staton, and SPU engineering student Ben Walker.

 

Former Major League ballplayers Joe Staton (called up by the A.L. East champion Detroit Tigers during the heat of the 1972 pennant race and again late 1973, played with the Mexican League champion Mexico City Reds in 1974) and Billy North (center fielder on the World Champion Oakland A's of 1973-74 and NL pennant-winning Los Angeles Dodgers of 1978) led off the meeting. Joe and Billy are native Seattle-ites and graduates of Garfield High School. 

 

They shared memories of their careers, as well as thoughts on various issues affecting baseball today and answered questions. Additionally, they spoke passionately of their desire to ‘give back’ and help at-risk area youth through their involvement in the Revive Baseball in the Inner-Cities (RBI) program. Joe is Board President of the Central Area Youth Association; Billy provides hitting instruction to area youth. Together, they are hoping to find funding to construct an indoor hitting facility to complement the RBI program in Seattle. Bill’s mom Frances and nephew Marlon were also in attendance, sometimes offering their own recollections on aspects of Bill’s career.

 

After chapter president Tim Herlich took care of some chapter business, the meeting continued on with Seattle Pacific University (SPU) engineering student Ben Walker’s presentation of his Honors project, which dealt with the evolution of design in baseball bats, and impact of design/materials on batted ball speed. Chapter member Bill Woodward, a faculty member at SPU, was one of the supporters and readers of Ben’s work which we hope will be published at some future point in a SABR publication.

 

Following Ben’s presentation, Tony Blengino, Assistant to Mariners GM Jack Zdurienck engaged us with a question and answer session for over an hour. Tony is a long-time SABR member, though new to the Northwest Chapter. Topics discussed were wide-ranging from how Tony transformed himself from an accountant into a GM’s assistant, to minor league prospects and organizational philosophy to potential draft picks. 

 

Lastly, member Mike Rice led a quick discussion on the state of the Mariners and their minor leagues in what can only be considered a rebuilding year. 

 

The meeting adjourned at 5pm, with many members heading to local watering-hole establishments before returning to attend the Mariners-Red Sox game later that evening.

 

Special thanks due to Randy Adamack and the Seattle Mariners for allowing use of facilities at Safeco Field.

 

More information about the meeting can be found in the 2008-2009 Annual Report.