Tim Wendel of Washington, D.C. will be reading from his new book, "High Heat: The Secret History of the Fastball and the Improbable Search for the Fastest Pitcher of All Time." Wendel is a SABR member who has written 8 books. You may also remember his work in Baseball Weekly.
NWSABR member and author Steve Steinberg extends an invitation to attend one or more of the remaining booksigning events for '1921: The Yankees, the Giants & the Battle for Baseball Supremacy in New York', co-authored by Steve and Lyle Spatz.
Steve will be doing a Powerpoint presentation with vintage baseball photos revolving around this book at Third Place Books (17171 Bothell Way NE, Lake Forest Park 98155) at 7pm Wed night June 16, 2010. Following the approximately one hour long event, there will be Q&A and an opportunity to get your book signed.
Additional events Steve will be appearing at:
Thursday, July 15, 2010 Federal Way Regional Library, Federal Way, WA 7:00pm (speaking & signing, Powerpoint & photos)
SABR has selected the winners of this year’s McFarland-SABR Award. They are: Mark Armour (Corvallis, OR), William F. Lamb (Meredith, NH), and Geri Strecker (Muncie, IN). These winners will receive their awards on August 7 at SABR’s annual convention in Atlanta, Georgia, at the Sheraton Hotel Atlanta.
The McFarland-SABR Baseball Research Award honors the authors of the best articles or papers, published or unpublished, on baseball history or biography completed during the preceding calendar year and whose research projects have greatly expanded our knowledge of baseball. The award includes a $200 cash prize.
Armour’s article, “A Tale of Two Umpires,” covers the firing of umpires Al Salerno and Bill Valentine by American League president Joe Cronin for union activity. The judging committee noted that the article “tells us more about the bitter anti-union, anti-everything attitudes of most owners of the day.” The article was published in the Fall 2009 issue of the Baseball Research Journal.
Congratulations, Mark!
5/22/10 Meeting Recap
Written by Mary Groebner
The Northwest Regional Chapter of SABR (NWSABR) met on Saturday May 22, 2010 from noon until approx 5pm at the Douglass-Truth branch of the Seattle Public Library in the Central District of Seattle. Approximately twenty-five (25) members and guests were in attendance (some are pictured below).
Speakers included NWSABR members Stan Opdyke, Mickey Gallagher, Steve Steinberg and special guest Dr. Pierce Scranton (former team physician of the Seattle Seahawks).
Meeting Attendees 5/22
The first presenter of the day was Stan Opdyke, who provided insights about the careers of Connie Mack and Vin Scully. Between the two of them, their careers span nearly the entire history of professional baseball through present day. Stan had published a recent article on these two at Baseball Analysts site. Stan recalled Mack’s playing career as a catcher in the 1880’s, his subsequent alliance with Ban Johnson, and his boom-and-bust tenure as manager and owner of the Philadelphia Athletics during the first half of the twentieth century. Scully owes the start of his broadcasting career to Red Barber, who recommended Scully to Branch Rickey when Ernie Harwell left Brooklyn to become a broadcaster for the Giants. Scully’s first broadcast was a spring training game in Vero Beach, FL in 1950 against the A’s. The straw hat-bedecked Mack was in his last year as manager, while Scully was embarking on a broadcast career that is now in its 61st year. Stan’s presentation ended with audio from a 2006 Voices of the Game interview with Rick Rizzs and Vin Scully; Scully noted that as a broadcaster, you have to earn the respect and trust of the fans by reporting the game accurately and avoiding seeing the game with your heart as a fan would.
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