Buck O’Neil/North Florida Chapter meeting recap – 5/6/2020
The SABR Buck O’Neil/North Florida Chapter met electronically on April 8, 2020. Participating were:
- Matt Keelean, Chapter President
- Jeff English
- Jim Wolf
- Kent Putnam
- Chuck Rosciam
- Brent Kallestad
- Fred Dunphy
- Glenn Robertson
- Jim Turner
- Roger Raepple
- Lori Willner
- And special guest Ryan Schroer of the Louisville, KY, SABR Chapter
After brief opening remarks, Chapter President Keelean turned the program over to Chuck Rosciam who entertained and enlightened attendees with his research, analyses, and conclusions regarding winners of the Silver Slugger, Gold Glove, and Most Valuable Player awards in Major League Baseball from 1980 to the present. Of the 640 SS and GG award winners (each) during that time, 190 of them won both awards in the same year. MVP’s were awarded to those dual winners 27 times (involving 22 players, some having achieved the feat more than once) and of those, 10 are now enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Scheduled to present next was Jeff English, who recently acquired a program for the 1970 College World Series wherein the University of Southern California (featuring Dave Kingman) defeated Florida State University in the finals. Unfortunately, Jeff’s video feed was not operational and his presentation was truncated. The group segued into a discussion of the amazing career of USC head coach Rod Dedeaux and the championship tradition he established at USC.
Our attention then turned to miscellaneous topics including Kerry Wood’s 20-strikeout game (it being the 22nd anniversary thereof) and his career and that of teammate Mark Prior. We of course discussed the possibilities for MLB’s 2020 season and what the future might hold for college baseball and its players. Fred dazzled us with a trivia question on the various nicknames of the Braves franchise (the Rustlers??)
Before adjourning, we paid tribute to great NFL head coach Don Shula and shared memories of him.
There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 8:15 PM.
— Kent Putnam
Chapter Secretary