Authors – Society for American Baseball Research

Kevin Shafer

Morgan Tremmel — Tue, 03 Nov 2026 20:42:20 +0000

Kevin Shafer has been jilted twice by major-league baseball, but he is still in love with the game. His first Athletics game was at Kansas City’s Municipal Stadium, and his last Athletics game was at the Oakland Coliseum. Throughout a nearly 40-year run as an Oakland A’s season ticket holder, he cemented life-long friendships with fellow fans, learned about the inner workings of an MLB franchise through special relationships, and even met his future wife on the way to a 1990 ALCS game. Rather than turning to instinctive bitterness after the second jilting, he and his wife have learned to rely on Cactus League spring training, minor-league baseball, and Pioneer League baseball as a means for re-discovering how competition (rather than glitz, glamor, and compensation) forms the solid foundation for the essence of the game of baseball—a game that we will always love.

Kate Johnson

Brady Capps — Mon, 02 Nov 2026 22:57:10 +0000

Kate Johnson currently lives in Sacramento but grew up in Oakland where she attended A’s games with her father. She has frequented meetings with both the Lefty O’Doul San Francisco Bay Area and Dusty Baker Sacramento SABR chapters. Previously she has worked in both minor league baseball and independent football while currently working for a public library. Her husband, Graham Womack, also has a piece in this publication.

Gregory Johnson

Brady Capps — Mon, 02 Nov 2026 22:54:40 +0000

Gregory Johnson currently lives in Rocklin, California but spent 40 years in Oakland. He has been a member of SABR’s Lefty O’Doul/San Francisco Bay Chapter for 12 years and currently volunteers with SABR’s Publications Department, sending out all the orders for SABR books. He is proud to have spent more than 30 years going to the Coliseum with his daughter Kate.

Nina Thorsen

Brady Capps — Sun, 01 Nov 2026 18:31:00 +0000

Nina Thorsen is a radio producer and journalist who grew up a fan of the Minnesota Twins before moving to the Bay Area
and adopting the Oakland A’s.

Greg Phegley

Brady Capps — Sun, 01 Nov 2026 18:30:27 +0000

Greg Phegley is a relatively new member of SABR. He has contributed to blog and game-story projects and is particularly fond of the golden era of baseball. Greg enjoys visiting historical landmarks and working on projects that help us remember special teams and players. Greg attended A’s games at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum and is a big fan of the entire San Francisco Bay area.

Chuck Nan

Brady Capps — Sun, 01 Nov 2026 18:26:15 +0000

Chuck Nan is a sports journalist, now residing in South Orange County, California. A life-long San Francisco Giants fan who grew up just 10 minutes from Candlestick Park, he also supported the Athletics and Raiders, having attended many memorable events at the Coliseum as well. Over the last several years, Chuck has contributed to several SABR publication projects and enjoys assisting others with research, validation and support for their projects.

Donna Muscarella

Brady Capps — Sun, 01 Nov 2026 18:25:43 +0000

Donna Muscarella is a fourth-generation baseball enthusiast, photographer, and mixed media artist. She attended her first professional baseball game at age 2 1/2 but was enthralled by the game even earlier. While Donna does not limit her photography to baseball, it is her most compelling subject. She has a passion for capturing its sights and shapes with her camera lens, using art to share her love of baseball with the world. Muscarella serves SABR as president of the Elysian Fields (Northern New Jersey) Chapter and as a member of the Baseball Landmarks Committee’s Active Ballparks Subcommittee. Links to her social media and online portfolio may be found at Linktr.ee/ThLensOfDonnaM.

Doug McWilliams

Brady Capps — Sun, 01 Nov 2026 18:17:31 +0000

DOUG MCWILLIAMS was born in Berkeley and majored in photojournalism, working as player photographer for the Pacific Coast League 1953-57. A scientific and industrial photographer for the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory at UC Berkeley, he also worked for the Oakland Athletics from 1960-2015 and as West Coast photographer for Topps baseball cards company from 1972-1994.

Vlae Kershner

Brady Capps — Sun, 01 Nov 2026 18:07:38 +0000

Vlae Kershner is a mostly retired Bay Area journalist with decades of experience at the San Francisco Chronicle and other newspapers. He still writes financial articles for Seeking Alpha. Despite the A’s heartbreaking move, he remains a hopeful fan of the green and gold.

Adam Henig

Brady Capps — Sun, 01 Nov 2026 18:05:17 +0000

Adam Henig is the author of four biographies, including Baseball’s Outcast: The Story of Ron LeFlore and Watergate’s Forgotten Hero: Frank Wills, Night Watchman. His writings have appeared in Time, Detroit Metro Times, Tampa Bay Times, and Washington Independent Review of Books.