Buck O’Neil/North Florida Chapter meeting recap – 10/12/2022
Members of the SABR Buck O’Neil/North Florida Chapter gathered for their monthly meeting on Wednesday, October 12, 2022, in the Legends Room at Glory Days Grill in Tallahassee, Florida. In attendance were:
- Matt Keelean, Chapter President
- Jim Wolf
- Kent Putnam
- Rick Swain
- Brent Kallestad
- Glenn Robertson
- Bruce Grant
- Fred Dunphy
- Chuck Rosciam
- Frank Alarcon
- Jim Turner
- Renee Watters
- Gar Chisenhall
- Jeff Lickson
- Josh Weaver
The meeting was called to order at 6:30 PM. Chuck presented a spreadsheet analysis of the standings in the Chapter’s annual MLB predictions contest. Bruce is currently in the lead but several others are close behind; the winner will be determined by the outcomes of the last three rounds of the playoffs. This segued into a discussion of the new postseason format—which was mostly favorable. Some criticism fell on the scheduling of days off, however, as this appears to be driven by potential television audience size rather than the best interests of the participants.
Josh Weaver made a presentation on the Tampa Baseball Museum which is housed in the childhood home of Hall of Famer Al Lopez. The museum is a work in progress but shows great promise. The future of the Tampa Bay Rays and a new ballpark for them was debated with gusto.
Planning began by the Chapter for celebration of SABR Day on February 4, 2023.
President Keelean wishes to create an executive board to take on some of the day to day operation of the Chapter that he currently performs. In addition to the Secretary and Treasurer (positions already filled) other members would serve as Vice President and Communications Director, two new positions. The new structure should be in place by the end of calendar 2022. Interested persons (who must be members of the national SABR organization) were encouraged to contact Matt.
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 8:00 PM.
— Kent Putnam, Chapter Secretary