Buck O’Neil/North Florida Chapter meeting recap – 4/5/2023
Members and guests of the SABR Buck O’Neil/North Florida Chapter gathered on April 5, 2023, in the conference room of Casa Grande Margaritas & Cocina, Tallahassee, Florida, for their monthly meeting. In attendance were:
- Matt Hudson, Vice President
- Brent Kallestad, Communications Co-Director
- Renee Watters, Communications Co-Director
- Rick Swain, Treasurer
- Kent Putnam, Secretary
- Susan Allen
- Frank Alarcon
- Obrey Brown
- Gar Chisenhall
- Fred Dunphy
- Ben Gaddis
- Bruce Grant
- Jeff Lickson
- Mark Pelt
- Jason Poreda
- Glenn Robertson
- Chuck Rosciam
- Jim Turner
- Bernie Waxman
- Jim Wolf
Vice President Hudson called the meeting to order at 6:10 PM and called the roll. First timers Jason Poreda and Bernie Waxman were recognized and welcomed. The Veep a/k/a Blue began by reviewing the status of the baseball and softball teams at Florida State University, Florida A&M University, and Tallahassee Community College, encouraging us to attend games when possible. We were reminded of our plan to attend a FAMU home baseball game as a group on May 13 at 2 o’clock in the afternoon.
Chuck and Brent are creating baseball cards for each of us and shared samples. We are asked to provide them with a suitable photograph and information for use in the project.
The next item of business was the Chapter’s annual MLB predictions contest. Chuck shared a spreadsheet showing the picks of all who entered; he reviewed our favorites and those of the so-called experts.
Discussion then turned to the recently concluded World Baseball Classic, with the consensus being that it was one of the best baseball events in recent memory and excellent for growth and support of the sport around the globe. There are risks involved as evidenced by the injuries to Edwin Diaz and Jose Altuve but they are not sufficient reason to discontinue the WBC.
Fred made a presentation on Roy Face, who had a stellar career pitching out of the bullpens of the Pirates and 2 other MLB teams. He was a pioneer and helped elevate the status of relief specialists. Fred advocates for election of Face, who is now 95 years old, to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Blue presented a certificate to Frank to memorialize his victory in the 2023 SABR Day Chapter Trivia Contest.
Feedback was positive regarding the meeting’s venue and it will be used again in the future.
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 8:10 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Kent Putnam, Chapter Secretary