Buck O’Neil/North Florida Chapter meeting recap – 8/2/2023
SABR North Florida/Buck O’Neil Chapter
Minutes of the August 2, 2023, Monthly Meeting
Attendees:
- Matt Keelean, President
- Matt Hudson, Vice President
- Rick Swain, Treasurer
- Brent Kallestad, Co-Communications Director
- Renee Watters, Co-Communications Director
- Andrew Waber
- Frank Alarcon
- Fred Dunphy
- Susan Allen
- Gar Chisenhall
- Jeff English
- Ben Gaddis
- Jeff Lickson
- John Nogowski
- Mark Pelt
- Jason Poreda
- Glenn Robertson
- Chuck Rosciam
- Jim Turner
- Jim Wolf
- Steve Bousquet
Member introductions and updates
- Andrew Waber introduced himself to Chapter members and discussed his interests related to baseball including the preservation of historical sites.
Updates on Baseball Card Project and Predictions
- Chuck briefly discussed the baseball card project and previewed the new hand-out utilizing Chapter members’ baseball card information that will be given to new members and guests. He also discussed that it will be up to the Chapter to determine further how the information will be used.
- Predictions: Chuck discussed where things stand currently—two members, Brent and Rick, are now ahead with 12 points each. He also shared that the deciding date historically has been September 5.
SABR 51 discussion
- Brent provided an overall summary of the convention and its amazing offerings both in the sessions demonstrating baseball research and the guest speakers, including Jason Benetti as the awards luncheon speaker.
- Frank encouraged members to check out the SABR 51 site on the SABR website to see all that was available to attendees including photos and summaries. He also discussed the many SABR committees that are available for members to join and become involved in.
- Jeff shared that he enjoyed the Ozzie Guillen presentation, the many sessions he attended, and that it was fun to be there with fellow Chapter members. He also liked the experience of seeing Luis Robert’s home run at the White Sox/Cardinals game and went to the game the following day, as well.
- Glenn discussed the hilarious Mike Veeck presentation and the many promotions over the years that Mike was involved in; in particular, he shared information about the Disco Demolition and how it wildly exceeded expectations in many respects.
- Renee shared her experiences with volunteering to register attendees and meeting other members from across the country in attending her first convention, and also the amount and array of sessions for every interest level.
Other updates: baseball trips, The League, etc.
- Vice President Hudson shared that the Savannah Bananas will be on ESPN2 tomorrow night at 7 p.m. and President Keelean indicated he would like to organize a Chapter trip to see a Bananas game.
- Glenn shared highlights of the movie The League and President Keelean shared the website for accessing the movie on streaming platforms and both recommend it highly.
- John Nogowski briefly discussed his book ‘Last Time Out’ and said it should be in bookstores soon.
Featured Presentation: Rick Swaine
- Rick discussed his new book, due out in Spring 2024, The Integration of Minor League Baseball, 1946-1959. The book begins with the year 1946, which was Jackie Robinson’s first year as a player. He shared many examples of the players featured in the book and the presentation generated many questions about Rick’s research process, how the topic was chosen, and challenges in gathering data and statistics.
Tallahassee sports scene, updates and Preview of Fall presentations
- Vice President Hudson shared that the September Keynote will be Lonni Alameda, FSU Women’s Head Softball Coach, and that she will be bringing player Ali DuBois with her. VP Hudson also said that Coach Jarrett (FSU) may be presenting in October or November, and Coach Henry (TCC) in the Fall as well.
The meeting ended with a reminder of the next meeting on September 6.
— Renee Watters