East Tennessee Chapter meeting recap – 10/7/2017
The East Tennessee Chapter of SABR met on Saturday, October 7, 2017, at the Lawson McGhee branch of the Knox County Public Library in Knoxville, Tennessee. Five members were present: Marshall Adesman, Bryan Steverson, Joe Gallagher, George Aubrey, and Mark Aubrey.
The meeting started with members filling out World Series Brackets. At that time, Houston and Cleveland seemed to be the favorites, with each of the teams winning it all. Washington was the winner on the final ballot. One ballot correctly selected the two teams currently in the WS, LA and Houston. I guess we’ll see how it plays out.
There were just a few items on the agenda:
* Chapter Name
* The Art of Civil Debate
* Deadball: Baseball with Dice
Chapter Name: For some time Joe Gallagher has been requesting that we adopt a name for our chapter. This would help solidify our identity and honor someone associated with baseball in east Tennessee. A few names have been tossed around, specifically Lindsey Nelson and Frank Moffett. There could be others that would fit the bill, such as Todd Helton or Billy Meyer (both born in, and having played in Knoxville). A vote will be taken at our SABR Day meeting on Saturday, January 27, 2018. If you can’t attend, we will set up electronic voting. I’ll ask that one who wishes to nominate a name to prepare a short presentation about that person. I would like to have those written presentations available to our members soon after the first of the year. I’m asking for presentations for a few reasons. If the candidate doesn’t yet have a SABR Biography, perhaps this will be a way to get one. It will also help in getting presentations for the meeting. (Side note: I’d like for you all to make a presentation at some point. It may seem daunting, but we all enjoy baseball. Share your thoughts and observations. Share your research. Tag team with someone to write an article.)
The Art of Civil Debate: Bryan Steverson and Marshall Adesman have been concerned as of late with the divides in our nation and lack of civility. They would like to start a series of structured debates at our meetings, focusing on baseball, but hoping that it shows that people can be on opposite sides of an issue and remain polite. They are currently working on the topic of “Greatest LHP – Koufax or Spahn”. We discussed some interesting directions this could go and how to implement them.
Deadball: Baseball with Dice: Earlier this year playwright W. M. Akers created a baseball simulation game. Mark Aubrey presented the basics of the game. Bryan and Marshall managed the teams, rolled the dice and played an inning. More info on the game can be found at http://wmakers.net/deadball
Mark shared some of the research that he’s been doing, mostly transcribing early Appy League data and presenting it at his new website: Base Ball Stats and Stuff – http://bbsas.net
At noon, we closed our meeting and went to 19 Square Bar & Asian Kitchen on Market Square where baseball discussion continued.
Our next meeting will be on SABR Day, Saturday, January 27, 2018. More details will follow soon.
— Mark Aubrey
mark.aubrey@gmail.com