Scott Kiner, son of the late Hall of Fame slugger and beloved New York Mets broadcaster, approved the chapter’s request to honor his father and has expressed interest in supporting the chapter.

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Contacts:

• Mark Rosenman (Chair)

• Brent Kallestad, Co-Communications Director
• Renee Watters, Co-Communications Director
• Frank Alarcon
• Obrey Brown
• David DeFelice
• John Dew
• Jax Marn
• John Nogowski
• Glenn Robertson
• Chuck Rosciam
• Rick Swaine, Treasurer
• Max Tepley
• Bernie Waxman
• Jason Welty
• Jim Wolf

In the absence of the President and Vice President, Brent Kallestad led the meeting by starting with introductions and a welcome to new members. Brent introduced Max Tepley, FSU student, to the members.

Next on the agenda, each member discussed their first baseball memory.

Chuck led the group in discussing the World Baseball Classic with a presentation he prepared about this year’s Classic.

Brent shared information and updates about local teams.

Brent also reminded members about the upcoming SABR 54 Convention, July 29-August 2, in Cleveland.

After a lively round of Trivia led by Chuck, the meeting adjourned at 8:00 p.m.

— Renee Watters

Click here to watch a replay of this meeting on YouTube: https://youtu.be/372eMXUXMpA

Our main speaker for the evening was Rob Sheinkopf, who gave a hilarious presentation about baseball impostors at the Bill Gilbert Winter Meeting back in January.  Rob is originally from Syracuse, New York. He is a member of SABR and has presented his research over many years to SABR and to the Sport Literature Association (SLA), the NINE Spring Training Conference, and the Cooperstown Symposium at the Baseball Hall of Fame. Rob Sheinkopf retired from a career in higher education, where one of his stops was the University of Houston, and served as a Luxury Suites Concierge for the San Francisco Giants. Rob and his wife, Lisa, now provide a loving home for their dog, Bochy, in Las Vegas as well as in Ponte Vedra, Florida, dividing their time between the two. Rob joined us via Zoom.  

Rob talked briefly about his first book, Hey Mom, Wanna Have a Catch?, an anthology of baseball stories honoring parents who encourage or simply put up with their child’s love for and obsession with our National Pastime.  His main topic for the evening was some stories from his new book Baseball Imposters, the dark side of fandom, based upon his research and writing about grown men who falsely pass themselves off as former major league baseball players. For over 40 years, Rob has collected stories of grown men who falsely claim to have played Major League Baseball. In his book, he explores what author W.P. Kinsella called “The Eddie Scissons Syndrome,” inspired by a character in his novel Shoeless Joe, which led to the movie Field of Dreams. Though the syndrome is named after a fictional character, it is disturbingly real and widespread.

If you want a copy of the book, Rob emailed me to let me know that he created a 25% off coupon for SABR members that want to buy his Baseball Imposters book on BookBaby.  Here is the link, and the coupon code SABR25percent should be added at checkout to get the discount.

Both of his books are available on Amazon and online everywhere else.  Rob asks if you like his books to please leave a review or a (5 star-rating) on Amazon.  I hope all of you enjoyed Rob’s hilarious presentation Monday night. 

The second speaker of the evening was Mike Vance, Chapter Member, Author, and Astros Hall of Fame Committee Member. Mike gave the chapter some good news on the Colt Stadium historical marker and talked about his December trip to Puerto Rico, where he saw some Winter League games.  He also spoke quite a bit about his new book Comedians Talking Baseball.  People can get a copy of the book on Mike’s author website.

Mike also won the trivia contest for the evening and will write the contest for the April 20 meeting.

— Joe Thompson

Members and guests of the SABR Buck O’Neil/North Florida Chapter gathered on March 4, 2026, at Casa Grande Margaritas & Cocina Midtown Tallahassee for the chapter’s monthly meeting. Those in attendance included:

• Matt Hudson, Chapter President
• Tom Richardson, Vice President
• Kent Putnam, Secretary
• Brent Kallestad, Co-Director of Communications
• Rene Watters, Co-Director of Communications
• Obrey Brown
• Gar Chisenhall
• David DeFelice
• John Dew
• Bruce Grant
• Doug Isabelle
• Matt Keelean
• Jeff Lickson
• Jax Marn
• John Nogowski
• Glenn Robertson
• Chuck Rosciam
• Jason Welty
• Jim Wolf

Unfortunately, the restaurant failed to honor our reservation and thus the meeting room was not available to us.  We instead dined in and met at a long table in the main body of the restaurant and communication was far less than ideal.  President Hudson and members, however, soldiered on. 

Attendees introduced themselves, including new prospective members John Dew and Doug Isabelle.  Those of us who attended the Savannah Bananas event reported back, with reactions ranging from lukewarm to enthusiastic. 

Next up was a discussion of the World Baseball Classic; several members indicated they would follow the tourney and watch some of the games.

We discussed Spring Training and the status of local teams.

VP Tom Richardson reminded attendees that entrees are now being accepted for the Chapter’s annual MLB prediction contest, explaining the scoring plus how and when to enter. 

After further discussion of the state of the game, the meeting was adjourned.

— Kent Putnam
Chapter Secretary

Meeting Recap

Thanks to chapter secretary Gloria Rubac for the meeting notes below.  

Chapter president Joe Thompson opened the meeting with announcements:
• Three new members this month for our chapter.
• The January meeting’s guest speaker was Kevin Hurd, who spoke about no-hitters. Hurd wrote a two-volume book called From Randy Johnson to Dallas Braden: No-hitters Beyond The Box Score.
• Both Cavan Biggio and Joey Loperfido were just signed by the Astros. Our group seemed to welcome them both and was hopeful that Biggio, who signed a minor league contract but was invited to spring training, would do well.
• We tabled at Fan Fest and sold books and gave away baseball cards. And, folks got to meet Jose Cruz!
• SABR Day was held at Jax restaurant on Jan. 24. Bailey and Cy presented via Zoom – AI vs Cy. Bailey, whose family is from Texas, is now a college student at the University of Wisconsin – Madison and she came to our meeting a couple of years ago and made a presentation. Also, several people brought things from their baseball life.  Bob brought his first glove!
• On Feb. 15, Joe and Mike tabled at Bayou Bend Family Day. Around 500 people attended. April 19 is the next Family Day and they may go again.
• Our Vice President, Herb Whalley, explained our annual Astros Win Contest. The deadline is 3 pm on Astros Opening Day, March 26.  Those interested in entering the contest need to send their prediction of how many wins the Astros will have this year, plus how many wins pitchers Hunter Brown, Tatsuya Imai, and new Detroit Tigers pitcher Framber Valdez will have this season.
• Joe reminded everyone to register for the next SABR conference. SABR 54 will be in Cleveland at the Downtown Hilton from July 29—Aug. 2.
• Patrick Petty, the Chapter Communications Director, spoke about our annual Fantasy Baseball League.
• Joe mentioned the upcoming World Baseball Classic and asked everyone who they thought would win. 
• Joe spoke about an article that talked about how the Astros are rebuilding—finally! (https://www.patreon.com/posts/150662398?utm_campaign=postshare_creator).

GUEST SPEAKER: Louis Schiff
Schiff is a retired Florida judge and has edited a book, along with Robert M. Jarvis, called Attorneys in the Baseball Hall of Fame. Both editors are law professors. Schiff is on X @baseballandlawand on Bluesky: baseballandlaw.bluesky. The book has a chapter on all 11 lawyers, beginning in the order of their induction. It focuses on their law careers more than their roles in baseball.

There are 11 attorneys in the HOF: three players (Hughie Jennings, Jim O’Rourke, Monte Ward), two managers (Miller Huggins, Tony La Russa), three executives (Larry MacPhail, Walter O’Malley, Branch Rickey), and three commissioners (Happy Chandler, Bowie Kuhn, Kenesaw Mountain Landis). Each one has a chapter in the book.  This book is thoroughly researched and has many footnotes! 

Chapter Trivia Contest

Mark Wernick was the trivia winner for February.

Members and guests of the Buck O’Neil/North Florida Chapter gathered on February 11, 2026, in the private room at Casa Grande Margaritas & Cocina Midtown Tallahassee for the monthly meeting. Those in attendance included:

• Matt Hudson, Chapter President
• Tom Richardson, Vice President
• Kent Putnam, Secretary
• Renee Watters, Co-Director of Communications
• Frank Alarcon
• Obrey Brown
• Gar Chisenhall
• David DeFelice
• Matt Keelean
• John Nogowski
• Chuck Rosciam
• Jason Welty

President Hudson called the meeting to order at the appointed time.  He announced that Tom Richardson has accepted an offer to serve as Vice President of the Chapter, which was approved by all present.

We discussed last month’s SABR Day meeting with the panel discussion of NIL and related topics receiving high praise.  Our group’s performance in the Trivia Contest was less than perfect but Obrey Brown, the contest winner, made us proud.  He was presented with a Certificate to memorialize his achievement.

At last month’s meeting funds were collected from members and a donation of $630 was made to the Florida Sheriff’s Youth Ranches in memory of our long time and recently deceased member Fred Dunphy.  Members told anecdotes of their life and times with Fred.

Spring Training was next.  Members recalled their own experiences attended the games and talked about their hopes and worries for their favorite teams.  A highlight was John Nogowski’s news that his son will be serving as a hitting coach for the Mets’ AAA affiliate. 

Our attention turned to the possibility of a group of our members team teaching an OLLI class about baseball.  We were asked to report back on our interest in the project and topics we might choose.

The finale was a trivia quiz about free agent movements in the current offseason. Tom and Matt Keelean came out on top.

After further discussion of the state of the game the meeting adjourned.

— Kent Putnam, Chapter Secretary

The meeting video is now available on YouTube: https://youtu.be/nN4Lh7WZJtU

Chapter President Joe Thompson discussed the Astros making baseball’s first big splash of 2026 the previous Friday by signing Japanese right-hander Tatsuya Imai to a three-year contract with player opt-outs after the ’26 and ’27 seasons.  Joe also spoke of the busy January schedule for the chapter, including an event at Astros Fest on Saturday, January 24, and the SABR Day event on January 31. 

The guest speaker for the evening was Kevin Hurd.  The title of his talk was based on his two-volume book series: From Randy Johnson to Dallas Braden: No-hitters Beyond The Box Score? As Kevin stated, “The book is actually 2 books (Volume 1 and Volume 2), each 300 pages long. There are 23 games covered, from 1959-2022. The reason I picked these games is that they all had interesting back-stories. I also did interviews with 20 pitchers and catchers that participated in the no-hitters. Of the 23 games, one was about Nolan Ryan’s last no hitter in May 1991. Some of the other games dealt with a 10-inning no-hitter, an 8-inning no-hitter, a no-hitter through 12 innings that got broken up/lost in the 13th inning, etc. As I mentioned above I tried to get games with interesting back stories.”

John Lloyd won the chapter trivia contest and will prepare the test for the next chapter meeting on Monday, February 16.  Retired American judge, attorney, professor, and author Lou Schiff will give a presentation on attorneys in the Baseball Hall of Fame.  His presentation is based on his book Attorneys in the Baseball Hall of Fame: A Collection of Biographical Profiles. We hope you can join us.

Our chapter’s SABR Day event is this Saturday, January 31 from 11:00 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. at Jax Grill on Shepherd Drive. Please join us! Our guest speakers for the event will be Bailey and Brian Hall, along with Cyril Morong.  They will give a presentation on “AI and Baseball.”  This presentation was first given by Bailey and Brian Hall at the Bill Gilbert Winter Meeting on January 10.  The presentation was eye-opening and funny from my point of view.  You do not want to miss it!  Their presentation will begin at 12 pm on Saturday. 

As part of our SABR Day event, I would like people to bring a piece of their own baseball history and to share the story behind it.  This is anything you possess that has a baseball story behind it.  For example, from 11 – 12 pm, while we are eating lunch, as part of my own baseball history collection presentation, I plan on showing a DVD that I picked up at the SABR convention in Baltimore a few years ago.  It is a partial television broadcast of the Saturday, September 4, 1965 ABC Saturday Afternoon Baseball game featuring the Astros vs Dodgers from the Astrodome.  Rare SportsFilms says this is the oldest TV broadcast involving the Astros known, as well as the only ABC-TV MLBB game in existence.  The game featured Tim Jackson and Jackie Robinson on the call!  According to the company, 1965 was the only year Jackie Robinson did major league broadcast work. 

Finally, I would like to do a book exchange.  If you have an old baseball book, magazine, or anything else that you are finished with, please bring it so that someone else may take it home and enjoy it.

Besides good food at Jax Grill, this should be an exciting event.  We hope that you can join us!

— Joe Thompson

Click here to watch a video replay on YouTube.

Chapter President Joe Thompson opened the meeting by wishing all a happy holiday and making a few announcements.  First, he handed out a holiday treat to all who attended: pieces of Big League Chew bubble gum.  He then announced several gifts that would be given out at the end of the evening to those who participated in the trivia contest, including a book, some of his personal Dodgers memorabilia (those who attended the last few meetings knew why), and baseball card packs.  He then reminded all in attendance, whether in-person or via Zoom, to renew their SABR membership if it was set to expire.  Finally, he went over the upcoming January schedule for the chapter.  

As the chapter continued with our year-long 60th anniversary Astrodome celebration, Joe thanked all the guest speakers from 2025, who mostly covered topics related to the Astrodome. 

The speaker list for 2025 included:

• Mike Acosta
• Samuel Barrett
• Scott Barzilla
• Bill Brown
• Scott Carter
• Larry Dierker
• Bienvenido “Benny” Gilbert
• Jonathan Goodwin
• Andy Greenstone
• Greg Moore
• Matthew Rejmaniak
• Jimmy Scruggs
• Tal Smith

Additionally, the chapter would like to thank all who shared an Astrodome memory this past year, whether at one of our meetings or by writing an article for the chapter newsletter.  Thanks again to all who helped the chapter celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Astrodome!

The first two speakers at the December meeting spoke about topics related to the Astrodome.  Our main speaker of the evening was chapter member Scott Barzilla, author of “The Hall of Fame Index,” who talked about the HOF credentials of Jimmy Wynn, Cesar Cedeno, and Jose Cruz, some of the best Astros outfielders during the era of the Astrodome.  A couple of interesting notes from Scott’s talk were that Scott feels that the Astrodome represented the toughest hitting environment in baseball history, Jose Cruz is the #1 defensive left fielder in history and Jimmy Wynn SHOULD BE IN THE HALL OF FAME.  

Our next two speakers gave outstanding book reviews.  First up was Greg Moore, who gave a review of “The Astrodome – Building an American Spectacle” by James Gast.   One of the more interesting notes from the review was when the author talked about how the Astrodome would be able to keep all who came to events in the Dome cool with air conditioning.  Before the Astrodome was built, no such volume of space had been attempted to be air conditioned before.  To Greg, those who built the Dome succeeded because he remembers that no matter where he went in the Astrodome, it was a cool 73 degrees.  Greg also showed a video of Mickey Mantle hitting the first home run in the Astrodome.  Second up was Jimmy Scruggs, who gave a review of “The Pride of Sudlersville” by Mark R. Millikin.  The book was a look at the life of Jimmie Foxx, nicknamed XX or “The Beast.” Ted Williams said Foxx was one of the nicest guys in baseball, and he rated Foxx the #3 hitter in his book “Hit Men.”  SABR has Foxx ranked the #14 hitter in the 20th century.  

To conclude the night, Mike McCroskey won the trivia contest.  Mike will write the first trivia contest of 2026.  

The chapter would like to wish everyone a Happy Holiday season and we will see all of you in 2026!

Members and guests of the Buck O’Neil/North Florida SABR Chapter gathered in the private room at Casa Grande Margaritas & Cocina Midtown Tallahassee for the monthly meeting on December 3, 2025. Those in attendance included:

• Matt Hudson, Chapter President
• Renee Watters, Co-Director of Communications
• Rick Swaine, Treasurer
• Kent Putnam, Secretary
• Frank Alarcon
• Susan Allen
• Obrey Brown
• Gar Chisenhall
• Jeff Lickson
• Jax Marn
• John Nogowski
• Mark Pelt
• Tom Richardson
• Glenn Robertson
• Chuck Rosciam
• Jim Turner
• Jim Wolf

President Hudson called the meeting to order at the appointed time. 

Our first discussion point was the 2025 MLB awards including Cy Youngs, Most Valuable Players, Gold Gloves, Silver Sluggers, Comeback Players, Managers of the Year, and more.

Chuck Rosciam, a Chapter mainstay and recognized expert on the art of catching, made a special presentation to Augi Pelt, who is the grandson of Chapter members Mark Pelt and Susan Allen. Augi attends Thomasville (Georgia) High School and is a highly regarded catching prospect. Chuck gifted Augi with assorted catching memorabilia and souvenirs that included a glove, a mask, and baseball cards of some of the greats. 

The Chapter did its part in the Toys for Tots drive; members purchased and donated new gift items for youngsters in families going through tough times.

Frank Alarcon was our next presenter, revealing that he is a collector of books on many topics, especially baseball.  He brought 20 samples from his collection, both fiction and non-fiction, dating back to the mid-19th century, to share with us.  Frank made a brief but insightful commentary on each book and spoke of trends like ghost writers, improved authorship skills, and more realistic themes over time.  He invited attendees to look through the books at the close of our meeting.  This excellent presentation was deserving of the very positive response it engendered. 

Banana Ball is coming to Tallahassee on February 26-28, 2026. Six Chapter members have been able to secure tickets.

Our next meeting will be SABR Day, January 31, from 12 o’clock noon to 4 PM.  The agenda remains a work in progress but speakers on the challenges to collegiate sports created by NIL, the transfer portal, and other recent developments are expected.  Thanks were extended to Judge Jim Wolf for arranging this meeting segment.  

Our meeting after SABR Day will be at the usual time on February 11, 2026.                       

Before adjournment our president challenged us with trivia questions

After further discussion of the state of the game the meeting concluded at 8 o’clock PM Eastern Standard Time

— Kent Putnam, Chapter Secretary

A crowd of 40 chapter members and guests enjoyed the Lajoie-Start (Southern New England) Chapter’s annual Thanksgiving Saturday meeting on November 25, 2025, at St. Philip’s Parish Center in Greenville, Rhode Island.

It was a busy session. Guest speaker Peter Abraham (above), who covers the Boston Red Sox for the Boston Globe, answered questions from the audience for nearly an hour.

The annual mock Hall of Fame election, for the second year in a row failed to elect anyone on the baseball writers’ and Contemporary ballots. Mike Darowski, who conducted the poll, reported that the leading vote-getters on the BBWAA ballot were Andruw Jones with 50% of the vote, Dustin Pedroia at 44.7%, and Carlos Beltran at 39.4%. Leading vote-getters on the Contemporary Era ballot were Don Mattingly with 49.7% and Dale Murphy with 42% of the vote. 

Member research presentations were given by Dixie Tourangeau (Mike Greenwell’s Milestone Remembered) and Father Gerry Beirne (Paul Krichell, Yankees scout).

The chapter’s next meeting will be held on a Saturday in June 2026. Details to be forthcoming.

Stephen Trimble

Fr. Humbert Kilanowski

Mike Darowski

Len Levin