Houston/Larry Dierker Chapter meeting recap – 10/14/2013
Last night, October 14, 2013, we had 30 SABR members in attendance at our monthly Larry Dierker Chapter meeting and we welcomed two new members to our chapter, Susan Thompson and Josh Thompson.
Rudy Terrasas, Professional Scout for the New York Mets, spoke at great length about his 32 years as a scout from the time he began with the Phillies to his most recent trip to the Dominican Republic last week for the Mets. Rudy articulated the difference between amateur scouting and MLB scouting and the opportunities each presents.
Rudy told us about the first time he saw Lance Berkman while Lance was in high school. Recommending Lance as a first-round draft pick, even though he prefers college players, was a no brainer but Berkman decided that he wanted to attend Rice. The rest is history. Rudy also went through his years as Mets’ Scouting Director preparing for the major league draft and relying on his team of scouts to provide the very best information so they could make the best informed decisions. It’s not just the first-round picks that are important because many players selected down the line often make it to “the show” before the first-rounders do. Two of his picks include Matt Harvey and Ike Davis.
Bob Dorrill took the group through a proposed agenda for SABR 44 and invited members to set aside time next summer to attend and help the chapter properly host the annual convention. He reviewed the process for members to submit articles for next summer’s The National Pastime and the necessity for those wishing to make presentations at the convention to develop an outline of their talk and submit it to SABR for approval.
Mike Vance gave a spirited report on the “Save the Dome” activity as their committee gets ready for the November 5 referendum. In this regard he and passed out decals, placcards and individual fans supporting the cause.
Mike also brought with him four beautiful 12 x 18 color prints drawn by Patrick Lopez showing two Houston baseball parks long gone which are for sale. They range is price from $25 for one to $90 for the set. Several members took advantage of this opportunity to buy this terrific art.
Other announcements included the Houston Babies’ playing schedule: October 26 at the George Ranch and November 23 at the Liendo Plantation in Homestead, the Rogers Hornsby Chapter Winter Meeting on January 11 in San Marcos, Norman Macht’s collection of signed photogtraphs and posters that are for sale plus the date for our next meeting which is November 11.
Larry Wemberly wrapped up the session with his trivia contest won by Mike Vance. Ira Liebman provided a variety of door prizes.
See you all soon.
— Bob Dorrill
bdorrill@aol.com