Houston/Larry Dierker Chapter meeting recap – 11/21/2016

The SABR Larry Dierker Chapter monthly meeting on Monday, November 21, 2016, provided a variety of speakers on many interesting topics for 34 members and friends in Houston, Texas.
 
Brian McTaggart of MLB.com led off by talking about his career starting as an Astros fan sitting in the Astrodome with his Dad to becoming a fulltime beat writer for MLB.com, a job he truly loves. Brian offered lots of insight into his responsibilities, discussed various players and recent acquisitions plus made some interesting comments on the makeup and selection process for the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.
 
Brian has also written a book, 100 Things Astros Fans Should Know and Do before they Die, which he made available to us.
 
Cliff Roberson came next, relating his recent experience at the SABR Arizona Fall League Experience. We learned about the makeup of the teams, scheduling, and a few prospects to watch for. Nice job, Cliff.
 
Mike McCroskey recently traveled to Kansas City and he reported on his visit to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, which he thoroughly enjoyed.
 
Bill McCurdy shared with us  a unique story about an All-Star ring belonging to former Houston Buff Jerry Witte that had been found and the possessor wanted to return it to the Witte family. Bill was the right guy to contact and he showed us photographs of the happy ending with the ring and the family.
 
The trivia contest provided by Tom White was won by Tony Cavender.
 
Please place the following important dates on your calendars:
 
– December 19: Larry Dierker Chapter monthly meeting with featured speaker Greg Lucas
– January 14: Rogers Hornsby SABR Chapter Annual Meeting at Texas State University-San Marcos with former New York Yankee Dr. Bobby Brown and Mike Acosta of the Houston Astros to speak.
– January 16: Larry Dierker Chapter monthly meeting
– January 21: Houston Astros FanFest at Minute Maid Park. We need between 12 and 15 volunteers to help us expose SABR to an estimated 12,000 Astros fans. Please contact me below if you wish to help.
 
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving.
 
— Bob Dorrill
bdorrill@aol.com