Larry Dierker Chapter meeting recap – 3/23/2026
On Monday, March 23, 2026, members of the Larry Dierker Chapter gathered at the Spaghetti Western restaurant in Houston for our monthly meeting. Our special guest speakers were Rob Sheinkopf and Mike Vance.
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