Rogers Hornsby Chapter meeting recap – 1/11/2014
By Gilbert Martinez
Two former Major League Baseball players with a combined nine decades of professional baseball experience were the headliners for another great day of baseball talk at the eighth annual Winter Meeting of the Rogers Hornsby Chapter on January 11, 2014.
In addition, 55 members and guests — our largest winter meeting attendance ever — got a preview of the 2014 national SABR convention in Houston from Bob Dorrill, chair of the Larry Dierker Chapter, which is hosting the conference July 30 to Aug. 3.
Eddie Robinson recounted his time in baseball, including as a member of the 1948 World Series Champion Cleveland Indians, and later as a scout and general manager. He was also in the Houston Colt .45s front office as head of player development when the team signed future Hall of Famer Joe Morgan. Robinson signed copies of his book, “Lucky Me: My Sixty-Five Years in Baseball,” and was joined by co-author C. Paul Rogers III, professor of law and former dean of Southern Methodist University School of Law. Rogers is also the chair of SABR’s Hall-Ruggles Chapter in Dallas-Fort Worth.
Robinson shared many interesting stories about his baseball experiences, including the time relatively early in his career when Rogers Hornsby advised him on hitting. Pondering whether he should try to guess what pitchers were about to throw, Hornsby told him no — that he should hit what he sees. That, coupled with other advice about working the count, helped him improve as a hitter, he said.
For more photos and a full recap, visit the Rogers Hornsby Chapter website at chapters.sabr.org/hornsby.