Southern New England Lajoie-Start Chapter meeting recap – 6/13/2015
The weather gods (if there are such things) must be baseball fans. After several days of rain and gloomy weather, the sun shone bright and warm on McCoy Stadium in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, where 45 members of the Southern New England Lajoie-Start Chapter attended the chapter’s annual spring meeting on Saturday, June 13, 2015, under a picnic tent in deep right field.
As usual, the meeting was highlighted by the appearance of three members of the Pawtucket Red Sox high command: team president Mike Tamburro, manager Kevin Boles, and hitting coach Rich Gedman. The trio spent almost an hour answering questions and explaining the major-league club’s philosophy of player development.
Two recent authors, Doug Lyons (100 Years of Who’s Who) and chapter member Mike Lynch (Baseball’s Unknown History: The People), talked about their books and autographed copies for purchasers. Research presentations were given by Mark Kanter (An Interview With Marty Barrett) and Mickey Tangel (Lipman Pike, the First Jewish Professional Baseball Player). Father Gerry Beirne’s trivia quiz was on the topic of 50 home-run hitters. The result was something you never (or very seldom) see in baseball: a tie between Mark Kanter and Bob Mazur for top honors.
Chapter member Ty Waterman, a member of the SABR board, brought us up to date on SABR affairs at the national level.
The chapter will meet next on November 28, the Saturday of Thanksgiving weekend, at St. Philip’s Parish Center in Greenville, Rhode Island.
Photos courtesy of Dixie Tourangeau.
— Len Levin
