2014 SABR Convention: SABR 44 in Houston
July 30-August 3, 2014
Royal Sonesta Houston
2222 W Loop S Fwy.
Houston, TX 77027
Cronkite School at ASU
555 N. Central Ave. #406-C
Phoenix, AZ 85004
Phone: 602-496-1460
© SABR. All Rights Reserved
SABR 44: Featured Speakers
Here were the speakers for our featured panels at the SABR 44 national convention, July 30-August 3, 2014, at the Royal Sonesta Houston in Houston, Texas.
For more coverage of SABR 44, visit SABR.org/convention.
Video and/or audio of all the panels is available online. Click on a link below to watch/listen.
Opening Remarks: Reid Ryan: Our featured speaker, Reid Ryan, is President of Business Operations for the Houston Astros. Introduction by Bob Dorrill, chair of the Larry Dierker Chapter’s SABR 44 committee. Held at 9:30 a.m., Thursday, July 31, Legends Ballroom IV/VII at the Royal Sonesta Houston.
- Reid Ryan: Reid was named President of Business Operations for the Houston Astros in May 2013. The oldest son of Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan, Reid has been making a name for himself in baseball. He has compiled a great deal of experience moving up through professional baseball, as founder and CEO of the Round Rock Express and Corpus Christi Hooks, affiliates of the Astros and Texas Rangers that are annually among the minor league attendance leaders. He also serves on the Board of Trustees for Minor League Baseball. After playing collegiately and graduating from Texas Christian University, Reid pitched in the Texas Rangers organization in 1994 and ’95 before moving into management.
Houston Colt .45s Panel: This panel discussed the colorful era of the Colt .45s, Houston’s first major league baseball team, established in 1962. Held at 10:30 a.m., Thursday, July 31, Legends Ballroom IV/VII at the Royal Sonesta Houston.
- Bob Aspromonte: Bob was an original Colt .45 when major league baseball came to Houston in 1962. He was also the last Brooklyn Dodger active in the major leagues when his career came to an end in 1971 and later he would also become the last of the original Colt .45s to leave the franchise. In his first year with the expansion Colt .45s, Bob set a record for third basemen with a stretch of 57 consecutive games without an error. He scored the first run in Houston major league baseball history when Al Spangler tripled him home in the first inning of the first game ever.
- Mickey Herskowitz: Mickey is nothing if not prolific as a writer. He has jointly written or ghost-written biographies of people ranging from Dan Rather to Mickey Mantle, from Bette Davis to Nolan Ryan, from Howard Cosell to John Connally. That is not a complete list by a long shot. But Mickey started as a sportswriter in Houston and he covered the Houston Colt .45s when they were born. He was on the inside not just with the players but with the movers and shakers who brought baseball to what is now the nation’s fourth-most populous city. His baseball work was honored with induction into the Texas Baseball Hall of Fame. In recent years, Mickey has been teaching the next generation from a pulpit he has set up at Sam Houston State University just a few miles up the road.
- Hal Smith: Hal is most famous for his go-ahead home run in the eighth inning of Game Seven of the 1960 World Series for the Pittsburgh Pirates. But he also has a footnote in Houston baseball history. Smith was an original Colt .45 after being selected from the Pirates in the expansion draft. Smith hit the first home run in Houston major league history in 1962. In that first season, Hal did more catching than anyone else. His playing time dwindled the next season and by the end of the 1964 season spent with the Reds, Hal retired at 33 years old. Hal had a solid .267 major league batting average over ten seasons. He now lives in Columbus, Texas, about 70 miles west of Houston.
- Carl Warwick: Carl is a native Texan, born in Dallas and a graduate of Texas Christian University in Fort Worth. He played for the Colt .45s in both 1962 and 1963 between stints with the St. Louis Cardinals, where he had the greatest success during his six-season career. Carl made his major league debut with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1961. With the Colt .45s, he played regularly in the outfield. On May 17, 1963, he homered and had four hits in support of Don Nottebart, who threw the first no-hitter in franchise history against the Philadelphia Phillies.
- Jimmy Wynn: “The Toy Cannon” was the first power hitter in Houston major league baseball. He was not an original Colt .45, but he got here as fast as he could. He joined the team in the second season, 1963, and was a Colt .45/Astro for 11 seasons from 1963 through 1973. He later had a two-year stop with the Dodgers and parts or all of one seasons with the Braves, Yankees and Brewers. Jimmy hit 223 home runs in his 11 Houston seasons and finished his career with a total of 291. He averaged 25 home runs per season despite playing nine of his prime years in the massive and dead-air Astrodome. Though not a high batting average hitter he crushed 37 home runs in 1967 despite playing half his games in the Astrodome and was edged out for the NL home run title by Hank Aaron who hit 39. His one other 30+ home run year was with the Dodgers in 1974 when he hit 32 to go with a career high 108 RBI.
- Moderator: Greg Lucas: Greg first saw Colt Stadium as an eyesore resting in the Astrodome parking lot in 1970 while in the Army stationed in San Antonio. But 14 years later, he was announcing his first Astros game from the Astrodome with DeWayne Staats. After a stint in the NBA and in North Texas as a Rangers announcer, he joined Astros telecasts full-time in several roles from 1995 through 2012. Earlier this year, he published Baseball: It’s More Than Just A Game. He has also broadcast some home games for the independent Sugar Land Skeeters on ESPN3.
College Baseball Panel: This panel focused on baseball at the collegiate level, bringing together players and coaches familiar with the state of Texas’s illustrious history in college baseball. Held at 2:00 p.m., Thursday, July 31, Legends Ballroom IV/VII at the Royal Sonesta Houston.
- Roger Clemens: Roger was a star pitcher at Houston’s Spring Woods High School before going on to a record-setting college career at San Jacinto College and the University of Texas. While at UT-Austin, Clemens went 25-7, threw a then-record 35 consecutive scoreless innings, and was on the Longhorns’ 1983 national championship team. The national college baseball pitcher of the year award is named in his honor. “The Rocket” then starred for the Red Sox, Blue Jays, Yankees and Astros, winning 354 games in the major leagues, a record seven Cy Young Awards, and the 1986 American League MVP.
- Jim Gilligan: Jim has been the head baseball coach at Lamar University for 37 seasons. This follows his time as a player and assistant at the school and a one-year stint pitching in the Detroit Tigers organization. He has led the Cardinals to 12 NCAA Tournament bids and a total of almost 1,300 wins, a number that places him in the top five of active college baseball coaches. Jim was named to the Texas Baseball Hall of Fame in 2004 and has won six conference coach of the year awards.
- Mike Gustafson: Mike is the President and CEO of the College Baseball Hall of Fame, based in Lubbock, Texas. He holds an Ed.D. in Higher Education Administration from Texas Tech University, where he also played baseball for four years, and a Master’s degree in Sports Administration from the University of Texas. He previously served as Director of Special Events for the Double T Association and Membership Director for the Texas Tech Alumni Association.
- Moderator: Mike Vance: Mike is the Executive Director of Houston Arts and Media, a nonprofit that creates documentaries and books to teach about Texas history. He has produced more than 50 feature-length documentaries and television shows on a variety of Texas and Houston history stories. Vance is also the author of five books on sports, Houston history or a combination of both including serving as editor and lead writer/researcher of the newly released Houston Baseball: The Early Years, 1861-1961. He teaches local history at Rice University’s Continuing Studies, lectures extensively on history and serves on the Harris County Historical Commission.
1980 Houston Astros Panel: This panel discussed the Astros’ memorable 1980 National League West championship team, the first in Houston major league history to make the postseason. Held at 10:00 a.m., Friday, August 1, Legends Ballroom IV/VII at the Royal Sonesta Houston.
- Enos Cabell: Signed by the Baltimore Orioles as an amateur free agent in 1968, Enos played third base, first base, and outfield for five teams over 15 major league seasons from 1972 to 1986. He compiled 1,647 hits with the Astros, Tigers, Dodgers, Orioles and Giants. In retirement, he worked as an Astros broadcaster from 1991-96 and has served as the Astros’ special assistant to the general manager since 2005, helping to evaluate talent in the organization’s farm system. His honest feedback and keen recommendations have helped shape the Astros’ minor league system into one of the best in baseball.
- Jose Cruz: Jose is in his 31st season with the Houston Astros, having spent 13 years as a player, 13 years as a coach and the last five seasons as a special assistant to the general manager. At the time of his retirement after the 1988 season, he held the franchise records in games played, at-bats, hits, total bases, and triples. Nicknamed “Cheo,” he has been involved in all of the Astros’ nine postseason appearances. His number 25 was retired by the team in 1992.
- Deacon Jones: Deacon has spent nearly five decades in baseball, as a player, coach and scout. He appeared in 40 major league games for the Chicago White Sox over parts of three seasons from 1962 to 1966, and hit .318 as a minor leaguer in the White Sox system over 12 years. After he hung up his spikes, he became a roving hitting instructor and minor league manager for the White Sox until Astros manager Bill Virdon hired him to be the major league hitting coach in Houston, which he did from 1976 to 1982. He also worked as a scout and coach for the New York Yankees and San Diego Padres before Roland Hemond hired him to be an advance scout for the Baltimore Orioles in 1988. He spent 20 years in that role until retiring in 2007. Now, he makes his home in Houston and scouts part-time for the Orioles.
- Tal Smith: Tal has served in every top leadership position with the Houston Colt .45s/Astros franchise in three separate tenures, beginning as the farm director in 1961 and culminating as president of baseball operations from 1994 to 2011. He supervised the construction of the Astrodome and the introduction of Astroturf, and later had a similar role in the design of Minute Maid Park. In between, he was the Astros’ general manager from 1975-80, building a team that won Houston’s first division title in 1980. Afterward, Tal formed a successful consulting firm advising baseball teams on salary and personnel matters. In recent years, he has served as special advisor to the Sugar Land Skeeters independent team. The Astros created “Tal’s Hill,” a unique 10-degree incline in center field at Minute Maid Park, to honor his contributions to baseball in Houston.
- Moderator: Kenny Hand: A graduate of the University of Texas-Arlington, Kenny has been an award-winning media fixture in Houston for the past 37 years. At the Houston Post, he was the beat writer for the Houston Astros for eight seasons and covered several championship teams. He then went on to being a sports columnist for ten years. He is a lifetime member of the Baseball Writers Association of America and a voting member of the Texas Sports Hall of Fame. Kenny is now the Associate Publisher of Texas Links.
Keynote speaker: Larry Dierker: The SABR 44 Awards Luncheon included the presenting or announcing of the following awards: the Lee Allen Award, the Roland Hemond Award, the SABR Baseball Research Awards, the McFarland-SABR Baseball Research Awards, and the Henry Chadwick Awards. The Awards portion of the luncheon concluded with the awarding of the Bob Davids Award, SABR’s highest honor. Held at 12:00 p.m., Friday, August 1, Discovery Center at the Royal Sonesta Houston.
- Larry Dierker: Larry is an icon in Houston baseball, starring as an Astros pitcher, broadcaster and manager. He broke into the big leagues on his 18th birthday in 1964 for the Colt .45s and struck out Willie Mays in his first inning pitched. In 1969, he became the first 20-game winner in Astros history, posting a 2.33 ERA, 20 complete games and 232 strikeouts in 305 innings. He was a National League All-Star in 1969 and 1971, and threw a no-hitter against the Montreal Expos in 1976. From 1979-96, Larry worked as a popular TV and radio broadcaster for the Astros until he moved from the booth to the dugout as the manager of the team beginning in 1997. Under his leadership, the Astros won four division championships in five seasons and he was named NL Manager of the Year in 1998. He currently serves as a community outreach executive with the Astros. The Houston SABR chapter is named in his honor.
Media Panel: This panel discussed media coverage of the Houston Astros and other on-field and off-field issues that affect the game. Held at 2:30 p.m., Friday, August 1, Legends Ballroom IV/VII at the Royal Sonesta Houston.
- Bill Brown: Bill is in his 28th season as the television voice of the Houston Astros, and has more than 30 years of experience broadcasting MLB games. Earlier this year, he was named the Texas Sportscaster of the Year by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association. In 2004, he was inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame in Waco, Texas. In addition, he was recognized on the Astros’ Media Wall of Honor at Minute Maid Park in 2011 and was the recipient of the Fred Hartman Excellence in Sportswriting Award from the Texas Press Association in 2012.
- Evan Drellich: Evan covers the Houston Astros for the Houston Chronicle. Previously, he covered the Boston Red Sox for the Springfield Republican/MassLive.com and MLB.com, and was also a part of MLB.com’s national desk, covering spring training, the All-Star Game, and the postseason on location. He has also worked for Newsday in New York City and the Press & Sun-Bulletin in Binghamton, New York. He holds a bachelor’s degree in English from State University of New York at Binghamton.
- Alyson Footer: Alyson is a national correspondent for MLB.com and formerly was the social media director for the Houston Astros. A graduate of the University of Cincinnati, she covered the Astros during their playoff runs in 2001, 2004, and 2005, the year the Astros were in the World Series. In her role as social media director, she helped connect Astros players and fans through social media platforms and helped provide greater access to various Astros fan and blog sites. She continues to be active on Twitter, Facebook, and on her MLB blog, Alyson’s Footnotes at footer.mlblogs.com.
- Buck Martinez: Buck has spent 45 years in baseball — 20 years as a professional catcher with the Kansas City Royals, Milwaukee Brewers, and Toronto Blue Jays, and 25 years as a broadcaster. During his 12 years with the Toronto Blue Jays, he has served as field manager in 2000-01, a TV color commentator and his current role as a play-by-play announcer. Buck also managed Team USA in the initial World Baseball Classic in 2006. He has worked as an analyst for the Baltimore Orioles and ESPN, where he earned a Sports Emmy for his coverage of Cal Ripken’s 2,131st consecutive game in 1995. He has also done color commentary on the Sunday Game of the Week on TBS.
- Moderator: Brett Dolan: Brett has nearly 20 years of professional baseball play-by-play experience, including seven years on the Houston Astros radio broadcast team. He can be heard on ESPN3, ESPNU, CSN Houston, TD Radio and CBS Sports Radio 610. He has also been a broadcaster with MLB Network and Fox Sports Southwest. A graduate of the University of Iowa, Dolan lives in Sugar Land with his spouse, Betsy, and children, Will and Kate. He marks witnessing Craig Biggio’s 3,000th MLB hit as one of his favorite sports experiences.
Women in Baseball: Women have played our national pastime as children and adults probably as long as their male counterparts. The development of softball has largely obscured the rich history and current involvement of women in the hardball world. This discussion brought into focus the role of women in baseball, past and present, through the real life, and varied experiences of our panel members. Held at 4:30 p.m., Friday, August 1, Legends Ballroom IV/VII at the Royal Sonesta Houston.
- Alyson Footer: Alyson is a national correspondent for MLB.com and formerly was the social media director for the Houston Astros. A graduate of the University of Cincinnati, she covered the Astros during their playoff runs in 2001, 2004, and 2005, the year the Astros were in the World Series. In her role as social media director, she helped connect Astros players and fans through social media platforms and helped provide greater access to various Astros fan and blog sites. She continues to be active on Twitter, Facebook, and on her MLB blog, Alyson’s Footnotes at http://footer.mlblogs.com.
- Jana Howser: Jana is Executive Vice President for Development for the College Baseball Hall of Fame. She is the daughter of longtime major league player and manager Dick Howser, who also played and coached college baseball for years. That made her a natural to be part of the College Baseball Hall of Fame when it was founded in Lubbock, Texas. She is a board member for the Dick Howser Trophy, which is awarded to the top collegiate baseball player each season. A graduate of the University of Missouri-Kansas City, she has worked as a teacher and coach on the high school level.
- Marie “Red” Mahoney: Red is the only native Houstonian to have played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. During World War II, she worked at Gray Tool Company while playing fast-pitch softball for a local team. In 1947, she was recruited to play for the AAGPBL, first with the South Bend Blue Sox and then in 1948 with the Fort Wayne Daisies. As in her amateur years, Red’s speed made her a desirable outfielder. Returning to Houston, Red was employed by Kodak and her baseball career was largely forgotten until the 1992 release of “A League of Their Own.” In 2006, Red was inducted into the Texas Baseball Hall of Fame. A dedicated fan of the game, Red is an enthusiastic member of the Larry Dierker Chapter.
- Leila Rahimi: Leila is an anchor and reporter for Comcast SportsNet Houston. She most recently served as the on-field reporter for San Diego Padres broadcasts on Fox Sports Net. The native Texan worked in Austin at KXAN-TV for more than four years as a reporter/anchor covering the University of Texas, Texas A&M, Big 12 sports, Round Rock Express and both Houston and Dallas teams. The University of North Texas graduate also spent nearly two years at KXII-TV in Sherman, Texas, covering local high schools and the Big 12’s Oklahoma Sooners. Her experience also includes serving as a sideline reporter on Fox Sports Southwest’s high school football and Big 12 baseball coverage, in addition to four years on Sports Radio 1310 “The Ticket” in Dallas.
- Moderator: Leslie Heaphy: Leslie has been a member of SABR since 1989 and chair of the Women in Baseball Research Committee since 1995. She was elected to the SABR Board of Directors in 2010 and serves as the Board liaison to research committee chairs. She is an Associate Professor of History at Kent State University at Stark and publishes in the area of the Negro Leagues and women’s baseball. In 2008, she became the founding editor of the journal Black Ball, published by McFarland.
From the Playing Field to the Front Office: This panel focused on the unique experiences of three baseball lifers who all began their careers as major league players and moved into the executive realm. Held at 10:30 a.m., Saturday, August 2, Legends Ballroom IV/VII at the Royal Sonesta Houston.
- Dr. Bobby Brown: Nicknamed “The Golden Boy” during his playing career, Dr. Brown has had a golden life in baseball. A left-handed-hitting third baseman, he played on five championship teams with the New York Yankees, batting .439 in 17 World Series games over an eight-year career from 1946 to 1954. While in college at Stanford, he enlisted in the Navy during World War II and was awarded the U.S. Coast Guard Silver Lifesaving Medal; a decade later, he missed parts of two seasons in the major leagues while serving as an Army doctor in the Korean War. He retired from baseball in 1954 at the age of 29 to become a full-time cardiologist after graduating from Tulane Medical School; he practiced for more than thirty years and like another famous baseball doctor, Moonlight Graham, he says he’s never regretted his decision. In 1974, he returned to baseball briefly as interim president of the Texas Rangers. Ten years later, major league owners offered Dr. Brown the job as president of the American League. He served from 1984 to 1994. He is a member of the Athletic Halls of Fame at Stanford, UCLA, and Tulane University.
- Eddie Robinson: Eddie spent more than six decades in professional baseball, as a player, coach, scout and executive. When he retired after 65 years in 2004, he had worked in some capacity for 16 different big-league clubs. The native of Paris, Texas, was a four-time All-Star first baseman who spent 13 seasons in MLB (1942-57). He saw action in two World Series, with the Cleveland Indians in 1948 and the New York Yankees in 1955. He also set a Chicago White Sox single-season record with 29 home runs in 1951. After his playing days ended, he served as the assistant general manager and farm director for the expansion Houston Colt .45s and later as GM of the Atlanta Braves (1976) and Texas Rangers (1977-82.)
- Bob Watson: Bob spent 19 seasons in the big leagues with the Houston Astros, Atlanta Braves, New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox, and was named to two National League All-Star teams in 1973 and 1975. He garnered nationwide attention in 1974 when he scored what was thought to be the 1 millionth run in major league history. In 1977, he set career highs with 22 home runs and 110 RBIs for the Astros. He was traded to the Red Sox in 1979, then signed a free-agent deal with the Yankees. He hit .318 with two home runs in the 1981 World Series to help the Yankees beat the Dodgers. After his playing career ended, he coached with the Oakland A’s, then became Assistant General Manager of the Astros. In 1994, he was promoted to General Manager, the second African-American in baseball history to serve in that role. He held the same job with the Yankees in 1996-97 and led the Bronx Bombers to another World Series championship in ’96. He later served as Vice President of Major League Baseball, and he was responsible for on-field discipline until his retirement in 2010.
- Moderator: C. Paul Rogers III: Paul is a professor of law and former dean of the Dedman School of Law at Southern Methodist University when he is not acting as president of the Ernie Banks-Bobby Bragan SABR chapter in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, which he has done since 2000. Paul has co-authored four baseball books, the latest with Hall of Fame pitcher Robin Roberts. He was the co-author of Eddie Robinson’s memoirs, Lucky Me: My 65 Years in Baseball, published in 2011. He has also published articles and book reviews in numerous baseball journals, and written more than a dozen biographies for the SABR BioProject.
Astros Player Panel: This panel brings together Houston Astros players to talk about their lives and careers in baseball. Held at 2:30 p.m., Saturday, August 2 at Minute Maid Park.
- Alan Ashby: Alan returned to the Houston Astros’ broadcast booth in 2013 after a six-year stint as an analyst with the Toronto Blue Jays. He was a mainstay behind the plate for the Houston Astros for 11 seasons, and was the Astros’ starting catcher for both the 1980 and 1986 NL West Division championship teams. He caught three no-hitters (Ken Forsch, Nolan Ryan, and Mike Scott) during his 17-year career before retiring in 1989. He began his broadcast career with the Astros in 1998 and was inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame in 2000.
- Art Howe: Art is one of a handful of people to play for and manage the Houston Astros. He spent 11 years as a player with the Astros, Pittsburgh Pirates, and St. Louis Cardinals from 1974-85, and was a dependable starter at first base and third base for the Astros’ 1980 and ’81 playoff teams. After retiring, he served as a coach with the Texas Rangers, the Astros, and the Colorado Rockies before he was hired by the Astros as their manager in 1989. He managed the Astros for five seasons and helped set the foundation for the team’s run of success in the late 1990s. In 1996, he was hired by the Oakland A’s, where he saw his greatest success as a manager. Art led the A’s to two American League West titles in 2000 and ’02, and a postseason berth as a wild card in 2001, compiling a .530 winning percentage in seven seasons. In his 14-year managerial career with the Astros, A’s, and New York Mets, he finished with a 1,129-1,137 record. His career win total ranks in the top 50 all-time entering the 2014 season. He now lives in Houston and works as a pregame and postgame TV analyst for CSN Houston.
- Larry Dierker: Larry is an icon in Houston baseball, starring as an Astros pitcher, broadcaster and manager. He broke into the big leagues on his 18th birthday in 1964 for the Colt .45s and struck out Willie Mays in his first inning pitched. In 1969, he became the first 20-game winner in Astros history, posting a 2.33 ERA, 20 complete games and 232 strikeouts in 305 innings. He was a National League All-Star in 1969 and 1971, and threw a no-hitter against the Montreal Expos in 1976. From 1979-96, Larry worked as a popular TV and radio broadcaster for the Astros until he moved from the booth to the dugout as the manager of the team beginning in 1997. Under his leadership, the Astros won four division championships in five seasons and he was named NL Manager of the Year in 1998. He currently serves as a community outreach executive with the Astros. The Houston SABR chapter is named in his honor.
- Moderator: Bill Brown: Bill is in his 28th season as the television voice of the Houston Astros, and has more than 30 years of experience broadcasting MLB games. Earlier this year, he was named the Texas Sportscaster of the Year by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association. In 2004, he was inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame in Waco, Texas. In addition, he was recognized on the Astros’ Media Wall of Honor at Minute Maid Park in 2011 and was the recipient of the Fred Hartman Excellence in Sportswriting Award from the Texas Press Association in 2012.
Decision Sciences Panel: This panel, part of our exclusive SABR 44 ballpark session at Minute Maid Park, focused on the Houston Astros’ innovative front office, led by General Manager Jeff Luhnow, and their plan for the future of the organization. Held at 3:30 p.m., Saturday, August 2 at Minute Maid Park.
- Jeff Luhnow: Jeff has served as the General Manager of the Houston Astros since 2011. He has a well-earned reputation for scouting and player development. During his first season with the club, the Astros’ minor league affiliates managed the highest combined winning percentage of all 30 major league organizations. Prior to joining the Astros, he spent eight years as the Vice President of Scouting and Player Development with the St. Louis Cardinals, who won two World Series during his tenure. Fluent in English and Spanish, Jeff established a baseball academy in the Dominican Republic and extended the Cardinals’ scouting in Venezuela. The Cardinals won five minor league championships under his watch and produced the best system-wide minor league record in 2010. In addition to his work in baseball, he has worked as an engineer, technology entrepreneur, and management consultant. He is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and holds an MBA from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University.
- Sig Mejdal: Sig was named Director of Decision Sciences for the Astros in January 2013. In his role, he helps the Baseball Operations Department evaluate players by reading and extracting various forms of data from scouting reports, medical reports, minor league statistics, and other information. Prior to joining the Astros, Sig worked for the St. Louis Cardinals as Director of Amateur Draft Analytics, where he was involved with modeling analysis and data-driven decision making throughout all levels of the organization. He has two engineering degrees and advanced degrees in Operations Research and Cognitive Psychology/Human Factors from San Jose State University. He has been a longtime member of SABR, first joining as a teenager in 1991.
- David Stearns: David is the Assistant General Manager for the Houston Astros, where his responsibilities include player evaluation, player transactions, and contract negotiations. He also helps oversee the Astros’ scouting and analytics departments. Prior to joining the Astros, he served as the Director of Baseball Operations for the Cleveland Indians in 2011-12. He spent 2008-11 working in the MLB Commissioner’s Office, where he was the Manager of Player Relations. He is a 2007 graduate of Harvard University.
For more information on SABR 44, visit SABR.org/convention.