2016 SABR Convention: SABR 46 in Miami
July 27-31, 2016
Hyatt Regency Miami
400 SE 2nd Ave.
Miami, FL 33131
(305) 358-1234
Cronkite School at ASU
555 N. Central Ave. #406-C
Phoenix, AZ 85004
Phone: 602-496-1460
© SABR. All Rights Reserved
SABR 46: Featured Speakers
Here are the speakers for our featured panels at the SABR 46 national convention, July 27-31, 2016, at the Hyatt Regency Miami in downtown Miami, Florida.
Click on a link below to view photos and multimedia highlights from each session. For more coverage of SABR 46, visit SABR.org/convention.
Opening Remarks: Michael Hill: The Miami Marlins front-office executive will talk about his career in baseball and his nearly 15 seasons with the team in South Florida. 9:30 a.m., Thursday, July 28.
- Michael Hill: Michael is in his third season as President of Baseball Operations for the Miami Marlins. He has been with the organization since 2002, and served as General Manager from 2007 to 2013. Before joining the Marlins, he was Director of Player Development for the Colorado Rockies and spent five seasons in the Tampa Bay Rays’ scouting and player development departments. He graduated from Harvard University in 1993 and was drafted by the Texas Rangers. He spent two seasons playing in the Rangers organization before beginning his front-office career.
2003 Marlins Championship Panel: This panel will look back at a surprising contender that fired its manager in midseason, surged to 91 wins and the National League wild card, then captured memorable postseason series over the San Francisco Giants and Chicago Cubs before upsetting the New York Yankees in six games in the World Series. 10:30 a.m., Thursday, July 28.
- Jack McKeon: Jack spent parts of 16 seasons as a major-league manager, leading the Marlins to the 2003 World Series championship after taking over in midseason. He was named National League Manager of the Year twice, in 1999 with the Cincinnati Reds and 2003 with the Marlins. He earned the nickname “Trader Jack” during his tenure as San Diego Padres general manager from 1981 to 1988. In 2011, he served as the Marlins’ interim manager at 80 years old, making him the second-oldest manager in big-league history behind Connie Mack. He has spent more than six decades in the game, beginning as a catcher in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization in 1949. He is the only manager to win 1,000 games in both the major leagues and minor leagues.
- Juan Pierre: Juan spent 14 years in the major leagues, compiling 2,217 career hits and 614 stolen bases. He led the National League three times in stolen bases and twice in hits, reaching the 200-hit plateau in 2001, ’03, ’04, and ’06. During the 2003 postseason, he hit over .300 to help lead the Marlins to the World Series championship. In 2008, he became the fourth player in baseball history to steal 100 bases with three different franchises (Marlins, Dodgers, Rockies.)
- Jeff Conine: Jeff is known as “Mr. Marlin” for his long tenure with South Florida’s major-league franchise. He finished third in NL Rookie of the Year voting during the Marlins’ inaugural season in 1993, and he was the only player who was part of both World Series championship teams in 1997 and 2003. He ranks near the top of almost every offensive category in franchise history. He was drafted by the Kansas City Royals out of UCLA in 1987 and, in addition to the Royals, he also spent time with the Orioles, Phillies, Reds, and Mets during his 17-year career. He was hired by the Marlins as a Special Assistant to the President in 2008 and also serves as a pregame and postgame TV analyst on Fox Sports Florida.
- Moderator: Dave Van Horne: Dave is in his 50th season broadcasting professional baseball games and he was the 2011 recipient of the Baseball Hall of Fame’s Ford C. Frick Award, honoring excellence in baseball broadcasting. He spent 32 seasons with the Montreal Expos from 1969 to 2000 before moving to South Florida and joining the Marlins as their lead radio play-by-play announcer in 2001. He has called many memorable moments in baseball history, including the Marlins’ 2003 World Series championship, Dennis Martinez’s perfect game in 1991, and the 3,000th hits by Willie Mays and Tony Gwynn. He was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 2014.
Perspectivas del Béisbol: Covering Baseball for Hispanic Fans On ESPN Deportes: This panel will talk about the coverage of baseball, both in the major leagues and internationally, by ESPN Deportes, with an emphasis on how Spanish-speaking fans are consuming the game. 1:30 p.m., Thursday, July 28.
- Ozzie Guillen: Ozzie is an analyst for ESPN Deportes and a former major-league player and manager. He was a shortstop for 16 seasons from 1985 to 2000, primarily with the Chicago White Sox. In 2005, he led the White Sox to their first World Series championship in 88 years and became the first Latino manager in major-league history to win a Series title. He also managed the Miami Marlins in 2012 before joining ESPN.
- Ernesto Jerez: Best known for his signature home run calls, Ernesto is an Emmy award-winning broadcast journalist and the play-by-play announcer for ESPN Deportes’ “Sunday Night Baseball” telecasts, a position he has held since 1995. He has called hundreds of games for ESPN, including every MLB All-Star Game since 1997, every World Series since 1998, and ESPN Deportes’ coverage of three World Baseball Classics. In addition to his MLB duties, Jerez serves as the voice for the network’s telecast of winter baseball, the Caribbean Series, and he hosts the winter edition of the weekly baseball program “Béisbol Esta Noche” (Baseball Tonight).
- Enrique Rojas: Enrique is a reporter covering Major League Baseball and the winter leagues across all of ESPN Deportes’ platforms. With more than 20 years of journalistic experience, his reports on MLB breaking news have had an international impact. He is a member of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America and has covered numerous MLB All-Star Games, the World Series, the World Baseball Classic, the Caribbean World Series. He also covered the 2004 Olympic Games and the 2003 Pan American Games.
- Moderator: Leonte Landino: Leonte is a Venezuelan journalist for ESPN Deportes who has covered baseball in the U.S. and Latin America since 1996. He has extensive experience in the media as a commentator and producer, and as a writer for many print and electronic publications. He has worked for Aguilas del Zulia of the Venezuelan League and the Tampa Bay Rays. He currently produces all baseball properties for the ESPN Deportes Spanish-language network and continues to display his work on ESPNDeportes.com. Landino has done extensive research with SABR on the life of Luis Castro and contributed a biography of Hall of Famer Luis Aparicio for the book Go-Go to Glory: The 1959 Chicago White Sox.
Media Panel: Baseball journalists will discuss their experiences covering the game. 9:00 a.m., Friday, July 29.
- Reynaldo Cruz: Reynaldo is a Cuban journalist who writes for the newspaper Ahora!, based in Holguin province. He is the founder and editor of the Universo Béisbol digital magazine, covering all aspects of Cuban baseball.
- Jorge Ebro: Jorge is the Miami Marlins beat writer for El Nuevo Herald.
- Moderator: Chuck Hildebrandt: Chuck has served as chair of SABR’s Baseball and the Media Committee since 2013, and has been a SABR member since 1988. He lives with his lovely wife, Terrie, in Chicago, where he is an ex-pat Tigers fan who compensates for his loss with Cubs season tickets.
SABR 46 ballpark session: Attendees at the SABR 46 convention this summer will have a special opportunity to visit Marlins Park for an exclusive pregame ballpark session with Miami Marlins executives and players. Please note: You must have a game ticket to attend this session. Click here for more details. 2:30 p.m., Friday, July 29 (at Marlins Park).
- Barry Bonds: Barry, who joined the Miami Marlins as their hitting coach in 2016, was one of baseball’s most complete and controversial players, a seven-time NL MVP and 14-time All-Star who ranks among the all-time leaders in almost every offensive category, playing for the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1986-1992 and San Francisco Giants from 1993-2007. He holds the single-season (73) and career (762) records for most home runs, surpassing Hank Aaron’s iconic total of 755 in 2007. His 2,558 walks are the most by any hitter, and he also ranks third in runs scored and fifth in RBIs. He stole 514 bases and earned eight Rawlings Gold Glove Awards. He is the son of former major-leaguer Bobby Bonds and the godson of Hall of Famer Willie Mays.
- Don Mattingly: Don is entering his first year as the Miami Marlins manager, after a five-year stint with the Los Angeles Dodgers, where he won three consecutive NL West titles from 2013-15. He played 14 seasons with the New York Yankees, compiling more than 2,000 hits, 222 home runs and a .307 lifetime average. He was a six-time American League All-Star, a nine-time Rawlings Gold Glove Award winner, and voted the league’s Most Valuable Player in 1985. In 1987, he tied an MLB record by hitting home runs in eight consecutive games and set a record with six grand slams in a season.
- Andre Dawson: Andre is a Special Assistant to Marlins team president David Samson following an outstanding 21-year career that earned him induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2010. One of baseball’s great all-around players, Andre hit 438 home runs and stole 314 bases, joining Willie Mays and Barry Bonds as the third member of the esteemed 400/300 club, and was named National League’s Rookie of the Year with the Montreal Expos in 1977 and MVP with the Chicago Cubs in 1987. He was an eight-time All-Star and an eight-time Rawlings Gold Glove Award winner.
- Tony Perez: Tony was one of the premier run-producers of his generation, who helped lead Cincinnati’s “Big Red Machine” to four NL pennants and two World Series championships during the 1970s. He was a seven-time NL All-Star first baseman who hit 379 home runs and drove in 1,652 runs in 23 seasons. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2000. After brief managerial stints with the Reds (1993) and Marlins (2001), he now serves as the Marlins’ Special Assistant to the President.
- Eduardo Perez: Eduardo, son of Tony, is an analyst for ESPN’s “Baseball Tonight.” He was the Houston Astros’ bench coach in 2013 after two seasons as the Miami Marlins’ hitting coach. He has served as manager of the Colombian national team and as manager and general manager of the Puerto Rican national team. In 2008, he earned Manager of the Year honors in the Puerto Rican Winter League and in 2009 he led the Ponce Lions to the Caribbean Series. From 1993-2006, Eduardo played parts of 13 seasons in the Major Leagues, primarily as a first baseman, for the Angels, Cardinals, Reds, Devil Rays, Indians and Mariners. He joined ESPN as an analyst for the 2006 postseason and worked full-time for the network for the next four seasons.
Latino Baseball Authors Panel: SABR historians will discuss the Latino baseball experience, with an emphasis on baseball in Cuba and how current events are affecting the game abroad and in the U.S. 10:00 a.m., Saturday, July 30.
- César Brioso: César is a digital producer for USA Today, where he served as baseball editor from 2003 to 2004. Born in Havana, Cuba, in 1965, he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Florida in 1988. He has also been a writer and editor at the Miami Herald, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, and the Tampa Tribune. He has been a SABR member since 2006 and is the author of Havana Hardball: Spring Training, Jackie Robinson and the Cuban League (2015). He also writes about Cuban baseball history at cubanbeisbol.com. He lives in northern Virginia with his wife and son.
- Peter C. Bjarkman: Peter writes for BaseballdeCuba.com and is considered to be one of the foremost authorities on pre-revolution and post-revolution Cuban baseball history. He is author of numerous baseball volumes, including Cuba’s Baseball Defectors: The Inside Story (2016) and A History of Cuban Baseball, 1864-2006 (2007). He was honored with a 2004 Sporting News-SABR Baseball Research Award and the 2008 Eduardo Valero Award from SABR’s Latino Baseball Research Committee. He has been featured in more than a dozen documentary films on baseball history, including the ESPN “30 for 30” program Brothers in Exile.
- Adrian Burgos Jr.: Adrian is a professor of history at the University of Illinois. His expertise includes Latinos in baseball and the Negro Leagues. He is the author of Cuban Star: How One Negro League Owner Changed the Face of Baseball (2011) and Playing America’s Game: Baseball, Latinos, and the Color Line (2007). He consulted for the National Baseball Hall of Fame’s Viva Baseball! exhibit and Ken Burns’ The Tenth Inning and Jackie Robinson documentaries.
- Moderator: Anthony Salazar: Anthony is the chairman of SABR’s Latino Baseball Research Committee and editor of its newsletter, La Prensa del Béisbol Latino. He has served on numerous advisory boards and committees related to baseball’s Latin experience and has authored numerous articles on the Latino experience in baseball. He has also consulted with baseball teams, media networks, production companies, museums, and other organizations looking to tap into the Latino market. He served on SABR’s Board of Directors in 2008-09. He holds degrees in history from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and the University of Oregon, with specialties in American social and urban history.
Cuban Players Panel: Former major-league players from Cuba will discuss their careers and experiences in baseball at home and in the U.S. 1:00 p.m., Saturday, July 30.
- Miguel “Mike” de la Hoz: Miguel was an infielder hailing from Havana who began his big-league career with the Cleveland Indians in 1960 and played in parts of nine seasons with the Indians, the Braves (both Milwaukee and Atlanta), and one final appearance with the Cincinnati Reds. He holds a career .251 batting average (.290 OBP), with 25 homers and 115 RBIs. He was very active as a pinch-hitter throughout his career.
- Leo Posada: The Havana native was an outfielder for the Kansas City Athletics from 1960-62. He hit for a .256 batting average (with a .326 on-base percentage) in 493 plate appearances, and compiled a .976 fielding percentage. In 1961, he led the majors in sacrifice flies, with 12 — part of the 53 RBIs he had that year. He had a lengthy 16-year career in the minor leagues from 1954 to 1969. His nephew, Jorge Posada, enjoyed a lengthy career with the New York Yankees.
- Jackie Hernandez: The Central Tinguaro native spent parts of nine seasons as an infielder with the California Angels, Minnesota Twins, Kansas City Royals, and Pittsburgh Pirates. He played all seven games in the 1971 World Series for the Pirates and earned praise for his outstanding defense. He made history on September 1, 1971, when he was part of the first all-black lineup in MLB history. Since he retired, he has coached youth baseball and is an instructor during the Pirates’ spring training camp in Bradenton, Florida.
- Gonzalo “Cholly” Naranjo: The Havana native was signed by the Washington Senators as an amateur free agent in 1952 and appeared in 17 games for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1956. He played in the minor leagues until 1961, then spent three decades as an athletic coach in Cuba until relocating to the U.S. in 1995.
- Moderator: Jose Campos: Jose has hosted “La Poderosa,” a daily sports show over Miami radio station WWFE/670-AM for the last 14 years. He has also broadcast baseball, basketball, and football games for the past 17 years between the University of Miami (1999-2002, 2008-present) and Florida International University (2002-07), and he is a freelance writer for various magazines and blogs.
Visit SABR.org/convention for more information on SABR 46.