Hill: Winter Meetings ‘whirlwind’ wraps up for Minor Leagues

From SABR member Benjamin Hill at MiLB.com on December 11, 2015:

It’s been said many times before, but that’s because it’s true: the Baseball Winter Meetings are an absolute whirlwind.

As this year’s event, held at the nine-acre bastion of unreality that is the Gaylord Opryland Resort, I attended a wide variety of seminars, symposiums, banquets, galas and other events related to the business and culture of Minor League Baseball. With the Winter Meetings finally, mercifully, drawing to a close, here’s a roundup of notable news and notes from the week that was.

The King’s Speech — The Winter Meetings Banquet, held on Sunday, featured the annual crowning of “The King of Baseball” as well as an interview with Commissioner Rob Manfred. But for me, and I’m sure many others, the highlight was when recently retired all-time Minor League home run king Mike Hessman received the Career Achievement Award. Hessman, visibly overcome with emotion, took a few moments to compose himself before delivering a brief, grateful speech. From my perch in the cheap seats, I was able to capture a portion of the speech that, to Hessman, was particularly meaningful.

Read the full article here: http://www.milb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20151209&content_id=159274622&fext=.jsp&vkey=news_milb



Originally published: December 11, 2015. Last Updated: December 11, 2015.