Looking back at the Winter Meetings of 1971
From Bruce Markusen at The Hardball Times on December 2, 2011:
I still follow baseball’s winter meetings, like those that will open in Dallas on Monday. It’s the one time during the offseason where baseball has a chance to knock the other sports off the back pages for three or four days. Unfortunately, over the last 20 years or so, those meetings have become more style than substance. A few free agents change teams, but relatively few trades are made; most general managers say they’re still “laying groundwork” for making deals later in the winter. Still, I can always hope that the meetings will generate some real news.
Once upon a time, the winter meetings actually churned out headlines more proficiently than a sensationalist tabloid. This was particularly the case exactly 40 winters ago.
During the latter days of November 1971, baseball’s general managers made the Arizona desert into a veritable flea market. A flood of news conferences and announcements poured through the suites and lobby of the Arizona Biltmore Hotel, where the 24 general managers set up shop, talked with each other, and traded and traded and traded.
Read the full article here: http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/cooperstown-confidential-the-winter-meetings-of-1971/
Related link: SABR will have a booth at the Winter Meetings, December 5-8, 2011, in Dallas, Texas. Stop by and say hello!
Originally published: December 2, 2011. Last Updated: December 2, 2011.