SABR 43: Larry Bowa will be special guest speaker at Awards Luncheon
At the SABR 43 Annual Business Meeting on Thursday, SABR President Vince Gennaro announced that Larry Bowa of MLB Network would be a special guest speaker at the Awards Luncheon on Friday, August 2.
Bowa has spent 40 years in Major League Baseball as a player, manager, coach and analyst. The session will be moderated by SABR member Barry M. Bloom of MLB.com, who co-wrote Bowa’s 2004 autobiography, Larry Bowa: I Still Hate To Lose.
Bowa will replace MLB Executive Vice President Rob Manfred as the luncheon’s keynote speaker.
“We certainly understand that Rob Manfred had other things to deal with and wasn’t available,” Gennaro said.
“But we have a big Philadelphia name, a big baseball name, in Larry Bowa, and we’re very glad to have him here in Philly for the Awards Luncheon on Friday.”
Bowa played 12 seasons with the Phillies (1970-1981), winning two Gold Glove awards and appearing in five All-Star Games. He led the National League in fielding percentage six times and was a key member of the Phillies’ 1980 World Series championship team. He finished his playing career with the Cubs (1982-1985) and Mets (1985), having scored 987 runs and stolen 318 bases.
He went on to manage the Padres (1987-1988) and Phillies (2001-2004), winning the 2001 Manager of the Year Award. Bowa also coached for the Angels (1997-99), Mariners (2000), Yankees (2006-07) and Dodgers (2007-10.) He also served as bench coach for Team USA in the 2013 World Baseball Classic.
Bloom has been a national reporter for MLB.com since 2002 and has more than 35 years of experience covering sports. He covered baseball and hockey for five years at Bloomberg News and also spent 16 years as a writer at the San Diego Union-Tribune.
The SABR 43 Awards Luncheon will be held at 12:00 p.m. on Friday, August 2 at the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown.
For more coverage of SABR 43, visit SABR.org/convention.
Originally published: July 31, 2013. Last Updated: July 31, 2013.