This Week in SABR: June 10, 2011
Here’s an update of what we’ve been up to as of June 10, 2011:
SABR members elect new President, two incumbents
Voting for the 2011 SABR Board of Directors elections closed on June 6.
Vince Gennaro was elected as SABR’s new President in an unopposed race, receiving 962 of 998 first-place votes. He will replace outgoing President Andy McCue at the conclusion of the Annual Business Meeting, which will be held during the SABR 41 national convention at the Long Beach Hilton in Southern California. The meeting is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. on Thursday, July 7 in the ballroom of the hotel.
F.X. Flinn, who also ran unopposed, was re-elected for the fourth time as SABR’s Treasurer, receiving 949 of 985 first-place votes. Flinn, who lives in Quechee, Vermont, is the senior member of the SABR Board, having also been elected as Treasurer in 2001, 2005 and 2008.
Paul Hirsch, who lives in Danville, California, was re-elected as a Director for his second term over candidates Todd Lebowitz and Ty Waterman. Hirsch received 424 of 1,043 first-place votes, while Lebowitz received 329 and Waterman 275. After Waterman’s votes were redistributed in a run-off (because no candidate received a 50 percent-plus-one majority), Hirsch was elected with 567 votes to Lebowitz’s 393. Hirsch has served on SABR’s Board of Directors since 2007.
Special thanks go out to Tellers Committee members Mort Bloomberg, Bob Flynn and S. Brian Fromm for helping the SABR staff to certify the results on June 7 at the SABR office.
The 2011 SABR elections featured online voting for the second consecutive year as well as traditional paper ballots. A total of 1,062 votes were received. About 17 percent of the membership participated in the election. The SABR Board of Directors will hold its next meeting at 6 a.m. on Wednesday, July 6 during the SABR convention.
Submit your nominations for SABR Secretary
The election of Vince Gennaro as president will create an opening for Secretary on SABR’s Board of Directors. In order to promote transparency and invoke the provision of the Bylaws that states “a replacement shall be elected at the Annual Business Meeting”, the Board has approved the following procedure to choose a new secretary. Vince has tendered his resignation as Secretary effective during the Business Meeting. Thus, it will be possible for those attending the meeting, rather than the board, to choose the new secretary.
Nominations to replace him as Secretary are now open and shall remain open until midnight EDT on June 24. Anyone who wishes to nominate themselves or another member should e-mail the nomination to both bmednick@exchange.fullerton.edu and agmccue44@earthlink.net. The nominations will be made public on the SABR website, SABR-L and the Yahoo! group BRSP as soon as the candidate’s qualifications are checked against the requirements in Section 3.1 of the Bylaws.
Please click here for more details on the process.
- Related link: Minutes (unapproved) from the May 20-21 Board of Directors meeting in Phoenix have been posted on the website. SABR members can view all past Board minutes by going to the Members’ Info page, then clicking on Organizational Files, then Board Minutes.
SABR 41 hotel rate expires Monday
The SABR 41 convention hotel room rate of $119 will expire at the close of business on June 13, which is this coming Monday. If you plan on attending SABR 41, be sure to book your room this weekend.
Also, if you’d like to go on the historical ballparks bus tour on Saturday, July 9 and haven’t signed up yet, please do so by Monday so we can secure a second bus. The first bus filled up quickly, and about 25 spots are remaining before we can guarantee a second bus. (If we don’t get enough people for a second bus, those who signed up after the first bus sold out will have their money refunded.) You can sign up for the historical ballparks bus tour at the SABR Store. The price is $14, and we will be visiting sites for the L.A. Coliseum, Wrigley Field, Gilmore Field, Washington Park and the Vernon ballpark. For complete details on the tour, click here.
DON’T FORGET TO REGISTER! SABR 41 registration forms (available for download here) must be postmarked by June 24 and sent to the SABR office at 4455 E. Camelback Road, Ste. D-140, Phoenix, AZ 85018. Online registration for the convention at the SABR Store will end at 11:59 p.m. MST on June 29. We hope to see you in Long Beach!
Related links:
- You can find a complete schedule of events for SABR 41 here.
- Abstracts, bios and schedule for the 30 research presentations can be found here.
- The schedule for all research committee meetings can be found here.
- Tentative showtimes for the film festival can be found here.
SABR authors: Reserve your spot in the Vendors’ Room
There will be a complimentary table in the vendors’ room at the SABR 41 convention for SABR members to sell and sign their books. That table will be available at the following times:
- 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Thursday, July 7
- 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 3-4 p.m. on Friday, July 8
- 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, July 9
Hour-long time slots will be reserved for authors on a first-come, first-served basis. Authors should send at least three desired time slots to SABR President and Convention Co-Chair Andy McCue at agmccue44@earthlink.net for scheduling.
Get your vote in for our L.A. Area All-Time All-Star team
In past years, SABR convention organizers have chosen their local or regional All-Time All-Stars and put them in the convention publication. This year, we’re throwing it open to everyone after a ballot carefully prepared by Southern California chapter members.
With one month to go before SABR 41 begins July 6 at the Long Beach Hilton, there are a couple positions on the All-Time All-Star team that are all but locked up. However, there’s still plenty of time to get your vote in before the final results are revealed at the convention.
Click here to find out which players are running away with the vote at their positions and which players are still competing for a spot.
Negro Leaguer Dink Mothell to receive grave marker
Carroll Ray “Dink” Mothell’s final resting place is almost complete. Buried in anonymity for more than 30 years, the Negro Leagues baseball star and Topeka native will receive a marker in a dedication ceremony at his Mount Hope Cemetery gravesite at 9:30 a.m. June 18.
Mothell’s case isn’t unique to Negro Leagues players, and SABR’s Negro Leagues Research Committee has been working to change that. Since 2004, the committee has installed about 20 tombstones for former players and others involved with the Negro Leagues. The group was recently recognized on an ESPN “Outside the Lines” segment.
In addition to Mothell, the committee this summer is dedicating graves for National Baseball Hall of Famers Frank Grant and Solomon White, as well as six players without markers in Chicago.
To find out more about or help with the Negro Leagues Baseball Grave Marker Project, visit http://www.nlbgmp.com.
Tigers great Jim Northrup dies at 71
Jim Northrup, the longtime Detroit Tigers outfielder and hero of the 1968 World Series, died Wednesday after a seizure following several years of declining health. He was famous for his propensity to hit grand slams, becoming the first player to hit three in one week in June 1968. His two-run triple off Cardinals ace Bob Gibson in Game 7 of the 1968 World Series provided the winning margin in the Tigers’ 4-1 victory.
Click here to read his SABR biography, written by Jim Sargent.
- Related link: Bruce Markusen remembers former Giants and Pirates star Jose Pagan, who died Tuesday at 76.
Pujols’ home runs put him in rare company
Last Sunday, Albert Pujols became the 11th player in major league history to hit game-ending home runs in consecutive games and the ninth player to hit a home run in extra innings of consecutive games. David Vincent, who maintains the SABR Home Run Log, provided a list of all major league players who have accomplished both feats.
(Hint: Ron Santo, Albert Belle and Pujols are the only three players on both lists.)
The SABR Home Run Log, created in the 1940s by John C. Tattersall and continued after his death in 1981 by Bob McConnell, is a database of all home runs hit in the major leagues since 1876. It has been licensed for use at Baseball-Reference.com. You can access the SABR Home Run Log by going to any player’s page at Baseball-Reference.com and clicking the tab that says “HR Log”.
Hall-Ruggles Chapter meeting recap
The DFW Hall-Ruggles Chapter held its meeting on May 31 at the Legends Museum Auditorium at the Ballpark in Arlington.
Guest speakers were: Don Welke, Senior Assistant to Rangers’ GM Jon Daniels; Eddie Robinson, former Rangers GM and four-time All-Star; and a panel including Joe Macko, longtime clubhouse manager for the Rangers, and John Esch, who has been involved behind the scenes in various financial roles for every sale of the Rangers franchise until the one last summer.
In other recent SABR news:
- Roland Hemond recalls the White Sox’s “rent a player” season of 1977 (CSNChicago.com)
- Steven Goldman continues his series on the most disappointing prospects of all-time (Baseball Prospectus)
- Matt Philip analyzes the odds of Ryan Theriot’s 20-game hitting streak (Fungoes)
- Christina Kahrl looks at the state of National League platooning (ESPN.com)
- Brian Borawski examines the more leveraged teams in baseball (The Hardball Times)
- Brian McKenna details the early All-Star Games of 1858 (Glimpses Into Baseball History)
Originally published: June 10, 2011. Last Updated: April 3, 2020.