Sunday, February 5, 2012

The Cleveland SABR Meeting

Marilyn and I had a most enjoyable day attending the Cleveland/Jack Graney SABR Chapter meeting yesterday that was held in the Media Center at Progressive Field. Got to park in the Player's parking lot to boot! I'm betting that you don't see a lot of Jeep Compasses parked there during the season, but I digress.

Chapter President Stephanie Liscio out together a very interesting and entertaining program. Special guests included Plain Dealer sportswriter Terry Pluto and Indians' Senior VP of Public Affairs Bob DiBiasio. Naturally, much of the talk centered around the Indians, what happened in 2011 and what to expect/hope for in 2012.

One item that got a lot of discussion concerned the recent news about Indians' pitcher Fausto Carmona, who has recently been discovered to actually be someone named Roberto Hernandez Heredia and to be three years older than he has represented himself to be over the years. The story was kind of buried on the sports pages here in Pittsburgh and may even be being played for laughs in many places, but it is a very big concern and issue in Cleveland, and is kind of a sad one. Carmona/Heredia is currently under a sort of house arrest in the Dominican Republic, and no one, not even the powers that be at the Indians are quite sure how this will play out in the months ahead. One note that Pluto added to this whole affair is that there are probably dozens of similar cases of these false identities on rosters throughout the major and minor leagues.

We also heard much of what we hear in Pittsburgh - about why the Indians can't pursue and sign people like Prince Fielder, how they have to use resources to develop their own players internally, how they have to rely on the draft, and so on and so on. Change the word "Indians" to "Pirates" and it could have been Frank or Neal up there talking. Of course, the Indians DO have a couple of pennants and additional playoffs appearances over the last 19 season, so success CAN be found under that model of operation.

Other interesting presentations were given on the 1962 National League expansion draft and one the construction of the first concrete and steel ballparks in the early part of the 20th Century. I won't go into great detail here because it is my hope to have these gentlemen give their presentations at our SABR meeting in Pittsburgh on April 28. So, no spoilers for you today!
I was also privileged to give my own World Series-themed presentation at the meeting, and I thank Stephanie and the Chapter for giving me that opportunity. I will be giving that presentation at our April 28 meeting as well.

As a side note, and without giving anything away, the 1960 World Series did not qualify for consideration given the topic and parameters of my presentation. When I finished, a gent in the audience said he was "shocked" that I did not include the '60 Series, especially since I was from Pittsburgh. He went on to say that his wife was from Mt. Lebanon and that she would be "appalled" that the 1960 Series was not in my presentation. When I explained why it was not (and, again, no spoilers here; you'll have to come to the April 28 meeting in Pittsburgh to know why), he still didn't get it.

Moral of the Story: If you are a SABR member from Pittsburgh, you can never, ever escape the 1960 World Series, not even in Cleveland!

On a more serious note, it was a real hoot to meet and talk with SABR folks from another Chapter. I did talk up the Forbes Field Chapter and got the word out about our April 28 meeting, so I am hoping that many of those folks will make the trip east at that time.

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