SABR

What an evening!

Hood invited me to join him at a meeting of the local chapter of SABR (the Society for American Baseball Research). It was just as baseball-geeky as it sounds.

We met at the Legends of the Game Museum in the Ballpark in Arlington (other name? What other name?).

First up was speaker Josh Lewin, play-by-play man for the Rangers. Very approachable, very down-to-earth guy who was fun to listen to. He was also hawking his new book, You Never Forget Your First. It’s about major league players’ memories about their debuts. I picked up a copy and got him to sign it to Kelli and me… she enjoys Lewin’s work, but for some of the wrong reasons. Not sure what she sees in the guy THAT way, but he’s likable enough.

After a short break came the real treat. Wayne Terwilliger of the Ft. Worth Cats spoke. You may recall that he managed them last season, retired, UN-retired, and will now be their first base coach. This is a guy who has been in pro baseball about 60 years, and man did he have some stories to tell. Sharp as a whip at 80, “Twig” talked about his favorite guys (Jackie Robinson, Kirby Puckett, Ted Williams), and spoke rather bemusedly about how he’s forged a career in baseball.

When Q&A time came, it became clear that the room was full of old-school DFW baseball royalty. Guys with Rangers ties from way back (like former manager Frank Lucchese), Texas indie baseball roots, local statisticians (like our buddy Mike… see you again in Phoenix, amigo). Names, dates, anecdotes… every old-timer in that room has forgotten more about baseball than I’ll ever know.

I felt like I hit the baseball jackpot last night.

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And in the ongoing saga of my time on the disabled list… yeah, all the time I spent in bed due to the stomach illness messed up my back. I think I’ve got a pinched nerve or something, as I’ve got shooting pain in both legs most of the time now. Hoo boy. I’ve heard about this. Gonna see the chiropractor just as soon as I can. It kept me up for about 90 minutes overnight. I hope this doesn’t become a genuine problem.

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I’d better get to work. Happy Thursday, ya’ll.