Ted Williams wasn’t happy about being sent to Minneapolis. He graduated from San Diego's Hoover High School, completed his second year with his hometown San Diego Padres, borrowed $200, and took the train cross country to Sarasota, Florida, where the Boston Red Sox held spring training in 1938.

 

There’s a story that Bobby Doerr told Ted, “Wait’ll you see [star first baseman Jimmie] Foxx hit.” Ted supposedly replied, “Wait’ll Foxx sees me hit!” Williams denied it in his autobiography, My Turn At Bat, but acknowledges, “I suppose it wouldn’t have been unlike me.” Ted was chagrined when he was assigned to Daytona Beach, the spring training home of the Minneapolis Millers, Boston’s top minor-league affiliate. He’d come across as brash and cocky to manager Joe Cronin and been given some riding by his fellow outfielders, and he did admit to telling clubhouse man Johnny Orlando, “Tell them, I’ll be back, and tell them I’m going to wind up making more money in this frigging game than all three of them put together.”

-- From "Ted Williams' Year in Minnesota" by Bill Nowlin https://sabr.org/research/ted-williams-year-minneapolis

The Halsey Hall Chapter of SABR is a group of baseball fans and researchers that are interested in all aspects of baseball, from analytics to uniforms. We meet as a group twice a year at our Chapter meetings to listen to the latest in historical baseball research and presentations from former Twins, talk about baseball, and eat pizza/donuts. We also have a number of other events throughout the year to sate the appetite of the most diehard of baseball fans.

Our next Chapter Meeting is Saturday, May 18th, 2019 at the Faith Mennonite Church, 2720 E. 22nd Street in south Minneapolis. Registration for the meeting is at 8:30 AM with research presentations beginning at 9:00 AM. A business meeting will be held during lunch with a featured guest to follow. The cost for the meeting and lunch is $10. The meeting only is $5.

Research Committee

The Halsey Hall Research Committee is currently working on "The Spread of Baseball in Minnesota" project as well as an On-line Baseball Research Tools Panel Presentations scheduled for the University of Minnesota in February.

The Research Committee will meet Monday, January 14 at 7:00 PM in Room I at the Brookdale Library, 6125 Shingle Creek Parkway, Brooklyn Center 55430.

Other Upcoming Events

Pre-Festivus Hot Stove Grumpy’s Gathering of Baseball Enthusiasts

Join your fellow fans to talk baseball at Grumpy’s Bar and Grill, 2200 4th Street Northeast, Minneapolis 55418, on Friday, December 21. Gathering begins at 5 PM

Fred Souba Hot Stove Saturday Morning

The next Fred Souba Hot Stove Saturday Morning, an informal breakfast gathering for the purpose of talking baseball, will be at 9:00 AM on Saturday, January 5 at Bunny’s Northeast, 34 13th Avenue NE, Minneapolis 55413, 612-545-5659 (in what was the keg warehouse of the Grain Belt Brewery).

Chapter Outing to Play Ball! Exhibit in Shakopee

Jim Cox is organizing an outing to the Play Ball! Sports in Scott County exhibit at the Scott County Historical Society, 235 Fuller Street South, Shakopee 55379 on Saturday, January 12. Jim attended the opening of the exhibit on September 27 and invites others to join him on a return visit. Admission is $4. Those interested in lunch may meet at 11 AM at Wampach’s Restaurant, 126 Fuller Street. The congregation will then go two blocks south to the museum at noon.

Twinsfest

The Halsey Hall Chapter will again have a table at Twinsfest at Target Field from Friday, January 25 to Sunday, January 27. If you are interested in volunteering for a shift at the table, contact Doug Skipper, 612-876-1408.

Caribbean Series Viewing Party

A Caribbean Series viewing party will be Sunday, February 3 at 2:00 PM at Adelita’s Mexican Restaurant, 2405 Central Avenue NE, Minneapolis 55418.

Book Club

The Halsey Hall Chapter Book Club will meet Saturday, February 9 at 9:30 AM at the usual spot, Barnes & Noble in Har Mar Mall in Roseville. The book selection is Powerball: Anatomy of a Modern Game by Rob Neyer.

More Information

For more information about SABR and the Halsey Hall Chapter:

http://www.sabr.org

http://www.halseyhall.org

Hans Van Slooten is the Membership Chair of the Halsey Hall Chapter of SABR. He currently works in the Baseball Operations department of the Minnesota Twins. He is also the former Manager of Baseball Operations at Sports Reference.