The Rabbit Maranville SABR Chapter announced the lineup of speakers for the Sept. 25 gathering at Western New England University.  Here is the release from Chapter VP  Jim Winston…

WALTER RABBIT MARANVILLE CHAPTER

SPRINGFIELD MASSACHUSETTS

SOCIETY for AMERICAN BASEBALL RESEARCH

Next Meeting – Monday, September 25, 2017

7:00 P.M. – 9:00 P.M.

Bears Den – Lower Level of the Campus Center

Western New England University

1215 Wilbraham Road

Springfield, MA 01119

REGISTRATION FEE:      $5.00

SPEAKERS:

JASON KLEIN:  Former veteran minor league umpire will discuss his years umpiring professional baseball games as well as his creation of a revolutionary catcher’s mask that reduces the severity index of a concussion by up to 50%.

KEVIN COOK: Author, will speak about his new book, Electric October, which chronicles the 1947 World Series between the New York Yankees and the Brooklyn Dodgers, as seen through the eyes of the managers and others on the teams. Seven world series games, six lives, five minutes of fame that lasted forever.

DORON (DUKE) GOLDMAN:  Baseball historian, and 2016 SABR-MacFarland award recipient and Robert Peterson Recognition Award winner will speak about “The Double Victory Campaign and the Campaign to integrate Baseball,” as well as his upcoming article coming out in Vol. 9 of Black Ball: “Monte’s Missions: Mastering Mexico, Military Service, Defeating Monarchs, and Minor League Magic.”

Refreshments will be served and there will be a new selection of baseball books, hats, and other baseball related items for sale.If you have any questions, please call:

Steve Manioudakis (President), 413-427-4681 (stavkim@charter.net ) or Jim Winston (VP/Secretary), 413-584-1110 (james@jameswinstonlaw.com).

From the East and West (Boston, Albany) via the Massachusetts Turnpike (I-90):

Leave the Mass. Pike at Exit 6. Turn left onto I-291. Take Exit 5 off I-291 (“Route 20-A West to East Springfield”). Bear right at the end of the exit ramp on Page Blvd. Take the left at the first light onto Roosevelt Ave. Take Roosevelt Avenue 2.5 miles to the intersection with Wilbraham Road (fifth traffic light). Turn left onto Wilbraham Road and follow it 1.5 miles through the second light. Turn right into the parking lot of the Welcome Center. (Total 5.6 miles from Mass. Pike.)

From the North via Interstate 91:

Leave I-91 at Exit 8, (“Ludlow, Boston 1-291”). Travel to Exit 5B, (“East Springfield”). Turn right off of the ramp onto Page Blvd. At the first traffic light, turn left onto Roosevelt Ave. Take Roosevelt Avenue 2.5 miles to the intersection with Wilbraham Road (fifth traffic light). Turn left onto to Wilbraham Road and follow it 1.5 miles through the second light. Turn right into the parking lot of the Welcome Center. (Total 8.6 miles from I-91)

From the South via Interstate 91:

Leave I-91 at Exit 2 (“East Longmeadow”). Follow signs (“Route 83”) to the light at the intersection of Longhill and Sumner Ave. Turn right onto Sumner Ave. Travel straight on Sumner Ave. (which becomes Allen St.) to the traffic light at the intersection of Allen St. and Bradley Road (3.2 miles). Turn left onto Bradley Road and travel 1.6 miles to Wilbraham Rd. and turn right. Travel 0.2 miles and turn right, into the parking lot of the Welcome Center. (Total 5.7 miles from I-91.)

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Walter Rabbitt Maranville Springfield MA SABR Chapter.

Baseball Insiders to Discuss

Yankees-Red Sox Rivalry

At Waterbury’s Mattatuck Museum

Thursday, September 7

            Waterbury, CT — Baseball’s greatest rivalry will be discussed by a panel of veteran experts who have experienced the Boston Red Sox-New York Yankees battles first hand through the years with the event taking place at the site of art dealer Neil Scherer’s inspiring exhibit on the same theme at the Mattatuck Museum in Waterbury on Thursday, September 7.

The Waterbury area is considered by many the geographic mid-point where fans line up on one side or the other to cheer on their team, and the debate seems fitting because it will only be a short time before baseball’s postseason begins, likely once again including the arch-rivals who will be going all out to win another World Series championship.

The debate event, which is open to the public ($10 adults, $7 seniors, 16 and under free), will run from 6-9 p.m. near Scherer’s work, which celebrates many of the greatest moments and personalities in the two teams’ storied history.  Refreshments will be served.

Scherer, a New York City resident, will take part in the event which centers around about 20 of his creative art pieces which include one-of-a-kind collections of autographs, ticket stubs, programs and photos from the intense Red Sox-Yankees history.

The event is a collaboration among Scherer, the museum and longtime baseball executive Bob Wirz of Stratford, CT, who was president of Waterbury’s last professional team, the independent Waterbury Spirit, and recently published his life’s story in a 350-page book entitled “The Passion of Baseball”.

Noted author Bill Ryczek of Wallingford, CT will moderate the discussion.  Ryczek has published numerous books including “The Yankees in the Early 1960s” and “The Amazin’ Mets, 1962-69”.

On hand to talk about the rivalry will be longtime Hartford Courant Yankees beat writer Dom Amore, Smoky Joe Wood Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) chapter president Steve Krevisky, major league baseball rules expert Rich Marazzi, veteran Red Sox scout David Scrivines and baseball author and former Waterbury Republican-American sports editor Don Harrison.

Scherer has meticulously assembled vast original baseball collectibles for his themed exhibits.  The collage featuring Mickey Mantle’s 18 World Series home runs includes an autograph from every pitcher who was victimized, and the same holds for Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak.  The display about Don Larsen’s perfect game in the 1956 World Series features an unused game ticket, a scorecard signed by TV personality Ed Sullivan and a commemorative plate signed by Larsen and batterymate Yogi Betta.

Red Sox fans will delight at the details in the piece featuring Hall of Famer Carl Yastrzemski and another on the first 100 years of Fenway Park, including among the many items a brick from the fabled stadium and a copy of the sales agreement that sent Babe Ruth from Boston to the Yankees.

The Mattatuck Museum is at 144 West Main Street in Waterbury.

For more information or interviews contact the museum or RWirz@aol.com, 203 380-9931 or 203 858-4890.