Here is a list of speakers, panelists and moderators from the inaugural SABR Analytics Conference, March 15-17, 2012, at the Phoenix Hilton East/Mesa in Arizona.

Derrick Hall President and CEO Ariz. Diamondbacks	Tom Ricketts Chairman Chicago Cubs	Mark Shapiro President Cleveland Indians
Chris Antonetti Exec. Vice President/ General Manager Cleveland Indians	Jerry Dipoto Sr. Vice President/ General Manager Los Angeles Angels	Doug Melvin Exec. Vice President/ General Manager Milwaukee Brewers
A.J. Hinch Vice President/ Assistant GM San Diego Padres	Joe Bohringer Director of Professional Scouting Chicago Cubs	Brandon McCarthy Pitcher Oakland Athletics

 

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• Research Presentations: Check out Research Presentation abstracts and biographies here.

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Welcome/Networking Reception: The reception will be an opportunity for conference attendees to meet some of our panelists, speakers, writers and others working throughout the baseball industry. Held Thursday, March 15. Featured speaker:

• Derrick Hall, President/CEO, Arizona Diamondbacks: Derrick was named team president in September 2006 and later added the title of CEO in January 2009. Hall originally joined the Diamondbacks in May 2005 as Senior Vice President, Communications, and served in numerous other capacities until being named president. His leadership in the local community has allowed the Diamondbacks to become the first professional sports team to win the inaugural 2010 United Nations NGO Positive Peace Award.

Changing Face of Baseball Data Panel: Data is the foundation of baseball analytics. New data capture methods are yielding information such as the speed of the ball off the hitters’ bat and the route a fielder takes to the ball. Technologies such as doppler radar are now being used to record and measure the events on the field. The net result of this innovation is a new world of baseball analytics, which is overhauling the way MLB teams make decisions. Held Thursday, March 15.

• Dave Cameron, FanGraphs: Dave is Managing Editor and a Senior Writer at FanGraphs. He was the co-founder of the U.S.S. Mariner blog and previously worked at Baseball Prospectus.
• John Dewan, Baseball Info Solutions: John is the owner of Baseball Info Solutions, as well as the author of The Fielding Bible and The Fielding Bible II.
• Cory Schwartz, MLB.com: Cory is Vice President of Statistics for MLB.com and co-host of Fantasy 411 on MLB.com and MLB Network. He is also a pioneer of the Pitch f/x system.
• Moderator: Sean Forman, Baseball-Reference.com: Sean is the founder of Baseball-Reference.com. A recipient of the 2011 Henry Chadwick Award, honoring baseball’s greatest researchers, he is also a co-founder of BaseballThinkFactory.org and has authored numerous sabermetric articles.

Bloomberg Sports—Next Generation of Team Analytics: Bill Squadron, head of Bloomberg Sports, will demonstrate the most advanced and integrated system for baseball operations ever developed and now being used by almost all MLB clubs. The system is a one-stop shop that allows teams to address all of their baseball needs in a single unit. Bill will be joined by Shiraz Rehman, who will talk about the relationship established between the Chicago Cubs and Bloomberg Sports. Held Thursday, March 15.

• Bill Squadron, Bloomberg Sports: Bill is head of Bloomberg Sports, which provides data, statistical analysis and visualizations for sports professionals and fans. From 1997 to 2003, he was co-founder, Chairman and CEO of Sportvision, pushing for television innovations such as the yellow first down marker in football, NASCAR Race f/x and the “K Zone” baseball tracking system.
• Shiraz Rehman, Chicago Cubs: Shiraz is Assistant to the General Manager of the Chicago Cubs. He spent six seasons with the Arizona Diamondbacks, serving as the director of player personnel and previously as director of baseball operations.

Player Panel: How has analytics changed major league players’ approach to the game, their preparation and their performance? Held Thursday, March 15.

• Brandon McCarthy, Oakland Athletics: Brandon is a starting pitcher for the Oakland Athletics. He set career highs in wins (9), starts (25), complete games (5), innings pitched (170.2) and strikeouts (123) in 2011, and shattered an A’s franchise record with a 4.92 strikeout-to-walk ratio.  
• Moderator: Rob Neyer, Baseball Nation: Rob is the National Baseball Editor for SB Nation. He previously worked with Bill James, STATS, Inc. and ESPN.com. He has also written or co-written six baseball books, including The Neyer/James Guide to Pitchers (with Bill James), winner of the Sporting News/SABR Baseball Research Award.

Clubhouse Confidential Panel: Our panelists appear regularly on MLB Network’s signature sabermetrics program, “Clubhouse Confidential” (airing at 5:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. daily). You will have the opportunity to ask them questions related to baseball analytics, value projection and other topics. Held Friday, March 16.

• Dave Cameron, FanGraphs: Dave is Managing Editor and a Senior Writer at FanGraphs. He was the co-founder of the U.S.S. Mariner blog and previously worked at Baseball Prospectus.
• Jay Jaffe, Baseball Prospectus: Jay is the author of Baseball Prospectus’ weekly Prospectus Hit List, the Prospectus Hit and Run column and BP’s in-house expert on the Hall of Fame.
• Vince Gennaro, SABR: Vince is the President of SABR and author of Diamond Dollars: The Economics of Winning in Baseball. He is a consultant to MLB teams, and he teaches in the graduate programs at Columbia University and Manhattanville College.
• Rob Neyer, Baseball Nation: Rob is the National Baseball Editor for SB Nation. He previously worked with Bill James, STATS, Inc. and ESPN.com. He has also written or co-written six baseball books, including The Neyer/James Guide to Pitchers (with Bill James), winner of the Sporting News/SABR Baseball Research Award.

Fantasy Baseball Panel: What we can all learn from Fantasy Baseball and the way it has impacted MLB teams. Held Friday, March 16.

• Derek Carty, Baseball Prospectus: Derek is the Fantasy Manager at Baseball Prospectus. He previously served as fantasy baseball manager of The Hardball Times.
• Craig Glaser, Bloomberg Sports: Craig is an Application Developer at Bloomberg Sports. The founder of Sabometrics.com, he is a lifelong Mets fan whose writing has previously appeared on Amazin’ Avenue at SBNation and on The Hardball Times.
• Eno Sarris, FanGraphs: Eno, a graduate of Stanford University, is a writer for FanGraphs, Amazin’ Avenue of SB Nation and RotoGraphs, a FanGraphs-based blog affiliate.
• Moderator: Cory Schwartz, MLB.com: Cory is Vice President of Statistics for MLB.com and co-host of Fantasy 411 on MLB.com and MLB Network. He is also a pioneer of the Pitch f/x system.

General Managers Panel: On how major league front offices are using analytics to develop a competitive edge and stay ahead of their competition. Held Friday, March 16.

• Chris Antonetti, Cleveland Indians: Chris is entering his second season as Executive Vice President and General Manager of the Cleveland Indians since being elevated to the position following the 2010 season. It is his 13th season overall with the franchise after spending nine seasons as Assistant General Manager and, later, Vice President of Baseball Operations from 2002-10.
• Jerry Dipoto, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim: Jerry is entering his first season as Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. He previously spent six seasons with the Arizona Diamondbacks, most recently as the Senior Vice President, Scouting & Player Development.
• Doug Melvin, Milwaukee Brewers: Doug was named Executive Vice President and General Manager of the Milwaukee Brewers in 2001. During Melvin’s tenure, the organization’s farm system has produced a number of players who have contributed greatly to the Major League team. Prior to joining the Brewers, Melvin was the General Manager of the Texas Rangers from 1996-2001.
• Moderator: Ken Rosenthal, MLB Network/FoxSports.com: Ken is a Baseball Insider for MLB Network and regularly appears on MLB Tonight and Hot Stove. A sportswriter for more than 20 years, he also is FoxSports.com’s senior baseball writer and a weekly contributor to the Fox Saturday Baseball Game of the Week. On-air since 2005, he serves as the field reporter during Fox Sports’ featured baseball matchup.

Retrospective Look at Baseball Analysis: When SABR was founded in 1971, the analysis of baseball statistics was in its infancy. Mainframe computers were expensive and the Internet didn’t exist yet. Since then, technology in the Information Age has allowed millions of fans to access and understand sabermetrics, analyzing data at home and connecting with others across the globe. Leaders of the early days of baseball analysis will discuss the evolution of sabermetrics and where it’s headed in the future. Held Friday, March 16.

• Dick Cramer, SABR: Dick is an early pioneer in baseball statistical analysis. With Pete Palmer, he founded SABR’s groundbreaking Statistical Analysis Committee in the 1970s and helped form STATS, Inc., in 1981. He has written many articles in the Baseball Research Journal.
• Gary Gillette, SABR: Gary has been on SABR’s Board of Directors since 2009. He is the editor of SABR’s annual Emerald Guide and is co-chair of the Ballparks Research Committee. He is also a co-editor of the ESPN Baseball Encyclopedia and executive editor of the ESPN Pro Football Encyclopedia.
• John Thorn, MLB: John was appointed the Official Historian of Major League Baseball in 2011. A longtime SABR member and a past Bob Davids Award winner, his books include Baseball in the Garden of Eden, Total Baseball, The Hidden Game of Baseball and Treasures of the Baseball Hall of Fame.
• Moderator: Sean Forman, Baseball-Reference.com: Sean is the founder of Baseball-Reference.com. A recipient of the 2011 Henry Chadwick Award, honoring baseball’s greatest researchers, he is also a co-founder of BaseballThinkFactory.org and has authored numerous sabermetric articles.

Scouting and Analytics Panel: Scouts and stats have often been characterized as being at odds with one another, and at one time that may have been true. In today’s game we are seeing not only a co-existence, but the integration of scouting and analytics, including the emergence of new sources of scouting data and information. This panel will discuss the impact of technology and data capture on scouting, as well as the way in which data analyses are blended with scouting information to assist teams in their decision-making. Held Saturday, March 17.

• Joe Bohringer, Chicago Cubs: Joe is the Director of Pro Scouting for the Chicago Cubs. Bohringer was previously a major league scout for the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Seattle Mariners. Before embarking on a full-time scouting career, he spent three years as Senior Manager of Player Development for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
• A.J. Hinch, San Diego Padres: A.J. is Vice President/Assistant General Manager of the San Diego Padres. Prior to joining the Padres as Vice President of Professional Scouting in September 2010, Hinch served as manager for the Arizona Diamondbacks and spent three-plus seasons as the Diamondbacks’ Director/VP of Player Development.
• Corrine Vitolo, SmartKage: Corrine is CEO of SmartKage, an innovative technology that provides quantitative analysis for the Amateur and Collegiate Baseball markets. SmartKage captures 50 objective metrics on every athlete, ranging from spin axis for pitchers to cognitive reaction time for hitters. With a data network powered by 300 locations and 3,500 colleges, SmartKage is well positioned to lead the integration of scouting and analytics.
• Moderator: Dan Migala, PCG: Dan is the founding partner of Property Consulting Group, a Chicago-based team marketing advisory firm and publisher of The Migala Report, a sports business monthly periodical. He has helped design some of baseball’s most innovative revenue-generating concepts. He is a co-owner with Mike Veeck of the Class A Fort Myers Miracle and author of three sports marketing texts.

Digital World Meets Baseball Information Panel: Website, mobile and television producers and developers are continually pushing the envelope and upgrading the way in which baseball fans are provided with more timely, cutting edge, informative and interactive analytic information. What will be the next innovative ways in which baseball fans consume statistical content? What are baseball content providers going to be developing next? How are content providers going to incorporate this information and implement these new innovations? Held Saturday, March 17.

• Jeff Bennett, ESPN: Jeff is a Senior Director with ESPN’s Stats & Information Group. Bennett has won four Sports Emmy Awards for his role as the lead researcher on ESPN’s SportsCenter and Baseball Tonight studio shows from 1996-2003.
• Rob Shaw, Bloomberg Sports: Rob is the Head of Broadcast/Executive Producer of Bloomberg Sports. He appears on Bloomberg TV in Fantasy Sports Reports, as well as USAToday.com and MLB.com.
• Ryan Zander, Sportvision: Ryan is General Manager of SportVision’s baseball products. He oversees the direction and strategy of SV’s baseball products including Pitch f/x, Hit f/x, Field f/x.
• Moderator: Michele Steele, ESPN: Michele is a cross-platform anchor/reporter for ESPN. She has reported live from the Super Bowl, the Masters, the Final Four and the Kentucky Derby. Before joining ESPN in 2011, she worked at Bloomberg Television as the network’s only sports business reporter. Steele was also a senior reporter for Forbes video on-demand service.