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This Week in SABR: April 2, 2021

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This Week in SABR: April 2, 2021

Welcome to “This Week in SABR!” Click here to view this week’s newsletter on the web. Here’s what we’ve been up to as of April 2, 2021:

SABR celebrates Opening Day 2021 with new collection of Games Project stories

Charles Parks and Leon Day (COURTESY OF LARRY LESTER)Seventy-five years ago, Newark Eagles right-hander Leon Day joined Bob Feller as the only major-league pitchers to throw a no-hitter on Opening Day. The future Hall of Famer shut out the Philadelphia Stars 2-0 on May 5, 1946, to begin play in the Negro National League season. Click here to read the full story at the SABR Games Project.

As we celebrate the start of a new baseball season in 2021, the SABR Games Project has published a variety of new stories on memorable Opening Day games, including articles featuring Hall of Famers Babe Ruth, Roy Halladay, and Derek Jeter; the first steps in pennant-winning seasons; the aftermath of one of the most infamous trades in baseball history; and openers that were played far away from “home”:

To find dozens of other SABR Games Project stories about Opening Day, click here.

Baseball’s Better Together membership drive

Baseball's Better TogetherEveryone knows Baseball’s Better Together! With a new season upon us, we encourage all SABR members to share details about our new membership drive with the baseball-loving fan in your life.

In honor of the 2021 season, all baseball fans can save 21% off a new SABR membership! Visit SABR.org/better-together for details on how to sign up. We could celebrate our 50th anniversary this year by eclipsing our all-time high in global membership. With your help sharing this great offer for new members, this goal is within our reach!

SABR is the essential community for the world of baseball, where we celebrate history, research, and statistics of our great game. If you’re a passionate fan, there’s a place for you in SABR!

SABR Digital Library: Baseball’s Greatest Comeback Games

Baseball’s Greatest Comeback Games, edited by Bill NowlinAdd a new baseball book to your collection from the SABR Digital Library:

Baseball’s Greatest Comeback Games
Edited by Bill Nowlin
Associate editors Len Levin and Carl Riechers
ISBN (ebook): 978-1-9701-5946-2, $9.99
ISBN (paperback): 978-1-9701-5947-9, $29.95
8.5″ x 11″, 251 pages

What are Major League Baseball’s greatest comeback games? This book set out to collect the stories of those games, but rather than throw together an anecdotally-determined collection of games, SABR decided to see if there was an objective measure, a way to determine which was the greatest comeback game of all time, and to rank the games. Retrosheet’s Tom Ruane created a master list of 630 games and ranked them mathematically in terms of how unlikely the win was, and therefore how great the comeback had been. The games in this volume are presented in rank order, from number 1 through 64.

We also added the greatest postseason comeback games. These seven contests are presented in a separate section devoted to postseason games. And to make sure that every current team in MLB was represented in this volume, we treated the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants as different from the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants, and added the greatest comeback by the Colorado Rockies, Texas Rangers, and several other teams.

In the end, every major-league team is represented in Baseball’s Greatest Comeback Games, but the Phillies lead the list with six comeback wins in the top 64. Tied for second for most comebacks are four American League teams: the Red Sox, Indians, Tigers, and Yankees.

This book was a team effort by 60 members of the Society for American Baseball Research, who researched and wrote about all 80 games presented herein.

Contributors include: Gary Belleville, Charlie Bevis, Nathan Bierma, David Black, Stephen D. Boren, Thomas J. Brown Jr., Dr. John J. Burbridge Jr., Frederick C. Bush, JP Caillault, Ralph Caola, Ken Carrano, Alan Cohen, Rory Costello, Richard Cuicchi, Rich D’Ambrosio, Scott Ferkovich, James Forr, Brian Frank, Adrian Fung, Gregory Funk, Gordon J. Gattie, Nate Gilman, Steven Glassman, Irv Goldfarb, William Grmek, Vince Guerrieri, Michael Hanks, Paul Hofmann, Mike Huber, Ronnie Joyner, Russ Lake, Kevin Larkin, Bob LeMoine, Len Levin, Justin Mattingly, Madison McEntire, Bill Nowlin, Tony S. Oliver, Dennis Pajot, Laura H. Peebles, Matthew Perry, Alan Raylesberg, Carl Riechers, Richard Riis, Tom Ruane, Tom Schott, Peter Seidel, Andrew Sharp, Mark S. Sternman, Andrew Stockmann, Jim Sweetman, Bruce Thompson, Michael Trzinski, Joseph Wancho, Brian Williams, Jim Wohlenhaus, Gregory H. Wolf, Allan Wood, and Jack Zerby.

SABR members, get this e-book for FREE!

Having trouble downloading our e-books? To view PDF files on your computer, click here to download the free Adobe Reader software. Having trouble downloading e-books to your Kindle, Nook, Sony Reader or iPad? Click here for additional help.

SABR members can download all Digital Library e-book editions for free and save 50% on purchase of the paperback editions. Visit SABR.org/ebooks to find all past titles.

Deadline to submit new project proposals to SABR Editorial Board is April 30

SABR’s Editorial Board — which includes Scott Bush, Christina Kahrl, Bill Nowlin, Jacob Pomrenke, Anthony Salazar, Cecilia Tan, and Sarah Wexler — was established in 2020 to evaluate proposals for publication. The Board welcomes new research project proposals from members to be considered for publication through the Digital Library, SABR.org, or any other multimedia formats.

We strongly encourage new proposals that involve collaboration between SABR research committees and/or chapters, and web-based projects with an eye toward enhanced multimedia presentation.

SABR seeks to publish 2-4 web-based multimedia projects and 6-8 books per year. Book projects should be of a scope that can fit in a single volume, typically between 100,000 and 200,000 total words.

Two sample project proposals can be downloaded by clicking here. Previously published web projects can be viewed at SABR.org/eight-myths-out or SABR.org/gamesproj/first-games-back.

Click here to read the full announcement at SABR.org.

SABR welcomes new research committee: Baseball Iconography Project

Charles Conlon's iconic photograph of Ty Cobb sliding into third base (NATIONAL BASEBALL HALL OF FAME LIBRARY)SABR’s Board of Directors has approved the formation of a new research committee: The Baseball Iconography Project, an ongoing effort to produce a history and catalog of artistic depictions of the game in a variety of forms: fine art, photography, sculpture, illustration, caricatures, engraving, lithography.

The aim of the Iconography Project is not to create a pictorial history of baseball but an imaginary museum or gallery through which we may catalog and see the game’s art in the round. If this research committee is successful in its aim the outcome may be, eventually, a web or print opus that might be termed The Iconography of Baseball.

The committee leaders are Kevin Reichard, James E. Brunson III, and John Thorn. All SABR members are eligible to sign up for email announcements from this committee. Click here to visit the committee page and select “Join Group” to become a committee member.

SABR’s 33 research committees reflect the diverse interests of our members, with groups devoted to the study of a specific area related to the game — from Baseball and the Arts to Statistical Analysis to the Deadball Era to Women in Baseball. Click here to find the full list of SABR research committees and learn more about their work.

Join us for more Stay Home With SABR virtual events

Jane LeavySABR chapters and committees are encouraged to set up virtual meetings to stay engaged with our members throughout the world at SABR.org, as part of our Stay Home With SABR initiative to assist in limiting the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.

  • Can’t-Miss Event: On Saturday, April 3, at 9:30 a.m. CDT, the Halsey Hall Chapter in Minnesota will host a virtual book club meeting with Jane Leavy, award-winning author of Squeeze Play and other acclaimed baseball books. For questions or to RSVP for this meeting, please contact Stew Thornley.
  • Video Replays: Click here to view more video replays of virtual SABR events.

Here are some more upcoming virtual events you can attend online; check the Events Calendar for complete details:

  • April 3: Talkin’ Baseball: Brian Wright (9:00 a.m. EDT)
  • April 3: Halsey Hall (MN) Chapter book club meeting with Jane Leavy (9:30 a.m. CDT)
  • April 3: Pee Wee Reese (KY) Chapter meeting with Peter Coolbaugh (1030 a.m. EDT)
  • April 3: Carolina (NC) Chapter meeting with Jason Schwartz (12:00 p.m. EDT)
  • April 6: Halsey Hall (MN) Chapter meeting with Judith Hiltner and James Walker (7:00 p.m. CDT)
  • April 7: Baltimore Babe Ruth Chapter meeting with Marty Payne (7:00 p.m. EDT)
  • April 8: William Christiansen: The Shortstop from Kalamazoo: The Life and times of Neil Berry (6:30 p.m. EDT)
  • April 8: Casey Stengel (NYC) Chapter meeting with Donald Rice (7:00 p.m. EDT)
  • April 10: Leslie Heaphy: The Martins and the Red Sox for the Title (12:00 p.m. EDT)
  • April 10: Baseball Reminiscence chapter meeting (4:00 p.m. EDT)

Find more upcoming SABR meetings on our Events Calendar page.

New team ownership history: San Diego Padres

Petco Park (COURTESY OF THE SAN DIEGO PADRES)The SABR Team Ownership Histories Project is a joint effort of SABR’s Business of Baseball Committee and the BioProject. One new article was published this week:

Click here to read all published team ownership histories at SABR.org.

More than 75 percent of the current MLB franchises have been completed or are assigned. Teams still available are: Atlanta/Milwaukee Braves, Colorado Rockies, Houston Astros, Los Angeles Angels, Oakland/KC/Philadelphia Athletics, Tampa Bay Rays, and Washington Nationals,. We have also begun adding Negro Leagues, All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, and defunct (mostly 19th century) teams to the project. Many opportunities remain there. If you are interested in writing any of these articles, contact Andy McCue for details.

Register now for the virtual SABR Ivor-Campbell 19th Century Conference in April

SABR Ivor-Campbell 19th Century Base Ball Conference (ERIC MIKLICH)Registration is still open for the 11th annual SABR Frederick Ivor-Campbell 19th Century Base Ball Conference, which will be held virtually on April 22-24, 2021. All baseball fans are welcome to register for this special online event.

The 2021 virtual conference will be highlighted by a keynote address from Major League Baseball’s Official Historian John Thorn, along with a panel discussion on National League president William Hulbert with Jack Bales, Richard Hershberger, Bill Lamb, and moderator Bill Ryczek; a special presentation by Jim Gates on the “Penny Marshall Sheet Music Collection” at the Baseball Hall of Fame; a Member Spotlight interview of Tom Gilbert by Bob Bailey; plus research presentations.

For questions, please contact Peter Mancuso at peterplus4@earthlink.net.

To learn more about the conference, visit SABR.org/ivor-campbell19c.

Become a SABR Membership Ambassador!

Would you like to volunteer as a SABR Membership Ambassador? We’re looking for anyone who has a passion for SABR, who loves meeting new people, and who enjoys establishing authentic connections to help welcome new members into our baseball community.

Our Membership Ambassadors will be asked to send a personalized email to new members each week, help promote SABR via word of mouth and/or social media, represent the member ambassador team in at least one New Member Experience online session during the calendar year, and attend a quarterly virtual Zoom meeting with our Community Engagement Manager and other Ambassadors to discuss and review their efforts.

If you are interested in becoming a SABR Membership Ambassador, please email Chanel Zapata at czapata@sabr.org.

Friends of SABR: March 2021

Here is a list of SABR supporters for the month of March 2021:

NAME   NAME
Tony Adams   David Newman
Cherise Alexander   Bill Nowlin
Todd Bolton   James Odenkirk
D. Bruce Brown   James Overmyer
John Burbridge III   Gregg Pericich
Ken Carrano   John Rall
Jim Cox   Michael Rosenwasser
Paul Debono   Charles Roussel
Steven Elsberry   Bob Russon
Barbara Erion   Jason Scheller
Diane Firstman   Douglas Schoppert
Adam Foldes   Mark Stangl
Cheryl Harrison   W.B. Steverson
Leslie Heaphy   Thomas Stone
Tim Herlich   Wesley Story
Rockwell Hoffman   Joseph Thompson
David Hughes   John Thorn
Donald Jensen   Neal Traven
Henry Levy   Steve West
Peter Mancuso   Michaela White
Alex Marks   Jeffrey Wood
John Murphy   Don Zminda
Roderic Nelson    

Want to become a Friend of SABR? Click here to make a recurring monthly contribution or click here to learn more about our Giving Circles to make a one-time contribution.

SABRcast with Rob Neyer: Listen to an interview with pitching coach and author Tom House

SABRcast #104: Tom HouseBaseball fans, tune in this season to SABRcast with Rob Neyer, a weekly podcast hosted by award-winning author and longtime SABR member Rob Neyer.

Episode #104 on Monday, March 29 featured Tom House, former major-league pitcher and founder of the Mustard sports coaching app, which uses machine learning technology to evaluate pitching mechanics in young athletes. He has more than 50 years of experience playing and coaching baseball, including eight seasons as an MLB pitcher with the Atlanta Braves — he caught Henry Aaron’s 715th career home run ball in the Braves’ bullpen — and two other teams. He holds a Ph.D. in sports psychology from U.S. International University and has authored dozens of books and articles on the biomechanics of pitching motions.

Visit SABR.org/sabrcast to listen to the full episode.

Subscribe to SABRcast on your favorite podcast networks, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Stitcher, and listen to each episode as soon as it’s released on Mondays. To learn more, visit SABR.org/sabrcast.

7 new SABR biographies published

Leonard Koppett (NATIONAL BASEBALL HALL OF FAME LIBRARY)Seven new biographies were posted this week as part of the SABR Baseball Biography Project. Here are the new bios published this week:

All new biographies can be found here: SABR.org/bioproject

15 new stories published at the SABR Games Project

Lucas Giolito (TRADING CARD DB)Fifteen new game stories were posted this week as part of the SABR Games Project. Here are the new game stories:

New Games Project stories can be found at SABR.org/gamesproject.

  • Get involved: Have memories of a game you attended? Or a game you watched that caught your interest? Write about it! Writing for the Games Project is an easy way to get involved as a SABR member. Find out how by reading the Games Project FAQs section or checking out the Authors’ Guidelines. We have editors and fact checkers who are willing to help you write your first article.
  • Social media: Follow the SABR Games Project on Twitter or Facebook to keep up with new stories and updates.

Listen to a new episode of Behind the Numbers: Baseball SABR Style on SiriusXM on Saturdays

Baseball SABR Style on SiriusXM with Vince GennaroBehind the Numbers: Baseball SABR Style on SiriusXM, a radio show hosted by former SABR Board President Vince Gennaro, is back at a new time. Listen to new episodes at 4:00-5:00 p.m. ET on Saturdays on MLB Network Radio.

You can also listen to archives of recent episodes on-demand on the SiriusXM Internet Radio app.

Behind the Numbers: Baseball SABR Style on SiriusXM focuses on examining and interpreting the statistical analysis that plays a critical role in baseball today. It airs weekly throughout the year on MLB Network Radio, available to subscribers nationwide on XM channel 89, Sirius channel 209, and on the SiriusXM Internet Radio App.

ICYMI: Highlights from last week’s This Week in SABR

Here are some major headlines from recent weeks that we don’t want you to miss:

All previous editions of This Week in SABR can be found here: SABR.org/this-week-in-sabr-archives.

Welcome, new members!

We’d like to welcome all of our new SABR members who have joined this week. You can find all Members-Only resources at members.sabr.org and the Membership Handbook can be downloaded here.

Please give these new members a warm welcome and help them make the most of their membership by giving them the opportunity to get involved in their local chapter or a research committee.

You can find contact information for any SABR member in the online Membership Directory.

Name Hometown     Name Hometown
Michael Bryan Tallahassee, FL     Melody Huslage Maryville, TN
Douglas Carlson Denham Springs, LA     Rory Kelly South Bend, IN
Rosanna Cavalasca Turin, ITA     Scott Lehotsky Camp Hill, PA
Todd Clark San Diego, CA     Paul Oslund Midland, MI
Michael Clark Johnson City, TN     Courtney Penland Chicago, IL
John Daniel III Prescott, AZ     Rick Potlock Stephens City, VA
Mary Darling Albuquerque, NM     David Schmitz Walla Walla, WA
Lewis Freedman Columbus, IN     Justin Seibel Irvine, CA
Elliott Fullmer Richmond, VA     Laura Simmons-Larsen Whitefish Bay, WI
Bob Fulton Indiana, PA     Thomas Sipe Tallmadge, OH
Jimmy Granger Fort Worth, TX     Donald Von Dollen Palo Alto, CA
Gary Haas Burbank, CA     David White Cambridge, MA
Sam Harder Lawrence, KS        

Research Committee news

Here are the new research committee updates this week:

Find all SABR research committee newsletters at SABR.org/research/committees.

Regional Chapter news

Here are the new regional chapter and chartered community updates this week:

Visit SABR.org/chapters for more information on SABR regional chapters.

Around the Web

Here are some recent articles published by and about SABR members:

Please note: Some articles may require a separate subscription to view online. SABR does not endorse, and is not responsible or liable for, any content that appears on a third-party website.

This Week in SABR is compiled by Jacob Pomrenke. If you would like us to include an upcoming event, article or any other information in “This Week in SABR,” e-mail jpomrenke@sabr.org.

Have trouble reading this e-mail? Click here to view this week’s newsletter on the web.

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Originally published: April 2, 2021. Last Updated: April 2, 2021.

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