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This Week in SABR: November 20, 2020

This Week in SABR: November 20, 2020

Welcome to “This Week in SABR!” Click here to view this week’s newsletter on the web. Please note: The SABR office will be closed for Thanksgiving on November 26-27. Here’s what we’ve been up to as of November 20, 2020:


SABR 50 at 50: Off-Field Figures

SABR 50 at 50As part of the SABR 50 at 50 project to commemorate the organization’s fiftieth anniversary, we invite you to look at the 50 most significant Off-Field Figures in baseball for the past 50 years.

While the players take center stage in most baseball discussions, many others have made a significant impact on the game off the field. These individuals have indelibly marked the way the game is played, watched, understood, enjoyed, governed, and bankrolled. There is, of course, something a little arbitrary in choosing a list like this, filled with not just owners and commissioners but general managers, field managers, coaches, umpires, writers, announcers, doctors, mascots, and numerous others associated with baseball. Our hope is that you enjoy deliberating the impact of these newsworthy individuals.

Visit SABR.org/50at50/off-field to view the list and read the short description for each of the people included. Click on the title to read stories from the SABR BioProject or other baseball authors about these figures.

— Mark Armour and Daniel Levitt


Early registration now open for 2021 SABR Virtual Analytics Conference

SABR Virtual Analytics ConferenceEarly registration is now open for the SABR Virtual Analytics Conference, which will be held over four days in online sessions from March 11-14, 2021. We’ll bring together the top minds in the baseball analytics community to discuss, debate, and share insightful ways to analyze and examine the great game of baseball. Register today to join us!

The Virtual Analytics Conference schedule will consist of research presentations and guest speakers from throughout the baseball analytics community, career development sessions led by experienced sports professionals, and industry networking opportunities — all available online for any aspiring front office executive or baseball fan to attend from the comfort of home. Students will have opportunities for skill acquisition and development, including sessions on how to work with baseball-related data sets as well as databasing and SQL.

Programming will run on Thursday and Friday evening from 6:30-9:00 p.m. Eastern, all day Saturday from 12:00-8:00 p.m. Eastern, and Sunday afternoon from 1:00-5:00 p.m. EDT.

Stay tuned for more details on guest speakers, panelists, and presenters! Visit SABR.org/analytics to learn more.


One week left to submit presentation abstracts for 2021 SABR Virtual Analytics Conference

SABR and Baseball Info Solutions are excited to announce the call for presentations for the SABR Virtual Analytics Conference, which will be held online on March 11-14, 2021.

Abstracts of proposed research presentations should be no more than 500 words in length, and must include the abstract’s title, review of previous work on the subject, a summary of the research methodology and anticipated results, and the expected contribution to the field of baseball analytics offered by this work. Please send all abstracts to this e-mail address: analytics@baseballinfosolutions.com. Please clearly indicate whether you are submitting for the general track or for the student track of presentations.

The submission deadline for all 2021 SABR Analytics Conference presentation abstracts is 11:59 p.m. MST on Wednesday, November 25, 2020.

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


Apply now to participate in the 2021 Diamond Dollars Virtual Case Competition

2020 Diamond Dollars Case Competition winners: Virginia TechThe 2021 Diamond Dollars Virtual Case Competition will be held online from 11:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. EST on Friday, March 12, 2021, as part of the SABR Virtual Analytics Conference.

In the Diamond Dollars Virtual Case Competition, undergraduate, graduate and professional school students from colleges and universities across the country compete against each other by preparing an analysis and presentation of a baseball operations decision — the type of decision a team’s GM and his staff is faced with over the course of a season.

Visit SABR.org/analytics/case to learn more.


Students, apply now for a Yoseloff Scholarship to attend the 2021 SABR Virtual Analytics Conference

2020 SABR Analytics Yoseloff ScholarsWith generous funding from The Anthony A. Yoseloff Foundation, Inc., SABR will award up to eight scholarships to high school and college students who wish to attend the SABR Virtual Analytics Conference on March 11-14, 2021. This scholarship will pay for all registration fees and expenses associated with the conference.

The objective of this scholarship fund is to encourage student engagement with baseball analytics, and to engender an active interest in baseball research and SABR. The Yoseloff scholarship is to assist young researchers who want to attend the SABR Virtual Analytics Conference and to introduce them to fellow SABR members and professionals within the baseball community. Through this fund, SABR hopes to inspire future baseball research, expose students to high-quality research and build the research capability of interested students.

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


Join SABR’s Golden Lineup to help us celebrate our 50th Anniversary!

2020 SABR Donation DriveMembers like you are helping us turn our shared vision into a reality. As 2020 draws to a close, we hope you will renew and, if your means allow, even increase your support for SABR’s mission.

You can join SABR’s Golden Lineup by making a gift of at least $100 by December 31, 2020. We will use your best gift of $100, $250, $500, or $1,000 to bring more young people into the beautiful world of baseball; to publish groundbreaking books and articles; and to promote research, preservation, and scholarship.

All donors joining the Golden Lineup with a $100 gift or more will receive a copy of From Rube to Robinson, our anthology of research celebrating the centennial anniversary of the Negro Leagues.

Donors supporting SABR with a gift of $500 or more will also receive a miniature Rawlings Gold Glove Award replica and be entered to win the SABR Golden Ticket.

The winner of the SABR Golden Ticket will receive:

  • Lifetime membership to SABR
  • All expenses paid to a SABR conference of their choice
  • Attend the 2021 Rawlings Gold Glove Award Banquet in New York City

Visit SABR.org/donate/2020 to learn more.


SABR welcomes new Canadian chapter in Ottawa

SABR’s Board of Directors has approved the formation of a new chapter in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

The Ottawa Chapter serves members in the capital region of Canada; the chapter leader is George Rigakos.

SABR’s 81 regional chapters cover 39 U.S. states, Puerto Rico, and Washington, D.C.; plus international chapters in Canada (Quebec, Ontario, British Columbia), Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Australia, Latin America (Venezuela, Dominican Republic), the United Kingdom, Europe (Netherlands), and Italy. For a list of all SABR chapters, visit SABR.org/chapters. A calendar of upcoming SABR meetings can be found at SABR.org/events.

To sign up for chapter email announcements and receive instant notification of upcoming SABR events in your area, click here to select from the list of chapters, then click “Join Group” () at the top of the chapter page. All SABR members are eligible to sign up for announcements from any chapter or committee.


Watch highlights from SABR Century Committee panel on 1920 World Series

1920 Cleveland Indians, World Series championsSABR’s Century Committee hosted a special panel discussion on the 100th anniversary of the 1920 World Series, which capped off a historic and scandalous baseball season, at 7:30 p.m. EST on Wednesday, November 18, 2020. All SABR members were invited to attend this free virtual event on Zoom.

Our guest speakers included Mike Sowell, author of The Pitch That Killed; Scott Longert, author of The Best They Could Be: How the Cleveland Indians became the Kings of Baseball, 1916-1920; Jeremy Feador, Cleveland Indians team historian; Jacob Pomrenke, chair of SABR’s Black Sox Scandal committee; and moderator Sharon Hamilton, co-chair of SABR’s Century Committee.

Click here to watch highlights from this panel on YouTube.


Join us for more Stay Home With SABR virtual events

Stay Home With SABRSABR 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.

This week, we heard from David Laurila of FanGraphs with Adam Darowski of Baseball-Reference.com and Josh Whetzel of the Rochester Red Wings, Minnesota Twins official scorer Stew Thornley, Leslie Heaphy on the Negro Leagues, Peter Coolbaugh on the evolution of a Super-Fan, and the SABR Century Committee’s 1920 World Series Centennial Panel.

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

  • November 21: Halsey Hall (Minn.) Chapter meeting (8:30 a.m. CST)
  • November 21: Jack Graney (Ohio) Chapter book club meeting (10:00 a.m. EST)
  • November 21: Rogers Hornsby (Texas) Chapter meeting (1:00 p.m. CST)
  • November 23: Rocky Mountain Chapter meeting with Zack Rosenthal (1:00 p.m. MST)
  • November 24: Ken Keltner (Wis.) Chapter meeting with Tom Flanagan (7:00 p.m. CST)
  • November 28: Quebec Chapter meeting (1:00 p.m. EST)
  • November 30: Elysian Fields (N.J.) Chapter meeting with Deesha Thosar, Elizabeth Muratore, and Linda Surovich (9:00 p.m. EST)
  • December 1: IBWAA: Now Batting with Gabrielle Starr (8:00 p.m. EST)
  • December 2: Negro Leagues Centennial Panel with Leslie Heaphy, Ray Doswell, and more (3:30 p.m. PST)
  • December 2: Baltimore Babe Ruth Chapter meeting with Sean Gibson (7:00 p.m. EST)
  • December 3: Boston Chapter meeting with Bill Nowlin, Andy Sharp, and Tony Valley (8:00 p.m. EST)

Find more upcoming virtual meetings on our SABR Events Calendar page.

Click here to view replays of any SABR virtual event in 2020.


Read SABR biographies of 2021 Hall of Fame ballot candidates

National Baseball Hall of Fame (JACOB POMRENKE)The full 2021 Baseball Hall of Fame ballot was released this week, and you can find all published SABR biographies of 2021 HOF candidates at the SABR BioProject. Visit the link below to read bios on Hall of Fame candidates Barry Bonds, Todd Helton, Scott Rolen, Omar Vizquel, and more:

http://sabr.org/bioproj/category/demographic/2021-hall-of-fame-ballot/

As part of our BioProject Hall of Fame Ballot initiative, we are still seeking authors for all of the first-time players on this year’s ballot, including Mark Buehrle, Tim Hudson, Aramis Ramírez, Shane Victorino, and Barry Zito. Ideally, we would like to have the bios written, edited, and fact-checked by January 2021 so we can post them on the BioProject website and on social media before the election announcements. Please contact bioassign@sabr.org if you are interested in writing about one of these players.

Find more SABR biographies at SABR.org/BioProject.


SABR office continuing to work remotely

The SABR office, housed at Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication in Phoenix, Arizona, has been closed indefinitely due to the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) situation. Staff members will work remotely until it is advisable to resume normal operations on-site.

Please contact a member of the SABR staff by email or phone with any questions.


SABRcast with Rob Neyer: Listen to an interview with Negro Leagues historian Scott Simkus

SABRcast #86: Scott SimkusBaseball 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 #86 on Monday, November 16 featured Scott Simkus, author of Outsider Baseball: The Weird World of Hardball on the Fringe, 1876–1950. He is one of the co-creators of the award-winning Negro Leagues Database at Seamheads.com and he recently detailed the process behind its creation on Twitter. He has also been a consultant to Strat-O-Matic, helping to create the first full set of cards for Negro Leagues players. He lives outside of Chicago, Illinois.

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

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


8 new SABR biographies published

Brian Sabean (SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS)Eight 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

  • Find any SABR biography: You can visit sabr.org/bioproject to search for any player — or manager, executive, scout, spouse, broadcaster, or umpire — who appears in the SABR BioProject. In addition, we have pages for Ballparks, Broadcasters, Executives, Games, Managers, Scouts, Spouses, Umpires, Writers, people who were Famous Outside Baseball, and a lot more.
  • Sign up to view Trello submission pipeline: Chief Editor Rory Costello has made the BioProject submission pipeline visible to project contributors using the signboard app Trello. If you would like to see the pipeline — to know where your story stands in the review process or how many articles we have in the system — e-mail Rory for an invitation to become an observer.

6 new stories published by the SABR Games Project

Roger Clemens (TRADING CARD DB)Six new game stories were posted this week as part of the SABR Games Project. Here are the new game stories:

In addition, the following stories from our SABR Digital Library book, The Base Ball Palace of the World: Comiskey Park, edited by Gregory H. Wolf, have also been posted online:

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.


Call for SABR award nominations

Please note: Only ONE entry per nomination will be considered (do not submit multiple nominations for the same award). For more information on SABR Awards, click here.


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: https://sabr.org/content/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
Peter Barbella Athens, WI   Jack Perun Woodbury, CT
Eli Caren Suffern, NY   Justin Peterson Durham, NC
Brian Carrod London, ON   Joseph Rizza Islip, NY
Robert Fitzpatrick Wellesley, MA   Cesar Saldivia Katy, TX
Richard Gerson Elmira, ON   Mark Shepard Lancaster, NY
Benjamin Goodman Jr. Hickory, NC   Tim Stephens Lakeland, TN
Jori Grossman New York, NY   John Streeter Lancaster, PA
Philip Hoelzel Austin, TX   Alexis Voulgaris Old Greenwich, CT
Margot Morrell The Plains, VA   Luke Whitecotton Joliet, IL
Scott Pawlikowski Loveland, OH      

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 updates this week:

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


SABR Events Calendar

Scroll up to the top of this newsletter to learn more about the upcoming virtual events on the SABR calendar.

  • We strongly recommend that all SABR chapters follow CDC public health guidelines and your local/state government regulations when scheduling any in-person meetings and events.

Find details on all upcoming meetings on our SABR Events Calendar page.


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.

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Originally published: November 20, 2020. Last Updated: November 20, 2020.