This Week in SABR: November 21, 2014

November 21, 2014/in This Week in SABR /by jpomrenke

Welcome to “This Week in SABR!” Please note that the SABR office will be closed on November 27-28. The next edition of “This Week in SABR” will be sent on Wednesday, November 26.

Here’s what we’ve been up to as of November 21, 2014:

Last call: SABR members, vote for the 2014 MLB GIBBYs

Major League Baseball’s A-listers will take home 2014 GIBBY trophies — the ultimate honors of the industry’s awards season — based on votes by media, front-office personnel, MLB alumni, fans at MLB.com, and the Society for American Baseball Research.

SABR members will again help get to decide who had the best performances of the 2014 baseball season in the 13th annual MLB.com Greatness in Baseball Yearly Awards.

This year’s GIBBY Awards feature nominees in 23 categories. Individual honors will go to the MLB MVP, in addition to the year’s best starting pitcher, hitter, closer, setup man, rookie, breakout hitter, breakout pitcher, bounceback player, defensive player, manager, executive, and postseason performer.

GIBBY trophies also will be awarded for the year’s top play, outfield throw, storyline, hitting performance, pitching performance, oddity, walk-off, Cut4 topic, regular-season moment and postseason moment, with video available via MLB.com’s Must C highlight reels.

All 30 clubs are represented among the award candidates. In fact, every team has multiple nominees in 2014 — a testament to the parity of talent around the game.

To cast your SABR vote in the 2014 GIBBYs, click here: http://sabr.org/research/sabr-members-vote-2014-mlb-gibbys

The deadline to cast your SABR vote is 11:59 p.m. PST on Friday, November 21. You can still cast a fan vote without logging in through the end of the public voting period on MLB.com.

SABR members have the opportunity to play a key role in selecting the winners of the GIBBYs. The votes from SABR members will be equal to each of the other four categories.

SABR members (20%)
MLB.com fans (20%)
Front office personnel (20%)
Retired players (20%)
Media (20%)

The winners will be announced at a reception at the annual Baseball Winter Meetings on December 6, 2014, in San Diego, California.

**Read all articles from Fall 2014 Baseball Research Journal online**

Good news! The Fall 2014 edition of the Baseball Research Journal was mailed out to all SABR members last week.

Those of you who receive the print edition should find your BRJ arriving in the next two to four weeks, and we’ve heard reports that some have already arrived. For digital subscribers, the e-book edition was delivered to your inboxes last Thursday.

Click here to read all articles online at SABR.org from the Fall 2014 Baseball Research Journal.
Click here to download the e-book edition of the Fall 2014 Baseball Research Journal.
Click here to purchase a copy of the print edition of the Fall 2014 Baseball Research Journal.

To learn more about contributing to a future SABR publication, click here.

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.

We hope you enjoy reading the Fall 2014 Baseball Research Journal!

Time to renew your SABR membership

For those of you whose SABR memberships expire on December 31 — you can check your current membership status here — it’s almost time for you to renew! We’re excited about the upcoming year ahead of us and we hope you’ll take advantage of all the great membership benefits offered to SABR members in 2015. Here’s a short list:

http://sabr.org/member-benefits

You can renew your membership for 1 year or 3 years online at the SABR Store; by phone at (602) 343-6450; or by mailing this downloadable PDF form and your payment to the SABR office at 4455 E. Camelback Road, Ste. D-140, Phoenix, AZ 85018.

Dues are the same as they have been in recent years: for this, you get two editions of the Baseball Research Journal, the expanded e-book edition of The National Pastime; 8-10 free e-books published by the SABR Digital Library; “This Week in SABR” every Friday; access to research resources such as Paper of Record (with complete archives of The Sporting News); discounts to all SABR conferences such as the National Convention (Chicago 2015), the SABR Analytics Conference, the Jerry Malloy Negro League Conference, and the Frederick Ivor-Campbell 19th Century Conference; discounts to MLB.TV; and much, much more.

We believe SABR has something for everyone, from the active researcher to someone passionate about baseball. We hope you’ll invite your friends, colleagues and family members to join at http://store.sabr.org.

Donate to SABR and support the future of baseball research

In my 31 years as a member of the Society for American Baseball Research, I have seen SABR evolve greatly as an organization, offering unparalleled opportunities and benefits for members and commanding respect throughout the baseball community. And I have seen that first-hand: In 1983, I attended my first SABR Convention in my hometown of Milwaukee, where I was thrilled to meet some of the organization’s founders. This past year, I attended both the 2014 Analytics Conference and the 44th annual convention in Houston — and I’m equally thrilled for SABR’s future after getting to know the staff and volunteer leadership now in place.

To continue to grow as an organization, and to seize the great opportunities now within reach, SABR is in need of charitable gifts. Many members have already become donors, and you can join them right now by making your gift online at SABR.org/donate.

SABR is a 501(c)3 organization, which means your donation is tax deductible in the U.S. to the fullest extent of the law.

Click here to make a donation to SABR in 2014

While the incentives are attractive, the real benefit is the satisfaction received from contributing to the continuing knowledge and appreciation of our national pastime.

Please join me in supporting SABR and send your donation by check to SABR Donor Program, 4455 E. Camelback Road, Ste. D-140, Phoenix, AZ 85018 — or by visiting SABR.org and pressing the convenient DONATE button at the top of the page. By doing so you help SABR fulfill its mission and increase the impact of our baseball analysis and historical study.

Many companies offer matching gift programs to encourage employees to contribute to charitable organizations. Please check with your company to see if it offers a matching gift program that will match your gift or volunteer hours to the Society for American Baseball Research. If you have questions regarding your gift, e-mail me at pbolda@sabr.org.

— Phillip Bolda, Chair, SABR Fundraising and Development Committee

SABR donors receive special benefits at the Annual Convention; check them out by clicking here!

Early registration open for 2015 SABR Analytics Conference

SABR has a long and storied history with baseball statistical analysis, evidenced by the link between our name and sabermetrics. While SABR is a multi-faceted organization involved in virtually every aspect of baseball, we have taken a major step to re-connect with our beginnings by producing and hosting the fourth annual:

SABR Analytics Conference
March 12-14, 2015
Hyatt Regency Phoenix
Phoenix, Arizona

Once again, we’re bringing together the top minds of the baseball analytic community under one roof to discuss, debate and share insightful ways to analyze and examine the great game of baseball.

The schedule will consist of a combination of Guest Speakers, Panels and Research Presentations — plus the unique Diamond Dollars Case Competition, in which undergraduate, graduate, and law school students from across the country analyze and present a real baseball operations decision.

Conference registration is available now at the SABR Store. Click here to register. The conference is open to all baseball fans. The early registration rate is $395 for SABR members and $495 for nonmembers, or $350 for currently enrolled high school or college students (includes one-year membership to SABR).

The 2015 SABR Analytics Conference will be held Thursday, March 12 through Saturday, March 14 at the Hyatt Regency Phoenix, 122 N. 2nd St., Phoenix, AZ 85004. Click here to book your hotel room at the special SABR group rate of $174/night (plus tax) for double occupancy. Or call (602) 252-1234 and mention that you’re with the SABR Analytics Conference.

Check back soon as we announce some of our featured speakers, panels and presentations!

SABR’s long history in this area of baseball research, coupled with our mission of advancing the understanding and knowledge of baseball, makes us the perfect choice to coordinate and host this ground-breaking event.

For complete details and information, visit SABR.org/analytics.

The third annual SABR Analytics Conference was held March 13-15, 2014, in Phoenix, Arizona. Check out highlights at SABR.org/analytics/2014.

Related links:

Students: Apply for a Yoseloff Scholarship to attend 2015 SABR Analytics Conference

With generous funding from The Anthony A. Yoseloff Foundation, Inc., SABR will award up to four scholarships to high school and college students who wish to attend the 2015 SABR Analytics Conference on March 12-14, 2015, in Phoenix, Arizona. This scholarship will pay for registration, air transportation and lodging up to a total value of $1,250.

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 SABR’s 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.

Download an application form: Click here to apply for a Yoseloff Scholarship to attend the 2015 SABR Analytics Conference

Click here for more information on submission guidelines and eligibility requirements.

All applications must be postmarked or e-mailed to Jeff Schatzki at jschatzki@sabr.org no later than December 31, 2014.

Will sabermetrics tilt the scale on Deadball Era players entering the Hall of Fame?

In the latest edition of the Deadball Era Research Committee newsletter, committee chair John McMurray asks:

With Hank O’Day and Jacob Ruppert being inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2013, it is reasonable to ask which Deadball Era figures — if any — still merit inclusion. Considering that no current voters would have seen any of the candidates from that era play, advanced metrics may tilt the scale when it comes to making the case for long-ago players.

There are a surprising number of Deadball Era players whose candidacies still inspire Hall of Fame debate. The most consistently mentioned possibilities are Bill Dahlen, Chicago and Brooklyn’s renowned (and tempestuous) shortstop; Sherry Magee, recognized for his offensive prowess with Philadelphia from 1904 through 1914; and outfielder Jimmy Sheckard, who is best known for his time with the Cubs. …

The inclusion of baseball historians on the 2012 selection committee for pre-1947 players emphasizes a heightened level of rigor in examining early baseball candidacies. With the chance to have other Deadball Era players elected to the Hall of Fame in 2015, it is also conceivable that many of these players will be considered for decades to come.

McMurray surveys a number of SABR experts on the Deadball Era, including Peter Morris, Bill Deane, Tom Simon, Lyle Spatz, Rob Neyer, for their opinions on Hall of Fame consideration for Deadball stars.

Read the full article here: http://sabr.org/latest/will-sabermetrics-tilt-scale-deadball-era-players-entering-hall-fame

3 new biographies published by the SABR BioProject

Three new biographies were posted as part of the SABR Baseball Biography Project, which brings us to a total of 2,953 published biographies. Here are the new bios:

Billy Gardner, by Tyler Ash and Bill Nowlin
Barry McCormick, by Robert Peyton Wiggins
Dan McGinn, by Norm King

All new biographies can be found here: http://sabr.org/bioproj/recent

You can find the SABR BioProject at SABR.org/BioProject.

Bios on more than just ballplayers: The ambitious goal of the SABR Baseball Biography Project is to publish a full-life biography of every major league player in history. But SABR members write about a lot more than just ballplayers. In addition, we have pages for Ballparks, Broadcasters, Executives, Managers, Scouts, Spouses, Umpires and a lot more on the BioProject website. You can browse all of these categories at http://sabr.org/bioproj/browse. So if you’ve ever thought, “Hey, that person (or ballpark) should get the full BioProject treatment” — write the story and we’ll publish it!

Get involved! If you’d like to help contribute to the SABR BioProject, visit our BioProject Resources page or read the FAQs section to get started. We’re also looking to expand the BioProject to include all “encyclopedic” articles on baseball-related subjects from past SABR publications or committee newsletters. If you come across an article you think should be included in the SABR “baseball repository” at the BioProject, send a copy or link to markarmour04@gmail.com or jpomrenke@sabr.org.

Inventing Baseball articles now available to read at the SABR Games Project

Articles from SABR’s groundbreaking book Inventing Baseball: The 100 Greatest Games of the 19th Century are now available to read online at the SABR Games Project: SABR.org/gamesproject.

Published in 2013 as a project of SABR’s Nineteenth Century Committee and edited by Bill Felber, Inventing Baseball brings to life the greatest games played in the sport’s early years. From the “prisoner of war” game that took place among captive Union soldiers during the Civil War, to the first intercollegiate game (Amherst versus Williams), to the Cincinnati Red Stockings’ first defeat, the games in this volume span the years 1833 to 1900 and detail the athletic exploits of such players as Cap Anson, Moses “Fleetwood” Walker, Charlie Comiskey, Mike “King” Kelly, and John Montgomery Ward.

SABR members can download the Inventing Baseball e-book for free or get a 50% discount off the paperback version by clicking here.

Here is a sampling of stories available from Inventing Baseball at the SABR Games Project (more articles from the book will be added soon):

October 1845: The first recorded baseball games in New York, by John Thorn
October 14, 1862: The martyrdom of Jim Creighton, by Rich Bogovich
July 16, 1866: Lipman Pike’s home run record, by Jerrold Casway
April 22, 1876: A new age begins with inaugural National League game, by John Zinn
May 8, 1878: Three in one? Paul Hines’ unassisted triple play, by Kathy Torres

The SABR Baseball Games Project was launched in January 2014 to research and write articles on major-league and Negro League regular, postseason, and All-Star Games. These game accounts will complement Retrosheet and Baseball-Reference box scores as well as BioProject essays on the players involved.

The articles are not intended to be mere play-by-play summaries, nor should they be first-person narratives. Rather the goal is to put each game in historical context — whether that history is of a particular player, team, season, or something even broader.

Visit the new Games Project website at SABR.org/gamesproject.

Get involved: 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.
Questions: Contact Greg Erion for more information about the Games Project, James Forr to request an assignment, or Chip Greene to submit your draft article.

Call for SABR award nominations

Seymour Medal, due 12/31/2014: The Dr. Harold and Dorothy Seymour Medal honors the best book of baseball history or biography published during the preceding calendar year. The award is presented during the Seymour Medal Banquet at the NINE Spring Training Conference every March. If you have a book to nominate with a 2014 publication date, contact Morris Eckhouse at OctoberProduct@aol.com by December 31, 2014.
Larry Ritter Award, due 12/31/2014: Each year, SABR’s Deadball Era Committee presents the Larry Ritter Book Award to recognize the best new book primarily set in the Deadball Era that was published during the previous calendar year. The award is presented during the committee’s meeting at the annual SABR convention. If you have a book to nominate with a 2014 publication date, contact Gail Rowe at growes36@comcast.net by December 31, 2014.
SABR Baseball Research Award, due 1/31/2015: The SABR Baseball Research Award (formerly the Sporting News-SABR Baseball Research Award) honors those whose outstanding research projects completed during the preceding calendar year have significantly expanded our knowledge or understanding of baseball. To submit a nomination for the 2014 awards, please contact Bill Felber at bfelber@att.net.
McFarland-SABR Baseball Research Award, due 2/15/2015: The McFarland-SABR Baseball Research Award honors the authors of the best articles on baseball history or biography completed or published during the preceding calendar year. To submit a nomination for the 2014 awards, please contact Len Levin at lenlevin5@hotmail.com.

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

We’ve heard your feedback: Some of you have said you look forward to “This Week in SABR” every Friday, but sometimes there are just too many compelling articles and announcements to read every week. We’re not complaining — hey, keep up the great work! — but we know the feeling. So in an effort to make the length of this newsletter more manageable to read, we’ll summarize some of the repeating/recurring announcements in a special “In Case You Missed It (ICYMI)” section of “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: http://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 New Member 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.

Name	Hometown	Name	Hometown
Josh Bresser	Edgewood, KY	Michael Malec	Newton, MA
Brian Brumby	Glendora, CA	Don Mankowski	Merritt Island, FL
Kasey Devine	Ellisville, MO	Joe Matocha	Meriden, CT
Jonathan Director	Carrboro, NC	Tim Reilly	Galt, CA
Jack Fahey	Oak Forest, IL	Jimmy Sanderson	Clemson, SC
James Howard	West Hartford, CT	Brian Wright	Falls Church, VA
David Kagan	Paradise, CA	Anthony Youngkin	Easton, PA

Research Committee news

There were no new SABR research committee newsletters published this week.

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

Regional Chapter news

Here are the new regional chapter updates published this week:

East Tennessee Chapter meeting recap (November 8; Knoxville, TN)
Houston/Larry Dierker Chapter meeting recap (November 17; Houston, TX)
Bob Broeg St. Louis Chapter meeting recap (November 18; St. Louis, MO)

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

SABR Events Calendar

Here is a list of upcoming SABR events:

November 22: Connecticut Smoky Joe Wood Chapter breakfast (Hamden, CT)
November 29: Quebec Chapter meeting (Montreal, QC)
November 29: Lajoie-Start Southern New England Chapter meeting (Greenville, RI)
December 3: Magnolia Chapter “Fourth Wednesday” meeting (Tucker, GA)
December 6: Halsey Hall Chapter book club (Roseville, MN)
December 8: Larry Dierker Chapter meeting (Houston, TX)
December 9: Gaylon White: “The Bilko Athletic Club” (Kingsport, TN)
December 10: Bob Davids Chapter monthly Hot Stove dinner (Arlington, VA)

All SABR meetings and events are open to the public. Feel free to bring a baseball-loving friend … and make many new ones! Check out the SABR Events Calendar at SABR.org/events.

Around the Web

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

Tony Blengino: Giancarlo Stanton, ball-striking, and the future (FanGraphs)
David Laurila: Q&A with Dave Owen, Detroit Tigers’ Director of Player Development (FanGraphs)
Russell Carleton: Which managers are best at handling ‘the grind’? (Baseball Prospectus)
Jerry Crasnick: MLB addresses pace of play in the Arizona Fall League (ESPN.com)
Ryan Whirty: Negro Leagues great Smokey Joe Williams may have had Cherokee blood (Philly.com)
Adam Doster: Red Sox scout Tom Kotchman is hardest working man in baseball (SI.com)
Bryan Soderholm-Difatte: Alvin Dark and the persistence of racial stereotypes (Seamheads.com)
Larry Lester: Satchel Paige’s final MLB game: An early birthday present (The National Pastime Museum)
Daniel Wyatt: The ‘Jesus Boys’: Baseball and the House of David (The National Pastime Museum)
Graham Womack: Hall of Famers enshrined within three years of their death (Baseball Past and Present)
Ross Carey: Ranking the top 250 players of all-time (Replacement Level Podcast)

Read these articles and more at SABR.org/latest.

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.

Are you receiving our e-mails? “This Week in SABR” goes out by e-mail to all members on Friday afternoons. If they’re not showing up, try adding “sabr.notes@sabr.org” to your contact list to ensure they show up in your inbox (and not the spam folder.)

Follow us: