This Week in SABR: November 25, 2015

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Welcome to “This Week in SABR!” Click here to view this week’s newsletter on the web. Please note that the SABR office will be closed on November 26-27. Here’s what we’ve been up to as of November 25, 2015:

It’s time to renew your SABR membership

For those of you whose SABR memberships expire by December 31 — you can check your current membership status here — it’s 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 2016. 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) 496-1460; or by mailing this downloadable PDF form and your payment to the office at: SABR, Cronkite School at ASU, 555 N. Central Ave. #416, Phoenix, AZ 85004.

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 (Miami 2016), 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 store.sabr.org.

  • Add a family member for $15: Any SABR member can add a family member in the same household for $15 per year; they will receive all electronic member benefits and access to the website, but no printed publications. To add a new family member, please contact Membership Director Deb Jayne. Note: In order to renew your existing family membership, you must log in to the SABR website under the family member’s username/e-mail address, not your own.

Please make a contribution to SABR’s 2015 donation drive

This has been a banner year for SABR, and you can help us bring 2015 to an even more successful close by making a charitable contribution to our year-end donation drive.

If you’ve already made a contribution to SABR this year, we are grateful for your generous donation.

SABR depends upon the volunteer work of members to mount our exciting events like the SABR Convention, the Analytics Conference, and the Jerry Malloy Negro League Conference; to produce groundbreaking research through the SABR Digital Library e-book program, the Baseball Research Journal, and The National Pastime; and to expand the online resources of the research committees, regional chapters, the BioProject, the Games Project, and much more. SABR continues to offer unparalleled opportunities for involvement and benefits for members around the world.

As a 501(c)3 organization, tax-deductible donations allow SABR to expand member opportunities and to become an even larger voice in the baseball community. Many members have already become donors, and you can join them right now by making your gift online at SABR.org/donate. Please help us reach our donation drive goal!

You can also send your donation by check to: SABR, Cronkite School at ASU, 555 N. Central Ave. #416, Phoenix, AZ 85004.

All of us at SABR appreciate your support of our great organization and the game we love.

To learn more, visit SABR.org/donate.

2015 Esurance MLB Award winners announced

Baseball’s annual award seasons was memorable, filled with Gold Gloves, Silver Sluggers and Cy Youngs. And on Friday, November 20, we got the grand finale, with the presentation of the 2015 Esurance MLB Awards.

Click here for a complete list of the 22 winners honored during a special on MLB Network. All winners receive a Greatness in Baseball Yearly (GIBBY) trophy.

Postseason performance and moments are taken into account for these awards. Two final categories — Best Manager and Best Executive — will be announced at the Winter Meetings in Nashville, Tennessee, next month.

Once again, SABR members had the opportunity to play a key role in selecting the winners of the 2015 Esurance MLB Awards. The votes from SABR members were equal to each of the other four categories.

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

This year’s Esurance MLB Awards featured winners in two dozen categories. Individual awards went to the Best Major Leaguer, Best Starting Pitcher, Everyday Player, Rookie, Defensive Player, Breakout Player, Bounceback Player, Manager, Executive, Social Media Personality and postseason performer. Winners will also be recognized for the year’s best offensive play, defensive play, Moment, single-game performance, Social Media Post, Celebrity Fan, Fan Catch, Interview, TV call, radio call, Player-Fan Interaction, Video Board Moment and Trending Topic.

— Joey Nowak, MLB.com

Read all articles from Fall 2015 Baseball Research Journal online

Good news! The Fall 2015 edition of the Baseball Research Journal has been mailed out to all SABR members.

Those of you who receive the print edition should find your BRJ arriving in the next two to four weeks, although we hear many have already arrived. For digital subscribers, the e-book edition was delivered to your inboxes on November 4.

As editor Cecilia M. Tan writes, this issue of the BRJ has our usual mix of history and statistics, including a group of several that are that SABR staple: articles which combine both. Whether analyzing unlikely pitching gems (J.G. Preston), trends in play like stolen bases (John McMurray), switch-hit homers (Cort Vitty), and postseason success (Stuart Shapiro), or records well known and obscure (Douglas Jordan), these authors are in relentless pursuit of understanding what has happened on the field.

The second group of articles all deal with baseball and its effects off the field. Baseball as a cultural force has been part of the history of television (Robert D. Warrington), popular culture (TV, movies, and music à la David Krell), and courtroom law (William Lamb). The author team of Warneke, Ogden, and Shorey return to the pages of the BRJ with a social psychology study about youth ballplayers and their choice of heroes among big league players. And Matthew Clifford tracks down a case of mistaken identity that persists in the baseball memorabilia biz.

Lastly we have some good old-fashioned history, telling the stories of memorable fans (Hilda Chester by Rob Edelman), performances (Brian Marshall), personalities (Colonel Ruppert and Miller Huggins by Lyle Spatz and Steve Steinberg), icons (Babe Ruth from two angles, by John McMurray and Michael Haupert, Connie Mack by Norman Macht), and seasons (1951 Hazard, Kentucky, by Sam Zygner).

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 2015 Baseball Research Journal!

Early registration now open for 2016 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 continue to build on our legacy by producing and hosting the fifth annual SABR Analytics Conference.

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).
  • Book your hotel room: The 2016 SABR Analytics Conference will be held Thursday, March 10 through Saturday, March 12 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 $179/night (plus tax) for double occupancy. Or call (602) 252-1234 and mention that you’re with the SABR Analytics Conference.

Check back soon at SABR.org/analytics as we announce some of our featured speakers, panels and presentations for the 2016 SABR Analytics Conference!

Related links:

MLB commissioner Rob Manfred to speak at 2016 SABR Analytics Conference

We are pleased to announce that Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred will speak at the fifth annual SABR Analytics Conference in downtown Phoenix, Arizona.

Manfred is scheduled to join SABR President Vince Gennaro for a one-on-one session Thursday morning, March 10, 2016, at the Hyatt Regency Phoenix, prior to the start of the Diamond Dollars Case Competition. The conference is open to all baseball fans. Click here to register!

Manfred was elected as the 10th Commissioner in the history of Major League Baseball by a unanimous vote of the 30 Major League clubs, replacing Bud Selig in January 2015. He had previously served as MLB’s Chief Operating Officer, where he managed the Commissioner’s Office in New York and worked closely with club ownership and management executives. As COO, Manfred oversaw labor relations, baseball operations, baseball development, finance, administration, and other key areas.

From 1998-2012, he was MLB’s Executive Vice President for Economics & League Affairs, reporting directly to Commissioner Selig and responsible for major economic matters such as revenue sharing and the debt-service rule, as well as franchise-specific matters involving the 30 Major League clubs. He directed all issues related to collective bargaining with the Major League Baseball Players Association, including the successful renewals of the Basic Agreement in 2002, 2006 and 2011.

In its first four years, the SABR Analytics Conference has brought together many of 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. Past speakers have included Hall of Famer Tony La Russa, San Francisco Giants President/CEO Larry Baer, Chicago Cubs GM Jed Hoyer, MLB Network host Brian Kenny, sabermetrics pioneers Bill James and Pete Palmer, and pitchers Curt Schilling and Brandon McCarthy. 

Stay tuned as we announce more featured speakers and panelists at the 2016 SABR Analytics Conference! Please note: All speakers are subject to change depending on availability.

For more information, visit SABR.org/analytics.

Students: Apply for a Yoseloff Scholarship to attend 2016 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 2016 SABR Analytics Conference on March 10-12, 2016, 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.

Students must be currently enrolled in a high school, college undergraduate or graduate program, and be between 18 and 29 years of age at the time of the conference. Some form of age verification (photocopy of driver’s license, passport, etc.) must be attached to your application. All applications must be postmarked or e-mailed to Jeff Schatzki at jschatzki@sabr.org no later than December 31, 2015.

Click here for complete details on eligibility requirements and submission details. Or Click here to download the PDF application.

SABR BioProject surpasses 3,500 completed biographies

Seven new biographies were posted this week as part of the SABR Baseball Biography Project, which brings us to a total of 3,504 published biographies. Here are the new bios:

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

  • Help us write 2016 Hall of Fame biographies: SABR Director Emily Hawks has launched a new BioProject initiative for biographies of players who are on the 2016 Hall of Fame ballot later this year, and a few players still need biographers. If you are interested in writing a SABR biography for one of these players, please contact Emily Hawks at emilyhawks@gmail.com: Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire, Jeff Kent, Jason Kendall, Jim Edmonds.
  • 1957 Milwaukee Braves bios posted online: In Thar’s Joy in Braveland! The 1957 Milwaukee Braves, edited by Gregory H. Wolf and published by SABR in 2014, we celebrated the Milwaukee Braves’ historic 1957 World Series championship season. The SABR BioProject biographies that appeared in that book can now be read online. Click here to read all 1957 Braves bios.

1 new story published by the SABR Games Project

One new game story was posted this week as part of the SABR Games Project. Here is the new game story:

All new Games Project stories can be found here: http://sabr.org/gamesproject/recent

The SABR Bookshelf: Fall 2015

Periodically throughout the year, SABR.org publishes listings of new books that are received at the SABR office. This feature is called The SABR Bookshelf, continuing a popular section from the old SABR Bulletin.

Here are The SABR Bookshelf listings for Fall 2015:

http://sabr.org/content/sabr-bookshelf-fall-2015

Click the link above for more detailed information on each of these books:

  • A Pennant for the Twin Cities: The 1965 Minnesota Twins, edited by Gregory H. Wolf
  • Mustaches and Mayhem: Charlie O’s Three-Time Champions: The Oakland Athletics, 1972-74, edited by Chip Greene
  • Lady Moguls: A History of Women Who Have Owned Major League Baseball Teams, by William A. Cook
  • Tim Keefe: A Biography of the Hall of Fame Pitcher and Player-Rights Advocate, by Charlie Bevis
  • Death at the Ballpark: More Than 2,000 Game-Related Fatalities of Players, Other Personnel and Spectators in Amateur and Professional Baseball, 1862-2014, by Robert M. Gorman and David Weeks
  • College Mathematics Through Baseball, by Fred Worth
  • The Pirates Unraveled: Pittsburgh’s 1926 Season, by Angelo J. Louisa
  • Stan Musial: Baseball Hero, by James N. Giglio
  • Iowa Baseball Greats: Sixteen Major Leaguers Who Were in the Game for Life, by Don Doxsie
  • The Betrayal: The 1919 World Series and the Birth of Modern Baseball, by Charles Fountain
  • Our Bums: The Brooklyn Dodgers in History, Memory and Popular Culture, by David Krell
  • Playing First: Early Baseball Lives at Brooklyn’s Green-Wood Cemetery, by Thomas W. Gilbert
  • The Flannel Past, by Matt Dahlgren
  • The Voices of Baseball: The Game’s Greatest Broadcasters Reflect on America’s Pastime, by Kirk McKnight
  • Pudge: The Biography of Carlton Fisk, by Doug Wilson
  • The Pine Tar Game: The Kansas City Royals, the New York Yankees, and Baseball’s Most Absurd and Entertaining Controversy, by Filip Bondy
  • The Making of Major League: A Juuuust a Bit Inside Look at the Classic Baseball Comedy, by Jonathan Knight
  • Hardball Retrospective: Evaluating Scouting and Development Outcomes for the Modern-Era Franchises, by Derek Bain
  • The Golden Era of Major League Baseball: A Time of Transition and Integration, by Bryan Soderholm-Difatte
  • Of Tribes and Tribulations: The Early Decades of the Cleveland Indians, by James E. Odenkirk
  • Clem Labine: “Always A Dodger”, by Richard Elliott
  • Gehrig: Game by Game, by Kevin Larkin
  • In Cobb’s Shadow: The Hall of Fame Careers of Sam Crawford, Harry Heilmann and Heinie Manush, by Dan D’Addona
  • Indiana-Born Major League Baseball Players: A Biographical Dictionary, 1871-2014, by Pete Cava
  • The Hunt for a Reds October: Cincinnati in 1990, by Charles F. Faber and Zachariah Webb

Bolded names indicates that the author(s) is a SABR member. Click here for a list of publishers found in the SABR Bookshelf, along with their contact information.

All new SABR Bookshelf listings can be purchased at the SABR Bookstore, powered by Amazon.com. In addition, check out new books published by SABR at SABR.org/ebooks (free for SABR members!)

To get your NEW book listed on The SABR Bookshelf, make sure a review copy is sent to: The SABR Bookshelf, Cronkite School at ASU, 555 N. Central Ave. #416, Phoenix, AZ 85004. An e-book file will also suffice; please send the e-book in PDF, EPUB or Kindle/MOBI format to jpomrenke@sabr.org.

To ensure a listing in The Baseball Index — SABR’s online catalog of baseball research materials — make sure a review copy is sent to The Baseball Index, 4025 Beechwood Pl., Riverside, CA 92506.

To see previous listings in the SABR Bookshelf, click here.

Behind the Numbers: Baseball SABR Style on SiriusXM is off this week

Behind the Numbers: Baseball SABR Style on SiriusXM, a new radio show hosted by SABR President Vince Gennaro, has a new timeslot this offseason, from 4:00-5:00 p.m. ET Sundays on MLB Network Radio.

Please note: This week’s show will not be aired due to the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. But you can still listen to all recent episodes of Baseball SABR Style in the “on-demand” section of the SiriusXM app or website.

Baseball SABR Style 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.

For more information, click here.

Save the date! SABR Day is coming up on January 30, 2016

Just a reminder to all that the seventh annual SABR Day will be held Saturday, January 30, 2016. We’re starting to compile details now on 2016 SABR Day chapter meetings around the country. We’ll post them as soon as we get them at SABR.org/sabrday.

Regional SABR meetings are open to all baseball fans and are usually free to attend, so bring a friend! Guest speakers often include current and former baseball players, managers, umpires, executives, scouts, writers and authors.

Check back soon at SABR.org/sabrday for more information on a SABR Day meeting close to you.

For a complete recap of 2015 SABR Day activities, visit SABR.org/sabrday.

Hildebrandt: The 1939 contract that ended baseball’s broadcast moratorium for good

On Monday, SABRMedia.org posted a 1932 article published by The Sporting News revealing the results of a poll the paper took of their readers as to the latter’s feelings about broadcasting games live on the radio. Almost 260,000 votes were cast, with the Sporting News concluding that public opinion in favor of live broadcasts was “practically unanimous.”

This overwhelming fan sentiment did not prevent eight of the 16 teams from banning broadcasts of their games by local radio stations the following season. (In fact, the Cleveland Indians ended up dropping radio in 1933 before picking it up again for the 1934 campaign.) But eventually the teams and the leagues did come to see the light, and that light led them to enter into the Major League Broadcasting Agreement just prior to the 1939 season.

So, what did this Major League Broadcasting Agreement actually look like? What were its provisions, and what practices did it allow and forbid? Fortunately for us, this is something we can see for ourselves, thanks to the miracle that is the Internet.

Read the full article here: http://sabrmedia.org/2015/11/24/here-is-the-actual-1939-contract-that-ended-the-baseball-broadcast-moratorium-for-good/

— Chuck Hildebrandt

Follow the 2016 Serie del Caribe with SABR member Monte Cely

La Serie del Caribe, the Caribbean World Series, returns to the Dominican capital of Santo Domingo in 2016 for the 58th edition of the torneo invernal.

The site for the onfield action will be Estadio Quisqueya, the venerable stadium in the capital built in 1955 by the government of Dominican dictator Raphael Trujillo. This venue seats approximately 14,500 and measures 335′ down the lines, 383′ in the alleys and 411′ in center field. The stadium serves as the home field for two of the Dominican winter leagues’ six teams, los Leones del Escogido and los Tigres de Licey.

SABR member Monte Cely is making plans now to attend la Serie del Caribe, which will be played February 1-7, 2016. It will be his sixth trip to the Caribbean Classic, and second visit to Santo Domingo. In the run-up to la Serie, he will peridocially report on the offseason, the winter league regular season, and the league playoffs.

Follow along at http://chapters.sabr.org/hornsby/research/papers/394.

— Monte Cely

Call for SABR award nominations

  • Seymour Medal, due 12/31/2015: 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 2015 publication date, contact Michael Haupert at mhaupert@uwlax.edu by December 31, 2015.
  • Larry Ritter Award, due 12/31/2015: 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 2015 publication date, contact Doug Skipper at theskippers1@hotmail.com by December 31, 2015.
  • Ron Gabriel Award, due 12/31/2015: The Ron Gabriel Award annually honors the author(s) of the best research, published or unpublished, on the subject of the Brooklyn Dodgers completed during the preceding calendar year. To submit a nomination for the 2016 awards, please send a copy of your work to Gary Sarnoff at runtowin89@hotmail.com by December 31, 2015.
  • SABR Baseball Research Award, due 1/31/2016: 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 2016 awards, please contact Bill Felber at bfelber@att.net.
  • McFarland-SABR Baseball Research Award, due 2/15/2016: 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 2016 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.

You can find contact information for any SABR member in the online membership directory (SABR.org/directory).

Name Hometown     Name Hometown
Steven Boyls Tulsa, OK     Jason Hammon Arlington, TX
Alexander Czarnik Ortonville, MI     David Muir Roswell, GA
Domenic Fenoglio St. Louis, MO     Ronald Noullet Baden, PA
Ann Good Great Falls, VA     Michael Rossi Orange, CA
John Hall St. Louis Park, MN        

 

Research Committee news

There were no new SABR research committee updates this week.

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

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

Here is a list of upcoming SABR events:

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:

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.

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

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Originally published: November 25, 2015. Last Updated: April 3, 2020.

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