This Week in SABR: September 27, 2013

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Welcome to “This Week in SABR!” Here’s what we’ve been up to as of September 27, 2013:

SABR Digital Library: The Fenway Project

Here’s a unique book, now reissued as an e-book from the SABR Digital Library, to add to your baseball collection:

The Fenway Project
Edited by Bill Nowlin and Cecilia Tan
ISBN (ebook): 978-1-93359-950-2
ISBN (paperback): 1579400914
177 pages, 8.5″ x 11″

On June 28, 2002, more than six hundred members of the Society for American Baseball Research descended on Fenway Park for an interleague contest between the hometown Boston Red Sox and their National League rivals, the former Boston — now Atlanta — Braves, during SABR’s 32nd national convention.

Sixty-four of these avid fans, historians, statisticians, and game enthusiasts recorded their experiences for this book, The Fenway Project, first published in 2004 and now newly available as an e-book. Some wrote from privileged views such as inside the Green Monster’s manual scoreboard, the Braves clubhouse and the broadcast booth, while others took in the essence of Fenway from the grandstand or bleachers. The result is a fascinating look at Major League Baseball, the Red Sox and their colorful history, the charms and challenges of Fenway Park, and the allure of being a baseball fan.

Including articles on Red Sox/Boston Braves history and the City Series, The Fenway Project combines historical background as only SABR can deliver it with this fascinating “one night at the ballpark” as recorded by 64 observers on the spot. From the man who sang the National Anthem (SABR member Joe Mancuso) to the woman who threw out the first pitch (SABR President Claudia Perry), from a man in the bleachers to a woman in the press box, readers of The Fenway Project will see the game from all angles. 

Includes contributions by: Jean Hastings Ardell, Phil Bergen, Steve Bennett & The Bennett Family, Bob Brady, Steven Wolfgang Brooks, Bob Buege, Anne Campbell, Jeff Campbell, Jim Campbell, Jimmy Campbell, Gene Carney, Ken Carpenter, R. Chamberlain, Randall Chandler, Will Christensen, Richard Cohen, Dick Dahl, Eric Enders, Joe Favano, F.X. Flinn, Michael Freiman, Roy Gedat, Rich Gibson, Irv Goldfarb, Rich Klein, Francis Kinlaw, R.J. Lesch, Glenn LeDoux, Daniel Levine, Howard Luloff, Joseph Mancuso, Peter Mancuso Jr., Skip McAfee, Lawr Michaels, Wynn Montgomery, Andy Moye, Bill Nowlin, Paul Parker, Mark Pattison, Claudia Perry, Fred Peltz, R. Plapinger, Jim Prime, Denis Repp, Susan Riggs, John T. Saccoman, Ryan M. Saccoman, Anthony Salazar, Jim Sandoval, Lyle Spatz, Michael Spatz, Steve Steinberg, Cecilia Tan, Stew Thornley, Scott C. Turner, Zack Triscuit, Lewis Trott, Jeff Twiss, Jay Walker, Angela Jane Weisl, Peter Winske, Saul Wisnia, John Zajc, and Andrew Zinner.

SABR members, get this e-book for FREE!

About the SABR Digital Library

For 40 years, SABR and its members have led the way in publishing the best baseball historical and statistical research. Our publications program has shifted to take advantage of new methods of publishing. Not only will we continue to publish new books like CAN HE PLAY? A Look At Baseball Scouts and Their Profession (released in December 2011); OPENING FENWAY PARK IN STYLE: The 1912 World Champion Red Sox (May 2012); Red Sox Baseball in the Days of Ike and Elvis: The Red Sox of the 1950s (September 2012); Detroit Tigers 1984: What A Start! What A Finish! (December 2012); Sweet ’60: The 1960 Pittsburgh Pirates (April 2013); The Year of the Blue Snow: The 1964 Philadelphia Phillies (July 2013); and Inventing Baseball: The 100 Greatest Games of the 19th Century (July 2013), which showcase the best efforts of SABR’s members, chapters and committees, but new technology makes it possible for us to bring out-of-print titles like RUN, RABBIT, RUN: The Hilarious and Mostly True Tales of Rabbit Maranville (February 2012), GREAT HITTING PITCHERS (March 2012); NINETEENTH CENTURY STARS (August 2012), Batting (January 2013); and Memories of a Ballplayer: Bill Werber and Baseball in the 1930s (March 2013) back again.

Books will be available in digital formats as well as paperbacks produced by “print on demand” (POD). SABR members can download all of our e-books for free.

Stay tuned throughout the year for new (and old!) titles that we’ll be adding to the SABR Digital Library. To learn more about SABR Publications, contact Publications Editor Cecilia Tan at ctan@sabr.org.

  • 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.

Register now for 2013 SABR Arizona Fall League Conference

The fifth annual SABR Arizona Fall League Conference will be held October 31-November 2, 2013. The conference will feature four AFL games at three different ballparks. Guests will see all six AFL teams, showcasing every major league team’s top prospects. The final game on Saturday night is the Fall Stars Game at Surprise Stadium.

All baseball fans are welcome to attend, so join us next month for the SABR Arizona Fall League Conference!

Hotel: The host hotel is the Holiday Inn Express & Suites in Old Town Scottsdale (3131 N. Scottsdale Rd., Scottsdale, AZ 85251) and the SABR group rate is $104/night plus tax. Call (480) 675-7665 to book your room and be sure to mention the “SABR AFL Conference.” The hotel’s website is www.hiescottsdalehotel.com (sorry, no discount code is available online.) Reservations must be booked by October 4, 2013.

There is a free airport shuttle which also is available from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. for rides anywhere within a three-mile radius of the hotel.

Schedule: After taking in a game on Thursday afternoon, guests will also be treated to dinner at Don and Charlie’s, home to one of the great sports memorabilia collections you will ever see. Friday’s schedule includes two AFL games and a pregame ballpark dinner at Talking Stick at Salt River, along with a special guest speaker to go along with your meal.

On Saturday morning, attendees will join members of SABR’s Flame Delhi (Arizona) Chapter for their regional fall meeting. Saturday night is always a highlight of the conference as the top prospects from every organization participate in the AFL Fall Stars game. All of this, including transportation, is included in one low registration price.

Registration: Your registration fee of $165 (before October 4; $175 afterward) includes all game tickets; an AFL Media Guide; dinner at Don and Charlie’s; ballpark dinner at Talking Stick at Salt River; and transportation to and from all events. Hotel registration includes breakfast and complementary happy hour each day. Register for the 2013 SABR AFL Conference by clicking here. Questions: Please Contact Rodney Johnson at sabrrodney@aol.com.

The Arizona Fall League (mlbfallball.com) is baseball’s premier player development league. In the first four years of the conference, attendees were treated to sneak peeks at Mike Trout, Bryce Harper, Buster Posey, Stephen Strasburg, Nolan Arenado, Gerrit Cole and Billy Hamilton before they hit the big leagues.

A detailed schedule and more information can be found at SABR.org/AFL.

Celebrate the opening of the new San Diego Public Library on Saturday

All SABR members and baseball fans are invited to a celebration and sneak peek of the new San Diego Central Library from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on Saturday, September 28.

The celebration themed “A Dream 30 Years in the Making,” will feature the Library dedication, a family-oriented street festival and a sneak peek at first floor areas and the auditorium of the iconic new building days before it fully opens to the public.

SABR’s Ted Williams Chapter will have an informational booth at the Library dedication on Saturday, September 28.

Since 2001, the Library has been home to the San Diego Baseball Research Center. Through a partnership with SABR’s Ted Williams Chapter, the Library collection includes hundreds of donated books, reference materials, microfilm reels and other resources related to baseball. For more information on the San Diego BRC, click here.

For more information on the weekend festivities in San Diego, visit http://www.supportmylibrary.org/news/breakingnews/644.

1950s Boston Red Sox biographies now posted online

The 1950s Red Sox were teeming with huge stories. You might know about Ted Williams, of course, but consider his teammates: Harry Agganis, a legendary local athlete whose tragic death is remembered by millions in the region; or Jimmy Piersall, whose illness and breakdown led to a book and two movies; or Jackie Jensen, a famous collegiate football star who forged a great career with the Red Sox.

The Red Sox are famous for failing to integrate until 1959, the last team to do so. The people mostly blamed for this oversight (Tom Yawkey, Joe Cronin, and Mike Higgins), as well as the man who finally broke the color line (Pumpsie Green), were all profiled in our 2012 book Red Sox Baseball in the Days of Ike and Elvis: The Red Sox of the 1950s, edited by Mark Armour and Bill Nowlin, with Maurice Bouchard and Len Levin.

The SABR BioProject biographies that appeared in that book can now be read online at:

http://sabr.org/category/completed-book-projects/1950s-boston-red-sox

  • SABR members can download this e-book for FREE (in PDF, MOBI/Kindle or eBook formats) at the SABR Store.
  • The paperback is also available for purchase at Createspace.com, and SABR members get a 50% discount. Click here for details.

You can find other team pages from our completed book projects — 18 and counting! — by going to SABR.org/BioProject and clicking the Browse button (http://sabr.org/bioproj/browse).

  • 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!

Elmer Flick statue dedicated in Hall of Famer’s hometown

A recap from Vince Guerrieri at Did The Tribe Win Last Night? with mention of SABR member Jim Wagner:

Elmer Flick has taken his place in the town square.

Flick, a Bedford (Ohio) native and member of the Baseball Hall of Fame, was immortalized in a statue dedicated Wednesday in his hometown. His career ended abruptly in 1910, and he died in 1971, but he remained fresh in the memory of many people who attended the dedication. Tim Taylor, a Bedford native and former anchorman for WJW-TV, served as the master of ceremonies for the event, and remembered Flick at his high school games in the 1950s.

“I knew Elmer Flick,” he told the crowd. “Mr. Flick loved the game of baseball so much, he would come to our games, leaning on a cane, and yell instructions at us.

“And I was one of his favorite targets.”

Taylor said while he was in high school, he and his teammates took Flick for granted – as did the town.

“We were kids,” he said. “We didn’t know we were in the presence of greatness.”

On hand to represent the Indians were Bob DiBiasio, executive vice president for public affairs, former players Joe Charboneau and Len Barker, and former player and manager Mike Hargrove. DiBiasio said the statue represents part of the team’s mission of connecting generations, creating memories and celebrating families.

Read the full article here: http://didthetribewinlastnight.com/blog/2013/09/26/flick-statue-dedicated-in-bedford/

Cast your vote for the 1917 Retroactive MLB All-Stars

Every baseball fan knows the first All-Star Game was played in Chicago in 1933. But calls for a midseason All-Star contest go back years earlier. We can’t go back in time to change history, but with a good game simulator and the recent availability of midseason stats going back to 1916, we can arrive at a good idea of who probably would have played in those All-Star Games from 1916-32 and how they might have turned out.  

Two weeks ago, we opened the voting for the 1916 All-Star teams. Now it’s time to cast your vote for the 1917 All-Stars! The Voice of the Fan — YOU — will be heard in the Retroactive All-Star Game Project.

The 1917 All-Star Series will take place at the spacious Polo Grounds in New York using the Out of the Park 2014 simulator. Voting takes place until 3:00 a.m. Eastern time on October 11, 2013. The starting players at each position, plus three pitchers, will be selected by The Fans. The managers will round out the rosters, the games will be played using OOTP 14, and the game account and box score will be posted over at Seamheads.com.

Vote for the 1917 All-Star starters and pitchers here:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/ASG1917

Voting will be open until 3:00 a.m. Eastern Time on October 11, 2013.

The 1916 All-Star Game recap will be posted at Seamheads.com next week.

To learn more about the Retroactive All-Star Game Project, visit SABR.org/retroactive-all-star-project or contact Chuck Hildebrandt.

Print edition of expanded The National Pastime is now available for purchase

The National Pastime, SABR’s annual convention journal, is now larger than ever — and while all SABR members can download the expanded e-edition for free in PDF, EPUB (iPad/Nook) or Kindle formats, you can now also purchase it in paperback form for $19.95 by clicking on the link below:

http://www.createspace.com/4413177

The expanded edition, which at 252 pages is more than twice the size of the souvenir print edition offered to SABR 43 attendees in Philadelphia, tells a comprehensive story of baseball in Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley — the site of the 2013 SABR convention. SABR’s Connie Mack Chapter received well over 50 submissions in response to the call for papers, in addition to suggestions for reprints. The full electronic edition is over 160,000 words reflecting the strength and scope of the articles received.

In addition to the e-edition and print edition, you can also read articles from the full TNP online by clicking on the link below:

http://sabr.org/research/2013-national-pastime

Starting this year, the print edition of the TNP — which does not include the extra articles in the expanded e-edition — is being offered as a souvenir to SABR members attending the annual convention as part of our expanded Publications program led by editor Cecilia Tan. By publishing larger versions of the TNP online and in e-book format, more SABR members will have a chance to have their work published and SABR members will have the opportunity to read more top-level articles every summer.

Since 2009, The National Pastime has served as SABR’s convention-focused publication. Published annually, this research journal provides in-depth articles focused on the respective geographic region where the national convention is taking place in a given year.

For more coverage of SABR 43, visit SABR.org/convention.

In Memoriam: John F. Green

We are saddened to note the passing of John Fredrick Green, an active member of SABR and the San Diego Ted Williams Chapter since 2003. He died September 12, 2013, at the age of 83.

A native San Diegan and baseball aficionado, Green, born June 15, 1930, attended Grant Elementary School and San Diego High School. His father took him to his first game to see Ted Williams play for the PCL Padres in 1936. After graduating from San Diego State University, John had a long career as an accountant, and retired in 1989. John and his wife, Dorothy, traveled in Mexico and Europe as well as logged many miles throughout North America in their RV. They enjoyed together their “Three B’s:” baseball, books and craft beer. They held season tickets to the Padres for many years.

He wrote more than 20 biographies for SABR’s BioProject, including essays on “marathon man” Joe Oeschger; Pirates left-hander Fritz Ostermueller; and Deadball Era outfielder Reddy Grey, younger brother and muse for celebrated novelist Zane Grey. He was a regular attendee of SABR conventions, including this summer in Philadelphia.

Green is survived by his wife of 59 years, Dorothy; daughters, Melinda Hanson (Gene) and Gwynneth Morin (Leo); and grandchildren, Matthew and Hannah Morin. A Celebration of Life will be held on Friday, September 27 at 3 p.m. in the clubhouse at Rancho Carlsbad Estates in Carlsbad, CA. You are invited to join us and wear your favorite baseball attire.

Donations can be made in John’s memory to the San Diego Chapter of the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) by contacting Daniel Boyle or Thomas Larwin.

September 8 Board minutes posted

Minutes from the Board of Directors conference call on September 8, 2013, have now been posted on the SABR website.

You can view all past minutes of SABR Board meetings by going to the page below:

http://sabr.org/content/sabr-board-minutes

Or you can go to the Members’ Info page and click on “Org. files”, then “Board Minutes” to view the minutes.

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
Larry DeNino Greensburg, PA
Jacob Hamilton Waco, TX
Dale Jacobs Detroit, MI
Bennett Jacobstein San Jose, CA
Shane Kinsman San Antonio, TX
Karl Laude Waco, TX
Mike Livingston Westerville, OH
Travis Olson Harrisonburg, VA
Patrick Stephen New Orleans, LA
Richard Veit Robinson, TX

 

Research committee newsletters

Here are the new SABR research committee newsletters published this week:

  • Nineteenth Century: Fall 2013
  • We’d like to welcome Adam Darowski as the new chairman of the Overlooked 19th Century Legend selection committee. Chairman Joe Williams has stepped down after five years of service. In these last five years under Williams’ leadership, the Overlooked Legend committee has taken the concept of identifying and recognizing overlooked 19th century baseball legends from an idea to a SABR-wide annual selection process. The 2010 Overlooked Legend, Deacon White, even made it into the Baseball Hall of Fame this year. The 2014 Overlooked 19th Century Legend selection process will follow the newly expanded 2013 process; nominations will begin in January and a general election, open to all SABR members, will be held in spring of 2014. The announcement and publication of the election results will be at next summer’s SABR 44 convention in Houston, Texas. To learn more about the Overlooked 19th Century Legends project, click here. To read more from Adam on his new position, click here.

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

Chapter meeting news

There were no new chapter meeting recaps published 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, and sent out to all SABR members on Fridays. All previous editions of This Week in SABR can be found here: http://sabr.org/content/this-week-in-sabr-archives. 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.

Find exclusive Members’ Only resources and information here: http://members.sabr.org

Did you know you can renew your membership at any time? 1- and 3-year SABR memberships are available by clicking “Renew” at http://members.sabr.org. Please also consider a donation to SABR to support baseball research at SABR.org/donate.

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Originally published: September 27, 2013. Last Updated: April 3, 2020.

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