Posnanski: The creation of Baseball-Reference, which changed everything
From Joe Posnanski at The Athletic on May 8, 2020, with mention of SABR members Sean Forman, Sean Lahman, Pete Palmer, and John Thorn:
The worst job I ever had was at 17 when I was paid to call people who were delinquent on their mortgages. I had a lot of bad jobs in those days, but I would say that was the most soul-sucking. It also was the highest paying: $4.50 an hour.
I used my earnings to buy The Baseball Encyclopedia.
For those of you too young to remember, The Baseball Encyclopedia was a book that weighed a metric ton and had the statistics of every player in baseball history. It was a massive undertaking, and when it was first published in 1969, it basically set off the sabermetrics revolution. By the time I came along, it was (in my memory) exorbitantly priced at $69.95.
Read the full article here (subscription required): https://theathletic.com/1800690/2020/05/08/60-moments-no-50-baseball-reference-changed-everything/
Related links:
- Listen to highlights from the 2019 SABR convention panel on the 50th anniversary of The Baseball Encyclopedia
- Sean Forman was a recipient of the SABR Analytics Conference Lifetime Achievement Award in 2020
Originally published: May 8, 2020. Last Updated: May 8, 2020.