- Save the date! Join us in San Diego, California, for SABR 49 convention on June 26-30, 2019. Registration and hotel information will be available beginning in January 2019. Click here to learn more.
- Call for papers: The 2019 issue of SABR's The National Pastime will focus on baseball in the San Diego/Mexicali region. We're accepting article queries through December 15, 2018. Click here to learn more.
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Couldn't make it to Pittsburgh for SABR 48? Check out more coverage of our 2018 national convention from the Steel City below.
The Society for American Baseball Research held its 48th annual national convention on June 20-24, 2018, at the Wyndham Grand Downtown Pittsburgh hotel.
Check out stories, photos, and multimedia clips from the SABR 48 convention in Pittsburgh below:
- Listen to highlights from Pirates president Frank Coonelly's opening remarks (audio)
- Listen to highlights from the SABR 48 Ballpark Session at PNC Park (audio)
- Listen to highlights from the Roberto Clemente Panel with Adrian Burgos Jr., Danny Torres, and Duane Rieder (audio)
- Listen to highlights from the Wendell Smith Panel with Larry Lester, Pamela E. Walck, David Wiggins, and Chris Lamb (audio)
- Listen to highlights from the Media Panel with Steve Blass, Joe Block, Greg Brown, Lanny Frattare, and Curt Smith (audio)
- Listen to highlights from the Pirates Player Panel with John Candelaria, Grant Jackson, and Joe Block (audio)
- Listen to highlights from the Branch Rickey Panel with Lee Lowenfish, Frank Thomas, Jeffrey Flannery, and Jack Bowen (audio)
- Listen to highlights from ex-MLB pitcher Dick Bosman, Hall of Fame senior curator Tom Shieber, Pirates official scorers Bob Webb and Evan Pattak, and more at SABR 48 committee meetings (audio)
- Listen to highlights from SABR 48 research presentations (audio)
- Larry McCray selected as Bob Davids Award winner
- Perry Barber receives 2018 Dorothy Seymour Mills Lifetime Achievement Award
- Callie Betts Maddox, Diane Firstman win 2018 convention presentation awards
- View photo galleries from each day of the SABR 48 convention
- View a photo gallery from our tour of the Roberto Clemente Museum in Pittsburgh
- View a photo gallery from our SABR 48 Ballpark Session at PNC Park on Friday night
- Dummy Hoy selected as Overlooked 19th Century Baseball Legend for 2018
- 'Four Strangers' upset powerhouse team of ex-champs in SABR 48 Trivia Contest; Dan Massey wins third title
Around the Web
- David Laurila: Snapshots from SABR 48 in Pittsburgh (FanGraphs)
- Chris Adamski: Presidents, baseball, and stats as SABR convention begins in Pittsburgh (Associated Press)
- Matt Gajtka: Stats play role, but SABR convention is much more than that (Pirates Prospects)
- Rick Thorp: SABR convention opens in Pittsburgh (Martins Ferry Times Leader)
- Bob Sproule: Reflections from the SABR 48 convention (The Grandstander)
SABR 48 featured speakers
Our convention in Pittsburgh included top guest speakers from around the baseball world. Click here to learn more about our featured speakers or to listen to highlights from any session at SABR 48.
A Day at the Ballpark: PNC Park
Attendees at the SABR 48 convention in Pittsburgh had a special opportunity to visit PNC Park for an exclusive pregame ballpark session with Pittsburgh Pirates executives, broadcasters, and manager on Friday, June 22. Before the Pirates' game against the Arizona Diamondbacks, special SABR 48 presentations took place at PNC Park with:
- Neal Huntington, Pittsburgh Pirates general manager
- Clint Hurdle, Pittsburgh Pirates manager
- Joe Block, Pittsburgh Pirates broadcaster
- Dan Fox, Pittsburgh Pirates Director of Baseball Informatics
- Thomas E. Kennedy, former project executive for the Sports & Exhibition Authority of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County
Click on a link below to listen to highlights from other featured panels at SABR 48:
Opening Remarks: Frank Coonelly
- Pittsburgh Pirates president Frank Coonelly delivered the opening remarks at SABR 48 on Thursday, June 21.
The Great One: The Life and Legacy of Roberto Clemente
- Duane Rieder, Executive Director and Curator of the Roberto Clemente Museum
- Danny Torres, LatinoSports.com and LaVidaBaseball.com writer
- Moderator: Adrian Burgos Jr., Editor-in-Chief of La Vida Baseball and author of Playing America’s Game: Baseball, Latinos, and the Color Line
Wendell Smith of the Pittsburgh Courier: His Life and Legacy
- Larry Lester, chair of SABR's Negro Leagues Research Committee and author of nine books on baseball history
- Pamela E. Walck, media professor at Duquesne University and author of an upcoming book on the Pittsburgh Courier
- David K. Wiggins, professor at George Mason University and author of the upcoming book, More than a Game: A History of the African American Experience in Sport
- Moderator: Chris Lamb, professor of journalism at Indiana University-Indianapolis and author of Conspiracy of Silence: Sportswriters and the Campaign to End Segregated Baseball
- Steve Blass, Pittsburgh Pirates color commentator and former major-league pitcher
- Joe Block, Pittsburgh Pirates play-by-play announcer
- Greg Brown, Pittsburgh Pirates play-by-play announcer
- Lanny Frattare, the longest-tenured broadcaster in Pittsburgh Pirates history
- Moderator: Curt Smith, author and baseball broadcasting historian
- John Candelaria and Grant Jackson, former Pirates pitchers and 1979 World Series champions
- Moderator: Joe Block, Pirates broadcaster
Branch Rickey: The Pittsburgh Pirates Years
- Frank Thomas, All-Star outfielder who played for the Pirates from 1951-58
- Jeffrey Flannery, who oversees the "Branch Rickey Papers" at the Library of Congress
- Jack Bowen, son of legendary Pirates scout Rex Bowen
- Moderator: Lee Lowenfish, author of Branch Rickey: The Ferocious Gentleman
Get your copy of The National Pastime convention journal
All SABR 48 attendees received a souvenir print edition of The National Pastime: Steel City Stories, our annual convention journal, focusing on baseball teams, players, and events in the Pittsburgh area. All SABR members, whether they attended the convention or not, received a complimentary copy of the e-book edition of The National Pastime.
Click here to download the e-book edition at SABR.org or click here to purchase the print edition at Amazon.com.
The articles from this journal are now available to read online at SABR.org.
Related links:
- 2017 convention coverage: For complete coverage of SABR 47 in New York City, click here
- SABR Convention History: For a multimedia look at every SABR convention since 1971, click here