- Save the date! Join us next summer on August 7-11, 2024, in Minneapolis for SABR’s 52nd annual convention. Registration and hotel information will be available in early 2024.
SABR 51
July 5-9, 2023
Palmer House Hilton
Chicago, Illinois
Couldn’t make it to Chicago for SABR 51? Check out more coverage of our 2023 national convention online.
The Society for American Baseball Research held its 51st annual convention on July 5-9, 2023 at the Palmer House Hilton in downtown Chicago. Check out stories, photos, and multimedia clips from the SABR 51 convention in Chicago below.
The annual SABR convention, which is open to all baseball fans, includes top featured speakers from around the baseball world — front office executives, players, managers, scouts, journalists, historians, and analysts — innovative panel discussions, groundbreaking research presentations, ballgames, the SABR Trivia Contest, the Awards Luncheon, and most of all, the opportunity to make and renew baseball friendships over the course of this exciting and memorable event.
- Neal Traven selected as 2023 Bob Davids Award winner
- Listen to highlights from Chase Carpenter’s opening remarks (audio)
- Listen to highlights from Jason Benetti’s keynote speech (audio)
- Listen to highlights from the Player Panel with Ozzie Guillén and Chuck Garfien (audio)
- Listen to highlights from the Black Baseball in Chicago Panel with Adrian Burgos Jr., James Brunson III, Leslie Heaphy, and Louis Moore (audio)
- Listen to highlights from the AAGPBL Panel with Maybelle Blair, Kristie Erickson, Kat Williams (audio)
- Listen to highlights from the Reimagining Wrigley Panel with Ed Hartig, Kelly Holton, and Fred Mitchell (audio)
- Listen to highlights from featured presentations by Adam Darowski and Katie Krall (audio)
- Listen to highlights from all 32 research presentations at SABR 51 (audio)
- Listen to highlights from committee meeting presentations and panels, including Andy Brown, Jason Cannon, Mike Cieslinski, David Fletcher, Rob Neyer, Jacob Pomrenke, John Racanelli, Geoff Reiss, Steve Musgrave, and more (audio)
- David Firstman, Chuck Hildebrandt win 2023 convention presentation awards
- Bobby Mathews selected as SABR’s Overlooked 19th Century Base Ball Legend of 2023
- Dan Massey, R.J. Lesch, Stephen Roney, Mark Simon, Cary Smith win SABR 51 Trivia Contest
- View photo galleries from each day of SABR 51
- Travis Sawchik: After five decades in baseball, fun is still supreme for Mike Veeck (The Score)
- Cecilia Tan: Things I Learned at SABR 51 (Why I Like Baseball)
- Jason Schwartz: SABR 51 highlights and a Frank Thomas baseball card mystery solved (SABR Baseball Cards Blog)
- Matt Spiegel: Interview with Dan Evans on the SABR 51 convention (The Score)
- Josh Frydman: White Sox scout who signed Luis Robert Jr. discusses outfielder’s trajectory into All-Star performer (WGN-TV)
- C. Trent Rosecrans: Nostalgic allure of ‘Immaculate Grid’ makes obsessives of MLB players, fans (The Athletic)
- Mike Bates/Bill Parker: Listen to SABR 51 Pirate Radio with special guest Mike Veeck (This Week in Baseball History)
- Bill Pearch: SABR 51 Produced Many Memorable Moments (IBWAA.com)
- Thomas Stone: Recap of SABR 51 in Chicago (Substack)
Featured Speakers
Click here to learn more about our Featured Speakers at SABR 51
- White Sox play-by-play and Fox Sports national broadcaster Jason Benetti delivered the Keynote Address during the convention’s Awards Luncheon.
- White Sox World Series-winning manager and former shortstop Ozzie Guillén, now a TV analyst for NBC Sports Chicago, spoke on our Player Panel, moderated by Chuck Garfien of NBC Sports Chicago.
- Legendary team owner, promoter, and publicist Mike Veeck was featured in “Fun is Good: A Veeck Family Legacy,” a conversation highlighting his family’s storied impact on baseball and its deep Chicago ties.
- A panel on Black Baseball in Chicago included historians James Brunson III, Leslie Heaphy, and Adrian Burgos Jr., moderated by Louis Moore.
- Chase Carpenter, the Chicago Cubs’ Senior Director, Strategy and Analytics, delivered the Opening Remarks.
- Longtime MLB executive and SABR Director Dan Evans and filmmaker Matt Flesch hosted a Q&A and film screening of Last Comiskey, a new documentary on the Chicago White Sox’ final season at Comiskey Park in 1990.
- A panel on the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League included former player and women’s baseball ambassador Maybelle Blair, with Dr. Kat Williams of the International Women’s Baseball Center, and Kristie Erickson of The History Museum in South Bend.
- Panel discussion on Reimagining Wrigley with Chicago Cubs team historian Ed Hartig, Populous Brand Activation Manager Kelly Holton, and award-winning sports writer Fred Mitchell.
- Beloved ballpark organist Nancy Faust provided entertainment during the SABR 51 Welcome Reception on Wednesday, July 5.
The Palmer House Hilton sits in the heart of the Chicago Loop, conveniently located within walking distance from the famous lakefront, Chicago River, Michigan Avenue, and DuSable Lake Shore Drive with Grant Park, Millennium Park, the Art Institute as well as top restaurants, bars, theater, and music venues. Chicago is one of the most visited and historic cities in baseball, home of the White Sox and Cubs, founding teams of the American League and National League, and with a rich Negro Leagues history.
Get your copy of The National Pastime convention journal
All articles from the new 2023 edition of The National Pastime can now be found online in the Research Collection at SABR.org.
All SABR 51 attendees received a souvenir print edition of The National Pastime, our annual convention journal, focusing on baseball in Chicago and around the Midwest.
All guests must adhere to SABR’s Event Code of Conduct at all times. We are dedicated to maintaining an open, inclusive environment at all SABR events.
- SABR Convention History: Click here for a multimedia look back at every SABR convention since 1971.