2018 SABR Convention: SABR 48 in Pittsburgh

June 20-24, 2018
Wyndham Grand Pittsburgh
600 Commonwealth Place
Pittsburgh, PA 15222
Phone: (412) 391-4600

Presentations Schedule Committee Meetings Posters Speakers Vendors Room Information Photo Galleries #SABR48 on Twitter

PNC Park in Pittsburgh 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:

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

SABR 48 ballpark session 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

Media Panel

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

Pirates Player Panel

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.