Join us at SABR 53 for Seitz Decision 50th Anniversary Panel
MARCH 26, 2025 — SABR’s 53rd annual convention is scheduled for June 25-29, 2025, in Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas. SABR 53 will feature a Texas-sized speaker lineup we know you’ll love, alongside an invigorated social experience emphasizing SABR’s ability to unite all of us in baseball fellowship. All baseball fans are welcome to attend.
A featured panel discussing the 50th anniversary of arbitrator Peter Seitz’s landmark decision on baseball free agency will include:
- Don Fehr, former Executive Director of the MLB Players Association
- Steve Rogers, Special Assistant, MLB Players Association, and former Montreal Expos All-Star pitcher
- Moderator: Bradford William Davis, Fort Worth Star-Telegram columnist
In addition, former Texas Rangers All-Star infielder Elvis Andrus will join our Hitters Panel with Hall of Fame catcher Iván Rodríguez and more speakers to be announced soon.
Please note: All speakers are subject to change depending on availability.
In 1975, pitchers Andy Messersmith and Dave McNally played the season without signing their contracts, then filed a grievance with baseball’s arbitrator, Peter Seitz, claiming that the standard reserve clause no longer bound them to their clubs. On December 23, Seitz upheld their grievances, making them free agents. The subsequent 1976 collective bargaining agreement codified a procedure for free agency for the first time.
Visit SABR.org/convention for more information on early-bird registration, Texas Rangers and Frisco RoughRiders games, Globe Life Field ballpark tour, and more.
Originally published: March 26, 2025. Last Updated: March 25, 2025.