Join us for SABR Day on January 26, 2019

You’re not going to want to miss the 10th annual SABR Day on Saturday, January 26, 2019!

SABR Day is our annual Hot Stove gathering to celebrate the beginning of a new baseball season. It’s always held on the weekend between the NFL championship games and the Super Bowl. On that day, SABR’s regional chapters organize baseball events around the globe, and you’re all invited to attend.

Here are some highlights for SABR Day 2019 this weekend:

SABR’s Ted Williams Chapter in San Diego, hosts of this summer’s SABR 49 national convention, has a terrific SABR Day event on Saturday, led by award-winning authors Andy McCue and Rob Garratt giving a talk on major-league baseball’s move to the West Coast six decades ago, while Steve Murphy takes a look at a unique baseball memorabilia collection from the early 20th century.

Back east, the annual meeting of the Bob Davids Chapter in Washington, DC, will have some interesting guest speakers from around baseball, including Washington Nationals baseball analysts Lee Mendelowitz and Scott Van Lentenax; Moe Berg documentary filmmaker Aviva Kempner; FanGraphs writer Sydney Bergman on umpire ejections and ethnicity; and Steve Klein on the Black Sox Scandal.

The Casey Stengel Chapter in New York City will gather at the Scandinavia House on Park Avenue to hear a panel on the 1969 Mets with former major-leaguer Art Shamsky, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author Ira Berkow, and New York Daily News Mets beat writer Kristie Ackert. We’ll also be joined by Baseball Hall of Fame President Jeff Idelson.

In New Jersey, the Elysian Fields Chapter will meet at the Hoboken Public Library with a panel of baseball authors that includes Ron Kaplan (Hank Greenberg in 1938), Lincoln Mitchell (Baseball Goes West), and Howard Megdal (The Cardinal Way), along with presentations from the award-winning Perry Barber on the future of women in baseball and David Krell on the rise and fall of Roosevelt Stadium. Meanwhile, the Goose Goslin Chapter will meet at the Cherry Hill Public Library and hear from Pat McFarlane and Michael Czahor from the Philadelphia Phillies Research & Development department.

In Cooperstown, our SABR Day meeting at the Baseball Hall of Fame’s Bullpen Theater will include presentations from curator John Odell on the Hall of Fame’s new baseball cards exhibit, “Shoebox Treasures,” and Tom Shieber on Babe Ruth in the movies.

In Atlanta at the Magnolia Chapter meeting, we’ll hear from Baseball Prospectus author Russell Carleton, Wayland Moore on Braves uniforms in the 1970s, and J.P. Caillault on “The Triple Crown Score.”

In Denver at the Rocky Mountain Chapter meeting, we’ll host a special Media Panel with Colorado Rockies beat writers Thomas Harding of MLB.com, Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post, and broadcaster Taylor McGregor of AT&T Sportsnet. We’ll also hear from new SABR CEO Scott Bush.

In Phoenix at the Hemond-Delhi Arizona Chapter meeting, we’ll hear from Diamondbacks beat writers Steve Gilbert of MLB.com and Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic.

In Seattle, our Northwest Chapter will celebrate SABR Day — and Edgar Martinez’s recent Hall of Fame induction! — at Seattle Pacific University’s Ames Library with Seattle Mariners Senior Vice President Randy Adamack, Negro Leagues historian Jay Caldwell, and a talk by Anthony Salazar on the Conlon Collection.

In Toronto, join the Hanlan’s Point Chapter for a sneak peek at SABR member Bill Humber’s “Baseball Spring Training” class (now in its 41st year!) at Seneca College with special guests Scott Crawford, Director of the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame, and Philadelphia Phillies bench coach Rob Thomson. This special class is free to all fans only on SABR Day, January 26, and will include research presentations and discussions on Canadian baseball history.

Other guest speakers for SABR Day on Saturday are expected to include: Cincinnati Enquirer columnist Paul Daugherty (Cincinnati), former major-league players Dyar Miller (Indianapolis), Russ Nagelson (Little Rock), John and Charlie Mitchell (Nashville); former minor-league pitcher and Clark County Commissioner Larry Brown (Las Vegas); Milwaukee Brewers broadcaster Lane Grindle (Milwaukee); ballpark organist Fred Costello (Rochester, NY); and authors Gaylon White (Knoxville), Katie Neipris (San Diego), and Rick Swaine (Tallahassee). 

Some SABR chapters, such as Austin, Birmingham, Boston, Columbus, New Orleans, Toledo, and Victoria, will meet informally for lunch or just to talk baseball with friends. We hope you’ll come check it out.

All baseball fans are welcome on SABR Day; you don’t have to be a SABR member to attend, although if you like what you see we hope you’ll sign up.

You can find details of more than 40 meetings scheduled for SABR Day 2019 at SABR.org/sabrday. Find one near you and join us!

  • SABR Day doesn’t end at midnight! Some chapters held their SABR Day meetings last week, due to venue or schedule availability. But don’t miss the upcoming events scheduled for next Saturday, February 2 in Buffalo, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Kansas City, Pittsburgh, and St. Louis. Find complete details at SABR.org/sabrday. Hope to see you there!



Originally published: January 23, 2019. Last Updated: January 23, 2019.