SABR members approve By-Laws revision in 2025 special election
MARCH 7, 2025 — A revision to the SABR By-Laws was approved by the membership in a special election that closed on Wednesday, March 5.
The change, which will take effect beginning with the regular election cycle this spring, defines exclusionary conflicts of interest in board service.
A call for nominations for the 2025 Board of Directors elections will begin next week, with the regular election taking place from April 23-May 7. There will be three seats open: President and two Directors’ seats. Please contact Nominations Committee chair Stew Thornley with any questions.
The By-Laws revision passed with 809 of 986 ballots (82.05 percent) recorded as “yes” votes with a two-thirds majority required.
The newly approved section 3.9, inserted into Article 3 – Officers and Directors, is as follows:
3.9 Disqualifying Conflicts of Interest. Concurrent service in the role of full-time employee or board member for another non-profit organization whose principal focus is on baseball is a conflict of interest that disqualifies an individual from serving on the SABR board. The phrase “board member for another non-profit organization” includes boards of directors, boards of trustees, and functionally comparable boards regardless of name. Other roles, including advisory roles, could be a conflict under the applicable conflicts of interest policy but are not automatically excluded under this bylaw. This disqualification clause does not apply to roles in purely local recreational organizations, such as local little leagues.
Any dispute or ambiguity over whether a disqualifying conflict of interest exists or would exist shall be resolved by the process described in Section 4.5 – Removal of Directors. Any Board member who is actively serving on the date of adoption of this bylaw may complete the current term but would be subject to this bylaw for any re-election.
The full By-Laws revision and reason for the proposed change can be found in the 2025 SABR Special Election Guide.
Special thanks go out to Tellers Committee members Stephen Barnes, Alex Marks, and Bruce McClure for certifying the results in a virtual meeting held via Zoom on March 6.
Originally published: March 7, 2025. Last Updated: March 7, 2025.