This Week in SABR: April 25, 2025

April 25, 2025/in This Week in SABR /by Jacob Pomrenke

Welcome to “This Week in SABR” on Friday, April 25, 2025.
Click here to view this newsletter on the web.

SABR 53: Buddy Bell, Colby Lewis added to speaker lineup
Read articles from Spring 2025 Baseball Research Journal
SABR Board of Directors election is now under way
1 week left in SABR 500 Club membership referral drive
Contribute to SABR’s Campaign for Baseball Research
19th Century Conference begins in Cooperstown

SABR 53: Buddy Bell, Colby Lewis added to lineup; early-bird discounts end tonight

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. Early-bird registration discounts end at midnight on April 25, 2025, so sign up today to join us!

We’re excited to announce that Texas Rangers greats Buddy Bell and Colby Lewis will be featured speakers at SABR 53. Lewis spent 11 seasons pitching in the major leagues from 2002 to 2016, helping lead the Rangers to four American League West Division titles and two World Series appearances. Bell won six Gold Glove Awards at third base with the Rangers during his 18-year playing career from 1972 to 1989 and he also managed three teams; he is part of one of baseball’s most accomplished families with father Gus Bell and sons David and Mike Bell all playing in the major leagues.

They join an All-Star speaker lineup that also includes Hall of Famers Iván Rodríguez and Ferguson Jenkins; former All-Star infielder Elvis Andrus; Texas Rangers manager Bruce Bochy; Texas Rangers President of Baseball Operations Chris Young; former MLB Players Association Executive Director Don Fehr; former major-league pitcher Steve Rogers; former Rangers president Tom Schieffer; longtime Rangers executives Rob Matwick and Jack Hill; Fort Worth Star-Telegram columnist Bradford William Davis; baseball card pioneer James Beckett; former Houston Astros GM and Texas League president Tim Purpura; and former Texas League players Bob Baillargeon and Rick Herrscher.

Please note: All speakers are subject to change depending on availability.

If you’ve never attended a SABR convention, this is the perfect year to join us and make new baseball friendships. If you’re a veteran attendee, we can’t wait for you to experience our rejuvenated convention experience. It will be an incredible week of baseball fellowship in the heart of Texas and we hope you’ll make plans to be part of it! Visit SABR.org/convention to register now or learn more.

Read articles from Spring 2025 Baseball Research Journal

With an original cover illustration of Harrisburg Giants outfielders Fats Jenkins, Oscar Charleston, and Rap Dixon designed by SABR member Gary Cieradkowski, we hope you enjoy the e-book edition of the Spring 2025 Baseball Research Journal! The e-book edition was sent to all SABR members on Thursday, April 17. Anyone who has subscribed to the print edition should receive their copy in the mail in the next 1-3 weeks.

Click here to download the PDF e-book edition of the Spring 2025 Baseball Research Journal.
Click here to order a copy of the print edition of the Spring 2025 Baseball Research Journal from Amazon.com.
All articles from the Spring 2025 Baseball Research Journal are now available to read online at SABR.org.

We hope you enjoy the Spring 2025 Baseball Research Journal!

1 week left in SABR 500 Club membership referral drive

Do you have friends or family members who would love SABR? Now is the time to encourage them to join during our SABR 500 Club membership drive!

The SABR 500 Club is a referral-based membership drive with the goal of welcoming 500 new SABR members between March 1 and April 30, 2025. New members who sign up for an annual or multi-year membership during the referral period will receive a custom baseball card set featuring SABR-Rucker Archive images of members of the 500 home run club. Current members who refer three or more new members during the drive, regardless of membership type, will receive their choice of a card set or SABR logo lapel pin. The current SABR member who refers the most new members will receive a complimentary registration for SABR’s 53rd annual convention in Dallas-Fort Worth this June. Cash prizes will also be awarded to SABR chapters with the most referrals.

Visit SABR.org/500-club to learn more.

Join SABR’s Campaign for Baseball Research!

Research isn’t just part of our name—it’s the heart of everything we do.

From our expansive Research Collection to the powerful tools and resources we offer baseball scholars and fans alike, SABR is where baseball’s past meets its future. We’re working towards our vision of becoming the essential community for baseball worldwide—and we can’t do it without you.

This spring, we invite you to join the Campaign for Baseball Research. Our goal is to raise $75,000 to expand, maintain, and preserve SABR’s Research Collection and Research Resources for current and future generations of baseball enthusiasts. We will use your best gift of $150, $300, $500, or $1,000 to better serve our growing membership base, attract more attention for our research, and offer new research tools to all corners of the worldwide baseball community.

To donate or learn more about recent Research Collection projects and upgrades to our Research Resources, assets, and tools made possible by your donations visit sabr.org/donate/research-campaign.

Frederick Ivor-Campbell 19th Century Conference begins in Cooperstown

The 16th annual SABR Frederick Ivor-Campbell 19th Century Base Ball Conference began today at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. Programming runs through Saturday, April 26, and the event is now sold out.

The 2025 conference will be highlighted by a keynote address from author Richard Hershberger, along with a panel discussion on the National Association with Alan Cohen, Bob Tiemann, Bob Tholkes, and moderator Bill Ryczek; a 19th-century artifact session with Robert Mayer, Gary Passamonte, and Jonathan Popovich; a Member Spotlight interview of Andrew North by Dave Newman; plus research presentations.

Visit SABR.org/ivor-campbell19c to learn more.

Call for papers: 2025 SABR/IWBC Women in Baseball Conference

SABR and the International Women’s Baseball Center have announced a call for papers for the seventh annual SABR/IWBC Women in Baseball Conference, scheduled as a virtual event for September 19-21, 2025.

Registration information will be available soon at SABR.org/women-in-baseball-conference.

The theme for this year’s conference is “Women Beyond the Diamond.” Topics can focus on ideas such as announcers, owners, executives, writers, artists, architects, and much more. All topics and time periods related to women’s baseball are welcome. Abstracts accepted for posters and/or oral presentations.

Please submit abstracts of approximately 200 words, along with contact information and a short biography, by July 1, 2025, to Leslie Heaphy.

Voting now open for 2025 Board of Directors Election

SABR members, please pay attention to the e-mail address that you have on file with SABR; you should have received a message from tellers@sabr.org on Wednesday, April 23 with a link to vote online in the 2025 SABR Board of Directors election.

Not seeing your ballot? If you did not receive your ballot, please check your Spam folder or contact jpomrenke@sabr.org to request that your ballot be re-sent.

The poll will close at 11:59 p.m. Mountain Standard Time on May 7. The only way to vote online is through the link you will receive by e-mail. All e-mails will come from the address tellers@sabr.org.

Election Guide: Click here to download the 2025 SABR Election Guide (PDF)
Virtual Candidate Forum: Click here to watch a replay of the 2025 Virtual Candidate Forum (YouTube)

You will find two items on the 2025 election ballot: the election of the SABR Board President and two (2) Directors positions. Click here to learn more.

Students, apply for a Fall 2025 internship with SABR

The Society for American Baseball Research is seeking student interns to work during the Fall 2025 semester from September 1-December 1. The remote internship is an educational opportunity that may count toward college credit, covering 15-20 hours per week with a flexible schedule. The internship will be for a fixed period of time and is designed to provide the intern with skills and training that may be applicable to working in a nonprofit research environment or in other research-based organizations.

Please send a resume and cover letter in PDF form to jpomrenke@sabr.org. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis until all positions are filled.

Click here to read the full announcement at SABR.org.

Find new updates to the SABR Research Collection below, including the Baseball Biography Project, Games Project, and Oral History Collection.

New Oral History interview: Dale Murphy

Dale Murphy, Atlanta Braves great and two-time National League MVP
Recorded April 16, 2025, by John McMurray

Visit SABR.org/oralhistory to find more interviews from the SABR Oral History Collection.

6 new stories published at SABR Games Project

May 12, 1915: Rain does Pittsburgh Rebels a favor, holds off for Federal League team’s close win, by Kurt Blumenau
April 22, 1925: Championship-bound Pirates win home opener with record-setting 7 triples, by John Fredland
August 25, 1963: ‘Lucky’ Camilo Pascual escapes bases-loaded jam to beat Orioles, 5-3, by Thomas E. Merrick
September 10, 1963: Sandy Koufax wins 23rd game in record-setting performance in Pittsburgh, by Gregory H. Wolf
June 5, 1985: Braves, Cubs work overtime on ‘Ferris Bueller’s Day Off’, by Harrison Golden
April 30, 2002: Darren Oliver throws first shutout at Fenway Park by a Red Sox lefty in nine years, by Christopher D. Chavis

Visit SABR.org/gamesproject to learn more about the SABR Games Project or to get involved.

New additions to 19th Century League and Team Resources collection

SABR’s Nineteenth Century Committee has added more files to the 19th Century League and Team Resources collection, which aims to collect all available pre-1900 baseball documents and make them available online to future researchers.

The collection now includes constitutions from the National Association of Base Ball Players (1861-1870) and a bill of sale from the 1890 Players League. Click here to learn more.

Here Comes the Pizzer: The Found Poetry of Baseball Broadcasts
Edited by Eric Poulin

Visit SABR.org to download the free e-book edition or save 50% off the paperback edition of all Digital Library books.

Here are some SABR headlines from recent weeks that we don’t want you to miss:

Please give a warm welcome to all new SABR members who joined this week! View more Members-Only resources at members.sabr.org or click here to download the Membership Handbook. Find contact information for any SABR member in the online Membership Directory.

NAME	HOMETOWN	NAME	HOMETOWN
Lynn Ames	Asheville, NC	Kevin McCormick	Coppell, TX
Scott Bershof	Denver, CO	Gale McCray	Fort Worth, TX
Alex Bolton	Colleyville, TX	Edward McDonald	Rosedale, MD
Evan Dull	Wexford, PA	Terry McGreehan	Saint Louis, MO
James Greaves	Laguna Beach, CA	Skye Murphy	Kentfield, CA
Mike Guckert	Syracuse, NY	Stephen Nehilla	Enola, PA
Sarah Hamilton	Loudonville, NY	Max Rabin	Beverly, MA
Tom Hannon	Onset, MA	Stevie Robinson	Seattle, WA
Neil Hate	Wrightstown, NJ	Terry Sharp	Little Rock, AR
Matthew Havens	Stephenville, TX	Bill Tanner	Greenwich, CT
Phil Kuchinsky	Palos Heights, IL	Samuel Turano	Lutz, FL
Matt Kulenkamp	Reno, NV	Kathy Weaver	Crownsville, MD
Charles Maxfield	Durham, NC

Events Calendar: Find details of all upcoming SABR events.
Video Replays: This week, we heard from Jerry Izenberg, 2025 Russell Gabay Award recipient; Lynn Ames (Out at the Plate); John Nogowski (Diamond Duels); and baseball video games writer Nate Edwards. Click here to view video replays of virtual SABR events.

Upcoming Virtual Meetings

April 26: Central Florida Chapter meeting with Sam Zygner (11:00 a.m. EDT)
April 26: Thomas E. Kern: Wilber “Bullet” Rogan’s Two-Way Greatness (12:00 p.m. EDT)
April 26: Bay Area/Sacramento Joint Chapter meeting with Marshall Garvey and Jason Cannon (11:00 a.m. PDT)
April 27: Baltimore Babe Ruth (MD) Chapter meeting with Robert Elias (7:00 p.m. EDT)
April 28: Bob Broeg St. Louis (MO) Chapter meeting with Marshall Garvey and Brian Flaspohler (6:00 p.m. CDT)
April 28: Clyde Sukeforth (NH/ME) Chapter meeting with Gregory Duhamel (7:00 p.m. EDT)
April 29: Elysian Fields Chapter meeting with Marq Evans and Dick Perez (7:00 p.m. EDT)
May 3: Bob Davids Chapter Talkin’ Baseball: J.B. Manheim (9:00 a.m. EDT)
May 3: Women in Baseball Talk: Melissa Ludtke (10:00 a.m. EDT)

Upcoming In-Person Meetings

April 25-26: SABR Ivor-Campbell 19th Century Base Ball Conference (Cooperstown, NY)
April 26: Schott-Pelican Chapter meeting (New Orleans, LA)
April 26: Connecticut Smoky Joe Wood Chapter breakfast (Middletown, CT)
April 26: Pee Wee Reese Chapter ballgame/meet-up (Louisville, KY)
April 27: Bob Davids Chapter: Day of the Book Festival (Kensington, MD)
April 27: Baltimore/Philadelphia joint chapter ballgame/meet-up (Salisbury, MD)
April 29: Hank Gowdy Columbus Chapter Ohio State ballgame/meet-up (Columbus, OH)
April 30: Bob Davids Chapter lunch meeting (Silver Spring, MD)
May 3: Rabbit Maranville Chapter meeting (Springfield, MA)
May 3: Halsey Hall Chapter Hot Stove Saturday Morning (Minneapolis, MN)
May 4: Hank Gowdy Columbus Chapter Ohio State ballgame/meet-up (Columbus, OH)

To add your SABR event to our calendar listings, please contact Jacob Pomrenke.

Women in Baseball: Spring 2025 newsletter

Sign up for SABR research committee announcements at SABR.org/research/committees.

Buck O’Neil/North Florida Chapter: April 9 meeting recap (Tallahassee, FL)
Roush-Lopez Tampa Bay Chapter: April 23 meeting recap (St. Petersburg, FL)
Ted Williams Chapter: April 2025 newsletter (San Diego, CA)

Sign up for SABR chapter announcements at SABR.org/chapters.

Click here to learn more about SABR chartered communities.

Here are some recent articles published by and about SABR members:

Save 40% off the purchase of baseball books at University of Nebraska Press through June 13
Pam Mastriano: Bobby Meacham and Ace Adams to speak at next SABR Springfield chapter meeting (Springfield Republican)
Tyler Kepner: For ‘The Simpsons,’ MLB’s gambling ties make a perfectly cromulent premise (The Athletic)
J.J. Cooper: MLB Front Offices Got Smarter, But Lost The Art Of Selling Hope (Baseball America)
Mario Delgado Genzor: The Rarefied Air of Coors Field (Baseball Prospectus)
Jason Foster: Every team in a division over .500? It could happen (MLB.com)
Alex Speier: Five starts into Red Sox career, Garrett Crochet is just scratching the surface of his potential greatness (Boston Globe)
Jayson Stark: Cubs-Diamondbacks instant classic cracks the top 5 of craziest games at Wrigley Field (The Athletic)
Russell A. Carleton: BABIP Panic (Baseball Prospectus)
Dan Moore: The Faustian Bargain of the “Sacramento” Athletics (The Ringer)
Zach Crizer: From Outfield to Shortstop, Mookie Betts is Rewriting His Hall of Fame Plaque (Opta Analyst)
Patrick Dubuque: When is a Hit (Baseball Prospectus)
David Laurila: Penn Murfee’s Cut-Ride Came Because He Couldn’t Get a Grip (FanGraphs)
Mark Simon: Early Observations: Impressive Outfielders (Sports Info Solutions)
Rob Mains: Why The Stock Market Is the Wrong Way to Gauge Owners’ Investment in Baseball Teams (Baseball Prospectus)
Jay Jaffe: Francisco Lindor and the Mets Have Gone Streaking (FanGraphs)
SABR member William Weinbaum inducted into Medill Hall of Achievement (Northwestern.edu)
Jeff Cohen/Len Aberman: Baseball and BBQ interview with Aaron Fischman (Baseball and BBQ)
Davy Andrews: I Know What You Did Last Summer: When Ballplayers Make Babies (FanGraphs)
Ryan Whirty: The New Orleans Creoles (Negro Leagues Up Close)
Mark Kolier: Strikeouts are boring but an out is an out (Almost Cooperstown)
Jeff Katz: Cards That Kermit Would Love (SABR Baseball Cards)
F. Scott Wilkinson: Topps in 1975: Awfully Awesome, or Just Awful? (SABR Baseball Cards)
Bill Pearch: Uncovering a Small Town’s Hidden Baseball History (SABR Baseball Cards)
Rob Neyer: Using Little Cards to Sell Big Books (SABR Baseball Cards)
David Stinson: McGraw Field Marker Dedication Set for August 2 in Truxton (SABR Landmarks)

Please note: Some articles may require a separate subscription to view online. SABR does not endorse, and is not responsible or liable for, any content that appears on a third-party website.

This Week in SABR is compiled by Jacob Pomrenke. If you would like us to include an upcoming event, article, or any other information in “This Week in SABR,” e-mail jpomrenke@sabr.org. To find past editions of TWIS, click here.

Are you receiving our e-mails? “This Week in SABR” goes out by e-mail to all members on Friday afternoons. If they’re not showing up, try adding “sabr.notes@sabr.org” to your contact list to ensure they show up in your inbox.

Originally published: April 25, 2025. Last Updated: April 25, 2025.

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