This Week in SABR: April 4, 2025
Welcome to “This Week in SABR” on Friday, April 4, 2025.
Click here to view this newsletter on the web.
Weiss Baseball Questionnaires now available online
Join us on April 9 for SABR Webinar on Torpedo Bats
2025 Sporting News-SABR Baseball Research Award winners announced
SABR Digital Library: Here Comes The Pizzer: The Found Poetry of Baseball Broadcasts
SABR 500 Club membership referral drive
Deadlines approaching for student scholarship applications
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Weiss Baseball Questionnaires now available online
An archive of nearly 100,000 self-completed surveys of professional baseball players, compiled over six decades by longtime SABR member William J. Weiss, is now available online in the SABR Research Collection at SABR.org/weiss-baseball-questionnaires.
The Weiss Baseball Questionnaires provide comprehensive information on dozens of future Hall of Famers such as Dick Allen, Wade Boggs, Bob Gibson, Tony Gwynn, Rickey Henderson, Reggie Jackson, and Ryne Sandberg, plus other notable baseball figures such as Dusty Baker, Billy Beane, Bruce Bochy, David Cone, Pete Rose, and Fernando Valenzuela.
- Please note: SABR members must be logged in to view the questionnaire forms online; click here to log in at SABR.org and start browsing
Click here to read the full announcement at SABR.org.
Join us on April 9 for SABR Webinar on Torpedo Bats
SABR is bringing together a group of experts for a special webinar at 8:00 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, April 9 to discuss the newest equipment craze in baseball, the Torpedo Bat. Our panelists will include:
- Alan Nathan, Professor Emeritus of Physics, University of Illinois
- Jed Lowrie, former MLB All-Star infielder and Stanford University alumnus
- Keenan Long, Founder and CEO, LongBall Labs
- Moderator: Scott Bush, SABR Chief Executive Officer
Attendance is limited to members of SABR, who will receive a Zoom registration link via email on the morning of the event.
Click here to read the full announcement at SABR.org.
Join us at SABR 53 for Seitz Decision 50th Anniversary Panel
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.
Early registration now available for SABR 53 in Dallas-Fort Worth
This summer we’ll head to the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex on June 25-29, 2025, for the 53rd SABR convention. 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.
Here are some of our featured speakers and panelists:
- Iván Rodríguez, Texas Rangers great and 2017 Baseball Hall of Fame inductee
- Bruce Bochy, Texas Rangers manager and four-time World Series champion
- Chris Young, Texas Rangers President of Baseball Operations
- Tom Schieffer, former Texas Rangers president
- Rob Matwick, Executive Vice President, Public Affairs, Texas Rangers
- Jack Hill, former Senior Vice President, Project Development, Texas Rangers
- James Beckett, founder and CEO of Beckett Media
- Tim Purpura, former Houston Astros general manager and Texas League president
- Bob Baillargeon, former Texas League player
- Rick Herrscher, former Texas League player
- Stay tuned for more speakers and panelists to be announced!
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.
2025 Sporting News-SABR Baseball Research Award winners announced
The 2025 Sporting News-SABR Baseball Research Awards, which honor outstanding research projects completed during the preceding calendar year that have significantly expanded our knowledge or understanding of baseball, have been awarded to:
- Steve Steinberg and Lyle Spatz, Mike Donlin: A Rough and Rowdy Life from New York Baseball Idol to Stage and Screen (University of Nebraska Press)
- Mitchell Nathanson, Under Jackie’s Shadow: Voices of Black Minor Leagues Baseball Left Behind (University of Nebraska Press)
- Derek Bain and John Racanelli, Hardball Retro’s Compendium of Baseball Video Games and Electronic Handhelds (Self-published)
Click here to read the full announcement at SABR.org.
SABR Digital Library: Here Comes The Pizzer: The Found Poetry of Baseball Broadcasts
Add a new baseball book to your collection from the SABR Digital Library:
Here Comes the Pizzer: The Found Poetry of Baseball Broadcasts
Edited by Eric Poulin
ISBN (paperback): 978-1-960819-35-2, $14.95
ISBN (ebook): 978-1-960819-34-5, $6.99
8.5″ x 11″, 116 pages
It’s been broadly acknowledged that baseball is the most lyrical of all sports—the one whose natural flow lends itself to poetic rhythm and meter more than any other. Here Comes The Pizzer: The Found Poetry of Baseball Broadcasts recognizes this natural marriage of baseball and rhythm and takes it to the next level. Dozens of poets, researchers, writers, and historians have joined together through the Society for American Baseball Research to create this anthology of the words of the greatest broadcasters in baseball history, fashioned into new and innovative found poems.
Editor Eric Poulin has curated a collection of poems that alternate from wildly humorous to deeply poignant, as the words of legends like Vin Scully, Harry Caray, Red Barber, and Mel Allen sit gracefully alongside those of Dallas Braden, Jerry Remy, and even Snoop Dogg. Collectively, this anthology spans the range of human emotion while being fully grounded in the ebbs and flows of our National Pastime.
Click here to read the full announcement at SABR.org.
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 us on April 16 for a SABR Live Oral History Interview with Dale Murphy
Baseball fans, join us for a special virtual event at 7:30 p.m. Eastern on Wednesday, April 16: a live SABR Oral History interview with former National League MVP and Atlanta Braves great Dale Murphy.
All fans are invited to attend this interview session on Zoom, which will be conducted by Oral History Committee chair John McMurray. The interview will be recorded and added to SABR’s Oral History Collection archive afterward.
Click here to read the full announcement at SABR.org.
2025 Virtual Candidate Forum scheduled for April 17
All SABR members are invited to join us for a Virtual Candidate Forum featuring candidates for the two Director’s seats in the upcoming Board of Directions election. The forum, moderated by Joe Shaw, will take place on Zoom from 8:00-9:00 p.m. Eastern on Thursday, April 17.
Candidates will have a chance to introduce themselves and answer questions about the organization. SABR members will elect two of these candidates to the Board of Directors.
Click here to read the full announcement at SABR.org.
Deadlines approaching for SABR Convention, Negro Leagues student scholarships
With generous funding from The Nanar and Anthony Yoseloff Foundation, Inc., SABR will award up to four scholarships to high school and college students who wish to attend this summer’s SABR convention:
- Yoseloff Scholarship—SABR 53: With generous funding from The Nanar and Anthony Yoseloff Foundation, Inc., SABR will award up to four scholarships to high school and college students who wish to attend the SABR 53 convention on June 25-29, 2025, in Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas. This scholarship will pay for all registration fees and expenses associated with the conference. Deadline to apply: April 11, 2025. Click here to learn more or to download an application.
In addition, SABR’s Negro Leagues Committee awards $1,000 scholarships to high school seniors in its annual Thomas R. Garrett Scholarship essay contest. Students must write a 1,200-word essay answering a question related to one of the Negro League figures who are the namesakes of the scholarships. Deadline to apply: April 15. Click here to download an application or learn more about the scholarships.
Visit SABR.org/scholarships to learn more about student scholarship opportunities.
Writing opportunity: Spring training articles and essays
The editors of an upcoming SABR publication are seeking original articles and essays that explore all aspects of baseball’s spring training, including notable and historical locations, prominent or influential people, cultural implications, memorable moments, or personal narratives. All SABR members are welcome to contribute. Please send queries to editor David Pegram by October 1, 2025.
Click here to learn more about contributing to upcoming SABR projects.
Find new updates to the SABR Research Collection below, including the Baseball Biography Project, Games Project, and Oral History Collection.
Read essays from When Minor League Baseball Almost Went Bust online
In January, the SABR Digital Library published When Minor League Baseball Almost Went Bust: 1946-1963, edited by George Pawlush, on the epic transformation the minor leagues underwent from the end of World War II to the onset of the space race. By 1949, the minors’ boom would reach its peak, with 59 leagues and 448 teams, but their downfall was just around the corner. This book, with contributions from 39 SABR members, contains stories about minor-league teams, individuals, and leagues that thrived, struggled, and mostly went defunct, because of changing cultural and economic trends beyond their control from 1946 through 1963.
You can now find all of these essays online in the SABR Research Collection.
Visit SABR.org/ebooks to download the free ebook or save 50% off the purchase of a paperback edition.
7 new stories published at SABR Games Project
- September 9, 1911: Cardinals’ Gene Woodburn falls one inning shy of no-hitting Pirates for first career win, by Andrew Harner
- May 12, 1915: Fading Christy Mathewson holds off Reds for his first win of season, by Kurt Blumenau
- September 14, 1923: Unassisted triple play by George Burns helps Red Sox defeat Cleveland in 12 innings, by Bill Marston
- June 27, 1959: Dodgers’ Sandy Koufax tosses first shutout in nearly four years, by Gregory H. Wolf
- September 11, 1969: First-place Mets win again, while Expos look ahead to future, by Gary Sarnoff
- April 11, 2005: In home opener as reigning World Series champions, Red Sox rout Yankees, by Bill Nowlin
- April 17, 2009: Twins’ Jason Kubel hits for the cycle, sets tone for career year, by Mark Richard (first-time author)
Visit SABR.org/gamesproject to learn more about the SABR Games Project or to get involved.
The 2005 World Champion Chicago White Sox: Grinders and Gamers
Edited by Eric Conrad, Mark Morowczynski, Bill Nowlin, and Don Zminda
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:
- Check out highlights, photos, and stories from the 2025 SABR Analytics Conference
- Learn more about recipients of SABR Local Grants in 2025
- Rob Fitts, Gary Gillette, Richard Malatzky honored with Henry Chadwick Award
- SABR members approve By-Laws revision in 2025 special election
- Hundreds of ProQuest US newspapers added to SABR Research Resources
- SABR Digital Library: When Minor League Baseball Almost Went Bust: 1946-1963
- Save the date! 2025 SABR/IWBC Women in Baseball Conference is September 19-21
- Read SABR biographies of 2025 Baseball Hall of Fame inductees
- Browse the new, searchable SABR MLB Team Employee Database
- Find complete collection of SABR-Rucker Archive baseball images online
- Historical Black Newspapers Collection added to SABR Research Resources
- Get a gift for baseball fan in your life with the SABR Store @ CafePress
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 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nathan Bechle | Madison, WI | Austin Leonhart | Overland Park, KS | ||
| Matthew Byrne | Laguna Hills, CA | Robert Miller | Perrysburg, OH | ||
| Luke Cherry | San Diego, CA | Kelly O’Connor | Arlington, MA | ||
| Nicholas Collins | Belleville, IL | Kenneth Rapp | Bronx, NY | ||
| Derek Crawford | Blue Springs, MO | Jim Shoulak | Corcoran, MN | ||
| Jake Hasson | Newport, RI | Othello Silla | Phoenix, AZ | ||
| William Kelly | Lincoln, NE | Steven Treadway | Hermitage, TN |
Here is a list of SABR supporters for the month of March 2025.
| NAME | NAME | |
|---|---|---|
| Jake Bell | Peter Marcus | |
| Clifford Blau | Deborah Marshall | |
| D. Bruce Brown | Bruce McClure | |
| Bruce Bumbalough | Mark Morowczynski | |
| Ralph Caola | Linda Nichols | |
| Ken Carrano | Andrew North | |
| Karl Cicitto | Bill Nowlin | |
| Vincent Comparato | John Rall | |
| Jim Cox | Doreen Rao | |
| Chris Dial | Michael Rosenwasser | |
| Mark Drucker | Charles Roussel | |
| Mark Dugo | Bob Russon | |
| Helen Edwards | Jason Scheller | |
| Barbara Erion | Douglas Schoppert | |
| Donald Etheridge | Mary Shea | |
| Daniel Evans | Rob Sheinkopf | |
| David Firstman | Thomas Stone | |
| Gene Gomes | Wesley Story | |
| Leslie Heaphy | Kenneth Sudol | |
| Tim Herlich | Joseph Thompson | |
| Rockwell Hoffman | Neal Traven | |
| David Hughes | Steve West | |
| Rob Janes | Rebecca White | |
| Donald Jensen | Beach Wires | |
| Daniel Levitt | Jeffrey Wood | |
| Henry Levy | Don Zminda | |
| Peter Mancuso |
Want to become a Friend of SABR? Click here to make a recurring monthly contribution or click here to learn more about our Giving Circles to make a one-time contribution.
- Events Calendar: Find details of all upcoming SABR events.
- Video Replays: This week, we heard from Vince Guerrieri (“Ten-Cent Beer Night”). Click here to view video replays of virtual SABR events.
Upcoming Virtual Meetings
- April 5: Bob Davids Chapter: Talkin’ Baseball with Tim Newby (9:00 a.m. EDT)
- April 5: Rice-Russell Nashville (TN) Chapter meeting with Ken Clawson and Alan Gaff (10:00 a.m. CDT)
- April 7: American Baseball Biomechanics Society Journal Club meeting (4:00 p.m. EDT)
- April 7: Clyde Sukeforth (NH/ME) Chapter meeting with Richard Hershberger (7:00 p.m. EDT)
- April 8: Elysian Fields (NJ) Chapter meeting with Ralph Carhart (7:00 p.m. EDT)
- April 8: 19th Century Speaker Series: Kevin Doyle (8:00 p.m. EDT)
- April 9: Clyde Sukeforth (NH/ME) Chapter meeting with Will Bardenwerper (7:00 p.m. EDT)
- April 9: SABR Webinar on Torpedo Bats (8:00 p.m. EDT)
- April 10: Games and Simulations meeting with Nate Edwards (8:00 p.m. EDT)
- April 10: Joint Chapter Meeting: Kat Williams (7:00 p.m. CDT)
Upcoming In-Person Meetings
- April 5: Halsey Hall Chapter book club meeting (Roseville, MN)
- April 5-6: SABR Board of Directors meeting (Pittsburgh, PA)
- April 9: Buck O’Neil/North Florida Chapter meeting (Tallahassee, FL)
- April 11: Sebring-Stovey Williamsport Chapter meeting (Williamsport, PA)
- April 12: Ken Keltner Badger State Chapter meeting (Milwaukee, WI)
- April 12: Baltimore Babe Ruth Chapter meeting (Baltimore, MD)
- April 12: Larry Dierker Chapter ballgame/meeting (Sugar Land, TX)
- April 12: Southwest Florida Chapter meeting (Naples, FL)
- April 13: Rogers Hornsby Chapter meeting (Austin, TX)
To add your SABR event to our calendar listings, please contact Jacob Pomrenke.
- Nineteenth Century: Spring 2025 newsletter
Sign up for SABR research committee announcements at SABR.org/research/committees.
- Bob Broeg St. Louis Chapter: Spring 2025 newsletter (St. Louis, MO)
- Ken Keltner Badger State Chapter: April 2025 newsletter (Milwaukee, WI)
- Rocky Mountain Chapter: April 2025 newsletter (Denver, CO)
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
- R.J. Anderson: What’s the future of MLB’s torpedo bats? Insiders weigh in on baseball’s new fad (CBS Sports)
- Stephanie Pappas: The Science behind Baseball’s ‘Torpedo Bats’ (Scientific American)
- Davy Andrews: Torpedo Bats in Acquisition (FanGraphs)
- Patrick Dubuque: What Is A Baseball Bat? (Baseball Prospectus)
- J.J. Cooper: Once Unthinkable, Eye-Popping Pitching Velocity Has Become The Norm (Baseball America)
- Lindsey Adler: Baseball Reaches Its Breaking Point (The New Yorker)
- Mark Simon: The Last 10 Seasons of Strike Zone Runs Saved (Sports Info Solutions)
- Tyler Kepner: 999 for 99: On the eve of his 1,000th career game, Aaron Judge adds to his Yankees legend (The Athletic)
- Sarah Langs: California dreamin’ … and winning: Dodgers, Padres both open unbeaten (MLB.com)
- Michael Rosen: Move Over, Wrigley: Steinbrenner Field Has the Majors’ Wildest Wind (FanGraphs)
- Barry Bloom: A’s, Rays Forced to Make Do With Less in Minor League Ballparks (Sportico)
- Jayson Stark: Dave Sims’ amazing first week in Yankees radio booth: ‘Welcome to Home Run Derby’ (The Athletic)
- Eno Sarris: The birth of a new pitch: Why MLB players are rushing to try the ‘kick-change’ (The Athletic)
- Hannah Keyser/Zach Crizer: Meet the man who brought detailed MLB salaries into the public eye (The Bandwagon)
- Stephen J. Nesbitt: Every time Paul Skenes starts, an entire sport marvels — and also holds its breath (The Athletic)
- Stephen Sutton-Brown: The Other Side of the Times Through the Order Penalty (Baseball Prospectus)
- Derrick Goold: What Cardinals shortstop Masyn Winn did during a downpour to end his drought at the plate (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
- Jay Jaffe: The White Sox Rotation Has Put Up (Mostly) Zeroes So Far (FanGraphs)
- Alex Speier: With long-term extension of Kristian Campbell, Red Sox add another building block (Boston Globe)
- Russell A. Carleton: Skubal and the Gang (Baseball Prospectus)
- Alex Coffey: Fredi González has found ‘fulfilling’ way to give back: coaching at Ursinus College (Philadelphia Inquirer)
- David Laurila: Crafty and Mindful, Bowden Francis Is a More Serene Version of Max Scherzer (FanGraphs)
- Josh Levin: In 1977, Mary Shane made an extraordinary leap. It’s taken almost five decades for anyone to catch up. (Slate.com)
- Callie Maddox: Women are reclaiming their place in baseball (The Conversation)
- Michele LaFountain: Justine Siegal will go to bat for women in pro baseball (ESPN.com)
- Bill Humber: Baseball’s Unknown History in Ontario (TVO.org)
- Cass Teague: Black Baseball and Astronaut Butch Wilmore’s Flight Suit at Tennessee State Museum (Nashville PRIDE)
- John Thorn: Tales of the Hudson River League (Our Game)
- Sam Gazdziak: Obituary: Tommie Reynolds (1941-2025) (RIP Baseball)
- Bill Nowlin: Memories of Seeing Red Sox in Mexico (IBWAA)
- Eric Vickrey: Bob Paterson: Potential Unfulfilled (EricVickrey.com)
- Lee Lowenfish: Opening Day Is Too Early, But The Poetry of The Ball Dreams Of The Sky and Eephus Will Last (LeeLowenfish.com)
- Jeff Cohen/Len Aberman: Baseball and BBQ interview with Ryan Thompson (Baseball and BBQ)
- Mike Ficher: The Perfect Game (The Koppett Kat)
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.
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Originally published: April 4, 2025. Last Updated: April 4, 2025.