This Week in SABR: April 8, 2022

April 8, 2022/in This Week in SABR /by sabr

Welcome to “This Week in SABR!” Click here to view this week’s newsletter on the web. Here’s what we’ve been up to as of April 8, 2022:

SABR celebrates Opening Day 2022 with new collection of Games Project stories

Happy Opening Day! Fifty years ago, baseball’s first-ever labor stoppage delayed the start of the 1972 season. By the time the players’ strike was resolved, the scheduled Opening Day on April 5 had passed. Instead, 22 major-league teams played their first games of 1972 on April 15, and the New York Yankees and Baltimore Orioles held their rain-delayed opener a day later.

The belated start provided plenty of storylines. The New York Mets mourned the recent passing of manager Gil Hodges — a 2022 Hall of Fame inductee — as Tom Seaver shut out the defending World Series champion Pittsburgh Pirates. The Oakland A’s began their championship season by rallying to beat the Minnesota Twins. The Texas Rangers, newly relocated from Washington, lost to the California Angels on a ninth-inning wild pitch. The Detroit Tigers’ one-run win over the Boston Red Sox proved significant when Billy Martin’s Tigers finished a half game ahead of the Red Sox at the end of the strike-skewed schedule.

Accounts of those four games from Opening Day 1972 – David Krell on the Mets and Pirates, Geoff Young on the A’s and Twins, Steve West on the Angels and Rangers, and Christopher Chavis on the Tigers and Red Sox – are available at the SABR Games Project.

As we celebrate the start of a new baseball season in 2022, the SABR Games Project has published a variety of new stories on memorable Opening Day games, including historic firsts involving new leagues, broadcasting, and baseball’s color barrier; debuts of significant rule changes; first steps in championship seasons; and presidential appearances at the ballpark:

April 27, 1893: Cy Young, Cleveland Spiders beat Pittsburgh in opener after pitching distance change, by John Fredland
April 24, 1901: White Stockings thump Cleveland as American League turns from minor to major, by Andrew Harner
April 13, 1911: Cobb and Crawford lead Tigers to Opening Day victory, by Tim Odzer
April 20, 1912: Red Sox open Fenway Park with extra-innings win over New York, by Bill Nowlin
April 12, 1922: Del Gainer and Rogers Hornsby power Cardinals to Opening Day romp over Pirates, by Thomas E. Merrick
April 13, 1926: First Red Sox game is broadcast on Boston radio, by Donna L. Halper
April 14, 1941: FDR deals and Phil Rizzuto debuts for Yankees as the drumbeats of war grow louder, by Larry DeFillipo
May 9, 1948: Springfield Sallies drop inaugural game as AAGPBL’s overhand pitching era begins, by Gary Belleville
April 17, 1956: Phillies, Robin Roberts beat World Series champion Dodgers on Opening Day, by Steven C. Weiner
April 10, 1959: Sparky Anderson debuts, delivers key hit as Robin Roberts outduels Don Newcombe, by Tim Otto
April 11, 1966: Emmett Ashford makes history as first Black umpire in American League, by Richard Cuicchi
April 15, 1971: Bobby Cox’s Hall of Fame managing career begins with last-play loss in minor leagues, by Kurt Blumenau
April 6, 1973: Nolan Ryan whiffs 12 on Opening Day; Vietnam War POW throws out first ball, by David Krell
April 6, 1982: Jim Kaat becomes first major-leaguer to pitch in 24 seasons as Cardinals blast Astros, 14-3, on Opening Day, by Tom Schott
March 31, 2003: Tampa Bay scores 5 runs in ninth inning to beat Red Sox on Opening Day, by Thomas J. Brown Jr.
April 8, 2021: Mets win home opener on controversial walk-off hit-by-pitch, by Laura H. Peebles

To find more SABR Games Project stories about Opening Day games, click here.

Coming soon: Jackie Robinson 75th anniversary web project and new book

Next week marks the 75th anniversary of Jackie Robinson’s debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947 — when he became the first Black man to appear in the all-White major leagues in the 20th century.

At SABR.org, we will commemorate this historic event in baseball and American society with the release of a new project, Jackie Robinson 75: Baseball’s Re-Integration. We will dive into the SABR Research Collection archives and draw on the opinions of SABR authors and historians to tell the story of Robinson’s complicated, never guaranteed, journey as a civil rights pioneer on and off the field, along with the many other players of color who helped pave the way for a more diverse global game before and after Robinson’s debut.

We’ll also send all SABR members a free e-book edition of our new Digital Library publication, Not an Easy Tale to Tell: Jackie Robinson on the Page, Stage, and Screen, edited by Ralph Carhart. This book will focus on the many portrayals of Robinson’s story in popular culture over the past 75 years.

To learn more about the SABR Research Collection, visit SABR.org/the-research-collection.

Check out more highlights from the 2022 SABR Virtual Analytics Conference

At the SABR Virtual Analytics Conference on Saturday, March 19, representatives from Major League Baseball gave a demonstration and deep-dive discussion on the MLB FieldVision system.

Panelists included: Joel Feinberg, Senior Product Manager; Clay Nunnally, Baseball Scientist; Sid Sethupathi, Software Engineer; and moderator Ben Jedlovec, Senior Director, Baseball Data Platform Product at MLB.

Video: Click here to watch a replay of the MLB FieldVision Demo and Deep Dive on YouTube

For more highlights, stories, and clips from the 2022 SABR Virtual Analytics Conference, visit SABR.org/analytics.

Join us on May 5 for Ballpark Figures with Shakeia Taylor and ESPN’s Mina Kimes

Join us each month for SABR’s Ballpark Figures, a new interview series hosted by award-winning writer Shakeia Taylor. The virtual Zoom event is free and open to all active SABR members.

At 8:00 p.m. EDT on Thursday, May 5, we’ll be joined by Mina Kimes, award-winning journalist, analyst, podcast host and television contributor for ESPN since 2014.

Kimes is a highly acclaimed football analyst and appears regularly on NFL Live, SportsCenter, Around the Horn, and other TV programs across the network. In addition, she hosts The Mina Kimes Show featuring Lenny podcast and was the original host for the ESPN Daily podcast. In 2017, her ESPN The Magazine article, “The Art of Letting Go,” on bat flips in the Korea Baseball Organization, won a SABR Analytics Conference Research Award for best historical analysis or commentary. Prior to ESPN, she worked for Bloomberg News and Fortune Magazine, where she penned pieces on topics from arms exports to tainted drugs.

Click here to pre-register for Ballpark Figures with Shakeia Taylor on May 5

Visit SABR.org/ballpark-figures to learn more or to watch replays of past episodes.

SABR Digital Library: Metropolitan Stadium: Memorable Games at Minnesota’s Diamond on the Prairie

Add a new baseball book to your collection from the SABR Digital Library:

Metropolitan Stadium: Memorable Games at Minnesota’s Diamond on the Prairie
Edited by Stew Thornley
Associate editors Len Levin, Bill Nowlin, and Carl Riechers
ISBN (ebook): 978-1-970159-67-7, $9.99
ISBN (paperback): 978-1-970159-68-4, $34.95
8.5″ x 11″, 287 pages

Click here to read the full description of this book at SABR.org.

SABR members, get this e-book for FREE!

E-book: Click here to download the e-book version of Metropolitan Stadium for FREE from the SABR Store. Available in PDF, Kindle/MOBI and EPUB formats.
Paperback: Get a 50% discount on the Metropolitan Stadium paperback edition from the SABR Store ($17.95 includes shipping/tax; delivery via Kindle Direct Publishing can take up to 4-6 weeks.)

Having trouble downloading our e-books? To view PDF files on your computer, click here to download the free Adobe Reader software. Having trouble downloading e-books to your Kindle, Nook, Sony Reader or iPad? Click here for additional help.

Visit SABR.org/ebooks to find more free e-books or save 50% off the paperback editions from the SABR Digital Library.

Sign up now for the SABR 50 annual convention in Baltimore

SABR’s 50th Annual Convention will take place on August 17-21, 2022, in Baltimore, and we are beyond thrilled to celebrate with you in person. Registration for SABR 50 and hotel accommodations at the Hyatt Regency Baltimore Inner Harbor is now available at SABR.org/convention.

This is an event well worth the wait, and we already have an All-Star lineup of featured speakers and exciting events planned, including:

Keynote address by Tim Kurkjian, winner of the BBWAA’s 2022 Career Excellence Award
Opening Remarks by Sig Mejdal, Vice President and Assistant General Manager, Analytics, Baltimore Orioles
Oriole Park at Camden Yards panel with Bill Stetka (Orioles Team Historian), Greg Bader (Orioles Senior Vice President, Administration & Experience), and Joe Spear (founder of Populous)
Women in Leadership panel with Orioles executives Eve Rosenbaum (Director, Baseball Development), Nicole Sherry (Director, Field Operations), Jennifer Grondahl (Senior Vice President, Community Development & Communications), and Lisa Tolson (Senior Vice President, Human Resources)
Baltimore Orioles vs. Boston Red Sox game on Friday, August 19

Of course, there is a lot more on the way — innovative panel discussions, ground-breaking research presentations, and more opportunities to make and renew cherished baseball friendships. We hope to see you this summer in Baltimore!

Visit SABR.org/convention to learn more.

Check out the full schedule for the 2022 Jerry Malloy Negro League Conference in Birmingham

Early registration is now open for SABR’s annual Jerry Malloy Negro League Conference, which will be held on June 2-4, 2022, at the Sheraton Birmingham Hotel in Birmingham, Alabama. All baseball fans are welcome to attend.

The full schedule for the 2022 Malloy Conference has now been posted online; click here to view the daily panels, presentations, and historic site tours.

Hosted by SABR’s Negro Leagues Committee, the Jerry Malloy Negro League Conference promotes activities to enhance scholarly, educational, and literary objectives. Since 1998, the event has been the only symposium dedicated exclusively to the examination and promotion of Black baseball history. The conference is open to baseball and history fans of all ages.

Register: Click here to register online for the 2022 Malloy Conference. Full registration is $175 before April 29, $195 afterward. Students: $125 before April 29, $140 afterward. Single-day registration is also available for $75 for Friday or Saturday. Extra tickets can be purchased for the Rickwood Field bus tours, Thursday’s “meet and greet” reception, the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute Tour, or the awards banquet on Saturday night. All of these sessions are included in the full registration package.
Hotel: Click here to book your room online at the Sheraton Birmingham Hotel at the special group rate of $155/night (plus tax). Our host hotel is located at 2101 Richard Arrington Jr. Blvd., North Birmingham, AL 35203. Call (205) 324-5000 for questions about your hotel reservation.
Schedule: Click here to view the full schedule for the 2022 Malloy Conference.
COVID-19 policy: All attendees must supply proof of a negative test. Those who can provide proof of vaccination are exempt from this requirement. Attendees will be required to follow any additional local public health declarations, including mask mandates. Click here to learn more.
Contact: For questions, email Larry Lester or Leslie Heaphy.

Visit SABR.org/malloy to learn more.

Call for papers: 2022 SABR/IWBC Women in Baseball Conference

SABR and the International Women’s Baseball Center have announced a call for papers for the fourth annual SABR/IWBC Women in Baseball Conference, scheduled for September 16-18, 2022, at Rockford University in Rockford, Illinois.

This year’s conference theme is “Title IX and Women’s Baseball: Where We’ve Been, Where We Are and Where We’re Headed.” Topics can focus on anniversaries such as: Title IX (50th), Marie Pepe (50th), umpires (Bernice Gera 50th), A League of Their Own (30th), the Colorado Silver Bullets (25th anniversary of final season); or any other ideas related to women’s baseball are welcome for individual oral and poster presentations.

Please submit abstracts of approximately 200 words, along with contact information and a short biography, by June 27, 2022, to Leslie Heaphy at Lheaphy@kent.edu.

Sign up now for SABR Analytics Certification online course

It’s time to get SABR Certified! The first course in the new SABR Analytics Certification program — Conversational Analytics and Critical Thinking in Baseball — is available online now.

The SABR Analytics Certification program is an online, on-demand curriculum offering professional development and learning opportunities for those interested in elevating their skills and knowledge relating to baseball analytics. The curriculum was developed by current baseball professionals, including employees of Major League Baseball and its clubs.

SABR members get a significant discount on this Analytics Certification course registration, saving $55 off the regular price.

Visit SABR.org/analytics/certification to sign up today or learn more.

Friends of SABR: March 2022

Here is a list of SABR supporters for the month of March 2022:

NAME		NAME
Benjamin Baschinsky		Thomas Love
D. Bruce Brown		Peter Mancuso
Ken Carrano		David Newman
Karl Cicitto		Bill Nowlin
Jim Cox		Gregg Pericich
Richard Dempsey		John Rall
Steven Elsberry		Clem Rodriguez
Barbara Erion		Michael Rosenwasser
Daniel Evans		Charles Roussel
David Firstman		Bob Russon
Adam Foldes		Jason Scheller
Emily Hawks		Douglas Schoppert
Leslie Heaphy		Rob Sheinkopf
Alyson Henry		Mike Sparks
Tim Herlich		Thomas Stone
Lon Hildreth		Wesley Story
Rockwell Hoffman		Joseph Thompson
David Hughes		Neal Traven
Donald Jensen		Steve West
Dave Jerome		Beach Wires
Lance Lacoff		Jeffrey Wood
Henry Levy		Don Zminda

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.

Join us for more Stay Home With SABR virtual events

SABR chapters and committees are encouraged to set up virtual meetings to stay engaged with our members throughout the world at SABR.org, as part of our Stay Home With SABR initiative to assist in limiting the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.

Can’t-Miss Event: SABR’s Nineteenth Century Committee holds a monthly speaker series on Zoom, and all SABR members are invited to attend. The next meeting will be held at 8:00 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, April 12. Our speaker will be Terry Bohn, who will present on “Bushels of Fun: Early Baseball in the Black Hills.” Click here to register for the Zoom meeting details.
Video Replays: This week, we heard from Cleveland Guardians reporters Zack Meisel of The Athletic and Mandy Bell of MLB.com with Jared Diamond of the Wall Street Journal; and baseball analyst Tony Dahbura of Johns Hopkins University. Click here to view more video replays of virtual SABR events.

Here are some more upcoming virtual events you can attend online; check the Events Calendar for complete details:

April 12: Gardner-Waterman Vermont Chapter meeting with Jeff Owens (7:00 p.m. EDT)
April 12: SABR 19th Century Speaker Series with Terry Bohn (8:00 p.m. EDT)
April 14: Boston (MA) Chapter meeting with Bob Brady (8:00 p.m. EDT)

In addition, the following events will be held in person:

April 9-10: SABR Board of Directors spring meeting (Denver, CO)
April 10: Rogers Hornsby Chapter monthly lunch (Austin, TX)
April 16: Babe ‘n’ Bob Chapter Breakfast (Edgewater, MD)

Find more upcoming SABR meetings on our Events Calendar page.

SABRcast with Rob Neyer: Listen to an interview with author Andy McCue

Baseball fans, tune in this season to SABRcast with Rob Neyer, a weekly podcast hosted by award-winning author and longtime SABR member Rob Neyer.

Episode #156 on Monday, April 4 featured Andy McCue, author of Stumbling around the Bases: The American League’s Mismanagement in the Expansion Eras. His 2014 book, Mover and Shaker: Walter O’Malley, the Dodgers, and Baseball’s Westward Expansion, won the SABR Seymour Medal. He has been a SABR member since 1982 and has been the longtime chair of the Baseball Index Committee. He was the recipient of the Bob Davids Award in 2007. He served on SABR’s Board of Directors for nine years, including one term as president from 2009 to 2011. He is also the author of the award-winning Baseball by the Books: The Complete History and Bibliography of Baseball Fiction.

Visit SABR.org/sabrcast to listen to the full episode.

Subscribe to SABRcast on your favorite podcast networks, including Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Spotify, or Stitcher, and listen to each episode as soon as it’s released on Mondays. To learn more, visit SABR.org/sabrcast.

Listen to a new episode of Behind the Numbers: Baseball SABR Style on SiriusXM on Saturdays

Behind the Numbers: Baseball SABR Style on SiriusXM, a radio show hosted by former SABR Board President Vince Gennaro, is back at a new time for the regular season. Listen to new episodes at 8:00-9:00 p.m. ET on Saturdays on MLB Network Radio.

You can also listen to archives of recent episodes on-demand on the SiriusXM Internet Radio app.

Behind the Numbers: Baseball SABR Style on SiriusXM focuses on examining and interpreting the statistical analysis that plays a critical role in baseball today. It airs weekly throughout the year on MLB Network Radio, available to subscribers nationwide on XM channel 89, Sirius channel 209, and on the SiriusXM Internet Radio App.

ICYMI: Highlights from last week’s This Week in SABR

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

All previous editions of This Week in SABR can be found here: SABR.org/this-week-in-sabr-archives.

Welcome, new members!

We’d like to welcome all of our new SABR members who have joined this week. You can find all Members-Only resources at members.sabr.org and the Membership Handbook can be downloaded here.

Please give these new members a warm welcome and help them make the most of their membership by giving them the opportunity to get involved in their local chapter or a research committee.

You can find contact information for any SABR member in the online Membership Directory.

Name	Hometown	Name	Hometown
Pete Aman	Portland, OR	Jeff Metzger	Berlin, CT
Raymond Brown	Londonderry, NH	Dave Modean	Phoenix, AZ
Michael Colligan	Canyon Lake, TX	Daniel Neiheisel	Las Vegas, NV
Mary Craig	Waco, TX	Joshua Neuman	Toronto, ON
Tony Edwards	Richmond	Steven Pappas	Oak Brook, IL
Anthony Gesualdi	Boston, MA	Paul Tenpenny	New Berlin, WI
Julian Guilarte	Oakland, NJ	Mark Warren	Hydes, MD
Chase Hwang	Santa Clarita, CA	Meirah Williamson	Champaign, IL
Sydney Hyde	Robbinsville, NC	Jay Zuckerman	Chattanooga, TN
Alex Luckhaupt	Cincinnati, OH

Research Committee news

Here are the new research committee updates this week:

Negro Leagues: Check out the full schedule for the 2022 Jerry Malloy Conference in Birmingham, Alabama

Find all SABR research committee newsletters at SABR.org/research/committees.

Regional Chapter news

Here are the new regional chapter and chartered community updates this week:

Ken Keltner Badger State Chapter: April 2022 newsletter (Milwaukee, WI)

Click here for more information on SABR regional chapters. Click here to learn more about SABR chartered communities.

Around the Web

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

Jonah Gardner: Biographical Updates and New Data for Negro Leagues Players (Sports-Reference)
Tyler Kepner: A Season That Seemed Out of Reach Lands Safely in Our Gloves (New York Times)
Jayson Stark: Theo Epstein discusses how rule change process could impact the future of baseball (The Athletic)
Jay Jaffe: MLB Signs on to In-Game Usage of Wearable Pitch-Calling Devices (FanGraphs)
Rob Mains: What The 2022 Forbes Data Tell Us (Baseball Prospectus)
Emma Baccellieri: Nats’ Dreary Opener a Reminder of How Quickly The 2019 Title-Winning Team Vanished (Sports Illustrated)
Derrick Goold: Stash the bats: How adding DH to Cardinals’ lineup will shape pitchers’ performance on mound (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
Lindsey Adler: Why the Yankees pitching staff is embracing a new slider and how the ‘whirly’ is different from a traditional slider (The Athletic)
Alex Speier: Chaim Bloom’s balancing act with the Red Sox: The dual quest for present and future success (Boston Globe)
Hannah Keyser: Wander Franco is über talented and über rich. What he wants: MLB’s ultimate prize (Yahoo! Sports)
Eno Sarris: The pitchers whose Stuff+ stood out in spring training (The Athletic)
Stephanie Apstein: The Making of a Giants Ace: Inside Logan Webb’s Star Turn (Sports Illustrated)
Robert Orr: How the Giants Fixed Their Fastball Problem (Baseball Prospectus)
Sarah Langs: The incredible Giants Opening Day streak that goes back to Barry Bonds (MLB.com)
Seth Tannenbaum: Phillies must do more to diversify their lineup (Philadelphia Inquirer)
David Laurila: Yankees Righty Stephen Ridings Wants to Blow Your Doors Off (FanGraphs)
Gordon Edes: Kenley Jansen saw ‘something good … going on’ with the Braves (Bally Sports)
Russell A. Carleton: Ghost of the Bunt (Baseball Prospectus)
Ron Cassie: Baltimoreans Didn’t Want a New Baseball Park 30 Years Ago—Then We Saw Camden Yards (Baltimore Magazine)
Andy Kostka: As Camden Yards turns 30, a look at how it all began (Baltimore Sun)
Glenn Rifkin: Tommy Davis, Batting Star With the ’60s Dodgers, Dies at 83 (New York Times)
Dylan Svoboda: Shirley Burkovich, AAGPBL legend, dies at 89 (MLB.com)
Anthony Ferretti: Rockford Peaches’ legacy lives on following death of Shirley Burkovich (WIFR-TV)
Howard Megdal: How Kelsie Whitmore Became the Face of Women’s Baseball Progress (Sports Illustrated)
Chris Lamb: Dixie League Baseball Is Built on Racism and Heartbreak (The Nation)
Michael Clair: When a bunch of writers (briefly) became Pirates (MLB.com)
Manny Randhawa: When Hollywood’s ‘Mr. Baseball’ actually played for the Tigers (MLB.com)
Gary Cieradkowski: Frank “Dins” Makosky: The Johnny Appleseed of the Forkball (Studio Gary C)
Bob Hurte: Q&A with author Anne Keene (The Baseball Doesn’t Fall Far From the Tree)
Tim Hanlon: Minnesota’s Metropolitan Stadium with Stew Thornley (Good Seats Still Available)
Ryan Whirty: Satch, the president and looking to the future (Home Plate Don’t Move)
Jeff Cohen: Baseball and BBQ: Interview with Steve Trachsel (Baseball and BBQ)
Jason Schwartz: Unoriginality as the norm (SABR Baseball Cards Blog)
Nick Vossbrink: Junk Wax Rainbows (SABR Baseball Cards Blog)

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.

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