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This Week in SABR: December 4, 2020

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This Week in SABR: December 4, 2020

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 December 4, 2020:

Bob Costas, Tim Mead to headline virtual SABR Day program on January 30

2021 SABR Day speakers: Bob Costas, Tim MeadSABR commemorates its 50th anniversary in 2021 and will launch its year-long celebration with SABR Day on Saturday, January 30. SABR Day will be hosted virtually around the globe for the first time, giving baseball fans a chance to come together — wherever they live — to share their love of the game.

Headlining the program will be a conversation with broadcasting legend Bob Costas of MLB Network. The 2018 recipient of the Ford C. Frick Award from the National Baseball Hall of Fame will bring his renowned passion and knowledge of baseball in a special session for SABR Day attendees.

National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum President Tim Mead will also be featured during this special event. Mead spent nearly four decades in the Los Angeles Angels organization, including 22 years as Vice President of Communications, before assuming oversight of the Hall of Fame’s operations in 2019.

“We are honored and thrilled to have Bob Costas and Tim Mead join us for the first-ever virtual SABR Day,” SABR CEO Scott Bush said. “There is not a better way to lead off our Golden Anniversary and we excitedly look forward to sharing SABR with the entire baseball community.”

SABR Day registration will be free for SABR members. A $10 donation will be requested of non-members. Click here to register online.

The virtual SABR Day program will run from 2:00-4:00 p.m. EST on January 30.

Say goodbye to 2020 with 20% off SABR Gift Memberships

Goodbye 2020!2020 has been a tough year for everyone, but it’s not all bad news to close out the calendar. Now you can share your love of baseball with a great deal on SABR Gift Memberships!

Give the baseball fan in your life the holiday gift of SABR and you’ll get 20% off their new membership, just in time to say goodbye (and good riddance) to 2020.

For fans who can’t get enough baseball, especially when visiting a ballpark isn’t an option, a SABR membership offers unparalleled access to the game’s most important research and histories within a like-minded community of fellow enthusiasts.

  • Click here to purchase a gift membership and enter the promotional code GOODBYE2020 (case sensitive) on the final billing page. Click “Apply Code” to receive the 20% discount on your gift membership dues.

Visit SABR.org/goodbye-2020 to learn more about registering for someone else and how to keep your gift a surprise.

Early registration now open for 2021 SABR Virtual Analytics Conference

SABR Virtual Analytics ConferenceEarly registration is now open for the SABR Virtual Analytics Conference, which will be held over four days in online sessions from March 11-14, 2021. We’ll bring together the top minds in the baseball analytics community to discuss, debate, and share insightful ways to analyze and examine the great game of baseball. Register today to join us!

Programming will run on Thursday and Friday evening from 6:30-9:00 p.m. Eastern, all day Saturday from 12:00-8:00 p.m. Eastern, and Sunday afternoon from 1:00-5:00 p.m. EDT.

Stay tuned for more details on guest speakers, panelists, and presenters! Visit SABR.org/analytics to learn more.

Join SABR’s Golden Lineup to help us celebrate our 50th Anniversary!

Join SABR's Golden LineupWith the holiday season upon us and our Golden Anniversary around the corner, we want to thank you for your continuing support of SABR. Gifts from members like you make it possible to sustain and grow SABR into the future.

All donors joining SABR’s Golden Lineup with a $100 gift or more will receive a copy of From Rube to Robinson, our anthology of research celebrating the centennial anniversary of the Negro Leagues. Donors supporting SABR with a gift of $500 or more will also receive a miniature Rawlings Gold Glove Award replica and be entered to win the SABR Golden Ticket. The winner of the SABR Golden Ticket will receive:

  • Lifetime membership to SABR
  • All expenses paid to a SABR conference of their choice
  • Attend the 2021 Rawlings Gold Glove Award Banquet in New York City

To learn more, or to join SABR’s Golden Lineup, visit SABR.org/donate/2020.

Friends of SABR: November 2020

Here is a list of SABR supporters for the month of November 2020:

NAME   NAME
Dean Abelon   Daniel Linnenberg
Arthur Ahrens   Ed Lockett
David Alvarez   Thomas Love
Mark Armour   Joseph Luchok
Kirk Arnott   Jim Lurie
Hugh Atkins   William Macht
John Azevedo   David Mahon
Lawrence Baldassaro   Erik Malinowski
Jack Bales   Peter Mancuso
Ed Baranoski   Sam Marchiano
Lawrence Baum   Thomas Mazza
John Belknap   Thomas McCauley
Michael Bender   Thomas McGrath
Harvey Berger   Dave McHugh
Jay Berman   Barry Mednick
Lynn Bevill   Sheldon Miller
Thomas Biblewski   Alan Molin
Barry Bloom   Brad Moody
David Bohmer   Alan Morris
Thomas Bradley   Jim Mullany
John Brooks   Jim Myers
D. Bruce Brown   Roderic Nelson
Joseph Buckley   Thomas Nester
John Burbridge III   Bill Nowlin
Ken Carrano   Daniel O’Brien
Bo Carter   Virgilio Partida
Angel Castillo   David Paulson
Dave Chase   Scott Pawlikowski
Mike Chibbaro   Gregg Pericich
Dennis Christensen   Adrien Pilon
William Cohon   Ann Poser
Vincent Comparato   Lou Profumo
Justin Compton   Robert Pusateri
Peter Coolbaugh   Roger Raepple
Warren Corbett   Carl Rhoads
Jim Cox   Ned Ribback
Harrington Crissey   Pat Riley
Tom Cuggino   Ed Rimer
Richard Cuicchi   James Rook
Deb Dagavarian-Bonar   Norman Rosenberg
Eric Danoff   John Rosenfelder
Dennis Degenhardt   Michael Rosenwasser
Susan Dellinger   Harry Rothgerber
Frank DeSantis   Charles Roussel
Tom DiGiandomenico   Stephen Russell
Peter Donhauser   Bob Russon
Thomas Dunn   Robert Ruzzo
Ed Edmonds   Gary Sarnoff
Vernona Elms   Edward Scahill
Steven Elsberry   William Scheeren
Dan Epstein   Michael Schell
Donald Etheridge   Jason Scheller
Mike Fallona   John Schettle
Joseph Favano   John Schleppi
John Fedinatz   Harry Schoger
Diane Firstman   Douglas Schoppert
Scott Fischthal   Bobby Score
Jack Fitzpatrick   Mike Segal
F. X. Flinn   Jeff Self
Adam Foldes   David Serota
Edward Fong   Punch Shaw
Gary Frownfelter   Thomas Shrimplin
Thomas Galligan   Ira Siegel
Mark Galus   Leonard Skonecki
Roy Gedat   Linda Skory
Gloria Getty   David Smith
Ted Giannoulas   Culver Smith
Michael Gibbons   Janet Marie Smith
David Girdany   Mark Souder
Gene Gomes   Lyle Spatz
John Gottko   Ralph Spelbring
John Green   Alec Stais
Steven Greenes   Thomas Still
David Hartmann   Thomas Stone
Roger Hawks   Wesley Story
Leslie Heaphy   James Sullivan
Joseph Helyar   John Swistak
Kent Henderson   Cecilia Tan
William Hickman   Timothy Tangen
Brenda Himrich   Joseph Thompson
Rockwell Hoffman   John Thorn
Perry Huang   Stew Thornley
David Hughes   Crofty Thorp
Joanne Hulbert   Bill Tiedeman
Daniel Ingellis   Jessica, Albert and Erin Tjardes
Alma Ivor-Campbell   James Tootle
Donald Jensen   Richard B Tourangeau
Robert Johnson   Greg Tranter
Rick Johnson   Neal Traven
Brent Kallestad   Louis Verardo
Harry Keller   Marlene Vogelsang
Robert Kenney   Donald Ward
Karl Knickrehm   Kenneth Weber
Mary Knox   Steve West
Andrew Kraus   Kent Whitaker
Robert Kravetz   Susan White
Kit Krieger   J. R. Wildridge
Justin Krueger   Charles Wilkins
Don Lagomarsino   Frank Williams
Bill Lamb   Bob Wilson
Steven Landau   Jeffrey Wood
William Larson   Tony Yoseloff
Robert Leonard   Jamison Young
Harry Lesser   Alan Zimmer
Ira Levine   Don Zminda
Michael Levine   Thomas Zocco
Robert Lewis    

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.

Apply now to participate in the 2021 Diamond Dollars Virtual Case Competition

2020 Diamond Dollars Case Competition winners: Virginia TechThe 2021 Diamond Dollars Virtual Case Competition will be held online from 11:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. EST on Friday, March 12, 2021, as part of the SABR Virtual Analytics Conference.

Visit SABR.org/analytics/case to learn more.

Students, apply now for a Yoseloff Scholarship to attend the 2021 SABR Virtual Analytics Conference

2020 SABR Analytics Yoseloff ScholarsWith generous funding from The Anthony A. Yoseloff Foundation, Inc., SABR will award up to eight scholarships to high school and college students who wish to attend the SABR Virtual Analytics Conference on March 11-14, 2021. This scholarship will pay for all registration fees and expenses associated with the conference.

The objective of this scholarship fund is to encourage student engagement with baseball analytics, and to engender an active interest in baseball research and SABR.

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

Join us for more Stay Home With SABR virtual events

Stay Home With SABRSABR 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.

This week, we heard from Daniel Papillon on baseball in Quebec City and Bill Nowlin, Andy Sharp, and Tony Valley on SABR’s Baseball’s Biggest Blowout Games.

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

  • December 5: Northwest Ohio Chapter meeting (9:00 a.m. EST)
  • December 5: Talkin’ Baseball: Ryan Swanson (9:00 a.m. EST)
  • December 5: Allan Roth Chapter meeting with Marshall Garvey and Bill Nowlin (10:00 a.m. PST)
  • December 5: Harriet Kimbro Hamilton virtual book launch party (4:30 p.m. EST)
  • December 8: 19th Century Speaker Series with Bill Humber (8:00 p.m. EST)
  • December 9: Baltimore Babe Ruth Chapter meeting with Thomas Gilbert (6:00 p.m. EST)
  • December 9: Pop Lloyd (NE Florida) Chapter meeting (7:00 p.m. EST)
  • December 9: Ken Keltner (Wisconsin) Chapter book club meeting with Jane Leavy (7:00 p.m. CST)
  • December 12: Jack Graney (Ohio) Chapter meeting with Sean Gibson (10:00 a.m. EST)
  • December 12: Halsey Hall (Minnesota) Chapter book club meeting (9:30 a.m. CST)
  • December 12: Baseball Reminiscence meeting (4:00 p.m. EST)
  • December 13: Rogers Hornsby (Texas) Chapter meeting (1:00 p.m. CST)

Find more upcoming virtual meetings on our SABR Events Calendar page.

Click here to view replays of any SABR virtual event in 2020.

Nineteenth Century Committee virtual Speaker Series resumes next week

Bob AddySABR’s Ninteenth Century Committee’s monthly series of virtual research presentations continues next week with a special talk by Bill Humber, “A Thoroughly Modern Ballplayer: The Imaginative, Illicit and Improbable Life of Bob Addy” at 8:00 p.m. EST on Tuesday, December 8. All SABR members are invited to attend.

The 19cBB Speakers Series consists of research presentations presented at the Frederick Ivor-Campbell 19th Century Base Ball Conference (“The Fred”). They will be re-presented each second Tuesday of the month through May 2021. The starting time for each session will be 8:00 p.m. ET and they will run for one hour.

Click here to sign up for Nineteenth Century Committee email announcements to receive the Zoom meeting details. Virtual space is limited to approximately 100 attendees.

Retrosheet announces Fall 2020 updates

It is with great pleasure that I announce the semiannual update to the Retrosheet website for Fall 2020. There are many aspects to the new release.

With the superb help of Dr. Ted Turocy, we were able to collect the play-by-play of all 898 regular season games played in 2020 plus all the postseason games. There are now on our website at retrosheet.org/game.htm.

The attendance and time of game records in hundreds of games have been corrected — many entered for the first time — again thanks to Rob Wood. He also led a major campaign to get our ejection data in much better shape. We have added almost 150 ejections to the list since we first released the file in July. There are now 18,132 entries at retrosheet.org/eject.htm.

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

— David W. Smith

SABR office continuing to work remotely

The SABR office, housed at Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication in Phoenix, Arizona, has been closed indefinitely due to the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) situation. Staff members will work remotely until it is advisable to resume normal operations on-site.

Please contact a member of the SABR staff by email or phone with any questions.

SABRcast with Rob Neyer: Listen to an interview with SABR Board President Mark Armour

SABRcast #88: Mark ArmourBaseball 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 #88 on Monday, November 30 featured Mark Armour, who is the author of many baseball articles and several books, including most recently In Pursuit of Pennants: Baseball Operations from Deadball to Moneyball (with Dan Levitt) and Joe Cronin: A Life in Baseball. In 2002, he spearheaded the formation of SABR’s Baseball Biography Project — which has now contributed more than 5,000 biographical articles and a number of books to the game’s literature — and he served as the BioProject’s director until 2016. He was also the guest for SABRcast Episode #41 in January 2020.

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

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

4 new SABR biographies published

Shawon Dunston (TRADING CARD DB)Four new biographies were posted this week as part of the SABR Baseball Biography Project. Here are the new bios published this week:

All new biographies can be found here: SABR.org/bioproject

4 new stories published by the SABR Games Project

Dr. Anthony Fauci (THE TOPPS COMPANY)Four new game stories were posted this week as part of the SABR Games Project. Here are the new game stories — which are part of our First Games Back project:

In addition, new stories were posted this week from The Babe (SABR, 2019), edited by Bill Nowlin and Glen Sparks:

New Games Project stories can be found at SABR.org/gamesproject.

  • Get involved: Have memories of a game you attended? Or a game you watched that caught your interest? Write about it! Writing for the Games Project is an easy way to get involved as a SABR member. Find out how by reading the Games Project FAQs section or checking out the Authors’ Guidelines. We have editors and fact checkers who are willing to help you write your first article.
  • Social media: Follow the SABR Games Project on Twitter or Facebook to keep up with new stories and updates.
  • Read all stories from Comiskey Park greatest games book: Click here to read all stories from The Base Ball Palace of the World: Comiskey Park (SABR, 2019), edited by Gregory H. Wolf, online at the SABR Games Project.

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

Baseball SABR Style on SiriusXM with Vince GennaroBehind the Numbers: Baseball SABR Style on SiriusXM, a radio show hosted by former SABR Board President Vince Gennaro, is back at a new time. Listen to new episodes at 4:00-5:00 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.

In Memoriam: Skip McAfee

Skip McAfeeFormer SABR Treasurer Robert “Skip” McAfee Jr., 82, died on November 22, of complications from Parkinson’s disease and dementia in a nursing home in St. Petersburg, Florida.

McAfee joined SABR in 1979 and served on the Board of Directors from 1987-90. He developed the organization’s original policy manual and chaired the committee responsible for selecting research presentations at the annual convention. He was a regular at the Bob Davids Chapter’s “Talkin’ Baseball” meetings in Columbia, Maryland, and supplied the trivia questions that kicked off each gathering.

A prolific baseball historian, McAfee was a close collaborator of Paul Dickson, serving as editor of the acclaimed Dickson Baseball Dictionary. McAfee also edited the newsletter for SABR’s Bibliography Committee, indexed numerous baseball books, and regularly attended the annual Symposium on Baseball and American Culture held in Cooperstown, New York.

He was preceded in death by his wife of 50 years, Laurice, and he is survived by his daughters Megan and Taylor, their husbands, and five grandchildren. In lieu of flowers, donations in Skip’s memory may be sent to Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Columbia, Owen Brown Interfaith Center, 7248 Cradlerock Way, Columbia, MD 21045.

Call for SABR award nominations

Please note: Only ONE entry per nomination will be considered (do not submit multiple nominations for the same award). For more information on SABR Awards, click here.

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: https://sabr.org/content/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
Bobby Ali Griffin, GA     Bob Kenney Kensington, MD
Luis Belman E. Bernard, TX     Devin Mackey Westerville, OH
Carol Brown Austin, TX     Daniel Martin Baltimore, MD
Carol Castle Minneapolis, MN     Adam McFadden Lowell, MA
John Cook Helena, AL     Ira Megdal Cherry Hill, NJ
Murray Cook Roanoke, VA     Thomas Murphy Marietta, GA
Earnie Granville San Antonio, TX     Victor Oberting Loudonville, NY
Chris Gregoire Saco, ME     Rick Pearce Fogelsville, PA
Adam Henig San Martin, CA     Rowland Russell Keene, NH
Steve Hoffmann Milwaukee, WI     Robert Schwarz Johnstown, PA
Mary Hums Louisville, KY     Zakris Stromqvist Vattholma, SWE
Steve Hutson El Cerrito, CA     Alec Strickling Fullerton, CA
James Juip Calumet, MI     Yusuke Suzumura Nagoya, JPN
Raphael Kasper Oakland, CA     Richard Wittig El Mirage, AZ

Research Committee news

Here are the new research committee updates this week:

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

Regional Chapter news

Here are the new regional chapter updates this week:

Visit SABR.org/chapters for more information on SABR regional chapters.

SABR Events Calendar

Scroll up to the top of this newsletter to learn more about the upcoming virtual events on the SABR calendar.

  • We strongly recommend that all SABR chapters follow CDC public health guidelines and your local/state government regulations when scheduling any in-person meetings and events.

Find details on all upcoming meetings on our SABR Events Calendar page.

Around the Web

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

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.

Have trouble reading this e-mail? Click here to view this week’s newsletter on the web.

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Originally published: December 4, 2020. Last Updated: December 4, 2020.

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