This Week in SABR: February 1, 2019

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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 February 1, 2019:

Jane Leavy’s The Big Fella wins 2019 SABR Seymour Medal

The Big Fella: Babe Ruth and the World He Created, written by Jane Leavy and published by HarperCollins, is the winner of the 2019 Dr. Harold and Dorothy Seymour Medal, which honors the best book of baseball history or biography published during the preceding calendar year.

Leavy will receive her award at the banquet of the 26th annual NINE Spring Training Conference on Saturday, March 9 at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel in Tempe, Arizona.

The banquet includes the Seymour Medal ceremony, dinner, and the NINE keynote address by SABR member Curt Smith, the author of many baseball books, including most recently The Presidents and the Pastime: The History of Baseball and the White House, and a former speechwriter for President George H.W. Bush. To register for the NINE conference, visit nineconference.com.

Leavy, a SABR member since 2000, is the author of the New York Times best-sellers The Last Boy: Mickey Mantle and the End of America’s Childhood and Sandy Koufax: A Lefty’s Legacy, and the comic baseball novel, Squeeze Play. In The Big Fella, she set out to capture Ruth at the apex of his fame and to fill in gaps about his personal life and cultural legacy.

“There was an audacity to Babe Ruth that was astonishing,” Leavy said. “America in the 1920s was a crazy time and he was an embodiment of recklessness and clout of the world at that time. He was a revolutionary and a genius, an inadvertent one, but with the help of [his agent] Christy Walsh. There will be someone else to come along who will figure out a way to change the game and do something different, but nobody else will be the first.”

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

Announcing more speakers for the 2019 SABR Analytics Conference

We are pleased to announce more of our featured speakers and panelists at the eighth annual SABR Analytics Conference, presented by MLB and KinaTrax in Phoenix, Arizona.

The SABR Analytics Conference will be held Friday, March 8 to Sunday, March 10, 2019, at the Hyatt Regency Phoenix. The conference is open to all baseball fans — regular registration discounts are available online only through February 14. Click here to register!

Here is some more information about our featured speakers:

  • Jason Benetti, Chicago White Sox television play-by-play announcer
  • Steve Berthiaume, Arizona Diamondbacks television play-by-play announcer
  • Kyle Boddy, founder and owner of Driveline Baseball
  • Eduardo Perez, ESPN baseball analyst and former major-league player for 13 seasons
  • Dr. Lee Picariello, owner and operator of Mindful Athlete Training

They will join our other featured speakers, who are expected to include: John Dewan, owner of Baseball Info Solutions; Mike Ferrin, Arizona Diamondbacks and SiriusXM MLB Network Radio broadcaster; Vince Gennaro, SABR President, author of Diamond Dollars: The Economics of Winning in Baseball, and host of Behind the Numbers: Baseball SABR Style on SiriusXM; Rob Neyer, author of Power Ball: Anatomy of a Modern Baseball Game and host of the new weekly podcast, SABRcast with Rob Neyer; Carlos Peña, MLB Network analyst and an All-Star first baseman for 14 seasons in the major leagues; Eno Sarris, staff writer for The Athletic.

Click here to learn more about our speakers and panelists. Please note: All speakers are subject to change depending on availability.

For more information, visit SABR.org/analytics.

Vote now for 2019 SABR Analytics Conference Research Awards winners

Here’s your chance to vote for the 2019 SABR Analytics Conference Research Award winners, which will recognize baseball researchers who have completed the best work of original analysis or commentary during the preceding calendar year.

Click here to cast your vote for the winners at SABR.org.

Contemporary Baseball Analysis

Contemporary Baseball Commentary

Historical Analysis/Commentary

Details and criteria for each category can be found here. Only one work per author was considered as a finalist.

Voting for the winners will be conducted until 11:59 p.m. MST on Monday, February 11 at SABR.org, BaseballProspectus.com, FanGraphs.com, HardballTimes.com, and BeyondtheBoxScore.com, with results weighted equally at 20%.

Results will be announced and presented at the eighth annual SABR Analytics Conference, presented by MLB and KinaTrax, March 8-10, 2019, at the Hyatt Regency Phoenix in Phoenix, Arizona. Learn more or register for the conference at SABR.org/analytics.

Registration discounts end February 14 for 2019 SABR Analytics Conference

Join us for the eighth annual SABR Analytics Conference, presented by MLB and KinaTrax, on Friday, March 8 to Sunday, March 10, 2019, at the Hyatt Regency Phoenix, where 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. All baseball fans are welcome to attend.

The regular registration discount ends on Thursday, February 14, so register today to join us!

The Analytics Conference schedule consists of a combination of Guest Speakers, Panels, and Research Presentations — plus the unique Diamond Dollars Case Competition, in which undergraduate, graduate and law school students from across the country analyze and present a real baseball operations decision.

For more information on the 2019 SABR Analytics Conference, visit SABR.org/analytics.

Check out highlights and photos from 2019 SABR Day

More than 45 SABR chapters participated in SABR Day events in 2019, from Austin to Boston, Toronto to Tallahassee, and Lexington to Las Vegas.

SABR Day events on Saturday, January 26 included some premier guest speakers from around the baseball world, including Baseball Hall of Fame president Jeff Idelson and Pulitzer Prize-winning sports writer Ira Berkow at the Casey Stengel Chapter meeting in New York City; professional umpire Perry Barber and authors Ron Kaplan, Lincoln Mitchell, and Howard Megdal at the Elysian Fields Chapter meeting in Hoboken, New Jersey; Brewers broadcaster Lane Grindle at the Ken Keltner Badger State Chapter in Milwaukee; baseball uniform designer and artist Wayland Moore at the Magnolia Chapter meeting in Atlanta; Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame director Scott Crawford and Phillies coach Rob Thomson at the Hanlan’s Point Chapter meeting in Toronto; and many more. 

Visit SABR.org/sabrday for highlights, stories, and photos from SABR Day events around the globe.

  • More SABR Day events tomorrow! Some chapters are holding their SABR Day meetings this weekend, due to venue or schedule availability. Don’t miss the upcoming SABR chapter meetings in Buffalo, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Kansas City, Pittsburgh, and St. Louis on Saturday, February 2. Visit SABR.org/sabrday for complete details and schedule. Hope to see you there!

Early registration is now open for SABR 49 in San Diego

We hope you’ll join us for what promises to be a spectacular SABR 49 convention this summer in San Diego. Conference and hotel registration is now available at SABR.org/convention.

Click here for more information on the SABR 49 All-Inclusive Package, Early-Bird Registration, and optional sessions. Click here to register for SABR 49.

  • Registration: Click here for complete information on the SABR 49 All-Inclusive Package, Early-Bird Registration, and optional sessions. Or click here to register for SABR 49! We’re again offering a special All-Inclusive Package for the annual SABR convention. For the $369 all-inclusive rate, SABR members can get:
    — Full registration to SABR 49 in San Diego (early-bird: $289; regular rate: $319)
    — 1 ticket in the Upper Infield Reserved (1B) section to the Padres vs. Cardinals game on Friday, June 28 at Petco Park ($24 value)
    — 1 ticket to the Awards Luncheon on Friday, June 28 ($70 value)
    — 1 exclusive SABR 49 convention logo lapel pin
    — 2 complimentary Continental breakfasts on Thursday and Friday mornings*
    *The Continental breakfast benefit is only available when you register for the All-Inclusive Package.
    Non-members can pay $399 for the All-Inclusive Package; the deadline to register is Monday, May 6, 2019.
  • Hotel: The special SABR group rate at the Manchester Grand Hyatt in San Diego of $224/night (single rate) or $254/night (double rate) is only available to registered convention attendees. After you register for the SABR 49 convention, you will receive an e-mail confirmation with details on how to book your hotel room at the SABR group rate. If you do not receive your confirmation email after registering, please contact Deb Jayne at djayne@sabr.org. There are a limited number of rooms in our group block, so be sure to register for SABR 49 early!
  • Awards Luncheon: SABR will host a special Awards Luncheon on Friday, June 28 at the Manchester Grand Hyatt in San Diego. The Awards Luncheon, which includes a meal, will feature the announcement of SABR’s annual awards — including the Bob Davids Award, our highest honor. One ticket to the Awards Luncheon is included in the all-inclusive package or guest tickets are available for $70 when you register for SABR 49.
  • Research presentations: SABR invites all members to present their research findings to their colleagues attending SABR 49. The deadline to submit your abstract is Sunday, February 24, 2019. Click here for complete details and application form.
  • Yoseloff Scholarship: Students, click here to learn more about a Yoseloff Scholarship to attend SABR 49 in San Diego. The deadline to apply is Friday, March 29, 2019.

Visit SABR.org/convention to learn more or to register for the SABR 49 convention.

SABR 49: Call for presentations

SABR invites all members to present their research findings to their colleagues attending SABR 49, the 2019 annual convention in San Diego.

Through on-site judging, the most highly-regarded presentations will receive the Doug Pappas Award for best oral presentation and the SABR Convention Poster Presentation Award for best poster presentation.

The submission deadline for SABR 49 abstracts is midnight PST on Sunday, February 24, 2019.

Click here for complete details and submission criteria.

Students, apply now for a Yoseloff Scholarship to attend SABR 49 in San Diego

With generous funding from The Anthony A. Yoseloff Foundation, Inc., SABR will award up to four scholarships to high school or college students to attend SABR 49 on June 26-30, 2019, in San Diego. This scholarship will pay for registration, transportation and lodging (double occupancy) up to a total value of $1,250.

The objective of this scholarship fund is to encourage high school and college-level student engagement with baseball research and to engender an active interest in baseball and SABR.

All applications must be postmarked or e-mailed to Jeff Schatzki at jschatzki@sabr.org no later than Friday, March 29, 2019.

Click here for complete details and submission criteria.

Call for nominations: 2019 SABR Board of Directors election

The SABR Nominating Committee seeks nominations for candidates for the 2019 elections. All candidates for the Board of Directors must have been members of the Society for at least the preceding four years to be eligible for election. Deadline for nominations is February 28, 2019. Nominees must prepare a Candidate Statement Form following guidelines that will be available from any Nominating Committee member. The Candidate Statement Form must be received by the Nominating Committee chair no later than March 15.

The offices to be filled:

  • President (2-year term; currently Vince Gennaro)
  • Director (3-year term; currently Chris Dial)
  • Director (3-year term; currently Bill Nowlin)

Self-nominations are welcome. If you would like to nominate yourself or another candidate or suggest a question for the candidates, contact Nominating Committee chair Neal Traven at beisbol@alumni.pitt.edu.

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

SABR to launch new baseball podcast in 2019: SABRcast with Rob Neyer

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

SABRcast, which will launch around Opening Day in the spring of 2019, will feature insights and analysis of what’s happening in modern baseball on and off the field, plus compelling interviews with figures from around the game — and music from The Baseball Project.

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

SABR Digital Library: 1995 Cleveland Indians: The Sleeping Giant Awakes

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

1995 Cleveland Indians: The Sleeping Giant Awakes
Edited by Joseph Wancho
Associate Editors: Rick Huhn, Len Levin, and Bill Nowlin
ISBN (ebook): 978-1-943816-94-1, $9.99
ISBN (paperback): 978-1-943816-95-8, $21.95
410 pages, 8.5″ x 11″

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

SABR members, get this e-book for FREE!

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.

Sign up today for the 2019 SABR Ivor-Campbell 19th Century Base Ball Conference

The 11th annual Frederick Ivor-Campbell 19th Century Base Ball Conference will be held April 26-27, 2019, at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.

Note: Space is extremely limited and some research presentations will be double-tracked. On the final page of your registration form, please indicate your preferred choice of Research Presentation for each of the six pairs that are double-tracked.

  • Registration: Click here to download the registration form (PDF). Registrations can be accepted by mail only: send BOTH completed 19th Century Base Ball Conference registration forms to: Peter Mancuso, 6970 Ely Road, New Hope, PA 18938. Enclose your personal check for the appropriate amount and make payable to “SABR,” with “Fred 19cBB Conference” written on the check’s memo line.
  • Cost: Conference registration is $65 per person, including the Saturday luncheon. Tickets for the optional Friday evening Welcoming Dinner ($45) at Templeton Hall and Saturday evening Post-Conference Gathering ($35) at the historic Otesaga Hotel can also be purchased in advance for you or a guest. Anyone who wishes to purchase an extra ticket for a guest to attend the Saturday luncheon only ($35) can also do so.
  • RSVP: Please mail your registration form no later than February 6. Registration is limited to the first 80 people to sign up, so please register early!
  • Contact: For questions, or if you miss the registration mailing deadline, contact Peter Mancuso at peterplus4@earthlink.net to see if space is still available.

The 2019 conference will be highlighted by a keynote address from baseball historian Joanne Hulbert, along with a panel discussion on “The Birth of Baseball Cards” with John Thorn, Peter Devereaux, Tom Shieber, and Jeff Katz; a special presentation by Richard Hershberger on “The Evolution of Baseball Rules”; a Member Spotlight interview of Priscilla Astifan by Bob Bailey; plus book signings, research presentations, and a welcome dinner.

For more information, or to register, visit SABR.org/ivor-campbell19c.

Renew your membership by February 28 to receive the SABR Baseball Research Journal

For those of you whose memberships expired recently, there’s still a little time left to renew and be a part of the SABR community again in 2019. If you’ve already renewed, we thank you for your support and look forward to another exciting year ahead.

Renew now to receive the Spring 2019 edition of the Baseball Research Journal, plus discounts on registration to the 2019 SABR Analytics Conference and SABR 49 in San Diego, and a lot more! Please note: We MUST receive your dues by February 28, 2019, in order for you to receive the upcoming BRJ.

  • Here’s how to renew: You can renew your membership for 1 year or 3 years online at the SABR Store; by phone at (602) 496-1463; or by mailing this downloadable PDF form and your payment to the SABR office at Cronkite School at ASU, 555 N. Central Ave. #416, Phoenix, AZ 85004.

Dues are the same as they have been in recent years: $65 for an annual membership or $45 for anyone under 30 or over 65. Click here for a full list of SABR membership benefits.

2 new SABR biographies published

Two new biographies were posted this week as part of the SABR Baseball Biography Project, which — after the publication of our new book on the 1995 Cleveland Indians — brings us to a total of 4,780 published biographies. Here are the new bios published this week:

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

2 new stories published by the SABR Games Project

Two new game stories were posted this week as part of the SABR Games Project. Here are the new game stories:

In addition, these game stories from Moments of Joy and Heartbreak: 66 Significant Episodes in the History of the Pittsburgh Pirates (SABR, 2018), edited by Jorge Iber and Bill Nowlin, were also posted online:

To read more stories from the Pittsburgh Pirates greatest games book at the SABR Games Project, click here.

New Games Project stories can be found at SABR.org/gamesproject/recent. Find all published Games Project articles at SABR.org/GamesProject.

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

Behind the Numbers: Baseball SABR Style on SiriusXM, a radio show hosted by SABR President Vince Gennaro, is back for the Hot Stove League offseason at a new time, 4:00-5:00 p.m. ET on Sundays, on MLB Network Radio.

This week’s guests are SABR Director and award-winning author Mark Armour and Matthew Trueblood of Baseball Prospectus.

You can also listen to archives of recent episodes on-demand on the SiriusXM Internet Radio App. Click here to learn more. 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.

December 8-9 Board minutes posted

Minutes from the Board of Directors meeting on December 8-9, 2018, have now been posted on the SABR website.

You can view all past minutes of SABR Board meetings by going to the page below:

SABR.org/content/sabr-board-minutes

Or you can go to the Members’ Info page and click on “Org. files”, then “Board Minutes” to view the minutes.

Register for the 2019 Southern Association Conference in Birmingham

SABR’s Rickwood Field Chapter announces the 16th annual Southern Association Conference, which will be held on Saturday, March 2, 2019, at Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Alabama.

Dedicated to the preservation of the history of the Southern Association and the history of baseball in the South, the conference will take place from 8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. at historic Rickwood Field, located at 1137 2nd Avenue West, Birmingham, AL 35204.

The cost is $35.00 per person, and a snack breakfast and full lunch is included. Contact David Brewer or Clarence Watkins with questions or if you are interested in giving a presentation.

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

We’ve heard your feedback: Some of you have said you look forward to “This Week in SABR” every Friday, but sometimes there are just too many compelling articles and announcements to read every week. We’re not complaining — hey, keep up the great work! — but we know the feeling. So in an effort to make the length of this newsletter more manageable to read, we’ll summarize some of the repeating/recurring announcements in a special “In Case You Missed It (ICYMI)” section of “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 (SABR.org/directory).

Name Hometown     Name Hometown
Chris Betsch New Albany, IN     Wolff Kirsch Redlands, CA
Thomas Breen Prescott, WI     Steve Kuzmiak Cooperstown, NY
Richard Campbell Caddo Mills, TX     Rick Lopez Erie, PA
Arthur Copeland Tallahassee, FL     Richard Lowery Houston, TX
Daniel Davoulas Edmeston, NY     Philip Lowry Minneapolis, MN
Paul De Rosa East Walpole, MA     Brad Richards Evans, GA
Terrence Dwyer Cooperstown, NY     Grace Rieger Cincinnati, OH
Dean Fenton Davenport, FL     Steve Sisto Ashland, MA
Zach Figard Ocean Pines, MD     John Sommers Chandler, AZ
Robert Gauer Thornton, CO     Frank Spataro Cincinnati, OH
Anthony Guerriero Lynnfield, MA     Wesley Story Richmond, TX
Jack Ireland Toronto, ON     Justin Turner Babylon, NY
Jacob Kerns Des Moines, IA     Mike Warzin Brooklyn, NY
Ken Kirk Corning, NY        

 

Research Committee news

There are no new research committee updates this week.

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

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

Here is a list of upcoming events on the SABR calendar:

All SABR meetings and events are open to the public. Feel free to bring a baseball-loving friend … and make many new ones! Check out the SABR Events Calendar at SABR.org/events.

Around the Web

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

Read these articles and more at SABR.org/latest.

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.

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 (and not the spam folder.)

 

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Originally published: February 1, 2019. Last Updated: April 3, 2020.

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