This Week in SABR: February 12, 2021

February 12, 2021/in This Week in SABR /by Jacob Pomrenke

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 12, 2021:

SABR Negro Leagues Task Force issues recommendations on major-league status

SABR’s Negro Leagues Task Force has made a series of recommendations on which Black leagues from baseball’s segregated era should be recognized as major leagues, and to advise how SABR should change its internal workings to reflect this determination.

The task force, chaired by SABR Board President Mark Armour, acknowledged that the following Black baseball leagues were full major leagues and should be treated as such by all groups or publications under SABR’s purview:

Negro National League I, 1920–1931
Negro National League II, 1933–1948
Negro American League, 1937–1948
Eastern Colored League, 1923–1928
American Negro League, 1929
East-West League, 1932
Negro Southern League, 1932

“SABR and its members are committed to the preservation and accurate telling of all of baseball’s history,” SABR CEO Scott Bush said. “While the skill of Negro Leaguers has never been in question, this change helps ensure these players are aligned with their rightful peers and provides guidance on how to better tell the story of segregated baseball.”

SABR is also working with Seamheads.com to license the biographical data from its award-winning Negro Leagues Database. These data will be integrated into SABR’s own biographical database, which forms the backbone of the SABR BioProject. The Biographical Research Committee will continue its efforts to correct and update biographical information for non-Negro Leagues players, as well.

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

SABR 50 at 50: The Evolution of Baseball Analytics

As part of the SABR 50 at 50 project to commemorate the organization’s fiftieth anniversary, SABR offers 50 moments in the evolution of baseball analytics for the past 50 years.

The history of baseball analytics, or sabermetrics, is long and complicated and is filled with many important contributions from analysts, writers, popularizers, books, websites and corporations. The 50 selected moments, or events, are ones we thought would best tell the story of the past half century in this ever-changing field since SABR’s founding in 1971. The next 50 years promises to be just as busy.

We invite you to visit SABR.org/50at50/analytics to read the list and the short description for each of the entries. Click on the title to read stories from the SABR Research Collection archives or other baseball authors about these moments.

— Mark Armour

Join us next Friday for a Minor League Baseball Discussion with Scott Bush and J.J. Cooper

Join us for a one-on-one conversation on Zoom covering the new Minor League Baseball landscape with SABR CEO Scott Bush and J.J. Cooper, Executive Editor of Baseball America. They will cover all aspects of the changes in Minor League Baseball and how we arrived at this point.

Minor League Baseball Discussion with Scott Bush and J.J. Cooper
2:00-3:00 p.m. EST
Friday, February 19, 2021

Click here to register for this free Zoom event

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

SABR Analytics: Use of Analytics in Contract Negotiations Panel

SABR is excited to announce the Use of Analytics in Contract Negotiations panel on Thursday, March 11, 2021, at the SABR Virtual Analytics Conference, which is open to all baseball fans. Register today to join us!

The Use of Analytics in Contract Negotiations panel is expected to include:

Lonnie Murray, President and CEO of Sports Management Partners
Burton Rocks, founder of C.L. Rocks Corporation sports agency, author, social media entrepreneur, and sports attorney
Jay Sartori, Senior Director of Baseball Analytics & Operations with the Detroit Tigers
Moderator: Brian Kenny, MLB Network host

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

Visit SABR.org/analytics to learn more or to register.

Register now to join us at 2021 SABR Virtual Analytics Conference

All baseball fans are welcome to join us 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.

Registration: Click here to register for the 2021 SABR Virtual Analytics Conference. Regular registration is $99 for SABR members and $125 for non-members.
Student Registration: Currently enrolled high school or college students are eligible to attend for a special $50 registration fee. Student registration includes a one-year SABR membership ($25 value) and a complimentary Rapsodo certification course ($395 value). Students should email Scott Carter with a photo of their student ID to receive the discounted registration link. Access to Rapsodo online certification course will be delivered after conclusion of the conference.
Featured Speakers: Click here to learn more about our featured speakers and panelists.
Diamond Dollars Virtual Case Competition: Register your team or learn more about the 2021 Diamond Dollars Virtual Case Competition.
Research Awards: Vote now for the winners of the 2021 SABR Analytics Conference Research Awards.

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

Last call: Vote for winners of the 2021 SABR Analytics Conference Research Awards

Here’s your chance to vote for the 2021 SABR Analytics Conference Research Awards winners.

The SABR Analytics Conference Research Awards will recognize baseball researchers who have completed the best work of original analysis or commentary during the preceding calendar year. Nominations were solicited by representatives from SABR, Baseball Prospectus, FanGraphs, and the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America.

Click here to cast your vote at SABR.org

Voting for the winners will be conducted online through 11:59 p.m. MST on Friday, February 12 at SABR.org, BaseballProspectus.com, FanGraphs.com, and IBWAA.com, with results weighted equally at 25%.

Results will be announced and presented at the SABR Virtual Analytics Conference, March 11-14, 2021. Learn more or register for the conference at SABR.org/analytics.

Call for papers: 2021 SABR/IWBC Women in Baseball Conference

SABR and the International Women’s Baseball Center have announced a call for papers for the third annual SABR/IWBC Women in Baseball Conference, scheduled for September 10-12, 2021, at Rockford University in Rockford, Illinois.

This year’s conference theme is “Breaking Barriers: Women in Baseball Around the World.” All topics 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 July 5, 2021, to Leslie Heaphy at Lheaphy@kent.edu.

All notifications will be made by August 2. In the event the conference cannot be held in person, we will proceed with online presentations, panel discussions, and other demonstrations of baseball scholarship.

For coverage of the 2020 virtual conference, visit SABR.org/women-in-baseball-conference.

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 Emil Rothe Chicago Chapter and Ken Keltner Badger State Chapter will hold a joint Zoom meeting from 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. CST on Saturday, February 13. We’ll talk about “The Good, Bad, and Ugly of the Minor Leagues Reorganization” with SABR CEO Scott Bush, and a panel on the Negro Leagues with Sean Gibson, Larry Lester, Scott Simkus, and Mark Armour. Click here to register for the Zoom details.
Video Replays: This week, we heard from Boston Red Sox broadcaster Joe Castiglione, Borchert Field author Bob Buege, Jack Anderson on Jackie Robinson and the 1946 Montreal Royals, Donald Jensen on concessions pioneer Harry Stevens, and authors Dixie Tourangeau (on Cy Young), Steven Glassman (on 1971 Topps cards), and Bill Nowlin (on umpires and perfect games). 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:

February 13: Hank Gowdy (OH) Chapter meeting (9:30 a.m. EST)
February 13: Ken Keltner-Emil Rothe joint chapter meeting with Scott Bush, Mark Armour, Larry Lester, Scott Simkus, Sean Gibson, Bill Pearch, and Jason Schwartz (11:30 a.m. CST)
February 13: Baseball Reminiscence / Women in Baseball meeting (1:30 p.m. EST)
February 13: Pacific Northwest Chapter Meeting with Bart Waldman, Mark Armour, Rob Neyer, John Choiniere, and Eric Sallee (1:00 p.m. PST)
February 15: Larry Dierker (TX) Chapter meeting with Thomas Gilbert and Brian McTaggart (7:00 p.m. CST)
February 16: IBWAA: Now Batting with Gabrielle Starr (8:00 p.m. EST)
February 17: Rocky Mountain Chapter meeting (2:00 p.m. MST)
February 17: Central Florida Chapter meeting (7:00 p.m. EST)
February 18: Connecticut Smoky Joe Wood Chapter meeting with Aaron Gaberman and Neil Scherer (6:30 p.m. EST)
February 18: Magnolia (GA) Chapter meeting (7:30 p.m. EST)
February 19: Minor League Baseball Discussion with Scott Bush and J.J. Cooper (2:00 p.m. EST)

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

Download your free copy of Preston D. Orem’s Baseball From the Newspaper Accounts (1882-1891)

An invaluable research collection on 19th-century baseball is now available for all SABR members to download on the Research Resources page.

Historian Preston D. Orem’s Baseball (1882-1891) From the Newspaper Accounts, ten original volumes of exhaustive research from contemporary newspapers covering professional baseball for each season from 1882 to 1891, is now available as a free PDF download. The 714-page volume at SABR.org includes a new foreword by John Thorn and a preface by Bob Bailey.

Orem’s previous Newspaper Accounts book, self-published in 1961, covered the 1845 to 1881 seasons and has long been used as a source by writers and researchers on 19th-century baseball. This title, originally released in 1966-67, is much harder to find.

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

Call for nominations: 2021 SABR Board of Directors election

The SABR Nominating Committee is now seeking nominations for candidates for the 2021 elections. To be eligible for the Board of Directors, candidates must have been members of the Society for at least the preceding four years. The deadline for nominations is February 26, 2021.

The offices to be filled:

President (2-year term; currently Mark Armour)
Secretary (3-year term; currently Todd Lebowitz)
Director (3-year term; currently Tyrone Brooks)

Nominees must prepare a Candidate Statement Form following guidelines that will be available from any Nominating Committee member and must be received by the Nominating Committee chair no later than March 26, 2021. 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 Anthony Salazar at salazar8017@yahoo.com.

Register now for the virtual SABR Ivor-Campbell 19th Century Conference in 2021

Registration is now open for the 11th annual SABR Frederick Ivor-Campbell 19th Century Base Ball Conference, which will be held virtually on April 22-24, 2021. All baseball fans are welcome to register for this special online event.

The 2021 virtual conference will be highlighted by a keynote address from Major League Baseball’s Official Historian John Thorn, along with a panel discussion on National League president William Hulbert with Jack Bales, Richard Hershberger, Bill Lamb, and moderator Bill Ryczek; a special presentation by Jim Gates on the “Penny Marshall Sheet Music Collection” at the Baseball Hall of Fame; a Member Spotlight interview of Tom Gilbert by Bob Bailey; plus research presentations.

Registration: Click here to register online. The cost is $35 per person. Each attendee must register separately in order to receive the Zoom meeting information.
Schedule: Click here to view the full schedule for the 2021 Ivor-Campbell Conference. Online sessions will be held from 8:00-10:00 p.m. EDT on Thursday, April 22; 12:00-5:30 p.m. EDT on Friday, April 23; and 12:00-5:00 p.m. EDT on Saturday, April 24. Registration provides access to all panels and presentations for each day.

For questions, please contact Peter Mancuso at peterplus4@earthlink.net.

To learn more about the conference, visit SABR.org/ivor-campbell19c.

SABRcast with Rob Neyer: Listen to an interview with author Marty Appel

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 #97 on Monday, February 8 featured Marty Appel, who became the youngest public relations director in baseball history when George Steinbrenner elevated him to the New York Yankees post in 1973. He is the author or co-author of numerous sports books, including the New York Times-bestselling Munson: The Life and Death of a Yankee Captain; Pinstripe Empire: The New York Yankees from Before the Babe to After the Boss; and most recently Casey Stengel: Baseball’s Greatest Character, winner of the aptly named CASEY Award in 2017. He resides in New York City.

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

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

14 new SABR biographies published

Fourteen new biographies were posted this week as part of the SABR Baseball Biography Project. Here are the new bios published this week:

Harry Buckner, by Phil Williams
Roger Erickson, by Malcolm Allen
Gary Gaetti, by Bryan Lake
Pete Galligan, by Paul Winter
Joe Martina, by Tim Hagerty
John Marzano, by John Stefano
Willie McGee, by Eric Vickrey
Lloyd Merritt, by Gregory H. Wolf
John Peters, by Terry Bohn
Mark Weems, by Alfonso Tusa and Rory Costello
Eric Wilkins, by Malcolm Allen
Dallas Williams, by Malcolm Allen
Ron Willis, by Eric Vickrey
Johnson Field (Johnson City, NY), by Kurt Blumenau

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

Find any SABR biography: You can visit sabr.org/bioproject to search for any player — or manager, executive, scout, spouse, broadcaster, or umpire — who appears in the SABR BioProject. In addition, we have pages for Ballparks, Broadcasters, Executives, Games, Managers, Scouts, Spouses, Umpires, Writers, people who were Famous Outside Baseball, and a lot more.

7 new stories published at the SABR Games Project

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

July 2, 1939: Ted Williams hits his first game-winning homer, off a future Hall of Famer, by Bill Nowlin
May 9, 1965: Yogi Berra hangs up his spikes as Mets lose again, by David Krell
July 20, 1969: Yankees win an ordinary game on an ordinary day on Planet Earth, by Chad Osborne
September 30, 1971: Senators forfeit final home game in Washington, DC, by Jeff Kallman (first-time author)
June 24, 1972: Minor-leaguers get ‘call-up’ to Philadelphia’s Veterans Stadium after hurricane, by Kurt Blumenau
May 8, 2018: Seattle’s ‘Big Maple’ James Paxton throws a no-hitter on Canadian soil, by Gary Belleville
September 5, 2018: Brandon Phillips home run lifts Red Sox to comeback win over Atlanta, by Bill Nowlin

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

With the recent addition of Negro Leagues box scores at Retrosheet.org, many SABR Games Project stories on the Negro Leagues now include play-by-play details on the exploits of Black baseball greats such as Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson, and Buck Leonard.

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.

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. 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.

Call for SABR award nominations

McFarland-SABR Baseball Research Award (best history/biography articles; deadline: 2/15/2021)

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
Jerry Arena	Tucson, AZ	Andrew Mims	Bagley, WI
Steve Berry	Fort Worth, TX	Riley Nowokowski	London, ON
Ken Bikoff	Ellettsville, IN	Jennifer Olivares	Diamond Bar, CA
Jeff Copeland	Cedar Falls, IA	Winston Perez	Los Angeles, CA
Matthew Dignan	Somerville, MA	Elisaul Pimentel	Louisville, KY
Tom Fesolowich	Farmingdale, NY	Tim Ponisciak	Granger, IN
Sam Galea	Ottawa, ON	Dennis Publow	Aurora, CO
Kara Godsey	Lewis Center, OH	Larry Reilly	Doylestown, PA
James Heslep	Bridgeport, WV	Clifford Ross	Atlanta, GA
Stephon Johnson	Queens, NY	Tatiana Snedeker	Manhasset, NY
Martin Kessler	Chicago, IL	Tina Terry	Sacramento, CA
Bill Klink	Sun City, AZ	Greg Thompson	Exton, PA
Mark Kolier	Norwalk, CT	Arthur Winkler	Oak Harbor, OH
Stephen Lotterman	Whitinsville, MA	Todd Wormuth	Queensbury, NY
Bruce McClure	West Hartford, CT	Sean Young	Palo Alto, CA
Paul Miles	Somerset, MA

Research Committee news

Here are the new research committee updates this week:

Baseball Arts: Read the full-length version of John Jakicic’s epic poem from Turnstyle, Volume 2
Women in Baseball: Call for nominations: 2021 Dorothy Seymour Mills Award

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:

Connie Mack Chapter: January 30/SABR Day meeting recap (Philadelphia, PA)
Quebec Chapter: February 6 meeting recap (Montreal, QC)

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

Around the Web

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

Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremony to be held indoors in 2021 (BaseballHall.org)
Cassidy Kendall: Friends pay tribute to baseball historian Mike Dugan, beloved civic figure (Hot Springs Sentinel-Record)
Jim Gates: Negro Leagues became major league with the help of groundbreaking research (BaseballHall.org)
J.J. Cooper: All 120 Teams Sign PDLs, Completing MiLB’s Most Significant Change In A Century (Baseball America)
Jay Jaffe: High-Tech Contact Tracing, Vaccines, and Runners on Second in Extras: A Dive Into the 2021 Health and Safety Protocols (FanGraphs)
Stephanie Apstein: Did MLB Use Juiced Balls in 2020? (Sports Illustrated)
Eno Sarris/Ken Rosenthal: MLB making changes to the baseball, deadening it — but by how much? (The Athletic)
Hannah Keyser: Could MLB still have the universal DH in 2021? Here’s where baseball’s rule change uncertainty stands (Yahoo! Sports)
Jayson Stark: Measuring the impact of five big moves this winter (The Athletic)
Emma Baccellieri: Deadening the Baseball? MLB’s Done It Before (Sports Illustrated)
Rob Arthur: PECOTA Does Well With Pitchers Who Beat FIP (Baseball Prospectus)
Ben Clemens: Should Good Hitters Lead Off? (FanGraphs)
Rob Mains: The Times Through The Order Penalty is Worse Than You Thought (Baseball Prospectus)
Grant Brisbee: Trevor Bauer has the chance to be an all-time great arch-nemesis for the Giants (The Athletic)
David Laurila: Royals Righty Josh Staumont Talks Pitching (FanGraphs)
Howard Megdal: Positional Movement and You: A Primer (Baseball Prospectus)
Michael Clair: The folksy, hand-drawn cards by Gummy Arts (MLB.com)
Jemele Hill: Curt Flood Belongs in the Hall of Fame (The Atlantic)
Richard Goldstein: Wayne Terwilliger Dies at 95; Baseball Was His (Long) Life (New York Times)
Kevin Kernan: Grave Matters: Frank Russo’s baseball gravesite quest (BallNine.com)
Clinton Yates: Chicago Cubs’ new apparel to honor bond between Buck O’Neil and Ernie Banks (The Undefeated)
Todd Zolecki: Phillies who hold ‘Moonlight Graham’ status (MLB.com)
Aidan Jackson-Evans: Everything in baseball is ‘overrated’ (High Heat Stats)
Connor Robinson, Davy Andrews, and Roger Cormier: Too Far From Town: Boise Hawks (Baseball Prospectus)
Scott Pitoniak: A legendary Negro Leagues pitcher inspired a researcher from Fairport (Rochester Business Journal)
Jeff Cohen: Baseball and BBQ interview with author Thomas Gilbert (Baseball and BBQ)
Derek Bain: Retro Computer Baseball Game Review: Tony La Russa Baseball II (Baseball Analytics)
Nick Vossbrink: Jim Abbott and Rookie Cards (SABR Baseball Cards Blog)
Jeff Katz: An Appealing Set (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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