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This Week in SABR: February 19, 2021

This Week in SABR: February 19, 2021

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 19, 2021:


SABR 50, Jerry Malloy conferences rescheduled for 2022

With travel restrictions and public health measures still in place due to the global COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, the SABR 50 convention in Baltimore, Maryland, and the Jerry Malloy Negro League Conference in Birmingham, Alabama, have been rescheduled for the summer of 2022.

The SABR 50 convention is now scheduled for August 10-14, 2022, at the Hyatt Regency Inner Harbor in Baltimore. The next in-person Malloy Conference will be held on June 2-4, 2022, at the Sheraton Birmingham Hotel in Birmingham.

Any members who requested a roll-over from their 2020 registrations will have their fees automatically refunded to their credit card on file. Please contact the SABR office with any questions.


SABR announces 2021 Henry Chadwick Award recipients

2021 SABR Henry Chadwick Award recipientsSABR is pleased to announce the 2021 recipients of the Henry Chadwick Award, established to honor the game’s great researchers — historians, statisticians, annalists, and archivists — for their invaluable contributions to making baseball the game that links America’s present with its past.

The 2021 recipients of the Henry Chadwick Award are:

  • Gary Ashwill, co-founder of the Seamheads Negro Leagues Database and a contributor to the National Baseball Hall of Fame’s Negro League Researchers and Authors Group
  • Alan Nathan, University of Illinois professor and author who has spent the past quarter-century creating a body of knowledge around the physics of baseball
  • Robert W. Peterson, author of the seminal Only the Ball Was White, a 1970 book on the Negro Leagues

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

For a complete list of Chadwick Award winners, click here.


Join us online for Summer of SABR: Golden Celebration Series

Summer of SABR: Golden Celebration SeriesAs part of SABR’s 50th anniversary this year, all baseball fans are invited to join us online for the Summer of SABR: Golden Celebration Series, a series of presentations, chats, and panel discussions featuring authors, scholars, and figures from around the game.

“We look forward to gathering in person again when it is safe for as many of us to do so as possible,” SABR CEO Scott Bush said. “Until then, we are excited for this year’s Summer of SABR and the continuing celebration of our Golden Anniversary.”

The Summer of SABR online sessions will be held on the weekends of June 25-27, July 23-25, and August 13-14. More details about registration, along with featured speakers and panelists, will be announced soon at SABR.org/summer.


SABR Digital Library: From Rube to Robinson: SABR’s Best Articles on Black Baseball

From Rube to Robinson: SABR’s Best Articles on Black BaseballAdd a new baseball book to your collection from the SABR Digital Library:

From Rube to Robinson: SABR’s Best Articles on Black Baseball
Edited by John Graf

Associate editors: Duke Goldman and Larry Lester
ISBN (paperback): 978-1-9701-5941-7, $24.95
ISBN (ebook): 978-1-9701-5940-0, $9.99
8.5″ x 11″, 218 pages

From Rube to Robinson brings together the best Negro League baseball scholarship that SABR has ever produced, pulled from its journals, Biography Project, and award-winning essays. The book includes a star-studded list of scholars and historians, from the late Jerry Malloy and Jules Tygiel, to award winners Larry Lester, Geri Strecker, and Jeremy Beer, and a host of other talented writers. The essays cover topics ranging over nearly a century, from 1866 and the earliest known Black baseball championship, to 1962 and the end of the Negro American League.

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.

Visit SABR.org/ebooks to find more SABR Digital Library titles.


Check out the full list of SABR Analytics Conference research presentations

SABR Virtual Analytics ConferenceSABR and Baseball Info Solutions are pleased to announce the schedule for research presentations for the SABR Virtual Analytics Conference on March 11-14, 2021. Register now to join us! All baseball fans are welcome to attend.

Here is the list of research presentations:

  • Glenn Fleisig, Alek Diffendaffer, and Jonathan Slowik, “Key Factors in Pitching Biomechanics for Fastball Consistency”
  • David Gerth, “Using Kelly Criterion to Build MLB Draft Rankings”
  • Glenn Healey and Lequan Wang, “Analyzing the Elements of Pitch Movement Using Hawk-Eye Data”
  • Ben Howell, “Modeling SwStr% and Batted Ball Profile from the KBO to MLB”
  • Jeremy Losak, “MLB Home Field Advantage Without Fans”
  • Rob Mains, “Lessons Learned from the National League’s DH Experiment”
  • Alan Nathan, “What Is Hawk-Eye Teaching Us About Baseball Pitches?””
  • Kristen Faith Nicholson, “Predicting Pitching Arm Stress With Machine Learning Models”
  • Hillary Plummer, “Association Between Hip Rotational Range of Motion and Pitching Mechanics in High School Baseball Pitchers”
  • Nate Rowan, “The Whiff Effect: Are Pitchers More Likely to Repeat the Previous Pitch After A Swing-And-Miss?””
  • Joshua Silver and Tate Huffman, “Explainable AI for Baseball Predictions and Strategies”
  • Barton Smith, “Seam Shifted Wake in MLB Pitches”
  • Jason Themanson, “Contextual Influences On Neural Activity to Pitches and Feedback: Psychology and Performance at the Plate”
  • Connor Turner, “The Pinch-Hitter Problem: Using Markov Chains to Analyze Outcomes in Pitcher-Batter Matchups”
  • Meredith Wills, “The 2020 Major League Baseball: And Now, For Something Completely Different”
  • Adi Wyner, “Is the 3rd Time Through the Order Effect Real? Correcting for Lineup Order and Pitcher Quality Selection Bias”

Click here to find abstracts and presenter bios for each research presentation, including student-track presentations.

Visit SABR.org/analytics to learn more.


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.

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


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

International Women's Baseball CenterSABR 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

Josh Gibson Foundation: Negro Leagues Webinar SeriesSABR 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: At 12:00 p.m. EST on Saturday, February 20, the Josh Gibson Foundation will host a free webinar celebrating the Negro Leagues centennial anniversary, with SABR member James Brunson III giving a presentation on “Old Negro” and “New Negro” Baseball: Albany, New York’s Young Bachelor Base Ball Club, 1866-1877.” Click here to register for this free Zoom event.
  • Video Replays: This week, we heard a panel on Negro Leagues baseball with Sean Gibson, Larry Lester, Scott Simkus, and Mark Armour; Scott Bush on Minor League Baseball reorganization; Lights, Camera, Fastball author Dan Taylor; Aaron Gaberman on his friend Bobby Murcer; and Neil Scherer on baseball memorabilia. 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 20: James Brunson III: Albany’s Young Bachelor Base Ball Club (12:00 p.m. EST)
  • February 20: Jack Graney (OH) Chapter meeting with Meredith Wills, Gary Belleville, Mike Lynch, Gary Ashwill, Mark Armour (1:00 p.m. EST)
  • February 20: Rogers Hornsby (TX) Chapter meeting with Dan Taylor (1:00 p.m. CST)
  • February 22: NW Ohio Chapter book club meeting (6:30 p.m. EST)
  • February 22: Larry Dierker (TX) Chapter meeting with Tom Gilbert and Brian McTaggart (7:00 p.m. CST)
  • February 23: Luke Easter (NY) Chapter meeting with BJ Germano and Joe Territo (7:30 p.m. EST)
  • February 24: Baltimore Babe Ruth Chapter meeting with Dan Taylor (12:00 p.m. EST)
  • February 25: Ken Keltner (WI) Chapter meeting with Corky Gaskell and Marjorie Adams (7:00 p.m. CST)
  • February 26: Women in Baseball Committee meeting with Andrea Williams and Sabrina A. Benson (7:00 p.m. EST)
  • February 27: Bud Metheny (VA) Chapter meeting with Travis Sawchik (10:00 a.m. EST)
  • February 27: Allan Roth (CA) Chapter meeting with Jacob Pomrenke, Dan Taylor, Jarol Manheim, and Stephen Bratkovich (10:00 a.m. PST)
  • February 28: Pacific Northwest Chapter meeting (1:00 p.m. PST)
  • February 28: Baltimore Babe Ruth Chapter meeting (7:00 p.m. EST)

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


San Diego SABR chapter welcomes Joseph P. Murphy Jr. Baseball Autograph Collection to library research center

From left, Bob Surratt and Peter Miesner of the San Diego Public Library, along with Steve Murphy, welcome the Murphy Autograph Collection to its baseball research center. (SAN DIEGO PUBLIC LIBRARY)SABR’s San Diego Ted Williams Chapter is pleased to welcome a new addition to the SABR Collection at the San Diego Public Library’s Sullivan Family Baseball Research Center: the Joseph P. Murphy Jr. Baseball Autograph Collection. This wonderful family gem was graciously donated to the San Diego library by the Marian Murphy Family Trust, which is administered by Joe’s son, Steve Murphy.

The collection consists of 10 volumes accumulated by lifelong fan and longtime SABR member Joe Murphy. There are 1,300-plus items in the collection, which includes authentic autographs, stat sheets, and biographical clippings. There are autographs of Baseball Hall of Fame members such as Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, Lou Gehrig, and Honus Wagner. SDPL is in the process of making the collection accessible and searchable via the digital archive. Users will be able to view high-resolution scans of each of the collection’s 10 volumes, page by page, and to search the collection for their favorite players.

The Baseball Research Center at the San Diego Public Library launched in 2001 and was moved to the new downtown library building upon its grand opening in 2013. The initial collection of books and microfilm was donated by SABR’s Ted Williams Chapter; in the years since, it has grown to more than 3,000 publications, books, and journals, and 300 microfilm reels, all available to the public on the eighth floor of the downtown library.

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


Students, apply now for the 2021 SABR Women in Baseball Scholarship

Toni Stone (NATIONAL BASEBALL HALL OF FAME LIBRARY)SABR’s Women in Baseball Committee will award one $500 scholarship to a high school senior in its inaugural Women in Baseball Essay Contest in 2021.

Students must write an essay of 1,500 words or less addressing the following question: “Choose one person or event in women’s baseball history that you believe has made a significant impact on the game and explain the importance.”

All applications must be e-mailed or postmarked by June 14, 2021, and sent to Dr. Leslie Heaphy at Lheaphy@kent.edu or Kent State University at Stark, 6000 Frank Rd., North Canton, OH 44720.

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 April

SABR Ivor-Campbell 19th Century Base Ball Conference (ERIC MIKLICH)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.

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

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


Call for papers: 2021 Brooklyn 19th Century Baseball Interdisciplinary Symposium

Jim Creighton (NATIONAL BASEBALL HALL OF FAME LIBRARY)SABR’s Nineteenth Century Committee is seeking abstracts for research presentations for the upcoming Brooklyn 19th Century Baseball Interdisciplinary Symposium, which is scheduled for Saturday, November 13, 2021.

Abstracts of 200 to 400 words for a research presentation of 20-25 minutes in length on any topic related to the amateur through early professional period of baseball in Brooklyn should be submitted to Peter Mancuso by March 15, 2021, with presentation title, your name, and contact email. See below for a list of suggested topics.

If the Symposium is held virtually/online, you will need to have access to a computer equipped for Zoom (audio and visual). If the Symposium is to be held in person, it will be from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, November 13 at St. Francis College, located in the historic neighborhood of Brooklyn Heights, in downtown Brooklyn, New York. A final decision on the venue will be made by June 15.

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


SABRcast with Rob Neyer: Listen to an interview with Hannah Keyser of Yahoo! Sports

Hannah KeyserBaseball 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 #98 on Monday, February 15 featured Hannah Keyser, a writer and reporter with Yahoo! Sports. She has covered sports and food for Major League Baseball, Deadspin, and Vice. She lives in New York, after growing up outside of Philly and getting an ancient history degree from the University of Pennsylvania that almost never comes up in her current line of work. She most recently appeared on SABRcast in November 2019 for Episode #63.

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.


9 new SABR biographies published

Ken Singleton (YES NETWORK)Nine 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


Read all SABR biographies from 1982 Milwaukee Brewers book

Harvey's Wallbangers: The 1982 Milwaukee BrewersIn Harvey’s Wallbangers: The 1982 Milwaukee Brewers, edited by Gregory H. Wolf and published by the SABR Digital Library in 2020, we commemorated a team that captured the hearts and imagination of baseball fans not just in Wisconsin, but around the country.

Named for skipper Harvey Kuenn, the home-run slugging club was filled with a memorable cast of characters, future Hall of Famers, and All-Stars from Robin Yount, Gorman Thomas, Ted Simmons, and Rollie Fingers to Cecil Cooper, Ben Oglivie, Paul Molitor, and Don Sutton.

All of the biographies that appeared in the 1982 Brewers book are now available to read online at the SABR BioProject.

Click here to download the free e-book edition of Harvey’s Wallbangers or take 50% off the paperback at SABR.org/ebooks.


10 new stories published at the SABR Games Project

Jim Palmer (TRADING CARD DB)Ten new game stories were posted this week as part of the SABR Games Project. Here are the new game stories:

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.

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.


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
Sean Addis Toronto, ON     John Kennedy London, ON
Mike Ameen North Adams, MA     Paul Kurtz Holland, PA
Benjamin Bushrow Honolulu, HI     David Lapczynski Tullahoma, TN
Matthew Castello Brooklyn, NY     Tom McKeating Whitehaven, ENG
Kai-Chun Cheng Taipei, TWN     Matt Overton Sacramento, CA
Tom Crist Ottawa, ON     Jeff Rowe Lewisburg, PA
Keith Crook Westport, CT     Jeff Sajdak Grand Rapids, MI
Ralph De Filippo Brooklyn, NY     Phil Stringer Phoenix, AZ
Al Dimmitt Gladstone, MO     Matthew Tantillo Houston, TX
Matt Finnigan Superior, CO     Hana Visscher Melbourne, AUS
Guy Fisk Bainbridge Island, WA     Donald Wiederecht St.Petersburg, FL
James Heiner Provo, UT     Lauren Wing Culver City, CA
Brian Jacoby La Habra, CA        

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 and chartered community updates this week:

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:

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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Originally published: February 19, 2021. Last Updated: February 19, 2021.