This Week in SABR: February 23, 2024

February 23, 2024/in This Week in SABR /by Jacob Pomrenke

Welcome to “This Week in SABR” on Friday, February 23, 2024.
Click here to view this newsletter on the web.

Check out the full schedule for SABR Analytics Conference
Early registration for SABR 52 in Minneapolis is now open
SABR 52: Call for presentations
Subscribe to the Baseball Research Journal
Call for nominations: Board of Directors election
Read more articles from SABR’s Willie Mays book

Check out the full schedule for the 2024 SABR Analytics Conference

All baseball fans are invited to join us at the SABR Analytics Conference on March 8-10, 2024, at the Beus Center for Law and Society on Arizona State University’s Downtown Phoenix Campus in Phoenix, Arizona. SABR members, check your email inbox for details on a special opportunity to attend the conference virtually via a Zoom livestream. Register today to join us!

Click here to view the full schedule for the 2024 SABR Analytics Conference

The Analytics Conference schedule consists of research presentations and guest speakers from throughout the baseball analytics community, career development sessions led by experienced sports professionals, and industry networking opportunities — all available for any aspiring front office executive or baseball fan to attend.

Students have the option of choosing virtual ($50) or in-person ($150) registration. Both include access to General Session panels and presentations on Friday, March 8 through Sunday, March 10, and a student-only virtual session on Thursday, March 7. All student registrations also include a one-year SABR membership ($25 value) and a complimentary Rapsodo certification course ($395 value).

To learn more about the SABR Analytics Conference, or to register, visit SABR.org/analytics.

SABR Analytics Conference: Research Presentations

SABR and Sports Info Solutions are excited to announce the list of research presentations for the SABR Analytics Conference on March 8-10, 2024, in Phoenix, Arizona. Presentation abstracts and presenter bios will be available soon at SABR.org/analytics.

Scott Brave and Levi Bognar, “The Carrot and the Stick: Cleaning Up PED Use in Minor League Baseball”
Ryan Brill and Abraham Wyner, “Introducing Grid WAR: Rethinking WAR for Starting Pitchers”
Takafumi Hayashi, Takaaki Nara, and Takehiko Sano, “Refining Baseball Pitching Accuracy: Assessing the Impact of Immediate Feedback on Pitching Precision”
Jeremy Losak and Jonah Soos, “Changes in Minor League Umpire Tendencies With The Challenge and Automatic Ball-Strikes Systems”
Rob Mains, “Do Pitchers Learn How to Avoid the Third-Time-Through-the-Order Penalty?”
Tim Niiler, “Regression Based Approach for Predicting Ground Reaction Forces in Pitching”
Emily-Anne Patt and James Stockton, “Noisier Judgments: In-Game Applications of Probability Surface-Based Analysis of Umpiring Variability”
Sean Sullivan, “Weighted Bullpen Management Score Plus: Quantifying MLB Pitching Change Decision Making”
Connor Turner, “Predicting Pitch Sequences Using Conditional At-Bat Modeling and Neural Networks”
James Wright, “Is Less More? A Validation in Baseball Pitching Comparing a 4 vs 8 Camera Setup”

Student Presentations:

Reece Calvin, “Optimizing Lineup Simulators with Statcast”
Erick Figueroa, John Nunez, Renee Brown, Pamela Carbajal, Nogales High School Sports Analytics Club, “Kenny Lofton Portfolio for Induction Into the National Baseball Hall of Fame”
Henry Gliedman and Benjamin Reinhard, “Bringing Pitching+ to DIII Baseball: The Art of W.A.R. Model”
Adam Nebel, “Influence of Leverage Index on Pitching Biomechanics”
Thomas Stanton, “How Did the Pitch Clock Affect Pitcher Performance?”

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

Diamond Dollars Case Competition participating schools

The Diamond Dollars Case Competition will be held during the 2024 SABR Analytics Conference on the morning of Friday, March 8 at the Beus Center for Law and Society on Arizona State University’s Downtown Phoenix Campus in Phoenix, Arizona.

Here are the participating schools in the 2024 Diamond Dollars Case Competition:

Arizona State University (Tempe, AZ)
The Branson School (Ross, CA)
College of William & Mary (Williamsburg, VA)
Elon University (Elon, NC)
Maggie L. Walker Governor’s School (Richmond, VA)
NYU-Tisch Institute for Global Sport (New York, NY)
Rice University (Houston, TX)
St. Norbert College (De Pere, WI)
Syracuse University (Syracuse, NY)
Tufts University (Medford, MA)

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

Early registration is now open for SABR 52 in Minneapolis

Join us in Minneapolis for SABR’s 52nd annual convention! Conference and hotel registration for SABR 52 on August 7-11, 2024, at the Hyatt Regency Minneapolis, is now available at SABR.org/convention.

Click here for complete details on SABR 52 Early-Bird Registration and optional sessions, including a Minnesota Twins game, St. Paul Saints game, and Target Field ballpark tour.

SABR 52 will be distinct from its predecessors, as it will feature a Hall of Fame speaker lineup we know you’ll love — including Rod Carew, Tony Oliva, Bert Blyleven, and Jim Kaat — and will be the most accessible and social experience we’ve ever organized as we emphasize SABR’s ability to unite all of us in baseball fellowship. This year’s streamlined registration options will provide for a consistent and accessible experience for all attendees and the lowest registration price since 2018. We hope you’ll join us this summer in Minneapolis!

Visit SABR.org/convention to learn more.

SABR 52: Call for presentations

SABR invites all members to present their research findings to their colleagues attending SABR 52, the 2024 annual convention in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Click here to submit presentation abstracts for SABR 52. The submission deadline for SABR 52 abstracts is Sunday, March 10, 2024.

In addition, we seek volunteers who wish to participate in the blind review process (beginning in March) and/or on-site judging (at the convention in Minneapolis.) Those volunteers can apply by sending an email to sabr2024presentations@gmail.com.

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

Apply now for a Yoseloff Scholarship to attend SABR 52

With generous funding from The Nanar and Anthony Yoseloff Foundation, Inc., SABR will award up to 4 scholarships to high school or college students to attend SABR 52 on August 7-11, 2024, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. 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 Scott Carter at scarter@sabr.org no later than May 17, 2024.

Click here to download an application form at SABR.org.

Subscribe to the Baseball Research Journal in 2024

Beginning in 2024, all SABR members will exclusively receive the Baseball Research Journal electronically. A majority of SABR members already receive the BRJ electronically and will not be affected by this change.

For any members who are interested in a hard copy of the publication for their personal library, we are rolling out a new subscription option at a significantly discounted rate: $7 per issue for members, compared to $19.95 at retail. (International members will pay $11 per issue.)

Visit SABR.org/subscribe to receive future printed editions of the BRJ in the mail. Or click here if you’d like a tutorial on how to subscribe.

As with any change, we understand that you may have questions or concerns that you would like to share. Please feel free to reach out to any SABR staff member.

Call for nominations: 2024 SABR Board of Directors election

The SABR Nominating Committee is now seeking nominations for candidates for the 2024 Board of Directors elections. To be eligible for the Board of Directors, candidates must have been members of the Society for at least the preceding four years. Any candidate for an officer position must have at least one year of prior service on the Board during the preceding five-year period. The deadline for nominations is March 15, 2024. The offices to be filled are:

Vice President (2-year term)
Secretary (3-year term)
Director (3-year term)
Director (3-year term)

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 Stew Thornley.

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

Register now for the 2024 Frederick Ivor-Campbell 19th Century Conference

Registration is now open for the 15th annual SABR Frederick Ivor-Campbell 19th Century Base Ball Conference, which will be held on April 19-20, 2024, at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. All baseball fans are welcome to register for this special event.

The 2024 conference will be highlighted by a keynote address from author Michael Haupert, along with a panel discussion on the Knickerbocker club with Bruce Allardice, Thomas Gilbert, Bob Tholkes, and moderator Bill Ryczek; a 19th-century artifact session with Robert Mayer, Gary Passamonte, and Jonathan Popovich; a Member Spotlight interview of Thomas Gilbert by Bob Bailey; plus research presentations.

Visit SABR.org/ivor-campbell19c to learn more or to register.

SABR Analytics Certification: Sign up now for new Level 3 course

We’re excited to announce that the newest course in the SABR Analytics Certification program, Level Three – Introduction to Baseball Programming, is now available.

Taught by award-winning baseball writer and analyst Rob Arthur, the Level Three course provides an introduction to programming using a practical approach in its application for baseball and focusing on R (with a dash of SQL) as a programming language, the goal of this online, on-demand course is to give learners a foundational understanding of the technical skills necessary for a career in data science and baseball analytics.

To sign up now, or to learn more about previous courses, visit SABR.org/analytics/certification.

Call for volunteers: Weiss Baseball Player Questionnaires

SABR seeks volunteers to help transcribe the Bill Weiss Baseball Player Questionnaires, a collection of self-completed surveys of professional baseball players from 1945-2005, which will soon be made available at SABR.org. Since we began this project in October 2023, more than 50,000 questionnaires have already been transcribed; we are more than halfway done to meet our goal of finishing before SABR 52 this summer.

No experience is needed, just a love for baseball, data, and history. We are looking for any volunteers who can spare a few hours a week (or more!) with help reading these questionnaires and writing down the player’s ambitions, background, and signing scout. Please contact Jason Sigler if you would like to be a part of our team.

Writing opportunities for SABR members

We are still seeking contributing authors for several of SABR’s upcoming projects, including new books on the 2005 Chicago White Sox and First At-Bat Home Runs.

If you are interested in seeing which player biographies, game recaps, or other essay ideas are available, please contact Bill Nowlin. All SABR members are eligible to contribute to any upcoming SABR projects.

Find new updates to the SABR Research Collection below, including the Baseball Biography Project, Games Project, and Oral History Collection.

New Oral History interview: John Tudor

John Tudor, former St. Louis Cardinals and Boston Red Sox pitcher
Recorded February 13, 2024, by John McMurray

Visit SABR.org/oralhistory to find more interviews from the SABR Oral History Collection.

7 new stories published at the SABR Games Project

May 7, 1925: Glenn Wright turns unassisted triple play as Cardinals rally past Pirates, by Bill Marston
September 7, 1943: Last-place Allentown beats Connie Mack’s A’s in exhibition, by Kurt Blumenau
May 4, 1963: Braves’ Bob Shaw sets NL/AL record with 5 balks, by Gary Belleville
July 11, 1987: Bill Ripken’s major-league debut makes it an Orioles family trio, by Richard Cuicchi
July 6, 1991: Mike Bielecki takes no-hitter into seventh inning as Cubs pound St. Louis, by Madison McEntire
September 1, 2008: Mariners’ Adrián Beltré hits for first career cycle, by Mike Huber
May 26, 2010: Adrián Beltré breaks out big with the Red Sox, by Bill Nowlin

In addition, more stories from SABR’s Willie Mays: Five Tools (2023), edited by Bill Nowlin and Glen Sparks, were posted online this week:

September 30, 1948: Willie Mays leads Black Barons to postseason victory, by Rich Puerzer
May 13, 1958: Willie Mays completes torrid stretch against rival Dodgers, by Glen Sparks
September 28, 1958: Willie Mays vies for an improbable batting title on season’s final day, by James Forr
July 11-13, 1960: Willie Mays hits for the cycle in All-Star doubleheader, by Mike Huber
September 15, 1960: Giants top Phillies behind three triples by Willie Mays, by Bob Webster
June 29, 1961: Willie Mays hits three homers, including the game-winner in the 10th, by Theo Tobel
September 30, 1962: Willie Mays’ late homer forces 3-game playoff for NL pennant, by Paul Hofmann
September 22, 1969: Willie Mays hits his 600th homer and Frank Torre can go home now, by Luis A. Blandón Jr.
August 17, 1973: Willie Mays’s 660th and final HR goes for naught in Mets’ nailbiter loss to Reds, by Kurt Blumenau

Visit SABR.org/gamesproject to learn more about the SABR Games Project or to get involved.

One-Win Wonders
Edited by Bill Nowlin

Visit SABR.org/ebooks to download the free e-book edition or save 50% off the paperback edition of all Digital Library books.

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

Please give a warm welcome to all new SABR members who joined this week! View more Members-Only resources at members.sabr.org or click here to download the Membership Handbook. Find contact information for any SABR member in the online Membership Directory.

NAME	HOMETOWN	NAME	HOMETOWN
Andres Acosta	Deerfield Beach, FL	Matthew Merrow	San Diego, CA
Geoff Arnold	Baltimore, MD	Carlos Moreno	Guadalajara, MEX
Nathaniel Beebe	Champaign, IL	Matt Murphy	Prosper, TX
Jim Carroll	Duryea, PA	Melanie Newman	Baltimore, MD
Chris Charron	Lakewood, WA	Joshua Nisim	Bakersfield, CA
Nicholas Esposito	Gainesville, FL	Aaron Oden	Bakersfield, CA
Bob Friitzen	Reading, PA	Sungkwon Park	Tempe, AZ
Dan Galloway	Ijamsville, MD	Brandon Schofield	Toronto, ON
Henry Gliedman	Northfield, MN	Takaaki Shima	Tokyo, JPN
Reinaldo Gonzalez	Houston, TX	Kristian Sogge	Gresham, OR
Stuart Hall	Cary, NC	Miguel Solano	Santo Domingo, DOM
Quentin Halyama	Columbus, OH	Ayad Somo	El Cajon, CA
Jason Hearty	Albany, NY	Cameron Spaulding	Athens, OH
Steve Heineman	Ijamsville, MD	Thomas Stanton	Evanston, IL
Ian Hembree	San Diego, CA	Connor Turner	Linköping, SWE
Aneudis Holbrook	Flushing, NY	Sebastien Vanderlinden	Braine-le-Comte, BEL
Logan Kamelhar	Orlando, FL	Johnny Vecchio	East Lansing, MI
Jake Kleiner	Toronto, ON	Gregor Weiss	Duesseldorf, GER
Blake Kluender	Henderson, CO	Megan Whittaker	Lincoln, NE
Roch Kubatko	Baltimore, MD	Deb Williams	Sterling Heights, MI
Connor Loomis	Tampa, FL	Noah Wright	Washington, PA
Nathan McCarroll	Sherwood, AR	Dawson Wright	Fresno, CA
Dan Mcvay	Honey Brook, PA	Adam Zhang	Fremont, CA

Events Calendar: Find details of all upcoming SABR events.
Video Replays: This week, we heard from author Keith O’Brien (Charlie Hustle); the 19th Century Book Club (But Didn’t We Have Fun); and the Baseball Landmarks Committee meeting. Click here to view video replays of virtual SABR events.

Upcoming Virtual Meetings

February 27: Northern New England Chapter meeting with Keith O’Brien (7:00 p.m. EST)
February 27: Games and Simulations Committee meeting with Dave Koch (8:00 p.m. EST)
March 4: Elysian Fields (NJ) Chapter meeting with Max Martinez and Ron Shandler (7:00 p.m. EST)
March 4: Central Florida Chapter/Roush-Lopez Gulf Coast Chapter meeting with Jacob Pomrenke (7:00 p.m. EST)
March 4: Central Illinois Chapter meeting with Eric Vickrey (7:00 p.m. CST)
March 5: Games and Simulations Committee meeting with J. Thomas Hetrick (8:00 p.m. EST)
March 7: Goose Goslin (NJ) Chapter meeting with Keith O’Brien (7:00 p.m. EST)
March 7: Magnolia (GA) Chapter meeting with Brian Powers (7:30 p.m. EST)
March 8-10: SABR Analytics Conference

Upcoming In-Person Meetings

February 24: Connie Mack-Dick Allen Chapter SABR Day meeting (Philadelphia, PA)
February 24: Hoyt-Allen Chapter SABR Day meeting (Cincinnati, OH)
February 24: Rocky Mountain Chapter baseball card meeting (Aurora, CO)
March 6-9: NINE Spring Training Conference (Tempe, AZ)
March 6: Buck O’Neil/North Florida Chapter meeting (Tallahassee, FL)
March 6: Bob Broeg St. Louis Chapter meeting (St. Louis, MO)

To add your SABR event to our calendar listings, please contact Jacob Pomrenke.

Baseball Cards: Seeking nominations for the 2024 Jefferson Burdick Award through February 28
Deadball Era: February 2024 newsletter
Origins: February 2024 newsletter

Sign up for SABR research committee announcements at SABR.org/research/committees.

SABR Day: Check out more highlights from 2024 SABR Day meetings

Sign up for SABR chapter announcements at SABR.org/chapters.

Click here to learn more about SABR chartered communities.

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

Registration is now open for the 2024 NINE Spring Training Conference in Arizona
Afro-Latino Legacy of Negro Leagues to Be Honored at Hall of Fame East-West Classic (BaseballHall.org)
Ben Lindbergh: Twenty years after ‘Moneyball,’ baseball’s GM cycle is trending back toward former big leaguers (The Ringer)
Lindsey Adler/Andrew Beaton: Major League Baseball’s Wardrobe Malfunction (Wall Street Journal)
Sarah Langs: Opening Day starters: Who’s getting the call? (MLB.com)
Russell A. Carleton: What Happened to Shortening Up? (Baseball Prospectus)
Stephen J. Nesbitt/Ken Rosenthal: Why the Pirates keep losing: ‘Comfortable being mediocre’ (The Athletic)
Joël Guérette/Caroline Blais/Daniel Fiset: Verbal Aggressions Against Major League Baseball Umpires Affect Their Decision Making (Psychological Science)
Derrick Goold: Cardinals hired a Washington U. grad to help develop an app. He became a pitching prospect. (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
Jayson Stark: Which MLB teams, front offices and managers are feeling the most pressure? (The Athletic)
Stephanie Apstein: Yankees Aren’t Finished Adding to Roster After Last Year’s ‘Failure’ (Sports Illustrated)
Alex Speier: Nick Pivetta has shown he has the right stuff to solidify the Red Sox rotation (Boston Globe)
Ryan Fagan: Royals Foresee Bobby Witt Jr.’s Contract as Investment Into a Winning Future (Opta Analyst)
Grant Brisbee: The Giants should absolutely sign Blake Snell or Jordan Montgomery (The Athletic)
David Laurila: Eric Kubota Ruminates on Two-Plus Decades as the A’s Scouting Director (FanGraphs)
Ryan Divish: Mariners superstar Julio Rodriguez expects greatness from himself. He’s not satisfied yet. (Seattle Times)
Jay Jaffe: With Kodai Senga Injury, Mets Rotation Already Takes a Hit (FanGraphs)
Mark Simon: Gio Urshela Is A Meaningful Signing (ACTA Sports)
Davy Andrews: Mike Rizzo Absolutely Cares How Fast You Throw Ball Four (FanGraphs)
Richard Staff: The Last Of The Brooklyn Dodgers (Defector)
Bill Swank: Nearly 80 years ago, San Diego fielded an all-Black baseball team in a pioneering league (San Diego Union-Tribune)
Michael Clair: In 1996, the Braves tried to turn the world’s best javelin thrower into a pitcher (MLB.com)
Mike Bojanowski: A comparison between baseballs used in MLB and NPB (Bleed Cubbie Blue)

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. To find past editions of TWIS, click here.

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.

Originally published: February 23, 2024. Last Updated: February 23, 2024.

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