This Week in SABR: February 28, 2025
Welcome to “This Week in SABR” on Friday, February 28, 2025.
Click here to view this newsletter on the web.
Last call to vote in special election on proposed changes to SABR By-Laws
Announcing the 2025 Henry Chadwick Award recipients
Check out the full schedule for SABR Analytics Conference
Join us for SABR 53 this summer in Dallas-Fort Worth
SABR 500 Club membership referral drive
Last call for papers: 2025 Jerry Malloy Negro League Conference
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Announcing the 2025 Henry Chadwick Award recipients
SABR is pleased to announce the 2025 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 2025 recipients are:
- Rob Fitts, award-winning author of 10 books on Japanese baseball and Japanese baseball cards, and the founder of SABR’s Asian Baseball Committee
- Gary Gillette, author and expert on the history of the Negro Leagues in Detroit, and founder of the nonprofit Friends of Historic Hamtramck Stadium
- Richard Malatzky, a key contributor to SABR’s Biographical Research Committee for nearly 40 years, a “supersleuth in genealogical research”
Click here to read the full announcement at SABR.org.
Check out the full schedule for 2025 SABR Analytics Conference
We’re just two weeks away from the SABR Analytics Conference on March 14-16, 2025, in Phoenix, Arizona! All baseball fans are welcome to attend, so sign up today to join us.
Featured speakers and panelists are expected to include: Brian Kenny, MLB Network; Glenn Fleisig, American Sports Medicine Institute; Mike Petriello and Jason Bernard, Major League Baseball; Kyle Boddy, Driveline Baseball; Alex Caravan, Penn Interactive; former major-league pitcher Burke Badenhop and Max Glick, Arizona Diamondbacks; Michael Girsch, St. Louis Cardinals; Will Vandenberg, Los Angeles Dodgers; Michael Sonne, Chicago Cubs; Eric Babitz, Andrew Fox, Phil Hauser, Everett Johnson, Maggie Noffke, Daniel Oh, Megan Stewart, and Dan Turkenkopf, Milwaukee Brewers; Arnel Aguinaldo, Point Loma Nazarene University; Vivienne Pelletier, Arizona State University; and more. Click here to learn more about our Featured Speakers.
- Registration: Click here to register for the 2025 SABR Analytics Conference. Registration is $545 for SABR members, $645 for non-members, and $150 for currently enrolled high school or college students. Student-only virtual registration is $50.
- Student Registration: Students should email Scott Carter with a photo of their student ID to receive a special link to register at a discounted rate. 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 14 through Sunday, March 16, and a student-only virtual session on Thursday, March 13. All student registrations also include a one-year SABR membership ($25 value) and a complimentary Rapsodo certification course ($395 value). SABR membership will be fulfilled after event sign-up and access to Rapsodo course will be delivered after the conference.
- Certification Courses: The first three courses in the online, on-demand SABR Analytics Certification program, including the newest offering Level Three – Introduction to Baseball Programming, are available now. Click here to learn more or to sign up.
Visit SABR.org/analytics to learn more or to register.
SABR Analytics Conference: Research Presentations
We’re excited to announce the list of research presentations for the SABR Analytics Conference on March 14-16, 2025, in Phoenix, Arizona. Presentation abstracts and presenter bios will be available soon at SABR.org/analytics.
General Track
- Nathan Backman, “Baseball Cinematography: Using Open Source CV Algorithms to Track and Quantify Pitcher Mechanics”
- David Bailit, Owen Lefkowicz, William Haray, Jared Markowicz, Andrew Possi, “A Data-Driven Approach to Analyzing Pitch Decay: A New Way of Breaking Down Pitchers”
- Kyle Bland, “Process +: Quality-Adjusted Hitter Metrics at the Per-Pitch Level”
- Ross Hoehne, “Predicting On-Field Baseball Performance with Reaction Time Testing”
- Rob Mains, “MLB Ownership, Atlanta Braves, Inc., and Financial Analysis”
- Conner Pelletier, Jack Lambert, Anthony Becerra, Sam Ehrlich, “The Interaction of Command and Biomechanics for Pitchers”
- Jason R. Themanson, “Linking Neural Activity to Hitting Expertise: A Live-Pitch Analysis to Mental Processes in Baseball Players”
- Jason Willwerscheid, “Evaluating MLB Hitters’ Two-Strike Swings Using Statcast Bat-Tracking Metrics”
Student Track
- Brett Cerenzio, “Evaluating Outfielder Route Efficiency and Route Paths by Level”
- Ian Chang, Nick Torsky, Meredith Wills, “Route Acumen: Grading Routes on a Curve”
- Cameron Jensen, “Relationship Between Impulse and Velocity in Baseball Pitching”
- Lyev Pitram, “Using Eliteness Early: Influence of the Opener on Run Prevention”
- Atul Venkatesh, Ishan Kinakar, Levon Sarian, “Pitcher Dynamics xPLained: Creating a Model that Determines When to Pull a Starting Pitcher”
Visit SABR.org/analytics to learn more or to register.
SABR 500 Club membership referral drive
Do you have friends or family members who would love SABR? Now is the time to encourage them to join as we kick off the SABR 500 Club membership drive!
The SABR 500 Club is a referral-based membership drive with the goal of welcoming 500 new SABR members between March 1 and April 30, 2025. New members who sign up for an annual or multi-year membership during the referral period will receive a custom baseball card set featuring SABR-Rucker Archive images of members of the 500 home run club. Current members who refer three or more new members during the drive, regardless of membership type, will receive their choice of a card set or SABR logo lapel pin.
Visit SABR.org/500-club to learn more.
Early registration now available for SABR 53 in Dallas-Fort Worth
This summer we’ll head to the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex on June 25-29, 2025, for the 53rd SABR convention. SABR 53 will feature a Texas-sized speaker lineup we know you’ll love, alongside an invigorated social experience emphasizing SABR’s ability to unite all of us in baseball fellowship. All baseball fans are welcome to attend.
Here are some of our featured speakers and panelists:
- Iván Rodríguez, Texas Rangers great and 2017 Baseball Hall of Fame inductee
- Bruce Bochy, Texas Rangers manager and four-time World Series champion
- Chris Young, Texas Rangers President of Baseball Operations
- Tom Schieffer, former Texas Rangers president
- Rob Matwick, Executive Vice President, Public Affairs, Texas Rangers
- Jack Hill, former Senior Vice President, Project Development, Texas Rangers
- James Beckett, founder and CEO of Beckett Media
- Tim Purpura, former Houston Astros general manager and Texas League president
- Bob Baillargeon, former Texas League player
- Rick Herrscher, former Texas League player
- Stay tuned for more speakers and panelists to be announced!
If you’ve never attended a SABR convention, this is the perfect year to join us and make new baseball friendships. If you’re a veteran attendee, we can’t wait for you to experience our rejuvenated convention experience. It will be an incredible week of baseball fellowship in the heart of Texas and we hope you’ll make plans to be part of it!
Visit SABR.org/convention to register now or learn more.
Students, apply now for a Yoseloff Scholarship to attend SABR 53
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 53 on June 25-29, 2025, in Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas. This scholarship will pay for registration, transportation and lodging (double occupancy) up to a total value of $1,250.
Students must be currently enrolled in a high school, college undergraduate or graduate program, and be between 18 and 29 years of age at the time of the conference. All applications must be postmarked or e-mailed to Scott Carter no later than April 11, 2025.
Click here to learn more or to download an application.
Last call for papers: 2025 SABR Jerry Malloy Negro League Conference
SABR’s Negro Leagues Research Committee will host the 25th annual Jerry Malloy Negro League Conference on August 7-9, 2025, in Louisville, Kentucky. This interdisciplinary conference welcomes proposals for oral and poster presentations from all research fields. Previous presenters have included college faculty, public school teachers, graduate students, and independent scholars.
Presentations may focus on any topic related to the theme, or other Black baseball topics. Some possibilities include Louisville Black Caps, Louisville Unions, Louisville Black Colonels, Felton Snow, Sammy Hughes, barnstorming, future research, Malloy history, and much more. Proposals should include a 250-word abstract, plus a brief biographical note with contact information. For poster presentations, please indicate the number and size of posters you wish to display.
Please email your proposals to Leslie Heaphy before March 3, 2025.
Click here to read the full announcement at SABR.org.
Subscribe to the Baseball Research Journal in 2025
In 2025, all SABR members exclusively receive the Baseball Research Journal electronically twice a year. The Spring 2025 issue will be sent out in April. However, if you are interested in a paperback copy of BRJ for your personal library, we have rolled out a subscription option at a significantly discounted rate: $7 per issue for members, compared to $19.95 at retail.
- To subscribe and receive a printed edition of BRJ, visit SABR.org/subscribe
(If you have any questions about your subscription, please email brjsubscribe@sabr.org.)
Click here for a short video on how to subscribe to printed copies of BRJ.
Last call to vote in special election on proposed changes to SABR By-Laws
The SABR Board of Directors recommends adoption of a new bylaw intended to avoid conflicts of interest in board service in a special election that began on Wednesday, February 19.
More specifically, the change is intended to avoid situations where board members, whether intentionally or not, might have access to information that could be useful to another competing organization, or might be unable to deliberate in the best interests of SABR due to their relationship with another organization.
The poll will close at 11:59 p.m. Mountain Standard Time on Wednesday, March 5. The only way to vote online is through the link you will receive by email. All emails will come from the address tellers@sabr.org. If you did not receive a ballot, please contact jpomrenke@sabr.org to have it re-sent to your email.
Click here to read the full announcement at SABR.org.
Member Benefit Spotlight: Finding and Registering for Events
As a SABR member, you have vast resources and benefits at your disposal. With so much information at your fingertips, we realize it can be overwhelming to absorb it all! To highlight key benefits, read on for this month’s SABR Member Benefit Spotlight, an email series that identifies and explains some of the most valuable features of your membership. We hope this allows you to take full advantage of all SABR has to offer.
Click here for a short video on how to find upcoming SABR events and register in advance for both local and national meetings.
Call for papers: Volume 5 of Turnstyle: The SABR Journal of Baseball Arts
SABR’s Baseball and the Arts Committee is seeking submissions for the upcoming Volume 5 of Turnstyle: The SABR Journal of the Baseball Arts. All SABR members are encouraged to send along your submission, or your questions, to editors Joanne Hulbert or Jay Hurd before June 1, 2025. Turnstyle accepts original literary and creative works including poetry, fiction, cartoons, artwork, photographs, and creative nonfiction, all under 1,500 words.
Click here to read the full announcement at SABR.org.
Seeking volunteers: MLB Team Employee Database
SABR’s Business of Baseball Committee would like to continue growing our MLB Team Employee Database and are looking for additional volunteers to enter data. We have several options for those who might want to help with data entry. Much of the information comes from team media guides, and we have some 2024 guides that have not yet been entered. For those looking to enter earlier data, The Sporting News — available through SABR’s Research Resources — has major-league level presidents, vice presidents, secretaries, treasurers, managers, etc. We can supply search terms so these can be found efficiently. If you might be willing to help, please contact Dan Levitt for further information.
Find new updates to the SABR Research Collection below, including the Baseball Biography Project, Games Project, and Oral History Collection.
New Team Ownership History: Buffalo Bisons (NL)
One new article has been published in the Team Ownership History Project, a joint effort of BioProject and the Business of Baseball Committee:
- Buffalo Bisons team ownership history, by Charlie Bevis
The project includes the current 30 major-league franchises, plus the minor leagues, Negro Leagues, All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, Federal League, and teams that disappeared in the nineteenth century. Opportunities are still available for the Atlanta Braves, Pittsburgh Pirates, Houston Astros, all editions of the Athletics, plus the other leagues mentioned above. Interested researchers should contact Andy McCue.
8 new stories published at SABR Games Project
- September 6, 1950: Don Newcombe hurls 16 innings in Dodgers’ doubleheader sweep of Phillies, by Steven C. Weiner
- May 28, 1958: Dodgers’ Sandy Koufax tosses 6-hitter to beat Pirates, by Gregory H. Wolf
- July 15, 1969: Williamsport, Auburn hook up in rhubarb-spiked slugfest, by Kurt Blumenau
- September 24, 1969: Mike Andrews’ 14th-inning double helps Red Sox beat Yankees, 1-0, by Bill Nowlin
- June 22, 1977: Larry Bowa’s grand slam powers Phillies’ win over Reds, by Steve Ginader
- May 27, 1986: Eerie fog off Lake Erie gives Red Sox weather-shortened win in Cleveland, by Bill Nowlin
- May 14, 1997: Mike Gulan’s unique debut, Micah Franklin’s first homer propel Cardinals over Phillies, by Andrew Harner
- June 18, 2014: San Diego honors Tony Gwynn as Padres beat Mariners, by Jake Rinloan
Visit SABR.org/gamesproject to learn more about the SABR Games Project or to get involved.
From Bytown to the Big Leagues:
150 Years of America’s Pastime in Canada’s Capital
Ottawa Baseball from 1865 to 2025
Edited by Steve Rennie and Bill Nowlin
Visit SABR.org 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:
- Hundreds of ProQuest US newspapers added to SABR Research Resources
- Paul Zwirecki joins SABR staff as External Relations Officer
- 19th Century League Documents now available in SABR Research Collection
- In Memoriam: Fay Vincent
- Larry Gerlach’s Lion of the League wins 2025 SABR Seymour Medal
- SABR Digital Library: When Minor League Baseball Almost Went Bust: 1946-1963
- Save the date! 2025 SABR/IWBC Women in Baseball Conference is September 19-21
- Read SABR biographies of 2025 Baseball Hall of Fame inductees
- Call for papers: 2025 SABR Jerry Malloy Negro League Conference
- Browse the new, searchable SABR MLB Team Employee Database
- Find complete collection of SABR-Rucker Archive baseball images online
- Historical Black Newspapers Collection added to SABR Research Resources
- Get a gift for baseball fan in your life with the SABR Store @ CafePress
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 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Christian Alvarez | Madison, WI | Waki Kamino | Ithaca, NY | ||
| Dominic Antonecchia | Riverside, CA | Patrick Kipp | Merchantville, NJ | ||
| Klaus Aplevich | Waterloo, ON | Tommy Koreen | Tempe, AZ | ||
| Joseph Ardillo | Amite, LA | Seth Kurtz | Blue Bell, PA | ||
| Aaron Baggett | Belton, TX | Reagan Lamm | Kimberly, ID | ||
| Kyle Bland | Palm Desert, CA | Kikwang Lee | Sungnam, KOR | ||
| Andrew Bratton | Clemson, SC | MJ Lee | Tucson, AZ | ||
| Zane Butkovich | Maryville, IL | Tony Leebrick | Murfreesboro, TN | ||
| Aaron Cannon | San Diego, CA | Jonathan Lindholm | Portland, OR | ||
| Scot Carpenter | Seattle, WAS | Mason Linken | Mineola, NY | ||
| Brandon Choi | Austin, TX | Hugh McBarron | Corvallis, OR | ||
| Nelson Chung | Alexandria, VA | Ben Nelson | Elkridge, MD | ||
| Andrew Clymans | Mechanicsburg, PA | Sean Nelson | Etobicoke, ON | ||
| Richard Coberly | La Mirada, CA | Graham Nickerson | Tillsonburg, ON | ||
| David Combs | Herriman, UT | Charlie Pals | Odessa, FL | ||
| Stalin Cortorreal | Methuen, MA | Matthew Robles | Palo Alto, CA | ||
| Javan Crawford | Phoenix, AZ | Avram Rund | Fairland, IN | ||
| Natalie Davis | Waukee, IA | George Saltsman | College Station, TX | ||
| Solomon Dyckman | Tenafly, NJ | Carson Schmidt | Brookings, SD | ||
| Ethan Ebarvia | Bolingbrook, IL | Daniel Siegel | New York, NY | ||
| Timothy Estabrooks | Charlotte, NC | Jeremy Skvarce | Cleveland Heights, OH | ||
| Rosanna Fails-Kahn | Philadelphia, PA | David Soul | Surrey, BC | ||
| Jake Federman | Philadelphia, PA | Tim Swankey | Marcellus, NY | ||
| Christian Fenner | Seffner, FL | Nicholas Thompson | Tempe, AZ | ||
| Justin Fiedler | Harrisburg, NC | Noah Van Duyne | Gainesville, FL | ||
| Kevin Grix | Tampa, FL | Atul Venkatesh | Lexington, MA | ||
| Henry Hawkins | Louisville, KY | Chase Voshell | Liberty Township, OH | ||
| Tyler Janak | West Seneca, NY | Andrea Wang | Ithaca, NY | ||
| Cameron Jensen | Omaha, NE | Josh West | Carrollton, TX | ||
| Caroline Johnson | Charlotte, NC | Jason Willwerscheid | Providence, RI | ||
| Joey Kalbas | Chapel Hill, NC | Chris Wren | Drexel Hill, PA |
- Events Calendar: Find details of all upcoming SABR events.
- Video Replays: This week, we heard from Cassidy Lent of the National Baseball Hall of Fame Library; Kevin Baker (The New York Game); Mike Cieslinski (Dynasty League Baseball); Jack Bales (“How William Hulbert Abused His Power to Get What He Wanted”); and Jonathan Goodwin (“From Colt Stadium to Daikin Park”). Click here to view video replays of virtual SABR events.
Upcoming Virtual Meetings
- March 3: American Baseball Biomechanics Society Journal Club meeting (4:00 p.m. EST)
- March 3: Clyde Sukeforth (NH/ME) Chapter meeting with Jack Bales (7:00 p.m. EST)
- March 5: Baltimore Babe Ruth Chapter meeting with Mike Gimbel (7:00 p.m. EST)
- March 8: Bob Davids Chapter Talkin’ Baseball: Will Bardenwerper (9:00 a.m. EST)
- March 10: Clyde Sukeforth (NH/ME) Chapter meeting with Bailey Hall (7:00 p.m. EST)
- March 10: Deadball Era Book Talks: Dave Heller (8:00 p.m. EST)
Upcoming In-Person Meetings
- March 1: Halsey Hall Chapter Hot Stove Saturday Morning (Minneapolis, MN)
- March 5-8: NINE Spring Training Conference (Tempe, AZ)
- March 5: Bob Broeg St. Louis Chapter fellowship meeting (St. Louis, MO)
- March 8: Emil Rothe Chicago Chapter meeting (Elmhurst, IL)
- March 8: Baltimore Babe Ruth Chapter Meeting (Baltimore, MD)
To add your SABR event to our calendar listings, please contact Jacob Pomrenke.
- Baseball Cards: The Baseball Cards Committee is seeking nominations for the 2025 Jefferson Burdick Award. Click here to learn more or to submit a nomination.
- Deadball Era: February 2025 newsletter
- Games and Simulations: All SABR members are invited to participate in a Games and Simulations Committee daily or weekly transaction Rotisserie 5×5 league in 2025. Click here to learn more, including league rules and additional information.
- Nineteenth Century: All committee members are eligible to vote in the primary election for the 2025 Overlooked 19th Century Legend of the Year. Votes are due by March 10, 2025. To join the committee, click here.
Sign up for SABR research committee announcements at SABR.org/research/committees.
- SABR Day: Check out videos, photos, and highlights from 2025 SABR Day events
- Larry Dierker Chapter: February 17 meeting recap (Houston, TX)
- Rogers Hornsby Chapter: February 2025 supplemental newsletter (Austin, TX)
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:
- Alex Coffey: Often misunderstood, Dick Allen was ‘just one of the guys’ back home in Wampum (Philadelphia Inquirer)
- William Weinbaum: ‘He was a legend’: An oral history of Satchel Paige’s final game at 59 (Andscape)
- Sweeny Murti: How Satchel Paige’s 1965 encore helped future Cy winner ‘fall in love’ with game (MLB.com)
- Tyler Kepner: How 3 stealth relievers typify MLB’s dominant species: The unknown guy who nobody can hit (The Athletic)
- Davy Andrews: Seeing Baseball Through a Tiny Lens (FanGraphs)
- Russell A. Carleton: How Bad Could It Get? (Baseball Prospectus)
- Hannah Keyser: MLB players are giving their new robot umpire overlords a cautious welcome (The Guardian)
- Evan Drellich: Where will baseball’s labor fight go? Just check the emails (The Athletic)
- Ryan Divish: Mariners have a good problem on their hands: Who gets the ball on Opening Day? (Seattle Times)
- Mark Simon: 2025’s Rising Defensive Stars (Sports Info Solutions)
- Stephanie Apstein: Men Lie About Their Height—Even Baseball Players (Sports Illustrated)
- Eno Sarris: Three MLB pitchers with new pitches that could really tie their arsenals together (The Athletic)
- David Laurila: Triston Casas Is Looking To Create Power From a Smaller Space (FanGraphs)
- Ryan Fagan: Why Shohei Ohtani Remains the Most Incredible Player in MLB (Athlon Sports)
- Derrick Goold: How Matthew Liberatore captures ‘resetting’ Cardinals’ tug-of-war between future and now (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
- Alex Speier: How Kristian Campbell has already become a Red Sox culture changer (Boston Globe)
- Grant Brisbee: Logan Webb is a safe bet for the Giants, but there’s a pitch worth monitoring (The Athletic)
- Ryan Isaac: Daniel Hudson and the Tale of Two Pitches (Warning Track Power)
- PBS Hawai’i: Baseball Behind Barbed Wire documentary film is now available online (PBS Hawai’i)
- Steven Goldman: The Scooter and the Rock (Baseball Prospectus)
- James Jackson: Wilmer Reid, Negro League pitcher and respected baseball scout, dies at 89 (Philadelphia Tribune)
- Jeff Cohen/Len Aberman: Baseball and BBQ interview with Ed Randall (Baseball and BBQ)
- Jason Schwartz: Morning Puzzles for Card Collectors (SABR Baseball Cards)
- Derek Bain: SSI Computer Baseball (SABR Games and Simulations)
- Joe Costa: World Series Time Machine: 1942 (SABR Games and Simulations)
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.
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Originally published: February 28, 2025. Last Updated: March 6, 2025.