This Week in SABR: February 8, 2013

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Welcome to “This Week in SABR”! Here’s what we’ve been up to as of February 8, 2013:

Rob Fitts’ Banzai Babe Ruth wins 2013 Seymour Medal

Banzai Babe Ruth: Baseball, Espionage, and Assassination during the 1934 Tour of Japan, written by Robert K. Fitts and published by University of Nebraska Press, is the winner of the 2013 SABR Seymour Medal, which honors the best book of baseball history or biography published during the preceding calendar year. 

Fitts, author of the award-winning Wally Yonamine: The Man Who Changed Japanese Baseball and Remembering Japanese Baseball: An Oral History of the Game, will receive his award at the banquet of the 20th annual NINE Spring Training conference, 6:15 p.m. on Saturday, March 16, 2013, at the Fiesta Resort Conference Center in Tempe, Arizona. Banquet tickets are $40.

The banquet includes the Seymour Medal ceremony with Dorothy Seymour Mills, dinner and the NINE Keynote address by SABR member Chris Lamb, author of Conspiracy of Silence: Sportswriters and the Campaign to Desegregate Baseball and Blackout: The Untold Story of Jackie Robinson’s First Spring Training. To register for the NINE conference, visit http://nineregistration.com.

The Seymour Medal Selection Committee released the following statement about Fitts’ Banzai Babe Ruth: 

The winner of the 2013 Seymour Medal is Banzai Babe Ruth by Robert K. Fitts. It is the story of the famous trip of an American League all-star team, featuring Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx and Lefty Grove, which barnstormed Japan in November 1934. While the focus of the book is on the details of the trip and the reception the American stars received in Japan, an underlying story of the political climate in the land of the Rising Sun provides some answers to the question “How did the United States and Japan go to war seven years later when they had this mutual love of the game?” Fitts gives the reader an amazing detail of the trip, which has been merely a footnote in baseball history until now. It is a well-written story of baseball, politics and American and Japanese culture. There are many photographs of the events of the trip as well as a number of Japanese players.

In 2012, Fitts won the Doug Pappas Award for top SABR 42 presentation based on the same subject, “Murderers, Spies, and Ballplayers: The Untold Story of the 1934 All American Tour of Asia.” You can listen to audio of his presentation from SABR’s Minneapolis convention here.

“I’m just kind of blown away by it,” Fitts said of winning the Seymour Medal. “I’m at a loss for words.”

Fitts said his goal in writing Banzai was “just to tell a story.”

“I lived in Japan in 1993 and 1994, and used baseball as a way to acclimate myself to Japan,” he said. “When I came back to the U.S., I was surprised at how little was known about Japanese baseball and all the misconceptions that were out there. But their baseball history is as rich as American baseball history.”

The other finalists for the 2013 Seymour Medal were:

  • One Last Strike: Fifty Years in Baseball, Ten and a Half Games Back, and One Final Championship Season, by Tony La Russa and Rick Hummel (William Morrow) 
  • Connie Mack: The Turbulent and Triumphant Years, 1915-1931, by Norman Macht (University of Nebraska Press)

To view the selection committee’s comments and read more about the Seymour Medal-winning book, click here:

http://sabr.org/latest/fitts-banzai-babe-ruth-wins-2013-seymour-medal

The Seymour Medal, named in honor of Dr. Harold Seymour and Mrs. Dorothy (Seymour) Mills, was first awarded by SABR in 1996. To be considered for the medal, a work must be the product of original research or analysis. The winning book shall significantly advance our knowledge of baseball and shall be characterized by understanding, factual accuracy, profound insight and distinguished writing.

To see a list of previous Seymour Medal winners, click here.

Hosted by NINE: A Journal of Baseball History & Culture, the NINE Spring Training conference promotes the study of all historical aspects of baseball and centers on the cultural implications of the game wherever in the world baseball is played. The NINE conference will take place March 13-16, 2013, at the Fiesta Resort Conference Center, 2100 South Priest Drive in Tempe, Arizona. Conference registration is $205.

SABR Analytics Conference updates: Player Development Panel, Player Agent Panel, research presentations, welcome/networking reception, schedule

We’ve just one month away from the second annual SABR Analytics Conference, presented by Major League Baseball and Bloomberg Sports, on March 7-9, 2013, at the Sheraton Phoenix Downtown in Phoenix, Arizona.

We’re pleased to announce details about our Player Development Panel. This panel will discuss how information and data has altered the the development path for players and the methods teams are using to evaluate and advance players through their system and measure their readiness for advancement. The Player Development Panel will include:

  • Tyrone Brooks, Director of Player Personnel, Pittsburgh Pirates
  • Derek Falvey, Director of Baseball Operations, Cleveland Indians

We’re also pleased to announce our Player Agent Panel. This panel will discuss how the growth in data and information has impacted the role of the agent in baseball, implications of the new Collective Bargaining Agreement and how the landscape has changed for agents over the past 10 years. The Player Agent Panel will include:

  • Gregg Clifton, Managing Partner of the Phoenix, Arizona, department of Jackson Lewis, LLP, and Co-Chair of the firm’s Collegiate and Professional Sports Industry Group.
  • Casey Close, who heads the baseball division at Excel Sports Management, where he represents many athletes including Derek Jeter, Mark Teixeira, Alex Gordon and Michael Cuddyer.
  • Dan Horwits, a partner at Beverly Hills Sports Council, which has represented some of the biggest stars in baseball, including George Brett, Bret Saberhagen, Barry Bonds, Mike Piazza, Albert Pujols and Tim Lincecum. 

You can also now find abstracts for the SABR Analytics Conference research presentations. The following presentations at the 2013 SABR Analytics Conference are part of the Sportvision PITCHf/x Summit:

  • Kevin Tenenbaum and Dave Allen, “Nash Equilibrium Solution for Fastball Locations in Two-Strike Counts”
  • Graham Goldbeck, “Batted Ball Success by Depth in the Zone”
  • Andy Andres and Rory Kirchner, “Merging weather data to PITCHf/x and HITf/x”

Here are some other research presentations scheduled for the 2013 SABR Analytics Conference:

  • Geoff Miller, “Making Intangibles Tangible”
  • Alan Nathan, “Using F/X and TrackMan for Novel Baseball Analysis”
  • Matt Swartz, “Bayes at the Plate: Game Theory and Pitch Selection”

More presenters and featured panelists will be announced soon!

Featured speakers expected for the 2013 Analytics Conference are: Stan Kasten, President/CEO of the Los Angeles Dodgers; Bill James, Senior Advisor on Baseball Operations for the Boston Red Sox; Jed Hoyer, Executive VP/General Manager of the Chicago Cubs; Rick Hahn, Senior VP/General Manager of the Chicago White Sox; Jon Daniels, General Manager of the Texas Rangers; Joe Posnanski, Senior Writer for Sports on Earth; and Brian Kenny, MLB Network host. More speakers, panelists and presenters will be announced soon!

Once again, SABR is bringing together the top minds of the baseball analytic community under one roof to discuss, debate and share insightful ways to analyze and examine the great game of baseball for the second annual:

SABR Analytics Conference
presented by Major League Baseball and Bloomberg Sports
March 7-9, 2013
Sheraton Phoenix Downtown
Phoenix, Arizona

The schedule will consist 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. We’ll also have a special Business of Baseball Analytics session on Saturday morning, when baseball executives from Sales, Marketing, Human Resources, Finance, Stadium Operations and other functions will come together to discuss innovative ways to analyze the business of baseball and drive revenue.

SABR is teaming up with the Baseball Industry Network for our Welcome/Networking Reception at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 7 at the Sheraton Phoenix Downtown. The reception will feature food, drinks and great opportunities to network with baseball professionals and other attendees from the conference. Admission to the welcome reception is included in your Analytics Conference registration. Members of the Baseball Industry Network can attend the reception separately for $30; click here to sign up. The Baseball Industry Network now features more than 17,600 members and you can join the network on LinkedIn or at www.baseballindustrynetwork.com.

To learn more about the 2013 SABR Analytics Conference, visit SABR.org/analytics.

Sheraton room block now sold out for 2013 SABR Analytics Conference

Please note: Our room block at the Sheraton Phoenix Downtown is now sold out for the second annual SABR Analytics Conference, March 7-9, 2013, in Phoenix, Arizona.

SABR has set up a special rate of $149/night (plus tax) at the nearby Renaissance Phoenix Downtown, 50 East Adams Street in Phoenix. Click here to book your room at our overflow hotel or call (602) 333-0000 and tell them you’re registering for the SABR Analytics Conference.

The rooms at the Renaissance are only available for the nights of March 6 through March 9 (checking out on March 10), or until the overflow block is sold out.

SABR members, sign up to receive the Baseball Research Journal in e-book format

In a world where legendary magazines such as Newsweek and The Sporting News went totally digital starting in 2013, SABR is bridging both worlds.

As an organization that prides itself on maintaining the best of its past, but also constantly striving to move forward and take advantage of exciting new opportunities and technologies, SABR is now offering its members the opportunity to opt out of receiving the printed version of the Baseball Research Journal.

For those who sign up before March 1, 2013, we’ll be offering the Spring 2013 Baseball Research Journal in e-book format for those who are enjoying reading on their Kindles, Nooks, iPads or other devices. (Did you know that the Fall 2012 BRJ is already available in e-book form? Try it out now by clicking here to download your copy.)

To learn more about the new BRJ print edition opt-out, click here: http://sabr.org/latest/sabr-members-receive-baseball-research-journal-e-book-format

SABR Diamond Report: February 2013

The Diamond Report is a series of monthly messages, written by SABR President Vince Gennaro and Executive Director Marc Appleman, to keep SABR members better informed about the Society’s direction and progress. The Diamond Report archives are collected at SABR.org/diamondreport. Here is Vince Gennaro’s Diamond Report for February 2013:

Do you ever wonder why you’re a SABR member? Maybe for some members, it’s a way to be part of a community that shares a passion for baseball. On those bleak February nights, with no ballgames on radio or TV, being a SABR member is an opportunity to be part of a group of people who are thinking and doing the same thing as you — counting the days until spring training. Commiserating about the winter weather, or the fortunes of your favorite team, is all part of being in the SABR community.

For others it may be the opportunity to share in a research project. For example, hundreds of researchers have collaborated on player biographies as part of the SABR BioProject, while others have engaged with the 19th Century Committee to learn and write about a specific great ballgame from the 1800s that otherwise would be anonymous and part of our lost history. Some may value the events SABR produces — from the hundreds of regional chapter meetings, to the Jerry Malloy Conference, which celebrates the storied history of the Negro Leagues, to our National Convention, our Analytics Conference, or the annual Frederick Ivor-Campbell 19th Century Conference in Cooperstown.

Many are members because of the great publications SABR produces, from the Baseball Research Journal, to The National Pastime, to the sometimes under-appreciated Committee newsletters, many of which contain some of SABR’s outstanding research. I suspect many of you are SABR members for a combination of these reasons.

I’ll add one to the list — in fact, it sits atop my list of the many reasons to be an active and engaged member of the SABR community — the cultivation of young fans and their passion for baseball. Few things give me greater enjoyment than the opportunity to nurture the enthusiasm of a young person who shows an interest in baseball.

On SABR Day in New York City last month, Evelyn Begley and Ernestine Miller produced an outstanding program of speakers, trivia questions and overall baseball fellowship, as they do every year. But I was particularly struck by the growing number of young people attending our events (in New York and elsewhere). I had the chance to talk to many of them, who ranged in age from 10 years old to their early 20s, and discuss their baseball interests and the opportunities the SABR community provides to develop their interests. In Montpelier, Vermont, a group of young SABR members gathered to hear Vermont native and ESPN analyst Buster Olney speak. The youngsters, who live in nearby Burlington, formed their own SABR Chapter — the Buster Olney Junior Chapter — and meet regularly at SABR member Tom Simon’s house to share their baseball passion.

Even this year’s SABR Analytics Conference is attracting aspiring baseball analysts, as a group of high school students from the D.C. area are attending with their school administrators. In an era when it feels like video games have taken over our planet (yes, I know there are baseball video games, too) and when social media seems to consume all of our young people’s time, it’s heartening to see so many kids and young adults with a deep interest in baseball. Like many of you, I was introduced to the game at a very young age by my grandfather and father, attending my first game at Yankee Stadium when I was just 5 years old. Even though more than five decades have passed since that fateful day when I experienced the enormity of the ballpark, the smell of hot dogs and peanuts, and the sounds of the game, the memory of that day is more vivid than many other important days in my life.

Baseball has woven a path throughout my life. It has been a factor in my social relationships, in my work and in my family. I’ve passed on my passion for the game to my daughter, Danielle, with unconditional trust that she will do the same someday. In our lives we are often faced with opportunities, obligations, responsibilities and privileges. It’s unusual for all of these to intersect at one point. For me, spreading my passion for baseball to the next generation is one of those rare intersection points. I see it as an opportunity, an obligation, a responsibility, and above all, a privilege.

SABR gives all of us a great platform to help the next generation understand and appreciate the nuances of baseball, its rich history, the legendary characters of the game, and even the power of the bonds and friendships it can help forge. Incidentally, doing so also ensures SABR’s legacy. There are many reasons to be a SABR member, but spreading the word to the next generation is at the top of my personal list.

— Vince Gennaro

SABR Digital Library: Memories of a Ballplayer: Bill Werber and Baseball in the 1930s

Our newest book in the SABR Digital Library will make a fine addition to your baseball library:

Memories of a Ballplayer: Bill Werber and Baseball in the 1930s
By Bill Werber and C. Paul Rogers III
250 pages, originally published in 2001
Paperback: $14.95
Paperback ISBN: 978-0-910137-84-3
Ebook: $6.99
Ebook ISBN: 978-1-933599-47-2
250 book pages, 8.5″ x 11″

Rich in anecdotes and humor, Bill Werber’s Memories of a Ballplayer is a clear-eyed memoir of the world of big-league baseball in the 1930s. Originally published by SABR in hardcover in 2000 and in paperback in 2001, the book is still in print, but now also available as an ebook. 

Bill Werber‘s claim to fame is unique: he was the last living person to have a direct connection to the 1927 Yankees, “Murderers’ Row,” a team hailed by many as the best of all time. Signed by the Yankees while still a freshman at Duke University, Werber spent two weeks that summer of ’27 on the Yankee bench to “gain experience”—and was miserable and lonely, ignored by everyone. After graduating in 1930, Werber was back with the Yankees, but he was soon sent to the minors for seasoning (including a stretch with Casey Stengel). He returned to the big leagues in 1933 and was promptly traded to the Red Sox. A fleet-footed third baseman, Werber also played for the Athletics, Reds, and Giants, leading the league three times in stolen bases and once in runs scored. He was with the Reds when they won the pennant in 1939 and 1940. Werber played with or against some of the most productive hitters of all time, including Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, Lou Gehrig, and Joe DiMaggio. 

Bill Werber played major-league baseball from 1930 to 1942. He then had a successful career as an insurance executive and passed away in 2009 at the age of 100, then the oldest living former major-leaguer. C. Paul Rogers III is a professor at the Southern Methodist University School of Law and a SABR member since 1990. He is chair of SABR’s DFW Hall-Ruggles Chapter in Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas.

SABR members, get this e-book for FREE!

For 40 years, SABR and its members have led the way in publishing the best baseball historical and statistical research. Our publications program is shifting to take advantage of new methods of publishing. Not only will we continue to publish new books like CAN HE PLAY? A Look At Baseball Scouts and Their Profession (released in December 2011); OPENING FENWAY PARK IN STYLE: The 1912 World Champion Red Sox (released in May 2012); Red Sox Baseball in the Days of Ike and Elvis: The Red Sox of the 1950s (released in September 2012) and Detroit Tigers 1984: What A Start! What A Finish! (released in December 2012), which showcase the best efforts of SABR’s members, chapters and committees, but new technology makes it possible for us to bring out-of-print titles like RUN, RABBIT, RUN: The Hilarious and Mostly True Tales of Rabbit Maranville (released in February 2012), GREAT HITTING PITCHERS (released in March 2012), NINETEENTH CENTURY STARS (released in August 2012) and Batting (released in January 2013) back again. Books will be available in digital formats as well as paperbacks produced by “print on demand” (POD).

Stay tuned throughout the year for new (and old!) titles that we’ll be adding to the SABR Digital Library. SABR members will get all new Digital Library publications for free in e-book format.

Cooperstown to honor black baseball pioneer Bud Fowler on April 20

We’re pleased to pass along this note from SABR member Jeff Katz, the Mayor of Cooperstown, New York:

Cooperstown, New York, honors its own forgotten pioneer, Bud Fowler, on April 20, 2013, with the naming of the entrance into legendary Doubleday Field “Fowler Way” and the installation of a permanent plaque in the brick wall of the first base bleachers. Fowler (born John W. Jackson) is recognized as the first African-American player in organized professional baseball, playing for over two decades in the nineteenth century despite facing constant racial discrimination. Fowler was born in nearby Fort Plain but grew up in Cooperstown, where his father worked as a barber on Main Street.

To honor Fowler’s contributions to baseball and the fight for racial equality, the Board of Trustees has voted to honor its own trailblazer on the occasion of the hundredth anniversary of his death. The ceremony will take place in coordination with the 2013 Frederick Ivor-Campbell 19th Century Base Ball Conference held by the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) on April 19-20, 2013, in Cooperstown. The Village of Cooperstown will host programming on Sunday, April 21 to celebrate, including an event at the Bullpen Theater of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.

It is with great pleasure that Village of Cooperstown Mayor Jeff Katz proclaims April 20, 2013 Bud Fowler Day.

For more information, please call the Village of Cooperstown office at 607-547-2411 or visit our website at http://www.cooperstownny.org.

For more on the Frederick Ivor-Campbell 19th Century Base Ball Conference, visit http://sabr.org/ivor-campbell19c.

Learn more: Read Brian McKenna’s SABR biography of John “Bud” Fowler here

Seamheads Negro Leagues Database updated with 1899-1900 stats

A note from SABR member Gary Ashwill at Seamheads.com:

We’ve just added the following to the Negro Leagues Database: the 1916/17 Cuban Winter League, the 1917 and 1918 Florida Hotel League, and a handful of games from the 1899 and 1900 seasons, as well as new games for 1904, 1905, 1906, 1907, 1908, and 1912.

In 1899 the Cuban X Giants came west to play the two Chicago clubs, the Unions (which had existed since the 1880s) and the Columbia Giants, formerly the Page Fence Giants of Adrian, Michigan, which had moved to Chicago under the auspices of the Columbia Club, a local social organization. In addition, 1899 saw Abel Linares organize the first tour of Cuban professionals in the United States. The All-Cubans played a pair of grudge matches against the Cuban X Giants in Hoboken, ostensibly motivated by the (real) Cubans’ desire to uphold the honor of their national name.

The following season saw both the Cuban X Giants and the Genuine Cuban Giants come west. That season the American League’s new Chicago White Sox built a new park on the South Side at the corner of 39th and Wentworth. Unfortunately this was across the street from the Columbia Giants’ park (the former Daly Park, home of the white semipro Daly Baseball Club), and just a couple of blocks away from the Unions’ home grounds, at 37th and Butler. Eventually the major leaguers would drive both black teams out of the neighborhood, although the Columbias did use the White Sox park as their home field in 1902. (It would later, as Schorling Park, become the home field for the Chicago American Giants for many years.)

William “Hippo” Galloway, of the 1900 Cuban X Giants, had become in 1899 simultaneously the last black player to appear openly in organized baseball in North America (with the Woodstock club of the Canadian League) and the first black player to appear in a hockey league (with Woodstock in the Central Ontario Hockey Association).

Jumping forward a few years, in the winter of 1916/17 Cuban baseball saw yet another group of organizers put together a new circuit, which they called the Cuban-American League, despite the complete absence of American players. The old Almendares Park had been torn down, and the games were played in Marianao’s Oriental Park, which was actually a horse racing venue.

The Almendares players were reassembled under the name “Orientals” (or Orientales), while Habana reappeared as the “Red Sox” (Medias Rojas). The traditional third Havana team, Fe, no longer existed, and the previous season’s attempt to replace them with a team called San Francisco Park had ended in abject failure. So this year Tinti Molina and Abel Linares simply decided to enter their barnstorming Cuban Stars as the third team, under the name “White Sox” (Medias Blancas).

It took so long to organize everything that the league did not get underway until February 1917, and lasted only 15 games. Dolf Luque pitched and hit well for the Orientals (1.84 ERA, .355 average), and his team did just enough to take the pennant with an 8-6 record.

At exactly the same time as the brief Cuban-American League season, Palm Beach hosted the annual series between teams representing the Royal Poinciana Hotel (managed this year by Rube Foster) and the Breakers Hotel (managed by Joe Williams). The Cuban-American lefty Juan Padrón had been slated to join the Cuban Stars / White Sox in Cuba, but instead he turned up here, pitching for Foster. He started against Joe Williams four times, winning three with one tie. Overall he went 5-2 with three shutouts and an 0.61 ERA, providing just enough for the Poincianas to edge the Breakers 7 games to 6.

The winter of 1917/18 saw no formal league organized in Cuba, but the Palm Beach series continued. Juan Padrón switched sides, but managed only a single win this time. Meanwhile Dick Whitworth went 5-0, 1.07, for the Poincianas. That was enough for Foster’s team to win 9 out of 14 games.

Coming up for the DB: the 1933 Negro league season, the East-West All-Star Games, the Mexican League, more Cuban seasons, and a lot more.

To view the Seamheads Negro Leagues Database, visit http://www.seamheads.com/NegroLgs/index.php

6 new biographies published by the SABR BioProject

Six new biographies were posted as part of the SABR Baseball Biography Project, which brings us to a total of 2,231 published biographies.

Here are the new bios:

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

You can find the SABR BioProject at SABR.org/BioProject.

Bios on more than just ballplayers: The ambitious goal of the SABR Baseball Biography Project is to publish a full-life biography of every major league player in history. But SABR members write about a lot more than just ballplayers. In addition, we have pages for Ballparks, Broadcasters, Executives, Managers, Scouts, Spouses, Umpires and a lot more on the BioProject website. You can browse all of these categories at http://sabr.org/bioproj/browse. So if you’ve ever thought, “Hey, that person (or ballpark) should get the full BioProject treatment” — write the story and we’ll publish it!

Get involved! If you’d like to help contribute to the SABR BioProject, visit our BioProject Resources page or read the FAQs section to get started. We’re also looking to expand the BioProject to include all “encyclopedic” articles on baseball-related subjects from past SABR publications or committee newsletters. If you come across an article you think should be included in the SABR “baseball repository” at the BioProject, send a copy or link to markarmour04@gmail.com or jpomrenke@sabr.org.

Deadline extended for Nineteenth Century Overlooked Legends preliminary election

Each year, SABR’s Nineteenth Century Research Committee selects its Overlooked 19th Century Baseball Legend — a 19th century player, manager, executive or other baseball personality not yet inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.

Committee members are currently voting on 25 candidates to come up with a ballot of 10 finalists, who will be announced in April 2013. All SABR members will be able to vote in June for the 2013 Overlooked Legend.

The deadline to cast your vote in the preliminary election — to narrow the ballot down to 10 finalists — has been extended until 8 p.m. EST on Monday, February 11, 2013.

To get a link to the preliminary ballot, contact Project Chairman Joe Williams.

You can read biographical sketches of all 25 candidates here: https://sabr.box.com/shared/static/s361ybdypf3snmyw5i9x.pdf.

For more information on the Nineteenth Century Overlooked Legend project, and to view a list of past winners, click here: http://sabr.org/overlooked-19th-century-baseball-legends.

Have you renewed your SABR membership for 2013?

Thanks to all of you who have already renewed your SABR membership for 2013. We wouldn’t be here without you, and we appreciate your support.

For those of you who haven’t renewed, please send in your dues by February 28, 2013, in order to continue receiving the many benefits of SABR membership all year long.

Note: If you have already renewed for 2013 or just recently sent in your dues, please disregard this notice … and thank you again! If you don’t know when your membership expires, click here.

Please take a minute to renew your membership for 1 year or 3 years online at the SABR Store; by phone at (602) 343-6450; or by mailing this downloadable PDF form and your payment to the SABR office at 4455 E. Camelback Road, Ste. D-140, Phoenix, AZ 85018.

We’ve got a lot of exciting benefits in store for 2013 and we’re glad you’re along for the ride! Dues are the same as they have been in recent years: all members in good standing will receive the Baseball Research Journal (spring and fall) and The National Pastime; free and discounted books in the SABR Digital Library; access to research resources such as Paper of Record (with complete archives of The Sporting News); discounts to SABR conferences such as the national convention ( July 31-August 4 in Philadelphia), the spring SABR Analytics Conference (March 7-9 in Phoenix), the summer Jerry Malloy Negro Leagues Conference (June 13-15 in Newark, N.J.) and the Arizona Fall League Conference; access to our SABR-L research listserv and lending library; all 27 research committees, 60+ regional chapters; and more.

We believe SABR has something for everyone, from the active researcher to the passionate baseball fan. We hope you’ll invite your friends, colleagues and family members to join at http://store.sabr.org.

  • Donate to SABR: If you support SABR and all the groundbreaking research our members have and will produce, please also consider donating online at SABR.org/donate or via mail. No amount is too big or too small, and as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, your donation to SABR is tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law. If you have given in the past, we remain grateful and hope you will consider giving again. If you are a first-time donor, welcome aboard!

Call for SABR award nominations

Call for 2013 SABR Election Nominations

The SABR Nominating Committee seeks nominations for candidates for the Spring 2013 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 March 1, 2013. Nominees must prepare a Candidate Statement Form following guidelines that will be available from any Nominating Committee member.

The Candidate Statement Form, which will be available for download from the SABR website soon, must be received by the Nominating Committee chair no later than March 15, 2013.

The offices to be filled:

  • President (2-year term; currently Vince Gennaro)
  • Director (3-year term; currently Leslie Heaphy)
  • Director (3-year term; currently Tom Hufford)

The Nominating Committee also seeks your input. Members are asked to submit office-specific questions for each of the offices open in this election. We also seek input on general questions for every nominee. Candidates will answer selected questions on the Candidate Statement Form. Regional Chapter Leaders and Research Committee Chairs are especially encouraged to pass along this request to their respective members to better address member needs.

Self-nominations are welcome. If you would like to nominate yourself or another candidate or suggest a question for the candidates, contact a member of the Nominating Committee: chair Barry Mednick, Rick Schabowski, and Barry Deutsch.

SABR members, get a 6-issue trial subscription to Baseball America

Our friends at Baseball America are bringing passionate fans and industry insiders the most complete coverage of the game.

SABR members can get a trial subscription of six issues of Baseball America magazine for just $9.95. Visit http://www.baseballamerica.com/6-issues/?BNWOFP for details.

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: http://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 New Member 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.

Here is a list of new members:

Name Hometown     Name Hometown
Jeremy Abramson Hermosa Beach, CA     George Maleta Corona, CA
Johnny Asel Falls Church, VA     Mark Mathewson Chicago, IL
Bill Babcock Attleboro, MA     Patrick McHugh Falls Church, VA
David Bodemer Tallmadge, OH     Kurt Mitchell Beavercreek, OH
Dorinda Burton Albany, NY     Robert Poe Clearwater, FL
Sergio Calderon Tucson, AZ     Ginger Poulson Tempe, AZ
Andrew Clark Shepherdsville, KY     Richard Puszczewicz Louisville, KY
Vicky Frank Louisville, KY     Matthew Salvatore New York, NY
Robert Friedlander Richland, MI     Alexandre Silberman Burlington, VT
Larry Giovanni Byrnes Mill, MO     Samuel Silberman Burlington, VT
Gordon Glidden Huntington Woods, MI     Nolan Simon Burlington, VT
Tony Grant Watsonville, CA     Zachary Smith Marlin, PA
Peyton Hale III Nokesville, VA     Nicholas Stenger Hendersonville, NC
Alex Heitzman Fairview Heights, IL     Colin Sullivan Scarsdale, NY
Chad Heron Charlottetown, PEI     Sean True New York, NY
Paul Hughes Havertown, PA     Jeffrey Van Steenbergen Portland, CT
James Kowalick Oregon House, CA     Tom Wilson Galesburg, IL
Justin Krueger Navasota, TX     Henry Wood-Lewis Burlington, VT
Michael Kucera Farmington Hills, MI     Michael Wood-Lewis Burlington, VT
Ben Lindbergh New York, NY     John Zbiegien Sr. Huntley, IL

 

Research committee newsletters

No new SABR research committee newsletters were published this week.

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

Chapter meeting recaps

Here are the chapter meeting recaps published this week:

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

SABR Events Calendar

Here is a list of upcoming SABR events:

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.

All previous editions of This Week in SABR can be found here: http://sabr.org/content/this-week-in-sabr-archives. If you would like us to include an upcoming event, article or any other information in “This Week in SABR”, e-mail Jacob Pomrenke at jpomrenke@sabr.org.

Find exclusive Members’ Only resources and information here: http://members.sabr.org

Did you know you can renew your membership at any time? 1- and 3-year SABR memberships are available by clicking “Renew” at http://members.sabr.org. Please also consider a donation to SABR to support baseball research at SABR.org/donate.

Are you following us on Twitter or Facebook? Get SABR updates every day at @SABR or by searching “SABR” on Facebook.

Replying to this e-mail goes to an undeliverable address. If you would like to contact the SABR office, please visit: http://sabr.org/about/contact-sabr


Originally published: February 8, 2013. Last Updated: April 3, 2020.

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