This Week in SABR: January 12, 2024

January 12, 2024/in This Week in SABR /by Jacob Pomrenke

Welcome to “This Week in SABR! on Friday, January 12, 2024.
Click here to view this newsletter on the web.

SABR Analytics: AI Panel
Deadline extended to apply for a Local Grant in 2024
Subscribe to the Baseball Research Journal
Check out the schedule for SABR Day 2024
Call for papers: 2024 Jerry Malloy Negro League Conference
Students, apply for a Spring 2024 internship with SABR

SABR Analytics: Baseball’s Current and Future Application of AI Panel

Join us at the SABR Analytics Conference on March 8-10, 2024, in Phoenix, Arizona, for a special panel discussion on Baseball’s Current and Future Application of AI. Panelists are expected to include:

Christopher Bitetto, Manager, Replay Administration & Data at Major League Baseball
Joe Rosales, Director of Baseball Analytics at Sports Info Solutions
Amod Sahasrabudhe, Machine Learning Engineer at Gemini Sports Analytics
Moderator: Brian Hall, founder of AlphaPlay and co-chair of SABR’s AI/Machine Learning Research Committee

Visit SABR.org/analytics to learn more:

Registration: Click here to register for the 2024 SABR Analytics Conference. Early-bird registration is $395 for SABR members, $495 for non-members, and $150 for currently enrolled high school or college students. Student-only virtual registration is $50. Students should email Scott Carter with a photo of their student ID to receive the discounted registration link.
Student Registration: 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). SABR membership will be fulfilled after event sign-up and access to Rapsodo course will be delivered after the conference.
Diamond Dollars Case Competition: Click here to register your team for the 2024 Diamond Dollars Case Competition. Registration is $1,750 per team, which includes admission to all SABR Analytics Conference sessions and a one-year SABR membership for each participant.

Stay tuned for more information on speakers, panelists, and presenters soon! Learn more at SABR.org/analytics.

Deadline extended to apply for a SABR Local Grant in 2024

The SABR Local Grants program provides an opportunity for chapters, research committees, and chartered communities to apply for funding for their projects under SABR’s Four Pillars: Research, Scholarship, Preservation, and Future of the Game.

Applications are now open for a 2024 SABR Local Grant at SABR.org/local-grants. Submissions will now be accepted until January 31, 2024. A Grants Review Board will review all submissions and respond with their final determination in February 2024.

Visit SABR.org/local-grants to learn more or to apply.

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.

Save the date: SABR Day is on February 3

Please mark your calendars for Saturday, February 3, 2024, when we will hold our annual SABR Day celebration! SABR Day is a way for all baseball fans to come together, regardless of where they live, and talk about the game we all love. Regional chapters are also encouraged to plan their own SABR Day events (virtually or in person) to celebrate the start of a new baseball season.

Visit SABR.org/sabrday for full details on all SABR Day events — including Atlanta, Birmingham, Columbus, Detroit, Little Rock, New Hampshire, Orlando, and Rochester.

Chapter leaders, please email Jacob Pomrenke and Peter Cottrell as you finalize your SABR Day plans so we can update our schedule of events.

Call for papers: 2024 Jerry Malloy Negro Leagues Conference

SABR’s Negro Leagues Research Committee will host the Jerry Malloy Negro League Conference, which will be held on June 6-9, 2024, at the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. In addition to two days of research presentations and player/author panels, attendees will also enjoy special presentations about lesser known Black baseball stories and a chance to see the new Hall of Fame exhibit: “The Souls of the Game: Voices of Black Baseball.”

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. The deadline to submit a presentation abstract is February 1, 2024. Click here for more details on how to submit an abstract.

Visit SABR.org/malloy for more information on the 2024 conference, including the Essay Contest and Art Contest.

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.

Students, apply for a Spring 2024 internship with SABR

The Society for American Baseball Research is seeking remote interns to work during the Spring 2024 semester. The internship is an educational opportunity that may count toward college credit, covering 15-20 hours per week with a flexible schedule. The internship will be for a fixed period of time and is designed to provide the intern with skills and training that may be applicable to working in a nonprofit research environment or in other research-based organizations.

Please send a resume and cover letter in PDF form to jpomrenke@sabr.org by 5:00 p.m. MST Friday, January 26, 2024.

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

Join us for Baltimore Babe Ruth Chapter event on Monday

SABR Day in Baltimore will convene on Monday, January 15 at 9:45 AM at the Peabody Heights Brewery, 401 E. 30th St. in Baltimore on the site of Oriole Park V. All baseball fans are welcome to attend. Visit the SABR Events Calendar for complete details.

Confirmed speakers are Charlie Vascellaro on working for Diamond Daze (a MLB publication that disappeared around the time of the 1994 players strike); Tom Delise and Jay Seaborg on their forthcoming book on Ned Hanlon; Ray Banks on Negro leagues baseball; Marty Payne on Eastern Shore baseball from 1866-1950; and former Orioles pitcher Tippy Martinez. There will also be a representative from the Babe Ruth Museum.

Cost is $45, which includes lunch and non-alcoholic drinks, and can be paid in cash or check at the door or via Venmo. Peabody Heights brews will be on tap for purchase. Also in the lineup are chapter elections, and the annual raffle of pre-loved baseball goodies.

Volunteer opportunities

SABR is seeking volunteers with professional experience in specific areas to help the organization with several upcoming projects:

Intellectual Property Law
Online Retail
Data Visualization
Nonprofit Annual Reports

Please contact CEO Scott Bush for more details.

Baseball fans, tune in to SABRcast with Rob Neyer, a weekly podcast hosted by award-winning author and longtime SABR member Rob Neyer. Episode #248 on Monday, January 8 featured an Authors Roundtable to discuss the process of book writing with special guests Steve Steinberg, Don Zminda, and Mitchell Nathanson. Visit SABR.org/sabrcast to listen to the full episode or subscribe to SABRcast on your favorite podcast networks.

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

3 new bios published at the SABR Biography Project

Walter Appleton, by Bill Lamb
Chet Nichols, by Stephen Katz
Dick Ruthven, by Dan Taylor

Visit SABR.org/bioproject to learn more about the SABR BioProject or to get involved.

8 new stories published at the SABR Games Project

April 13-15, 1892: Rickety barn in right field steals the show in Oakland, by Stephen V. Rice
September 5, 1927: Last-place Red Sox beat the Yankees, 12-11, in 18 innings, by Bill Nowlin
August 4, 1931: Rookie Vince Barton slams two homers to power Cubs over Reds, by Gary Belleville
May 26, 1964: Despite Jim King’s cycle, Senators score just two runs and Red Sox rally for walk-off win, by Mike Huber
May 24, 1971: Vermont Catamounts win final game, go extinct after 79 seasons, by Kurt Blumenau
September 10, 1991: Rookie Pete Schourek’s 1-hitter leads Mets past Expos, by Thomas J. Brown Jr.
June 11, 2004: Phillies defeat Twins in their first regular-season game at the Metrodome, by Steve Ginader
April 20, 2022: Shohei Ohtani makes history by batting twice before throwing a pitch as Angels blank Astros, by Laura H. Peebles

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

Nichibei Yakyu: US Tours of Japan, 1960-2019 (Volume 2)
Edited by Robert K. Fitts, Bill Nowlin, and James Forr

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
Seamus Blaney	Drexel Hill, PA	Greg Matthews	San Antonio, TX
Kevin Clinton	Brooklyn, NY	Shawn Mummert	Fort Thomas, KY
Hannah Dean	Ogden, UT	Thomas Paul	Minneapolis, MN
Claire DeMeo	South Bend, IN	Nate Redstone	Fort Collins, CO
John Doorn	Bolingbrook, IL	David Roberto	Bridgeport, PA
Trenton Hightower	Greenville, NC	Robert Rozelle	Augusta, GA
Terry Imano	Lompoc, CA	Ian Ruedinger	Oak Creek, WI
Alexander Kempton	Tallahassee, FL	Dave Rutledge	St Louis, MO
John Kevari	San Bernardino, CA	Jason Silverman	Pawleys Island, SC
Jacob Lapp	Houston, TX	Tyler Suarez	Magnolia, TX
Shang Yu Li	New York, NY	Ricardo Valencia	Glendora, CA
Colin Loria	New Haven, CT

Events Calendar: Find details of all upcoming SABR events
Video Replays: This week, we heard from Tom Gilbert (“Amateurism, True Crime, and Baseball”). Click here to view video replays of virtual SABR events

Upcoming Virtual Meetings

January 13: Hank Gowdy Columbus (OH) Chapter book club meeting with Alan Schwarz (9:30 a.m. EST)
January 13: Talkin’ Baseball: Jay Jaffe (10:00 a.m. EST)
January 15: Northern New England Chapter meeting with Gary Mintz (7:00 p.m. EST)
January 15: Halsey Hall (MN) Chapter research committee meeting (7:00 p.m. CST)
January 15: Larry Dierker (TX) Chapter meeting with Jay Verrill (7:00 p.m. CST)
January 16: Elysian Fields (NJ) Chapter meeting with Rabbi David Starr and Gabrielle Starr (7:00 p.m. EST)
January 16: Bud Metheny (VA) Chapter meeting (8:00 p.m. EST)
January 17: Roush-Lopez Gulf Coast Chapter meeting with Andy Freed (7:00 p.m. EST)
January 17: New SABR Member Experience meeting (8:00 p.m. EST)
January 18: Larry Doby (SC) Chapter meeting with Keith O’Brien (7:00 p.m. EST)
January 18: Bob Davids Chapter Board meeting (8:00 p.m. EST)

Upcoming In-Person Meetings

January 13: Halsey Hall Chapter Hot Stove Saturday Morning (Minneapolis, MN)
January 13: Maddux Bros.-Las Vegas Chapter meeting (Las Vegas, NV)
January 15: Baltimore Babe Ruth Chapter SABR Day meeting (Baltimore, MD)
January 16: Bob Davids Chapter Hot Stove Dinner (Silver Spring, MD)
January 17: Baltimore Babe Ruth Chapter meeting (Baltimore, MD)
January 17: Rocky Mountain Chapter monthly luncheon (Denver, CO)
January 18: Magnolia Chapter meeting (Sandy Springs, GA)
January 19: SW Florida Chapter meeting (Naples, FL)
January 20: Babe ‘n’ Bob Chapter Breakfast (Edgewater, MD)

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

Biographical Research: December 2023 newsletter
Games and Simulations: SABR members are invited to participate in one of our three weekly transaction Rotisserie 5×5 leagues. In addition, the committee is creating a daily transaction league as well. Rules and more information are available at sabrbaseballgaming.com.

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

Baltimore Babe Ruth Chapter: January 2024 newsletter (Baltimore, MD)
Ken Keltner Badger State Chapter: January 2024 newsletter (Milwaukee, WI)
Rogers Hornsby Chapter: January 2024 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:

Registration is now open for the 2024 NINE Spring Training Conference in Arizona
Mike Lynch: Why a Major League Player Disappeared from Our Count (Sports Reference)
Tyler Kepner: Explaining my Hall of Fame ballot — a celebration of greatness (The Athletic)
Jay Jaffe: Chewing on JAWS at 20 Years (FanGraphs)
J.J. Cooper: Which MLB Teams Are The Best And Worst At Drafting Pitchers? (Baseball America)
Travis Sawchik: The Comiskey effect: Can MLB revive what it lost in the retro building boom? (The Score)
Andrew Baggarly: Why Giants manager Bob Melvin will trust Matt Williams to keep players focused (The Athletic)
Grant Brisbee: How to be a normal angry Giants fan, and how to be an annoying angry Giants fan (The Athletic)
Alex Speier: Calculating the Red Sox’ 2024 payroll: Are they spending less than other teams? (Boston Globe)
Derrick Goold: How Paul Goldschmidt’s annual search to improve, fine-tune swing took him somewhere new (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
David Laurila: Tom Allison on Paul Goldschmidt, Mike Trout, and the 2009 Diamondbacks Draft (FanGraphs)
Rob Mains: You Were Worse Than WHOM? (Baseball Prospectus)
Mark Simon: 2023’s Leading Overachiever (ACTA Sports)
Ryan Fagan: Dodgers vs. Braves: Which MLB superteam is better? Early position-by-position breakdown (Sporting News)
Ben Clemens: Have Sonny Gray, Pablo López, and Brandon Pfaadt Cracked the Sweeper Code? (FanGraphs)
Russell A. Carleton: Pitching the Ninth at Doubleday Field (Baseball Prospectus)
Matt Monagan: This two-way player could’ve been an Olympian … in swimming (MLB.com)
Ryan Whirty: The story of Creole Pete (Negro Leagues Up Close)
John Racanelli: Art Wilson and Chasing Rainbows: How Do You Collect? (SABR Baseball Cards)
Andrew C. Sharp: A baseball card tribute to Jackie Price (SABR Baseball Cards)

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: January 12, 2024. Last Updated: January 12, 2024.

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