This Week in SABR: January 6, 2023
Welcome to “This Week in SABR” on Friday, January 6, 2023.
Click here to view this newsletter on the web.
2 weeks left to apply for a 2023 Local Grant
Bob Davids archives donated to Library of Congress
Early registration open for 2023 SABR Analytics Conference in Phoenix
Registration now open for 2023 Ivor-Campbell 19th Century Conference
Seeking volunteers to help organize Rucker Archive photos
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2 weeks left to apply for a SABR Local Grant in 2023
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 2023 SABR Local Grant at SABR.org/local-grants.
Submissions will be accepted until January 16, 2023. All SABR chapters, chartered communities, and research committees are eligible to apply.
Click here to read the full announcement at SABR.org.
SABR donates archives of founder Bob Davids to Library of Congress
SABR is pleased to announce the donation of the L. Robert “Bob” Davids Papers to the Library of Congress. More than 25,000 items from the estate of SABR’s original founder, including documents from the organization’s founding and early operations, are in the collection.
The collection, which spans the years from 1958 until Davids’ death in 2002, was organized and delivered to the Library of Congress by leaders from SABR’s Bob Davids Chapter in Washington, DC, and the Baltimore Babe Ruth Chapter. It includes correspondence, meeting minutes, interviews, self-published manuscripts, baseball manuals, reports, agendas, programs, newsletters, printed matter, photographs, and other papers. The Library of Congress Manuscript Division anticipates that the collection will be cataloged in approximately 18 to 24 months, and later will be available to future researchers.
Click here to read the full announcement at SABR.org.
Early registration open for 2023 SABR Analytics Conference in Phoenix
Early registration is now open for the SABR Analytics Conference, which will be held in person from March 10-12, 2023, at the Beus Center for Law and Society on Arizona State University’s Downtown Phoenix Campus in Phoenix, Arizona. We’ll bring together the top minds in the baseball analytics community to discuss, debate, and share insightful ways to analyze and examine the great game of baseball.
Students will have two registration options, virtual or in-person, with both including access to the General Session on Friday, March 10 through Sunday, March 12, and a student-only virtual session on Thursday, March 9. All student registrations also include a complimentary one-year SABR membership ($25 value) and a complimentary Rapsodo certification course ($395 value).
Register now for the 2023 SABR Ivor-Campbell 19th Century Conference
Registration is now open for the 14th annual SABR Frederick Ivor-Campbell 19th Century Base Ball Conference, which will be held on April 28-29, 2023, at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. All baseball fans are welcome to register for this special event.
The 2023 conference will be highlighted by a keynote address from author Jonathan Popovich, along with a panel discussion on baseball’s 19th-century color line with Richard Hershberger, Peter Mancuso, Brian Sheehy, and moderator Bill Ryczek; a 19th-century artifact session with Robert Mayer, Gary Passamonte, and Popovich; a Member Spotlight interview of Robert Mayer by Bob Bailey; plus research presentations and a Sunday morning vintage baseball game at Doubleday Field.
Visit SABR.org/ivor-campbell19c to learn more or to register.
Seeking volunteers to help organize Rucker Archive photos
SABR recently acquired The Rucker Archive, one of the world’s most extensive private collections of historical baseball photographs, spanning more than a century of baseball history.
We are now looking for volunteers to help us review and tag the photos with metadata (e.g., date, team, location) that will improve search capabilities of the archive for SABR members and the public. Our initial push will focus on ten Hall of Famers, with a goal of completion by Opening Day. If you would like to be among the first group of researchers to work with these incredible baseball images, SABR Chicago member and Rucker Archive project co-lead Jason Schwartz has created a signup sheet.
Click here to read the full announcement at SABR.org.
Bill Lamb honored with 2023 SABR Russell Gabay Award
Author Bill Lamb is the 2023 recipient of the SABR Russell Gabay Award, which honors entities or persons who have demonstrated an ongoing commitment to baseball in New Jersey.
“Bill is one of the most productive contributors to the SABR website with articles about New Jersey baseball topics,” said David Krell, chair of SABR’s Elysian Fields Chapter in New Jersey.
Lamb’s research on New Jersey baseball includes articles on the Newark Peppers of the Federal League, Harrison Park in Harrison, Sprague Field in Bloomfield, and Wiedenmayer’s Park in Newark.
Click here to read the full announcement at SABR.org.
Students, apply for a Spring 2023 internship with SABR
The Society for American Baseball Research is seeking remote interns to work during the Spring 2023 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 27, 2023.
Click here to read the full announcement at SABR.org.
Bring It Home 2022: Thanks for your support!
Thank you so much for your support of SABR during our annual Bring it Home campaign. Thanks to all of our donors, we were able to exceed our $125,000 fundraising goal for this campaign in 2022!
These important contributions will help SABR maintain core mission programming, develop new initiatives, and ensure affordable membership access as we continue to grow towards our vision of becoming the essential community for the world of baseball.
We’d like to thank all SABR members for your support of the organization, and most especially those who participated in 2022’s Bring it Home campaign.
Click here to view the full list at SABR.org.
Join us for Rogers Hornsby Chapter annual winter meeting on Saturday
SABR’s Rogers Hornsby Chapter in Central Texas will hold its 17th annual Bill Gilbert Winter Meeting from 9:30 a.m.-4:00 p.m. CST on Saturday, January 7, 2023, at Old Main on the campus of Texas State University in San Marcos. Our guest speakers are expected to include Round Rock Express general manager Tim Jackson and broadcaster and chapter member Mike Capps, athletic trainer Rocky Galindo, along with presentations from Nancy Finley, David Vaught, Mike Bryan, Jerry Miller, and Bailey Hall.
Two of our afternoon presentations (Tim Jackson at 2:00 p.m. CST and David Vaught at 3:15 p.m.) will be conducted via Zoom, and all SABR members are invited to join us for those two presentations. The rest of the meeting will not be available via Zoom. For those who plan to join us via Zoom, use this link to register.
Click here for lunch details, directions to Old Main, and parking on campus.
Baseball fans, tune in this season to SABRcast with Rob Neyer, a weekly podcast hosted by award-winning author and longtime SABR member Rob Neyer. Episode #195 on Monday, January 2 featured Graig Kreindler, a renowned sports artist best known for his oil paintings depicting vintage, historical baseball scenes. His series of 200 Negro Leagues portraits is featured in a new book, Black Baseball in Living Color: The Artwork of Graig Kreindler, by Jay Caldwell. 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 biographies published at SABR BioProject
- Clyde Barfoot, by Darren Gibson
- Norm Charlton, by Tip Wonhoff
- Ernest Gooden, by Vincent T. Ciaramella
Visit SABR.org/bioproject to learn more about the SABR BioProject or to get involved.
8 new stories published at the SABR Games Project
- October 4, 1908: Mordecai Brown prevents Pirates from clinching pennant, helps Cubs regain first place, by Gary Belleville
- June 29, 1972: Bill Freehan’s grand slam caps Tigers’ 8-run rally against Red Sox, by Christopher D. Chavis
- May 15, 1974: First-place Expos squeak out win in ninth, by Kurt Blumenau
- April 21, 1999: Joe Nathan’s Famous: Converted shortstop brings the mustard in impressive Giants debut, by Larry DeFillipo
- May 8, 2004: Pokey Reese hits inside-the-park home run for Red Sox, by Bill Nowlin
- August 23, 2005: ‘Homerdome’ in Minnesota hosts a pitching duel for the ages, by Sarah Johnson
- April 8, 2018: Shohei Ohtani’s home pitching debut is almost perfect, by Laura H. Peebles
- July 31, 2022: USA Baseball Women’s National Team clinches 2022 Friendship Series with win over Canada, by Mary Shea (first-time author)
Visit SABR.org/gamesproject to learn more about the SABR Games Project or to get involved.
Find all stories from Metropolitan Stadium book online
New stories from SABR’s Metropolitan Stadium: Memorable Games at Minnesota’s Diamond on the Prairie were posted online this week:
- October 2, 1974: Fergie Jenkins foils Hughes’s no-hit bid as Rangers take season finale from Twins, by Frederick C. Bush
- July 27, 1978: Mike Cubbage hits for the cycle; Stan Perzanowski records his only complete-game win, by Daniel R. Levitt
- September 5, 1978: Disco Dan’s blunder hands Steve Trout his first major-league win, by Paul Hofmann
- April 17, 1979: Rod Carew returns to Minnesota as a visiting Angel, by Robert Tholkes
- September 30, 1979: Jerry Koosman reaches 20-win plateau for second time, by Brian Wright
- July 5, 1980: Twins’ Geoff Zahn grounds Rangers into submission, by Robert Tholkes
- May 12, 1981: Clutch homers by Hatcher and Smalley lead Twins to win over Red Sox, by Brian Frank
- August 10, 1981: Twins down A’s to take second-half ‘reopener’, by Peter Seidel
- August 15, 1981: Twins overshadowed by the past, by Robert Tholkes
- September 30, 1981: Twins close Metropolitan Stadium with a loss, by Joe O’Connell
Visit SABR.org/gamesproject to learn more about the SABR Games Project or to get involved.
Nichibei Yakyu: US Tours of Japan, 1907-1958 (Vol. 1)
Edited by Robert K. Fitts, Bill Nowlin, and James Forr
Visit SABR.org/ebooks to download any SABR Digital Library e-book for free or save 50% off the paperback edition.
Here are some SABR headlines from recent weeks that we don’t want you to miss:
- Jose Trevino, Nolan Arenado win 2022 Rawlings Platinum Glove Awards, presented by SABR
- Fred McGriff elected to Baseball Hall of Fame by Contemporary Era Committee
- In Memoriam: Gaylord Perry
- SABR Southern New England 19th Century Baseball Interdisciplinary Symposium highlights and photos
- Cliff Kachline Chapter unveils historical baseball exhibit in Gloversville, New York
- John Dewan Defensive Analytics Award to be honored beginning in 2023
- SABR Digital Library: From Shibe Park to Connie Mack Stadium
- Watch highlights from the 2022 SABR/IWBC Virtual Women in Baseball Conference
- Check out highlights, stories, and photos from SABR 50 in Baltimore
- Watch a preview of the Landmarks Committee’s new SABR Baseball Map
- Save the date! SABR 51 will be in Chicago in 2023
- Get a gift for baseball fan in your life with the SABR Store @ CafePress
- All e-books in SABR Digital Library available for free to members
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 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Juliette Barasch | Philadelphia, PA | Johnny Kao | Jericho, NY | ||
| Scott Beekman | Athens, OH | Kent Knutson | Littleton, CO | ||
| Daniel Bergman | St. Louis, MO | Kris Kueker | Wildwood, MO | ||
| Russell Berry | Gurnee, IL | Robert Lane | Delta, CA | ||
| Timothy Beyrer | Rockville Centre, NY | Ben Laytin | Chicago, IL | ||
| Peter Bogert | Center Valley, PA | Hugh Lockwood | Karori, NZL | ||
| Jacek Bonneville | Cottondale, AL | Eric Luckwald | Porter Ranch, CA | ||
| Nicholas Burns | Spokane, WA | Jeffrey Martin | Lacey, WA | ||
| Nick Carter | Chestertown, MD | Tony Melodia | Greensburg, PA | ||
| Nayan Chawla | San Carlos, CA | Sean Murphy | Ottawa, ON | ||
| Barbara Chmiel | South Bend, IN | Thomas Nygren | Upper Arlington, OH | ||
| Nick Clarke | Houston, TX | Brian Oatman | Woodland, CA | ||
| Mason Colborn | Bellingham, WA | Andrew Orcutt | Centennial, CO | ||
| Jared Consiglio | St. Petersburg, FL | Anjali Palondikar | Lakemoor, IL | ||
| Reilly Cotter | New York, NY | Jean Patrick | Mitchell, SD | ||
| James Davenport | Macomb, MI | Howell Posner | Braddock Heights, MD | ||
| Oscar De Soto | Arlington, VA | Cody Priest | Longmont, CO | ||
| Neal De Vos | Salinas, CA | Kelley Rybak | Rock Hill, SC | ||
| Matthew DeCapua | Worcester, MA | Peter Scheibner | Stony Point, NY | ||
| Kurt Desoto | Fairfax, VA | Jake Schmidt | Wauwatosa, WI | ||
| Melvin Epstein | Brooklyn, NY | Gerard Schoenacher | Brooklyn, NY | ||
| Jonathan Farrell | Pawling, NY | Ezra Stollman | Merion Station, PA | ||
| Russ Golden | Chatham, MA | Scott Warmka | Burnsville, MN | ||
| Matt Gurule | Petaluma, CA | Simon Watkins | Sparks, NV | ||
| Amanda Haworth | Spokane, WA | Ed Wikoff | Jenkintown, PA | ||
| Richard Heinick | Mechanicsburg, PA | Kristen Woerdeman | Los Angeles, CA | ||
| Will Joseph | New Orleans, LA | Mark Woods | Wexford, PA | ||
| Kei Kanazawa | Tokyo, JPN |
- Events Calendar: Find complete details of all SABR events
- Video Replays: This week, we heard from Tony Adams (“Sign Stealing Scandal”), David Vaught (Spitter: Baseball’s Notorious Gaylord Perry), and Michael Ortman (Opening Day 50-for-50).Click here to view more video replays of virtual SABR events.
Upcoming Virtual Meetings
- January 7: Talkin’ Baseball: Jay Jaffe (9:00 a.m. EST)
- January 9: Bob Broeg St. Louis (MO) Chapter meeting with Tyler Kepner (6:00 p.m. CST)
- January 9: Northern New England (NH/ME) Chapter meeting with Eric Poulin (7:00 p.m. EST)
- January 10: 19th Century Monthly Speaker Series: Jonathan Popovich (8:00 p.m. EST)
- January 11: Northern New England (NH/ME) Chapter meeting (7:00 p.m. EST)
- January 11: Ken Keltner Badger State (WI) Chapter meeting with Adam McCalvy (7:00 p.m. CST)
- January 14: Hank Gowdy Columbus (OH) Chapter book club meeting with Curt Smith (9:30 a.m. EST)
- January 14: Sweet Lou Johnson Lexington (KY) Chapter meeting with Dan Taylor (1:00 p.m. EST)
- January 16: Larry Dierker (TX) Chapter meeting with Alyson Footer (7:00 p.m. CST)
- January 17: Games and Simulations Committee meeting with Clay Dreslough (8:00 p.m. EST)
Upcoming In-Person Meetings
- January 7: Rogers Hornsby Chapter Winter Meeting (San Marcos, TX)
- January 7: Maddux Bros.-Las Vegas Chapter meeting (Las Vegas, NV)
- January 14: Halsey Hall Chapter Hot Stove Saturday Morning (Minneapolis, MN)
- January 14: Roush-Lopez Gulf Coast Chapter meet-up (St. Petersburg, FL)
To add your SABR event to our calendar listings, please contact Peter Cottrell.
- Nineteenth Century: Winter 2023 newsletter
Sign up for SABR research committee announcements at SABR.org/research/committees.
- Halsey Hall Chapter: January 2023 newsletter (Minneapolis, MN)
- Juan Marichal Chapter: December 27 meeting recap (Santo Domingo, DOM)
- Ken Keltner Badger State Chapter: January 2023 newsletter (Milwaukee, WI)
- Larry Dierker Chapter: December 19 meeting recap (Houston, TX)
- Northern New England Chapter: January 2023 newsletter (Concord, NH)
- Rickwood Field Chapter: December 2022 newsletter (Birmingham, AL)
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:
- Elizabeth Muratore: Wreath-laying ceremony caps year of Roberto Clemente tributes (MLB.com)
- Richard Peterson: Clemente’s search for January (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
- Andy Terrick: Personal Connections to a Hero Named Roberto Clemente (Heinz History Center)
- Ben Lindbergh: Five Reasons MLB Free Agents Are Signing Longer Deals Than Ever (The Ringer)
- Tyler Kepner: With Their Eyes on the Future, the Red Sox Pick Their Man (New York Times)
- Rob Mains: It Doesn’t Matter How Much They Pay Him (Baseball Prospectus)
- Russell A. Carleton: What We Win, When We Win (Baseball Prospectus)
- Derrick Goold: Outfield production from the Cardinals is a curiosity (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
- Emily Davies: Fans find nostalgia in the wreckage of RFK Stadium (Washington Post)
- Jay Jaffe: JAWS and the 2023 Hall of Fame Ballot: R.A. Dickey (FanGraphs)
- Sarah Langs: Andruw Jones’ Cooperstown candidacy (MLB.com)
- Jayson Stark: The Year in Strange But True: MLB’s weirdest injuries, wildest postseason moments and facts (The Athletic)
- Emma Baccellieri: This Year in Home Run Reactions: A Study in the Human Condition (Sports Illustrated)
- Eno Sarris: From the hardest fastballs to the nastiest sliders, finding the best pitches of 2022 (The Athletic)
- Mark Simon: 2022 MLB Year-End Awards (ACTA Sports)
- Calum Marsh: Jon Bois Turns Sports Statistics Into Riveting Cinema (New York Times)
- Joe Posnanski: Baseball’s Most Underrated Players Ever (Substack)
- Adam Reinherz: The gift of a winter coat results in Hall of Fame friendship (Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle)
- David Laurila: Brewers Prospect Tyler Black Wants to Bash, Not Broadcast (FanGraphs)
- Michael Baumann: Eric Hosmer Finds His Change of Scenery. And What Lovely Scenery It Is. (FanGraphs)
- Kevin Armstrong: Bringing the ghosts of Negro League baseball greats back to life (New Jersey Advance Media)
- CBC: Golden Opportunities for Black Ballplayers in Canada (CBC Saskatchewan)
- Joe Holleman: Black Bronchos: St. Louis women took the field in segregated times (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
- Baseball Roundtable: Q&A with MLB Official Scorer Sarah Johnson (Baseball Roundtable)
- Matt Monagan: In 1968, Jose Feliciano’s national anthem performance overshadowed the World Series (MLB.com)
- Tom Shieber: The Forgotten History of Numbering Players (BaseballHall.org)
- Bill Francis: Asian Games (BaseballHall.org)
- Charlie Bevis: Before Night Baseball: Lighted Events at MLB Ballparks (Bevis Baseball Research)
- Ted Mebust: Dodgers Aficionado, Museum Curator Publishes New Works (All Otsego)
- Ryan Whirty: Bill Greason’s teammate gets dinged by a bullet in Cuba (Home Plate Don’t Move)
- Russell Streur: Origins of Baseball (SABR Baseball Cards)
- Jason Schwartz: Overanalyzing 1935 Goudey (SABR Baseball Cards)
- Peter Bogert: Challenge the Yankees (SABR Baseball Gaming)
- Tom Nahigian: Superstar Baseball – Sports Illustrated Baseball (SABR Baseball Gaming)
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: January 6, 2023. Last Updated: January 10, 2023.