TWIS archives

This Week in SABR: July 2, 2021

This Week in SABR: July 2, 2021

Welcome to “This Week in SABR!” Click here to view this week’s newsletter on the web. Please note: The SABR office will be closed on Monday, July 5 in observance of the Independence Day holiday. Here’s what we’ve been up to as of July 2, 2021:


Vince Gennaro selected as 2021 Bob Davids Award winner

Vince GennaroVince Gennaro, former SABR Board President and co-founder of the SABR Analytics Conference, was announced as the winner of the Bob Davids Award during SABR’s Annual Business Meeting on Saturday, June 26, 2021.

The award — which is the Society’s highest honor — honors SABR members whose contributions to SABR and baseball reflect the ingenuity, integrity, and self-sacrifice of the founder and past president of SABR, L. Robert “Bob” Davids.

“I’m grateful to a lot of people; this is really quite a privilege,” Gennaro said. “What a gift SABR is — to have an opportunity to be in a community like this, when you’re passionate about baseball, to really indulge your passion and interest, it’s a real privilege to be associated with it.”

Gennaro served on SABR’s Board of Directors from 2009 to 2019, including four terms as Board President, where he co-founded (with former CEO Marc Appleman) the SABR Analytics Conference — which has become a must-attend event for baseball industry professionals — and helped establish SABR’s involvement in the Rawlings Gold Glove Award voting process.

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


Join us for the virtual SABR Jerry Malloy Negro League Conference on July 23-25

Summer of SABR: Golden Celebration SeriesAs part of SABR’s 50th anniversary in 2021, all baseball fans are invited to join us online for the Summer of SABR: Golden Celebration Series, presented by Major League Baseball and Baseball-Reference.com.

The Jerry Malloy Negro League Conference makes its virtual return as part of the Summer of SABR series on July 23-25, 2021. Since 1998, the Malloy Conference has been the only symposium dedicated exclusively to the examination and promotion of Black baseball history.

  • Registration: Click here to register for the Summer of SABR: Golden Celebration Series. Registration is $35 for SABR members and $50 for non-members. The single registration fee will provide access to the entirety of the Summer of SABR: Golden Celebration Series, including every session on June 25-27, July 23-25, and August 10, 13-14. That’s NINE incredible virtual sessions, including the full Jerry Malloy Negro League Conference, for just one registration price.
  • Contact: Please e-mail Chanel Zapata with any other questions about your registration.
  • Schedule: Stay tuned for more details on the panels and presentations to be delivered at the 2021 Jerry Malloy Negro League Conference.

Visit SABR.org/summer to register today or for more information.


Charlie Bennett selected as SABR’s Overlooked 19th Century Base Ball Legend of 2021

Charlie Bennett (NATIONAL BASEBALL HALL OF FAME LIBRARY)Charles Wesley “Charlie” Bennett has been selected as SABR’s Overlooked 19th Century Baseball Legend for 2021. The announcement was made on Tuesday, June 29 at the Nineteenth Century Committee’s annual business meeting, held virtually through Zoom.

This spring, a record-tying total of 341 SABR members submitted their votes for the 2021 Overlooked 19th Century Base Ball 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.

This December, the Hall of Fame’s Early Baseball Committee will meet and vote on eligible candidates for induction whose greatest contributions to the game were realized prior to 1950. This committee is not scheduled to vote again until 2030.

Previous Overlooked Legends were Pete Browning in 2009, Deacon White (2010), Harry Stovey (2011), Bill Dahlen (2012), Ross Barnes (2013), Doc Adams (2014), Tony Mullane (2015), Jack Glasscock (2016), Bob Caruthers (2017), William “Dummy” Hoy (2018), Jim Creighton (2019), and Bud Fowler last year. White became the first Overlooked Legend to be inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2013.

Bennett was one of the greatest catchers of the nineteenth century, starring for the Detroit Wolverines in the National League (and playing every season of the franchise’s existence). He was a powerful hitter who often ranked among the leaders in home runs and slugging percentage while finishing in the top 10 in bases on balls six times.

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


SABR Member Benefit Spotlight: Digital Library and E-Book Downloads

Member Benefit Spotlight: SABR Digital LibraryAs a SABR member, you have vast resources and benefits at your disposal. With so much information at your fingertips, we realize it can be difficult or overwhelming at times to absorb it all! To highlight key benefits, read on for this month’s SABR Member Benefit Spotlight, a new 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.

Today’s issue highlights the SABR Digital Library and the wide selection of electronic publications available free to members.

Click here to watch a short video with more on the SABR Digital Library. (Haga clic aquí para ver este video en español.)

— Chanel Zapata


Negro Leagues Grave Marker Project installs new headstone for St. Louis baseball pioneer Henry Bridgewater

Henry Bridgewater grave marker at St. Peter's Cemetery, Normandy, Missouri (COURTESY OF JEREMY KROCK)The Negro Leagues Baseball Grave Marker Project has completed the research, purchase, and installation of a grave marker for the unmarked grave of Henry Bridgewater at St. Peter’s Cemetery in Normandy, Missouri, in St. Louis County. This marker represents the second marker placed at this cemetery and the 45th marker placed by the NLBGMP since its formation in 2004.

St. Peter’s Cemetery is the final resting place for at least 11 Negro Leagues baseball players and team owners, including Hall of Famer James “Cool Papa” Bell. Five of these players are buried in unmarked graves at this time.

According to Dr. James Brunson’s extensive research on 19th-century Black baseball, Bridgewater was most likely born into slavery in St. Louis in 1844. He eventually became one of the most influential and wealthiest African American businessmen in the city. In the 1880s, his baseball team — the St. Louis Black Stockings — became the dominant Black baseball team in the region, with local White professional teams refusing to play them.

Brunson writes: “Celebrated nationally as colored champions in 1882, Bridgewater’s Black Stockings reinvigorated colored baseball and the black sporting crowd of St. Louis.” During his ownership, according to Brunson, the Black Stockings made four professional tours, competing against amateur, semiprofessional, and professional clubs. Unfortunately, Bridgewater’s goal of forming a national Black baseball league never materialized. After baseball, his interests shifted to social activism. He died in St. Louis in 1904.

To learn more about the project, visit NLBGMP.com. To make a donation and support future research, click here and earmark your donation for the “Negro Leagues Grave Marker Project.”

— Jeremy Krock


Find all 50 years of Baseball Research Journals and The National Pastimes online now at SABR.org

Baseball Research Journal and The National Pastime coversIn the SABR Research Collection, you can now find every issue of the Baseball Research Journal and The National Pastime from SABR’s first 50 years online!

Most issues of SABR’s flagship publications are available to read online, with thousands of articles already searchable at SABR.org, while the rest are available as PDF downloads.

Established in 1972, the Baseball Research Journal was created so members could publish and share their research with like-minded students of baseball. Today, the BRJ provides a unique mix of cutting-edge baseball research and historical and biographical articles.

The National Pastime was launched in 1982 and published annually; since 2009 it has served as SABR’s convention-focused publication, providing in-depth articles focused on the geographic region where the Annual Convention is taking place.

More articles from the SABR archives will be added online to the Research Collection in the coming months. Click here to learn more about the BRJ and TNP in our Member Benefit Spotlight video.


Students, apply now for a Yoseloff Scholarship to attend the 2021 SABR/IWBC Women in Baseball Conference

SABR/IWBC Women in Baseball Conference logoWith generous funding from The Anthony A. Yoseloff Foundation, Inc., SABR will award up to four scholarships to high school and college students who wish to attend the SABR/IWBC Women in Baseball Conference on September 10-12, 2021, in Rockford, Illinois. This scholarship will pay for registration, transportation, and lodging (double occupancy) up to a total value of $1,250.

Click here to learn more or to download the application form.

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. Some form of age verification (photocopy of driver’s license, passport, etc.) must be attached to your application.

All applications must be postmarked or e-mailed to Leslie Heaphy at lheaphy@kent.edu no later than August 2, 2021, or be sent by mail to: SABR, Cronkite School at ASU, 555 N. Central Ave. #416, Phoenix, AZ 85004.

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


Friends of SABR: June 2021

Here is a list of SABR supporters for the month of June 2021:

NAME   NAME
Mark Armour   Joseph Luchok
Stephen Barnes   Peter Mancuso
Chris Betsch   Mark Manuel
David Bohmer   Stephen Milman
Mark Bonino   Kevin Mysliwiec
Maurice Bouchard   Roderic Nelson
D. Bruce Brown   Andrew North
John Burbridge III   Bill Nowlin
Scott Bush   Gregg Pericich
Ken Carrano   Byron Petraroja
Scott Carter   Mel Poplock
John Carter   William Ragen
Dale Christenson   John Rall
Jim Cox   Carl Rhoads
Ron Elliott   Michael Rosenwasser
Steven Elsberry   Charles Roussel
David Firstman   Bob Russon
Adam Foldes   Jason Scheller
Ralph Foss   Douglas Schoppert
John Fredland   John Seaburg
Robert Garratt   Jeffrey Self
Megan Garvey   Blake Sherry
Duke Goldman   Mark Stangl
Stephen Greyser   Thomas Stone
Mary Griswold   Christian Stopp
Leslie Heaphy   Wesley Story
Tim Herlich   Joseph Thompson
John Paul Hill   John Thorn
Rockwell Hoffman   Neal Traven
David Hughes   Robert Wakefield
Donald Jensen   Steve West
Charles Kupfer   J. R. Wildridge
Charles Levihn   Beach Wires
Daniel Levitt   Jeffrey Wood
Henry Levy   Don Zminda

Want to become a Friend of SABR? Click here to make a recurring monthly contribution or click here to learn more about our Giving Circles to make a one-time contribution.


Join us for more Stay Home With SABR virtual events

Pacific Northwest Chapter: Triple Play book event with Steve Steinberg, Lawrence Baldassaro, Don ZmindaSABR chapters and committees are encouraged to set up virtual meetings to stay engaged with our members throughout the world at SABR.org, as part of our Stay Home With SABR initiative to assist in limiting the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.

Here are some more upcoming virtual events you can attend online; check the Events Calendar for complete details:

  • July 3: Talkin’ Baseball: Tim Wendel (9:00 a.m. EDT)
  • July 6: Pacific Northwest Chapter meeting with Steve Steinberg, Lawrence Baldassaro, Don Zminda, and Mark Armour (6:00 p.m. PDT)
  • July 7: Baltimore Babe Ruth Chapter meeting with Tony Oliver (7:00 p.m. EDT)
  • July 8: Bill Hickman: “History of Baseball in Rockville, Maryland” (7:00 p.m. EDT)
  • July 8: Ken Keltner (WI) Chapter meeting with Tom Kelenic (7:00 p.m. CDT)
  • July 10: SABR Baseball Memories meeting (4:00 p.m. EDT)

In addition, the following events will be held in person:

  • July 7: East Tennessee Chapter ballgame/meet-up (Greeneville, TN)
  • July 10: Smoky Joe Wood (CT) Chapter luncheon (Vernon, CT)

Find more upcoming SABR meetings on our Events Calendar page.


New writing opportunities for SABR members

Roberto Clemente (NATIONAL BASEBALL HALL OF FAME LIBRARY)Two new book projects were recently approved by SABR’s Editorial Board and both provide opportunities for research and writing. If you have never contributed to a SABR project before, please consider joining our team!

  • Roberto Clemente
  • 1934 Philadelphia Stars

The Roberto Clemente book will be the third in a series of books featuring baseball personalities, following on the heels of The Babe (2020) and Jackie: Perspectives on 42 (2021). The book will have the same format, so we are looking for thematic essays and articles on Clemente’s life and legacy, and a willingness to write up key games from Clemente’s career.

Please suggest ideas or inquire about the possibilities from: Bill Nowlin or Glen Sparks.

The 1934 Philadelphia Stars book will be our sixth in a series of books on great Negro Leagues teams. Previous books have featured the 1948 Birmingham Black Barons and Homestead Grays, the 1946 Newark Eagles, and the 1935 Pittsburgh Crawfords. Upcoming books in the series also include the 1942 Kansas City Monarchs and the 1920 Chicago American Giants, which will be published soon.

Please check in with editors Rick Bush or Bill Nowlin if you would like to contribute or get involved.


SABRcast with Rob Neyer: Listen to an interview with Emma Baccellieri of Sports Illustrated

SABRcast #117: Emma BaccellieriBaseball 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 #117 on Monday, June 28 featured Emma Baccellieri, an award-winning staff writer at Sports Illustrated since 2018. Her work often weaves together elements of baseball’s past and present, such as her recent work on the Year of the Pitcher, the “baseball is dying” trope, and the origin of the save rule. She has also written profiles on a variety of other sports, including college basketball, soccer, chess, and the Scripps National Spelling Bee. Previously, she wrote for Deadspin — where she won a SABR Analytics Conference Research Award for her 2017 story on MLB Statcast — and Baseball Prospectus. She grew up in Charlotte, North Carolina, and graduated from Duke University with a history degree.

Visit SABR.org/sabrcast to listen to the full episode.

Subscribe to SABRcast on your favorite podcast networks, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Stitcher, and listen to each episode as soon as it’s released on Mondays. To learn more, visit SABR.org/sabrcast.


SABR Century: Chicago American Giants clash with cross-town rivals in Negro National League play 100 years ago

Cristóbal Torriente (TRADING CARD DB)On June 19 and 20, 1921, the Chicago American Giants and Chicago Giants played a two-game Negro National League series at Chicago’s Schorling Park. The teams’ names were similar, but their fortunes diverged. Rube Foster’s Chicago American Giants were headed for their second NNL pennant in as many years, while the Chicago Giants, a traveling team without a dedicated home field, were bound for last place again.

While Foster’s team, as expected, won both games, they were close calls: 21-year-old Giants slugger John Beckwith narrowly missed a game-breaking hit in the opener when two deep drives landed foul, and it took a 10th-inning error for the American Giants to win the second game. The crowds at Schorling Park saw some of the greats of Black baseball, including Cristòbal Torriente and Bingo DeMoss of the American Giants, and Beckwith and Walter Ball of the Giants.

The SABR Baseball Games Project, in support of SABR’s Century Committee’s celebration of the centennial of the 1921 baseball season, commemorates the 100th anniversary of the American Giants-Giants clash with these two new articles by SABR member Frederick C. Bush.

Follow the Games Project and Century Committee throughout 2021 for coverage of the 1921 season. The Games Project has recently published 17 articles on historically significant games from June 1921 involving American League, National League, and Negro National League teams.

Highlights of June 1921 include Babe Ruth’s slugging and pitching, as well as his legal troubles; star power from Rogers Hornsby and Oscar Charleston; home run headlines in Cincinnati, Chicago, and Philadelphia; a blunder by player-manager Ty Cobb that cost his teammate a home run; Negro National League mound gems by Bill Gatewood of the Detroit Stars and Dicta Johnson of the Indianapolis ABCs; and a National League pitching matchup between Pawnee member Moses Yellow Horse and Cuba native Dolf Luque.

— John Fredland


14 new stories published at the SABR Games Project

Bo Jackson (TRADING CARD DB)Fourteen new game stories were posted this week as part of the SABR Games Project. Here are the new game stories:

New Games Project stories can be found at SABR.org/gamesproject.

  • Get involved: Have memories of a game you attended? Or a game you watched that caught your interest? Write about it! Writing for the Games Project is an easy way to get involved as a SABR member. Find out how by reading the Games Project FAQs section or checking out the Authors’ Guidelines. We have editors and fact checkers who are willing to help you write your first article.
  • Social media: Follow the SABR Games Project on Twitter or Facebook to keep up with new stories and updates.

Listen to a new episode of Behind the Numbers: Baseball SABR Style on SiriusXM on Saturdays

Baseball SABR Style on SiriusXM with Vince GennaroBehind the Numbers: Baseball SABR Style on SiriusXM, a radio show hosted by former SABR Board President Vince Gennaro, is back at a new time for the regular season. Listen to new episodes at 8:00-9:00 p.m. ET on Saturdays on MLB Network Radio.

You can also listen to archives of recent episodes on-demand on the SiriusXM Internet Radio app.

Behind the Numbers: Baseball SABR Style on SiriusXM focuses on examining and interpreting the statistical analysis that plays a critical role in baseball today. It airs weekly throughout the year on MLB Network Radio, available to subscribers nationwide on XM channel 89, Sirius channel 209, and on the SiriusXM Internet Radio App.


ICYMI: Highlights from last week’s 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: SABR.org/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 Membership 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.

You can find contact information for any SABR member in the online Membership Directory.

Name Hometown     Name Hometown
Al Bastin Topton, PA     Justin Nowell Somerville, MA
James Brazil Houston, TX     Andres Perez Charlotte, NC
Mike Cooke Vancouver, WA     Joseph Russo Millville, NJ
Richard Dennis Phoenix, AZ     Richard Stewart Houston, TX
Scott Duff Springfield, MO     Michael Summerhill Chicago, IL
Billy Higgins Fort Smith, AR     Matt Van Hoose Springfield, VA
Tom Joyce Roeland Park, KS        

Research Committee news

Here are the new research committee updates this week:

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


Regional Chapter news

Here are the new regional chapter and chartered community updates this week:

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


Around the Web

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

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.

Have trouble reading this e-mail? Click here to view this week’s newsletter on the web.

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 (and not the spam folder.)

 

Follow us: Follow SABR on Twitter Like SABR on Facebook Find SABR on YouTube

 

Contact us: Email SABR Call SABR Contact SABR

 

More info: Members Only page This Week in SABR archives Edit Your Profile

 



Originally published: July 2, 2021. Last Updated: July 16, 2021.