This Week in SABR: June 1, 2018

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Welcome to “This Week in SABR!” Click here to view this week’s newsletter on the web. Here’s what we’ve been up to as of June 1, 2018:

SABR 48: Register to join us this month at 2018 convention in Pittsburgh

The most passionate and knowledgeable baseball fans in the world are coming to the Steel City this month!

Register today for SABR 48 to join us on June 20-24, 2018, at the Wyndham Grand hotel in downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

All baseball fans are welcome to attend; full conference registration and single-day registration is now available at SABR.org/convention or on-site at the Wyndham Grand during SABR 48.

SABR 48 will be highlighted by these innovative and interesting panel discussions, which will all be held at the Wyndham Grand hotel:

  • Opening Remarks: Frank Coonelly: Pittsburgh Pirates president Frank Coonelly will be on hand to deliver the opening remarks at SABR 48. 9:30 a.m., Thursday, June 21
  • The Great One: The Life and Legacy of Roberto Clemente: Panelists include Duane Rieder, Executive Director and Curator of the Roberto Clemente Museum; and Danny Torres, LatinoSports.com and LaVidaBaseball.com writer. Moderator: Adrian Burgos Jr., Editor-in-Chief of La Vida Baseball and author of Playing America’s Game: Baseball, Latinos, and the Color Line. 10:30 a.m., Thursday, June 21
  • Wendell Smith of the Pittsburgh Courier: His Life and Legacy: Panelists include Chris Lamb, professor of journalism at Indiana University-Indianapolis and author of Conspiracy of Silence: Sportswriters and the Campaign to End Segregated Baseball; Larry Lester, chair of SABR’s Negro Leagues Research Committee and author of nine books on baseball history; Pamela E. Walck, media professor at Duquesne University and author of an upcoming book on the Pittsburgh Courier; and David K. Wiggins, professor at George Mason University and author of the upcoming book, More than a Game: A History of the African American Experience in Sport. 3:00 p.m., Thursday, June 21
  • Media Panel: Panelists include Steve Blass, Pittsburgh Pirates color commentator and former major-league pitcher; Joe Block, Pittsburgh Pirates play-by-play announcer; Greg Brown, Pittsburgh Pirates play-by-play announcer; Lanny Frattare, the longest-tenured broadcaster in Pittsburgh Pirates history. Moderator: Curt Smith, author and baseball broadcasting historian. 9:00 a.m., Friday, June 22
  • Pirates Player Panel: Panelists include former Pirates pitchers and 1979 World Series champions John Candelaria and Grant Jackson. Moderator: Joe Block, Pirates broadcaster. 9:15 a.m., Saturday, June 23
  • Branch Rickey: The Pittsburgh Pirates Years: Panelists include Dick Groat, 1960 NL MVP and World Series champion with the Pirates; Jeffrey Flannery, who oversees the “Branch Rickey Papers” at the Library of Congress; Jack Bowen, son of legendary Pirates scout Rex Bowen. Moderator: Lee Lowenfish, author of Branch Rickey: The Ferocious Gentleman. 1:00 p.m., Saturday, June 23

We’ll also have some special guest speakers at our research committee meetings, including:

  • Dick Bosman, former major-league pitcher and co-author of Dick Bosman on Pitching: Lessons from the Life of a Major League Ballplayer and Pitching Coach
  • Bob Webb and Evan Pattak, Pittsburgh Pirates official scorers
  • Tom Shieber, Senior Curator at the National Baseball Hall of Fame Library and a 2018 Henry Chadwick Award recipient
  • Herm Krabbenhoft, Deadball Era researcher
  • Jim Leeke, author of From the Dugouts to the Trenches: Baseball During the Great War, 2018 Larry Ritter Book Award winner
  • Clem Axel Paredes, Cuban writer and tour operator on Hall of Famer Cristóbal Torriente
  • Anne Keene, author of The Cloudbuster Nine: The Untold Story of Ted Williams and the Baseball Team That Helped Win World War II
  • Perry Barber, winner of the 2018 Dorothy Seymour Mills Lifetime Achievement Award for women in baseball

For the third year in a row, SABR convention attendees will also have a special opportunity to spend “A Day at the Ballpark” on Friday, June 22 at PNC Park, where we will be joined by Pittsburgh Pirates Executive VP/General Manager Neal Huntington, play-by-play broadcaster Joe Block, Director of Baseball Informatics Dan Fox; Thomas E. Kennedy, former project executive for the Sports & Exhibition Authority of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County, and more. The SABR 48 ballpark session will take place from 2:30-4:30 p.m. before the Pirates vs. Arizona Diamondbacks game.

There also will be 32 groundbreaking presentations of baseball research — including studies of all aspects of baseball past and present, from Honus Wagner and Forbes Field to the Negro Leagues’ Homestead Grays and Pittsburgh Crawfords to modern pace-of-play concerns, MLB Statcast, and much more.

As always, there’s the highly competitive and entertaining SABR Trivia Contest finals on Saturday night, not to mention informed and opinionated baseball talk all week long with new and old friends that you’ll meet during the convention.

Click on a link below for more information about SABR 48.

All SABR 48 attendees will also receive a souvenir print edition of The National Pastime, our annual convention journal, focusing on baseball teams, players and events in the Pittsburgh area. All SABR members, whether you attend the convention or not, will receive the e-book edition of The National Pastime in their inboxes next month.

We hope to see you in Pittsburgh!

Single-day registration now available for SABR 48 convention

Single-day registration for SABR 48 is now available at SABR.org/convention.

The SABR 48 convention will be held June 20-24, 2018, at the Wyndham Grand in downtown Pittsburgh. All baseball fans are welcome to attend. Full registration or single-day registration can be purchased online by clicking here or on-site during convention registration hours beginning on Wednesday, June 20 at the Wyndham Grand hotel. Click here for complete details on SABR 48 registration rates.

The single-day rates for SABR 48 are:

  • Thursday, June 21: $149 for SABR members, $179 non-members
  • Saturday, June 23: $149 for SABR members, $179 non-members

The single-day rate includes admission to all SABR 48 convention panels, research presentations, and committee meetings at the Wyndham Grand hotel. Registration can be purchased on-site via cash, check, or credit card (sorry, no American Express accepted.) Please note: Admission to the SABR 48 Awards Luncheon, the Donors Breakfast, and the SABR 48 Ballpark Session at PNC Park are not included.

If you would like to join us for the SABR 48 “A Day at the Ballpark” pregame session at PNC Park on Friday, June 22, you must be registered for SABR 48 (either full or single-day registration) AND have a Pirates game ticket to enter the ballpark early. Our guest speakers are expected to include Pirates Executive VP/General Manager Neal Huntington, Senior Director of Baseball Informatics Dan Fox, broadcaster Joe Block, former project executive with Sports & Exhibition Authority of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County Thomas E. Kennedy, and more.

Bring a guest or spouse with the SABR 48 Ballpark Session pass: SABR members who wish to bring a guest or spouse to the ballpark session only on Friday, June 22 at PNC Park can purchase a SABR 48 Ballpark Session pass on-site during the convention for the low cost of $25, plus a Pirates game ticket. You must have both a convention badge and your Pirates game ticket in order to enter the ballpark early. Contact Deb Jayne at djayne@sabr.org for more details.

Please note: Our block of Pirates game tickets is no longer available. You can purchase a game ticket on your own by visiting Pirates.com/tickets.

SABR 48: Transportation Tips

Members of the host Forbes Field Chapter have compiled a list of transportation tips to help visitors and convention attendees enjoy their stay in the Steel City during the SABR 48 convention, June 20-24, 2018, at the Wyndham Grand hotel in downtown Pittsburgh.

Click here to view the SABR 48 Transportation Tips page.

If you have any questions during your stay, please don’t hesitate to ask a friendly SABR 48 volunteer for assistance.

For more information on Pittsburgh’s award-winning restaurants, upcoming events, and other attractions, go to visitpittsburgh.com.

New SABR book on the World Series in the Deadball Era brings baseball history to life

A special new publication produced by SABR’s Deadball Era Research Committee vividly brings back the exploits of Ty Cobb, Christy Mathewson, Home Run Baker, and Babe Ruth to life with more than 250 rare photos: 

The World Series in the Deadball Era: A History in the Words and Pictures of the Writers and Photographers
Edited by Steve Steinberg
Foreword by Dr. Charles Alexander
Published by St. Johann Press
ISBN (hardcover): 978-1-9379-4345-5, $45.00
306 pages, 8.5″ x 11″

The game of baseball at the beginning of the 20th century was remarkably similar to the game that is played today, although pitching was dominant and offense was hard to come by. But missing was the coverage by radio, television, motion pictures, audio/video tapes and the internet. Today’s coverage includes not only these new media but also expanded use of newspapers and photography.

The Deadball Era (1901-1919), so named because the ball being used was not the lively ball introduced in the twenties and beyond, demanded that the writers and photographers provide all the information in the form of the printed word and still photography.

Writers included not only known names such as Ring Lardner, Grantland Rice, Damon Runyon, and from that era Tim Murname, Charles Dryden, Hugh Fullerton plus many more, including players, managers, owners, and others, some of whom were “ghosted” by regular sportswriters. Photographers did not have the luxury of instant multiple shots but had to sense the opportunity of when to take the best action photo, hence the often posed photos taken before the game. Yet their instincts led them to some incredible and uncanny shots of action during the game.

The editor, Steve Steinberg, has assembled an excellent and knowledgeable group of researchers and writers from the Society of American Baseball Research (SABR) to provide us with a remarkable view of the Word Series in the Deadball Era. You will not be reading about the Deadball World Series from the point of the 21st century, rather you will be transported to this great era that set the groundwork for today’s game.

This book is available for purchase from Amazon.com, your local bookstore, or directly from the publisher at St. Johann Press.

  • SABR 48 discount: Attendees at the SABR 48 convention in Pittsburgh will have the opportunity to save $5 off the purchase of this book, plus free shipping, when you order in the SABR 48 Vendors Room. Check out Steve Steinberg’s table in the Vendors Room during the convention at the Wyndham Grand hotel.

Buy the book:

SABR Digital Library: Major League Baseball A Mile High: The First Quarter Century of the Colorado Rockies

Take a seat in the “purple row” and add this new baseball book from the SABR Digital Library to your collection:

Major League Baseball A Mile High: The First Quarter Century of the Colorado Rockies
Edited by Bill Nowlin and Paul T. Parker
Associate Editors: Len Levin and Carl Riechers
ISBN (paperback): 978-1-9438-1677-4, $19.95
ISBN (e-book): 978-1-9438-1676-7, $9.99
8.5″ x 11″, 265 pages

Click here for a complete description of this book at SABR.org.

SABR members, get this e-book for FREE!

Having trouble downloading our e-books? To view PDF files on your computer, click here to download the free Adobe Reader software. Having trouble downloading e-books to your Kindle, Nook, Sony Reader or iPad? Click here for additional help.

SABR members will get discounted rates for all Digital Library publications, including many for free. Visit SABR.org/ebooks for information on all SABR Digital Library books.

Read all articles from the Spring 2018 Baseball Research Journal online

Good news! The Spring 2018 edition of the Baseball Research Journal has been mailed out to all SABR members.

Those of you who receive the print edition should find your BRJ arriving in the next two to four weeks. For digital subscribers, the e-book edition was delivered in early May.

To learn more about contributing to a future SABR publication, click here.

Having trouble downloading our e-books? To view PDF files on your computer, click here to download the free Adobe Reader software. Having trouble downloading e-books to your Kindle, Nook, Sony Reader or iPad? Click here for additional help.

We hope you enjoy reading the Spring 2018 Baseball Research Journal!

SABR accepting applications for Chief Executive Officer position

SABR is now accepting applications for the Chief Executive Officer position. 

For complete details and criteria, visit the link below:

https://sabr.org/latest/sabr-accepting-applications-chief-executive-officer-position

All materials should be emailed to careers@sabr.org. Applications will begin being read on June 11, 2018. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis until the position is filled.

Submit nominations for the 2019 Dorothy Seymour Mills Lifetime Achievement Award

Nominations are now open for the 2019 Dorothy Seymour Mills Lifetime Achievement Award — “The Dorothy” — named in honor of Dorothy Seymour Mills and her lifetime of contributions to promoting women’s baseball.

To submit a nomination for The Dorothy in 2019, please submit a letter of nomination (self or external); supporting letters; list of accomplishments with supporting documentation (including articles written by/about the candidate; book reviews for books written; links to organizations/tournaments/others that the candidate participated in or helped organize); awards received; or other achievements by September 4, 2018, to Dr. Leslie Heaphy by e-mail at lheaphy@kent.edu or by mail at Dr. Leslie Heaphy, KSU at Stark, 6000 Frank Ave., North Canton, OH 44720.

Eligible candidates include any person with a sustained involvement in women’s baseball or any woman with a longtime involvement in baseball in any fashion — player, umpire, writer, executive, team owner, scout, etc. Candidates do not have to be living; it can be awarded posthumously. Self-nominations are accepted. The winner will be selected by the Dorothy Seymour Mills Lifetime Achievement Award Committee.

SABR’s Women in Baseball Committee established the award in 2017 and the inaugural recipient was professional umpire Perry Barber.

To learn more about the legendary baseball historian Dorothy Seymour Mills, click here.

Students, apply now for the 2018 SABR Women in Baseball Scholarship

SABR’s Women in Baseball Committee will award one $500 scholarship to a high school senior in its inaugural Women in Baseball Essay Contest in 2018.

Students must write an essay of 1,500 words or less addressing the following question: “Choose one person or event in women’s baseball history that you believe has made a significant impact on the game and explain the importance.”

Click here to download the 2018 SABR Women in Baseball Scholarship application and style guidelines (PDF)

All applications must be e-mailed or postmarked by August 13, 2018, and sent to Dr. Leslie Heaphy at Lheaphy@kent.edu.

Click here for complete details and submission criteria.

8 new SABR biographies published

Eight new biographies were posted this week as part of the SABR Baseball Biography Project, which brings us to a total of 4,558 published biographies. Here are the new bios published this week:

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

  • Search for any SABR biography: You can now visit sabr.org/bioproj_search to search for any player — or manager, executive, scout, spouse, broadcaster, or umpire — who appears in the SABR BioProject. You can also browse all of these BioProject categories and a lot more, including 300-game winners, Hall of Famers, 1960s All-Stars, or Negro Leaguers, at our Browse page: sabr.org/bioproj/browse.
  • Read bios from SABR’s No-Hitters book: In SABR’s No-Hitters, edited by Bill Nowlin and published in 2017, we focused on pitchers who threw no-hitters and the no-hitters they threw. Naturally, we couldn’t present biographies of everyone who ever threw a no-hitter nor could we present Games Project accounts of all of them. From around 300 no-hitters thrown in the majors (out of over 213,000 games), we have selected 59 no-hitters to include, along with the biographies of the men who threw them. All of the biographies — from Hall of Famers such as Bob Feller, Sandy Koufax, and Randy Johnson to more obscure pitchers such as Larry Corcoran, Charlie Robertson, and Dallas Braden — that appeared in No-Hitters can now be read online at the SABR BioProject. More game summaries from the No-Hitters book will be posted at the SABR Games Project soon. You can also download the No-Hitters e-book for free or purchase the paperback edition at 50% off by clicking here.

8 new stories published by the SABR Games Project

Eight 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/recent. Find all published Games Project articles at SABR.org/GamesProject.

If you have any questions about the Games Project, please contact Mike Huber. To request an assignment, please contact Steven C. Weiner. After the article has been completed in accordance with our Authors’ Guidelines, please submit it to Len Levin, who will initiate the editing process and get your story started toward publication.

  • 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.
  • Read all articles from SABR book on greatest games at Milwaukee’s County Stadium: In SABR’s From the Braves to the Brewers: Great Games and Exciting History at Milwaukee’s County Stadium, edited by Gregory H. Wolf and published in 2016, we told the stories of memorable moments from the heart of the Badger State. All of the stories that appeared in this book are now available to be read online at the SABR Games Project by clicking here.

Listen to Behind the Numbers: Baseball SABR Style on SiriusXM on Sunday nights

Behind the Numbers: Baseball SABR Style on SiriusXM, a radio show hosted by SABR President Vince Gennaro, is back for the 2018 season at its regular time: 7:00-8:00 p.m. ET on Sundays, on MLB Network Radio.

This week’s guests are SABR member Jonathan Judge of Baseball Prospectus and Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs to preview the 2018 MLB amateur draft.

You can listen to archives of recent episodes on-demand on the SiriusXM Internet Radio App, and you can watch video highlights of Behind the Numbers: Baseball SABR Style on SiriusXM on MLB.com. Click here to watch more video highlights of Baseball SABR Style from MLB.com.

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

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: https://sabr.org/content/this-week-in-sabr-archives.

For more information, click here.

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 (SABR.org/directory).

Name Hometown     Name Hometown
Duane Bailey Williamstown, MA     Ford Murphy Bronx, NY
Lyle Ball Chesterfield, MO     Clayton Sanford Aptos, CA
Paul Bellofiore Trumbull, CT     Rob Seifried Winfield Park, NJ
Amy Burton Lakeland, FL     Dale Sienicki Spotsylvania, VA
Gerald Lee Cross Jr. Overland Park, KS     Zachary Simon Wynnewood, PA
Jim Davidson Pittsburgh, PA     Gregory Thomas Tonawanda, NY
Mike Floyd Roxboro, NC     Gene Winters Independence, MO
Kevin Henry Smyrna, GA        

 

Research Committee news

Here are the new research committee updates this week:

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

Regional Chapter news

Here are the new regional chapter updates this week:

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

SABR Events Calendar

Here is a list of upcoming events on the SABR calendar:

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.

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.)

 

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Originally published: June 1, 2018. Last Updated: January 26, 2024.

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