This Week in SABR: June 15, 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 15, 2018:

SABR 48 convention begins next week in Pittsburgh!

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

Register today for SABR 48 to join us on June 20-24, 2018, at the Wyndham Grand hotel in downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Find the full convention schedule online at SABR.org/convention/sabr48-schedule.

All baseball fans are welcome to attend; full conference registration and single-day registration is available at SABR.org/convention or on-site at the Wyndham Grand beginning on Wednesday, June 20.

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. Please note: The Media Panel will serve as this year’s annual Baseball and the Media Committee meeting at the SABR 48 convention.
  • 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

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 later this month.

We hope to see you soon in Pittsburgh!

SABR 48: Pirates GM Neal Huntington to highlight ‘A Day at the Ballpark’ session at PNC Park

For the third year in a row and fourth time in five years, SABR will present “A Day at the Ballpark” before the Pittsburgh Pirates game on Friday, June 22 at PNC Park. Click here to register for SABR 48 and join us! Full registration and single-day rates are available for purchase.

The pregame ballpark session will be held from 2:30-4:30 p.m. this afternoon at PNC Park, followed by the game that night between the Pirates and the Diamondbacks. Our guest speakers are expected to include:

  • Neal Huntington, Executive Vice President/General Manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates
  • Dan Fox, Senior Director of Baseball Informatics of the Pittsburgh Pirates
  • Joe Block, Pittsburgh Pirates play-by-play announcer
  • Thomas E. Kennedy, former project executive, Sports & Exhibition Authority of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County

Purchase of SABR 48 conference registration (full or single-day rates) AND a game ticket will be required to attend this special session. Guests and spouses can get in the ballpark early with purchase of a special SABR 48 Ballpark Session pass ($25) and a Pirates game ticket. Click here 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.

For more coverage of SABR 48, visit SABR.org/convention.

Single-day registration now available for SABR 48 convention

Single-day registration for SABR 48 will be available on-site beginning Wednesday, June 20 at the Wyndham Grand hotel in downtown Pittsburgh. All baseball fans are welcome to attend. 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.

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.

SABR 48: Looking for on-site presentation judges

On-site judges are needed for SABR 48 research presentations. Each judge will be responsible for viewing and evaluating oral and poster presentations during SABR 48 in Pittsburgh.

Judges need not be “experts” in particular topics. They may choose which oral presentations they wish to evaluate, but are requested to judge all oral presentations they attend.

Through on-site judging, the most highly regarded presentations will receive the Doug Pappas Award for best oral presentation and the SABR Convention Poster Presentation Award for best poster presentation. The Pappas Award winner will have the opportunity to repeat that presentation on Saturday evening.

If you’re interested, send a message to the Research Presentations email at sabr2018presentations@gmail.com and to Neal Traven at beisbol@alumni.pitt.edu.

For the complete SABR 48 presentation schedule, click here.

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.

A look back at SABR 25: Pittsburgh, 1995

SABR began a year-long celebration of its silver anniversary in 1995, when the 25th annual national convention was held on June 15-18 at the Hyatt Regency hotel in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Next week, we’ll return to the Steel City again for SABR 48 at the Wyndham Grand hotel in downtown Pittsburgh.

Back in 1995, the hometown Pirates were also celebrating a memorable anniversary of their own, 25 years since the opening of Three Rivers Stadium, site of the team’s two most recent World Series championships in 1971 and 1979.

Chuck Tanner, manager of the 1979 champions, delivered the keynote address at the Saturday night banquet, which was emceed by former Pirates pitcher and broadcaster Nellie King. A strong showing of 451 SABR members and guests attended the 1995 convention, which opened with a casual afternoon of softball at Bill Mazeroski Field, near the site of old Forbes Field in the Oakland neighborhood.

Mazeroski, the 1960 World Series hero, and two of his teammates, Elroy Face and Bob Friend, joined the festivities for a panel discussion on their famous victory over the New York Yankees in that year’s fall classic. Another panel discussion focused on the 1971 champions, with Nellie Briles, Steve Blass, Milt May, and Bill Virdon on hand.

A tribute to black baseball in Pittsburgh, moderated by Rob Ruck, featured a showing of Ruck’s documentary film Kings on the Hill and a panel of former Negro Leaguers which included Willie Pope, Rev. Harold Tinker, Slick Surratt, Jimmie Dean, and Frank Bolden, a writer for the Pittsburgh Courier. A panel on the 1950s Pirates included Nellie King, Frank Thomas, and Ron Kline.

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

SABR member Bill Humber to be inducted into Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame this weekend

SABR member Bill Humber, Canada’s premier baseball historian, will be inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame this weekend along with former Montreal Expos superstar Pedro Martinez and Toronto Blue Jays center fielder Lloyd Moseby. A ceremony will be held on Saturday, June 16 at the Hall of Fame grounds in St. Marys, Ontario.

“Each of this year’s inductees has had a tremendous influence on baseball in this country,” said Scott Crawford, the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame’s director of operations. “Pedro Martinez and Lloyd Moseby are two of the most successful and beloved stars to have played for major league teams in Canada and Bill Humber’s commitment to promoting the history of the game in this country has been unparalleled.”

On top of the countless presentations about Canadian baseball history that he has done across North America, Humber has also authored several groundbreaking books on the topic, including Cheering for the Home Team (1983), Let’s Play Ball: Inside the Perfect Game (1989), The Baseball Book and Trophy (1993) and Diamonds of the North: A Concise History of Baseball in Canada (1995).

The Bowmanville, Ontario, resident was also instrumental in the formation of SABR’s Toronto-based Hanlan’s Point Chapter and he played a central role in the organization of Toronto’s first SABR Convention in 1981. He is also the only Canadian to have served on SABR’s Board of Directors, having done so in 1982 and 1983 and then again in 1989.

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

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″

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

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.

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.

2018 SABR Annual Report has been posted online

Our 2018 Annual Report was posted on the website today and can be downloaded here:

SABR.org/content/annual-reports

All previous SABR Annual Reports can be found on the Annual Reports page. If you have a copy of any Annual Report from before 2002 (the oldest currently available), please e-mail a copy of it to jpomrenke@sabr.org or mail one to the office at SABR, Cronkite School at ASU, 555 N. Central Ave. #416, Phoenix, AZ 85004.

6 new SABR biographies published

Six new biographies were posted this week as part of the SABR Baseball Biography Project, which brings us to a total of 4,568 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 Zack Scott, Vice President of Baseball Research & Development for the Boston Red Sox, and Jared Diamond of the Wall Street Journal.

You can listen to archives of recent episodes on-demand on the SiriusXM Internet Radio App. Click here to learn more.

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.

In Memoriam

  • Harold Dellinger, 70, of Kansas City, Missouri, died on June 2, 2018. He was a SABR member since 1976 and was a leading historian on 19th-century baseball in the Midwest. He was an early contributor to SABR’s Baseball Research Journal and Nineteenth Century Stars, and he was the editor of the SABR membership directory for several years. He was born on September 12, 1947, in Kirksville, Missouri, to Lois and Harold Dellinger. He graduated from Carrollton High School in 1965 and studied sociology and political science at Central Missouri State University before graduating in 1969. He worked as a parole officer, social worker, writer, and editor. His longstanding interests were in baseball, 19th-century outlaws and lawmen, and life in rural Missouri from the Civil War to present day. He is survived by his children, Emily McGovern (Jeff), H. Joshua Dellinger (Annette), and Laura Ganschow (Jakob); grandchildren Baird Dellinger, Tomas McGovern, and Mary Kathryn Dellinger; his siblings William Dellinger, Cleo Hewett, and David Dellinger; his many nieces and nephews; and by Janet L Dellinger. A visitation was held Thursday, June 14 at Passantino Bros Funeral Home with burial at 11 a.m. Saturday, June 16 at Arni Memorial Cemetery in Lancaster, Missouri.
  • Joe Favano, 61, of Norwalk, Connecticut, died on June 4, 2018, after suffering a heart attack at home. He was a SABR member since 1980 and a familiar face at Connecticut Smoky Joe Chapter and Lajoie-Start Southern New England Chapter meetings. He was a lifelong fan of the New York Mets. Joe was born on July 29, 1956 in Greenwich to Dorothy and Joseph Favano. He graduated from Greenwich High in 1974, earned his bachelor’s degree at University of Connecticut, and received a masters from Bridgeport University. His love of music kept him busy performing in marching bands both in high school and at UConn where he traveled and performed in Europe. He is survived by his sister, Susan Cooper of Portsmouth, Rhode Island. The family invites donations in his name to Theatre Development Fund, 520 Eighth Ave, Suite 801, New York, NY 10018-6507. A funeral service was held on Monday, June 11 at St. Matthew Church in Norwalk, with interment at St. Mary Catholic Cemetery in Greenwich.

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
Ed Browning Mentor, OH     James Singman St. Louis, MO
Bruce Hellerstein Denver, CO     Therese Steiner Yonkers, NY
Bill Lang Truckee, CA     Jed Thorp Cranston, RI
Ludovic Le Page Échirolles, FRA     Ian Wilson Calgary, AB
Mark McDonel Pittsburgh, PA     Robert Yates Great Falls, VA
Sam Rubin New Haven, CT        

 

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.

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Originally published: June 15, 2018. Last Updated: April 3, 2020.

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