TWIS archives

This Week in SABR: June 16, 2023

This Week in SABR: June 16, 2023

Welcome to “This Week in SABR” on Friday, June 16, 2023.
Click here to view this newsletter on the web.

Top Headlines
SABR 51: Single-day registration now available; call for on-site volunteers
Watch a replay of Ballpark Figures with Dave Stewart
Double your donation’s impact this week only
Help us add landmarks to the SABR Baseball Map
Call for papers: 2023 SABR/IWBC Women in Baseball Conference
Read articles from new Spring 2023 Baseball Research Journal online


Research Collection Events Calendar Around the Web

SABR 51 featured speakers

Still time to sign up for SABR 51 in Chicago!

Single-day registration is now available for SABR’s 51st annual convention on July 5-9, 2023, at the Palmer House Hilton in Chicago. All baseball fans are welcome to attend.

This year’s convention will feature top speakers such as White Sox broadcaster Jason Benetti, legendary team owner and promoter Mike Veeck, World Series-winning White Sox manager Ozzie Guillén, Cubs executive Chase Carpenter, Cubs team historian Ed Hartig, Kelly Holton of Populous, women’s baseball ambassador Maybelle Blair, authors James Brunson III, Adrian Burgos Jr., Leslie Heaphy, Kat Williams, Louis Moore, and Fred Mitchell, a film screening of Last Comiskey with director Matt Flesch and Dan Evans, entertainment by beloved ballpark organist Nancy Faust, and more. There will be dozens of research presentations by SABR members and many of the research committee meetings will also feature guest speakers.

Single-day registration for SABR members is $135 per day; pricing for non-members is $165 per day. Our full regular registration package remains available for $299 for members, and includes access to all convention programming on July 5-9. Limited time remains to add a White Sox game ticket (Friday, July 7) and/or Historic Ballparks Bus Tour (Saturday, July 8) to your registration, so don’t wait to secure your spot for either of those exciting group events.

Click here to register for SABR 51. Or visit SABR.org/convention for the full schedule and details.

Call for on-site volunteers at SABR 51

SABR’s Emil Rothe Chicago Chapter is looking for volunteers to help keep the convention events running smoothly. If you are able to help, it would be greatly appreciated! Click here to find available times and sign up for a volunteer shift.

Open times are available for Tuesday’s goody bag stuffing; Wednesday’s registration check-in; presentation room timekeepers on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday; and more.

SABR 51 optional tours and events

  • Landmarks Committee Wrigley Field tour: All SABR members are invited to join the SABR Landmarks Committee for a special pre-convention meeting at Wrigley Field from 10:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m. on Wednesday, July 5. The event will begin with a panel discussion featuring Pat Manaher, Senior Manager Team History and Brand Initiatives, and Ed Hartig, Cubs Team Historian, and continue with a walking tour of the Cubs Hall of Fame and Statue Row. This event is free but limited to the first 50 people who sign up. If you are interested, please email John Racanelli for more details.
  • Chicago Downtown Baseball Walking Tour: This guided 2-hour walking tour of historic baseball sites in downtown Chiacgo, led by SABR’s Jacob Pomrenke, will take place from 1:00-3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, July 5. The guided tour on July 5 will be limited to the first 50 people who sign up; click here to RSVP in advance. A handout map with descriptions will be available at SABR 51 for anyone else who wishes to take a self-guided tour.
  • Historic Ballparks Bus Tour: Join us for a Historic Ballparks Bus Tour to see unique sites that hosted professional and semi-professional baseball in the city of Chicago for the past 150 years. Cost: $30 per person when you register for SABR 51. Note: Anyone who purchases a bus tour ticket will receive a tear-off chit in their registration packet; you must bring this chit with you in order to board the bus. Click here to learn more about the tour.
  • Dynasty League Baseball All-Time Greats Tournament: SABR’s Games and Simulations Committee is co-hosting a 64-team All-Time Greatest Teams tournament on the Dynasty League Baseball website during SABR 51. SABR members and Dynasty League registered users will be able to participate in the tournament online on Thursday, July 6. (You don’t need to attend SABR 51 in order to play.) Click here to sign up or for more details.

Ballpark Figures: Shakeia Taylor and Dave Stewart

Watch a replay of Ballpark Figures with Dave Stewart

Join us each month for SABR’s Ballpark Figures, a new interview series hosted by Shakeia Taylor. The virtual Zoom event is free and open to all active SABR members.

On Thursday, June 8, our guest was Dave Stewart, a former star pitcher and MLB executive, and current television analyst for NBC Sports Bay Area.

Visit SABR.org/ballpark-figures to learn more about upcoming shows or view past episodes.


Campaign for Baseball Research

Double your donation’s impact alongside
Baseball-Reference.com founder Sean Forman

Over the past month, the Campaign for Baseball Research has outlined SABR’s efforts to expand, maintain, and preserve our baseball Research Collection and Research Resources. Now, as we enter the final weeks of this effort, we are within striking distance of our $60,000 goal.

To push us across home plate, you now have the opportunity to double the impact of your donation. Baseball-Reference founder Sean Forman, a long-time SABR member, Chadwick Award winner, and SABR Analytics Conference Lifetime Achievement Award recipient, has stepped up to help us bring that winning run home. Sean’s company will match the first $5,000 in contributions made this week.

To donate or learn more about the Research Collection projects and improvements to our Research Resources, assets, and tools that will be funded by a successful campaign, visit sabr.org/donate/research-campaign.


SABR Baseball Landmarks Map

Help us add landmarks to the SABR Baseball Map

Put it on the map! The Landmarks Committee is excited to announce its first SABR Baseball Map Addition Election and we need your help to find worthy candidates. Please check the SABR Baseball Map to verify that your suggested addition is not already listed.

Nominations are open to all SABR members. The nominating party is encouraged, but not required, to submit a brief statement in support of their candidate(s) for possible publication in the Hardball Voyager blog to help campaign for each nominee.

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


SABR/IWBC Women in Baseball Conference logo

Call for papers: 2023 SABR/IWBC Women in Baseball Conference

SABR and the International Women’s Baseball Center have announced a call for papers for the fifth annual SABR/IWBC Women in Baseball Conference, scheduled for September 29-October 1, 2023, at Rockford University in Rockford, Illinois.

The 2023 conference will be a hybrid event, with panels and presentations on Zoom and a dinner banquet and golf outing in Rockford, Illinois. Registration information will be available soon. Please submit abstracts of approximately 200 words, along with contact information and a short biography, by June 30, 2023, to Leslie Heaphy at Lheaphy@kent.edu.

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


Second course in SABR Analytics Certification program now available

In 2022, we launched the SABR Analytics Certification program, an online, on-demand curriculum offering professional development and learning opportunities for those interested in elevating their skills and knowledge relating to baseball analytics.

The second course in the program, Level Two – Advanced Analytics in Baseball, is now available!

SABR members save $55 on both available courses (and future courses), so we hope you’ll check out these exciting opportunities at sabr.org/analytics/certification.


2023 SABR Jerry Malloy Negro League Conference

View the full schedule for the 2023 Jerry Malloy Negro League Conference

Early registration is now open for SABR’s annual Jerry Malloy Negro League Conference, which will be held on July 20-23, 2023, in Detroit, Michigan. All baseball fans are welcome to attend. Click here to register online for the 2023 Malloy Conference.

Visit SABR.org/malloy to learn more or to register for the Jerry Malloy Negro League Conference.


Spring 2023 Baseball Research Journal

Read articles from new Spring 2023 Baseball Research Journal online

All articles from the new Spring 2023 edition of the Baseball Research Journal can now be found online in the Research Collection at SABR.org. This issue includes a special illustrated cover of Harvey Haddix by SABR member Gary Cieradkowski.

Those of you who receive the print edition should find your BRJ arriving soon. For digital subscribers, the e-book edition was delivered on Thursday, May 25.

We hope you enjoy reading the Spring 2023 Baseball Research Journal!


SABRcast with Rob Neyer

SABRcast #218: Ben Lindbergh, Sam Miller, Theo Fightmaster

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 #218 on Monday, June 4 featured a panel discussion on The Only Rule Is It Has To Work and a memorable 2015 Sonoma Stompers season as Rob interviews Ben Lindbergh, Sam Miller and Theo Fightmaster. Visit SABR.org/sabrcast to listen to the full episode or subscribe to SABRcast on your favorite podcast networks.


SABR Research Collection updates

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

SABR Research Collection: Dave Thies, Roberto Clemente, Jimmie Foxx

2 new stories published at the SABR BioProject

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

26 new stories published at the SABR Games Project

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


Featured E-Book from the SABR Digital Library

Willie Mays: Five Tools, edited by Bill Nowlin and Glen Sparks

Willie Mays: Five Tools
Edited by Bill Nowlin and Glen Sparks

Visit SABR.org to download any SABR Digital Library e-book for free or save 50% off the paperback edition.


Recent Highlights

Here are some SABR headlines from recent weeks that we don’t want you to miss:


New 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
Mathew Annis Ashburn, VA     David Hilton The Woodlands, TX
Michael Britton Kingston, JAM     Benjamin King Chicago, IL
Daniel Campbell Staten Island, NY     Steve McEnerney Sacramento, CA
Morgan Cassady Marysville, CA     Paul Nickerson Carver, MA
Robert Davidson Bay Village, OH     Alle Parker Alburtis, PA
John Grabar Cheshire, CT     Schuyler Penny Brooklyn, NY
Larry Grimsley Sykesville, MD     Dave Schroeder Indianapolis, IN
Richard Gulezian Manchester, NH     Max Strubel West Hartford, CT
Mike Hammond Beverly, MA        

SABR Events Calendar

The next meeting of the Bob Broeg St. Louis SABR Chapter will be Monday, June 19, 2023. This will be a hybrid in-person/Zoom meeting. Our speaker is Jeff Scott, with a presentation titled “10 bats, 10 (or more) stories.” Using 10 bats from his collection he will teach us how to identify professional model, game used bats (vs. store models), etc. Then he will show us how Cardinals have influenced the bats players use … from the Hornsby and Hafey knobs, to the Walker and Van Slyke finishes, to the Musial handle, to the teacup end (Brock and Cardenal), to the puck knob (Goldschmidt, et. al.)

Upcoming Virtual Meetings

  • June 19: Bob Broeg St. Louis (MO) Chapter meeting with Jeff Scott (6:00 p.m. CDT)
  • June 19: Halsey Hall (MN) Chapter research committee meeting (7:00 p.m. CDT)
  • June 25: Baltimore Babe Ruth (MD) Chapter meeting with Rick Vaughn (7:00 p.m. EDT)

Upcoming In-Person Meetings

  • June 17: Babe ‘n’ Bob Chapter Breakfast (Edgewater, MD)
  • June 17: Southern California regional ballgame/meet-up (Lake Elsinore, CA)
  • June 17: Chicago/Central Illinois chapter ballgame/meet-up (Joliet, IL)
  • June 17: Bob Davids Chapter ballgame/meet-up (Washington, DC)
  • June 19: Luke Easter Chapter movie night (Rochester, NY)
  • June 20: Bob Davids Chapter Maryland Hot Stove Dinner (Silver Spring, MD)
  • June 21: Baltimore Babe Ruth Chapter meeting (Baltimore, MD)
  • June 21: Rocky Mountain Chapter monthly luncheon (Denver, CO)
  • June 22: Banks-Bragan DFW Chapter meeting (Arlington, TX)
  • June 24: East Tennessee Chapter ballgame/meet-up (Knoxville, TN)

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


Research Committee news

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


Regional Chapter news

Sign up for SABR chapter announcements at SABR.org/chapters.

Click here to learn more about SABR chartered communities.


Around the Web headlines

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. To find past editions of TWIS, click here.

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Originally published: June 16, 2023. Last Updated: June 16, 2023.