This Week in SABR: June 3, 2011
Here’s an update of what we’ve been up to as of June 3, 2011:
Dennis Gilbert to be SABR 41 Awards Luncheon speaker
Dennis Gilbert will be the featured speaker at the SABR 41 Awards Luncheon next month.
Gilbert has created one of the most varied careers in Major League Baseball. A Southern California product, he played two years in the minors before starting a highly successful insurance agency which catered to the entertainment industry. With these skills, Gilbert set out as one of the first of baseball’s super-agents, winning record-setting contracts for Bobby Bonilla, Barry Bonds, Danny Tartabull, Mike Piazza, Curt Schilling, Ricky Henderson and Trevor Hoffman.
He has also raised millions for Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities and for the Professional Baseball Scouts Foundation, which he created. In 2000, Jerry Reinsdorf recruited him to be his special assistant and Gilbert became a part-owner of the White Sox and a favorite for media speculation as a buyer of whatever teams are currently available.
The Awards Luncheon is scheduled for 12 p.m. on Friday, July 8 at the Long Beach Hilton in Southern California.
DON’T FORGET TO REGISTER! To register for the convention or any other events, visit the SABR Store. Please note that the hotel room rate of $119 will expire after June 13, so be sure to book your spot in Long Beach quickly if you haven’t already done so. Registration forms (available for download here) must be postmarked by June 24 and sent to the SABR office at 4455 E. Camelback Road, Ste. D-140, Phoenix, AZ 85018. Online registration for the convention will end at 11:59 p.m. MST on June 29.
SABR 41 poster presentations announced
Click the link above to read abstracts for the 10 poster presentations that will be available in the 2nd Floor General Area all week during SABR 41 on July 6-10 at the Long Beach Hilton in Southern California. The poster presentation judged to be the best will win the USA Today Sports Weekly Award.
Presenters will be with their posters, for questions and discussion, from 1-3 p.m. on Saturday, July 9.
Related links:
- You can find a complete schedule of events for SABR 41 here.
- Abstracts, bios and schedule for the 30 research presentations can be found here.
- The schedule for all research committee meetings can be found here.
- Tentative showtimes for the film festival can be found here.
BioProject reaches milestone with 1,600th published bio
SABR’s Baseball Biography Project reached another milestone Wednesday with the publication of its 1,600th biography.
The BioProject, formed in 2002 and chaired by longtime SABR member Mark Armour, is an ongoing effort to produce comprehensive biographical articles on any person who ever played or managed in the major leagues, as well as other persons who touched baseball in a significant way. The primary goal is to enliven the people behind the statistical records that are so readily available.
The six bios posted Wednesday include a Hall of Famer, the son of a Hall of Famer, and a trainer:
- Doc Barrett, by Rory Costello
- Chick Bowen, by Stanley Dziurgot
- Roy Campanella, by Rick Swaine
- Paul O’Neill, by James Lincoln Ray
- Jimmy Sebring, by Robert Peyton Wiggins
- Ed Walsh Jr., by Stanley Dziurgot
All new biographies can be found here. The BioProject website is at http://bioproj.sabr.org.
Forbes Field Chapter celebrates SABR Night at PNC Park
Fifty members and guests of the Forbes Field Pittsburgh Chapter had a positively fun evening at PNC Park on May 21 as guests of the Pirates. A pre-game program included a Q&A session with GM Neal Huntington, a look at Pirates history from their second-longest-tenured employee, Patti Mistick, and a review of the statistical analysis the team does from its statistical analysis guru, Dan Fox.
It was a delightful evening, and the Pirates gave us first-class treatment all the way, including the buffet spread they laid out for us!
And then the team itself put the cherry on the sundae with that great 6-2 win before a sellout crowd on a gorgeous night.
Larry Dierker Chapter meeting recap
The May 14 SABR Houston meeting was held inside the offices of the Houston Astros at Union Station adjacent to Minute Maid Park. Some 48 SABR members and friends attended, although some of our numbers may have been diverted to the wine and cheese function hosted by the Houston Astros in the same building.
Our meeting included five presentations, beginning with Houston Astros President of Baseball Operations Tal Smith and member Tony Cavender’s book review of 56: Joe DiMaggio and the Last Magic Number in Sports. Former St. Louis Cardinal and Houston Buff player Larry Miggins delighted those in attendance with a recording of his musical tribute to Mark McGwire. Tim Gregg discussed our brand-new website at http://www.sabrhouston.org that he has developed. Bob Dorrill then outlined a proposal that has been sent to SABR National volunteering both the Larry Dierker and the Rogers Hornsby Chapters as hosts for the 2013 convention in Houston.
Bob Broeg Chapter meeting recap
Twenty members were present for the May 23, 2011, monthly roundtable of the Bob Broeg St. Louis Chapter at its usual location, The Original Crusoe’s, Osceola and Compton avenues in South St. Louis.
Lew Levey reported on his visit to the new SABR headquarters in Phoenix and said he thought the “Spartan” offices showed judicious use of SABR funds. His report overall was a favorable one of the new SABR office. Some members, however, were critical of the office move.
Loretta Donovan told members of the upcoming Shepard Barclay Tournament featuring local vintage baseball teams the St. Louis Perfectos and St. Louis Unions, to be held June 4-5 at Lafayette Park in South St. Louis.
Kris Lokemoen reported on the new book Bottom of the 33rd: Hope, Redemption, and Baseball’s Longest Game, by Dan Barry. Chapter president Norm Richards reported on the new Stan Musial: An American Life, by George Vecsey.
Hanlan’s Point Chapter meeting recap
The Hanlan’s Point Chapter held a meeting on May 29 at a private location in Toronto; 12 members attended.
David Matchett made a presentation on “Canadian Games Played Leaders by Position” and Maxwell Kates spoke about “Biographing the Miracle Mets”, which will be the subject of his poster presentation at the SABR 41 national convention in July.
The trivia winner was Matt Keip, with an assist to Allen Tait.
In other recent SABR news:
- Paul Lukas investigates why some 1960s Dodgers players wore uniform letters instead of numbers during spring training (Uni Watch)
- Bill Jenkinson, Mike Dugan and Caleb Hardwick begin mapping a trail for Hot Springs baseball (The Sentinel-Record)
- J. Gordon Hylton looks at the life of Walter Kowalski, a forgotten man in sports legal history (Marquette University)
- Mike Lynch recalls the Memorial Day brawl of 1932 (Seamheads)
- Joe Guzzardi details the military career of Warren Spahn (Lodi News-Sentinel)
- Andy Strasberg speaks about his lifelong relationship with Roger Maris (Sports Collectors Digest)
- David Laurila interviews Red Sox first baseman Adrian Gonzalez about his hitting philosophies (FanGraphs)
Originally published: June 3, 2011. Last Updated: April 3, 2020.