This Week in SABR: March 12, 2021

March 12, 2021/in This Week in SABR /by Jacob Pomrenke

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 March 12, 2021:

2021 SABR Virtual Analytics Conference is now under way!

The 10th annual SABR Virtual Analytics Conference, presented by Major League Baseball, Rawlings, and Sports Info Solutions, kicked off Thursday and will continue through Sunday, March 14. With a record attendance of nearly 1,000 registrants for this four-day online conference, we’re bringing together the top minds in the baseball analytics community to discuss, debate, and share insightful ways to analyze and examine the great game of baseball.

Click here to download our Analytics Conference digital program to learn more about our featured panelists and presenters.

Programming will run on Friday evening from 6:30-9:00 p.m. Eastern, all day Saturday from 12:00-7:00 p.m. Eastern, and Sunday afternoon from 1:00-4:45 p.m. EDT.

Registration: Please note: Online registration for this event is now closed.
Digital Program: Click here to download the digital program (PDF)
Schedule: Click here for the complete schedule of events.
Featured Speakers: Click here to learn more about our featured speakers and panelists.
Research Presentations: Click here for research presentation abstract and speaker bios.
Diamond Dollars Virtual Case Competition: Learn more about the winners of the 2021 Diamond Dollars Virtual Case Competition.
Research Awards: Click here for the winners of the 2021 SABR Analytics Conference Research Awards finalists.

Visit SABR.org/analytics for highlights and to learn more about the conference.

Watch tomorrow on Facebook Live — Analyze This: The Varying Roles and Skillsets of Baseball Analysts

Thanks to MLB’s Diversity and Inclusion Department, all baseball fans are invited to join us on Facebook Live to watch a free livestream of the Analyze This: The Varying Roles and Skillsets of Baseball Analysts panel, from 12:00-1:00 p.m. EST on Saturday, March 13 from the SABR Virtual Analytics Conference.

The Analyze This panel will include Ehsan Bokhari of the Houston Astros; Maggie O’Hara of the Detroit Tigers; Josh Ruffin of the Minnesota Twins; and moderator Eduardo Perez of ESPN.

Please note: All speakers are subject to change depending on availability.

Click here to learn more about our featured speakers and panelists.

University of Chicago, Cornell, Syracuse, Horace Mann teams win 2021 Diamond Dollars Case Competition

The 2021 Diamond Dollars Case Competition winners were announced Friday, March 12 during the SABR Virtual Analytics Conference.

The winning teams selected were from the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business, Cornell University, Syracuse University, and the Horace Mann School in New York City.

The University of Chicago team — which was picked to deliver an encore presentation in front of the full SABR Analytics Conference on Saturday — included Jacob Fain, Cam Harrigan, Trevor Million, and Omar Taveras.

The Cornell University team included Alexandra Conte, Kirk Greenspan, Daniel Johnson, Tyson Kochan, and Matthew Simeoni.

Syracuse University sent four teams to participate; the Team 2 winners were Seth Warner, Sam Auerbach, Brent Huot, Kevin Ivers, and Preston Klaus.

The Horace Mann School team included Maxwell Resnick, Aidan Resnick, Jake Federman, and Eshan Mehere.

In this year’s case, the students were asked to devise an improved metric for Game Score, created by Bill James (and later updated by Tom Tango) to evaluate the performance of starting pitchers.

Visit SABR.org/analytics/case to read the full announcement.

SABR 50 at 50: Baseball Books

As part of the SABR 50 at 50 project to commemorate the organization’s fiftieth anniversary, we offer 50 baseball books worth reading from the past 50 years.

There have been thousands of books on baseball published since SABR was founded in August 1971. That’s far more than any other sport. Many have come from the pens, then typewriters, then word processors of SABR members. To celebrate the Society’s 50th anniversary, a panel of our members set out to identify those works published since the founding which have best stood the test of time.

The list features reference works, histories and biographies as well as examinations of particular incidents and broad trends. It includes statistical works, novels, collections from eminent journalists and books of art and photography. In one way or another, these books have all added to our understanding and appreciation of the game. Visit SABR.org/50at50/books to view the full list.

We anticipate that the next 50 years of SABR research will produce works so we can appreciate and understand an even broader range of topics.

— Andy McCue

SABR Digital Library: A Palace in the Nation’s Capital: Griffith Stadium, Home of the Washington Senators

Add a new baseball book to your collection from the SABR Digital Library:

A Palace in the Nation’s Capital: Griffith Stadium, Home of the Washington Senators
Edited by Gregory H. Wolf
Associate Editors: Len Levin, Bill Nowlin, and Carl Riechers
ISBN (paperback): 978-1-9701-5949-3, $24.95
ISBN (ebook): 978-1-9701-5948-6, $9.99
8.5″ x 11″, 317 pages

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

SABR members, get this e-book for FREE!

E-book: Click here to download the e-book version of A Palace in the Nation’s Capital for FREE from the SABR Store. Available in PDF, Kindle/MOBI and EPUB formats.
Paperback: Get a 50% discount on the A Palace in the Nation’s Capital paperback edition from the SABR Store ($17.95 includes shipping/tax; delivery via Kindle Direct Publishing can take up to 4-6 weeks.)

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 can download all Digital Library publications for free and save 50% off the paperback edition. Visit SABR.org/ebooks to find more Digital Library titles.

Join us for more Stay Home With SABR virtual events

SABR 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.

Can’t-Miss Event: On Monday, March 15 at 8:00 p.m. EDT, the Jack Graney Chapter in Cleveland will hold a virtual Zoom meeting with a virtual tour of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum by Dr. Raymond Doswell, Vice President of Curatorial Services, and a talk on the Cleveland Buckeyes by Ike Brooks. All SABR members are invited to attend. Click here to register in advance for this meeting.
Video Replays: This week, we heard from Brian Frank on Buffalo’s Sahlen Field; Chanel Zapata on Latino Baseball Initiatives; Dan Szymborski on 2021 baseball predictions; and Jerry Casway on “Before Hank Greenberg There Was Lipman Pike,” part of the Nineteenth Century Committee’s monthly Speaker Series. Click here to view more video replays of virtual SABR events.

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

March 12-14: SABR Virtual Analytics Conference
March 12-13: NINE Spring Training Conference
March 13: Hank Gowdy (OH) Chapter meeting (11:30 a.m. EST)
March 13: Pee Wee Reese (KY) Chapter meeting with Dr. Jack Sullivan (12:30 p.m. EST)
March 13: Rogers Hornsby (TX) Chapter meeting with Dan Levitt (1:00 p.m. CST)
March 15: Jack Graney (OH) Chapter meeting with Dr. Raymond Doswell and Ike Brooks (8:00 p.m. EDT)
March 15: Larry Dierker (TX) Chapter meeting with David King and Stephen Bratkovich (7:00 p.m. CDT)
March 16: Rocky Mountain Chapter meeting (12:00 p.m. MDT)
March 16: IBWAA: Up Next with Benjamin Chase (9:00 p.m. EDT)
March 17: Baltimore Babe Ruth Chapter meeting with Mike Gimbel (12:00 p.m. EDT)
March 17: New Member Experience with Chanel Zapata (8:00 p.m. EDT)
March 18: Casey Stengel NYC Chapter meeting with Jerry Manheim (7:30 p.m. EDT)
March 18: Magnolia (GA)/Larry Doby (SC) Chapter joint meeting with Will Cheney and Kris Willis (7:30 p.m. EDT)
March 19: NINE Spring Training Conference (6:00 p.m. MST)
March 20: Hanlan’s Point (Toronto) Chapter meeting with Chip Martin (10:00 a.m. EDT)
March 20: Byron Motley: Forgotten No More: Remembering the Silent Men of the Diamond (12:00 p.m. EDT)
March 20: Emil Rothe Chicago Chapter meeting with Bob Dernier (2:00 p.m. CDT)
March 20: Ken Keltner (WI) Chapter meeting with John Graf and Duke Goldman (3:00 p.m. CDT)
March 19-20: NINE Spring Training Conference / SABR Seymour Medal Ceremony with Eric Nusbaum (6:00 p.m. MST)
March 21: Field of Dreams (IA) Chapter Meeting (1:30 p.m. CDT)

Find more upcoming SABR meetings on our Events Calendar page.

Last call for papers: 2021 Brooklyn 19th Century Baseball Interdisciplinary Symposium

SABR’s Nineteenth Century Committee is seeking abstracts for research presentations for the upcoming Brooklyn 19th Century Baseball Interdisciplinary Symposium, which is scheduled for Saturday, November 13, 2021.

Abstracts of 200 to 400 words for a research presentation of 20-25 minutes in length on any topic related to the amateur through early professional period of baseball in Brooklyn should be submitted to Peter Mancuso by March 15, 2021, with presentation title, your name, and contact email.

If the Symposium is held virtually/online, you will need to have access to a computer equipped for Zoom (audio and visual). If the Symposium is to be held in person, it will be from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, November 13 at St. Francis College, located in the historic neighborhood of Brooklyn Heights, in downtown Brooklyn, New York. A final decision on the venue will be made by June 15.

Click here for the full announcement at SABR.org.

SABR 50, Jerry Malloy conferences rescheduled for 2022

With travel restrictions and public health measures still in place due to the global COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, the SABR 50 convention in Baltimore, Maryland, and the Jerry Malloy Negro League Conference in Birmingham, Alabama, have been rescheduled for the summer of 2022.

The SABR 50 convention is now scheduled for August 10-14, 2022, at the Hyatt Regency Inner Harbor in Baltimore. The next in-person Malloy Conference will be held on June 2-4, 2022, at the Sheraton Birmingham Hotel in Birmingham.

Any members who requested a roll-over from their 2020 registrations will have their fees automatically refunded to their credit card on file. Please contact the SABR office with any questions.

SABRcast with Rob Neyer: Listen to an interview with Strat-O-Matic president Adam Richman

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 #101 on Monday, March 8 featured Adam Richman, president of the Board of Directors for Strat-O-Matic and co-founder of Double Nickel Entertainment with his partner, Jenette Kahn. With his father, Hal Richman, who created Strat-O-Matic in 1961, he has helped transform the iconic sports board game company into a digital powerhouse in the 21st century, relaunching Strat-O-Matic’s website; changing all of its software distribution over to a modern, digital downloadable system; launching the Company’s first apps, casual games and licensed digital product. At Double Nickel, he has been a producer or executive producer on such films as Clint Eastwood’s Gran Torino, and he previously served as Senior Vice President of Production and Development for the Motion Picture Corporation of America.

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.

3 new SABR biographies published

Three new biographies were posted this week as part of the SABR Baseball Biography Project. Here are the new bios published this week:

Luis Aponte, by Mark S. Sternman
Doc Shanley, by Darren Gibson
The Ballpark (Old Orchard Beach, ME), by Kurt Blumenau

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

Find any SABR biography: You can visit sabr.org/bioproject to search for any player — or manager, executive, scout, spouse, broadcaster, or umpire — who appears in the SABR BioProject. In addition, we have pages for Ballparks, Broadcasters, Executives, Games, Managers, Scouts, Spouses, Umpires, Writers, people who were Famous Outside Baseball, and a lot more.
Read all bios from 1995 Atlanta Braves book online: In Braves Win! Braves Win! Braves Win!: The 1995 World Champion Atlanta Braves, edited by Tom Hufford and Bill Nowlin and published by the SABR Digital Library in 2020, we commemorated a team that brought a World Series trophy to Atlanta for the first time. All of the biographies that appeared in the 1995 Braves book are now available to read online at the SABR BioProject. Click here to download the free e-book edition of Braves Win! or take 50% off the paperback at SABR.org/ebooks.

16 new stories published at the SABR Games Project

Sixteen new game stories were posted this week as part of the SABR Games Project. Here are the new game stories:

April 14, 1914: Tom Seaton, Brooklyn Tip-Tops win Opening Day pitchers’ duel to launch Federal League season, by Kevin Larkin
June 20, 1914: Irate Brooklyn catcher Grover Land hurls ball out of the park to cement Hoosiers win, by Harry Schoger
June 20, 1914: Hoosiers top Tip-Tops for 11th straight win, grab Federal League lead, by Harry Schoger
July 7, 1914: Hoosiers’ Benny Kauff adds two steals on his way to leading Federal League, by Kevin Larkin
July 13, 1914: Brooklyn’s Steve Evans breaks scoreless tie with game-winning home run in 12th, by Jimmy Keenan
July 19, 1914: Hoosiers’ George Kaiserling muzzles Terriers, by Harry Schoger
July 27, 1914: Harry Billiard brilliant in relief as Hoosiers outlast Terps in 13 innings, by Frederick C. Bush
July 29, 1914: Circus Solly Hofman bests ex-teammate Brown with walk-off single in 18th, by Paul Hofmann
September 7, 1914: Tip-Tops reliever Jim Bluejacket records novel pitching victory — without throwing a pitch, by Joel Rippel
May 20, 1915: Buffalo Blues bats come alive in St. Louis, by Brian Frank
September 1, 1941: Ted Williams bumps his batting average to .410 with another home run, by Bill Nowlin
June 21, 1964: Phillies’ Rick Wise wins first major-league game at age 18, by Steve Ginader
June 23, 1975: Brewers shine on a crazy diamond after Pink Floyd concert in Milwaukee, by Kurt Blumenau
July 27, 1985: Mets score 16 unearned runs in blowout win over Astros, by Mark Simon
April 14, 1991: Nolan Ryan pitches 5,000th career inning, beats Baltimore for 303rd win, by Madison McEntire
March 21, 2014: MLB returns to Australia’s Sydney Cricket Ground for the first time in a century, by Robert Laidlaw (first-time author)

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

Behind the Numbers: Baseball SABR Style on SiriusXM, a radio show hosted by former SABR Board President Vince Gennaro, is back at a new time. Listen to new episodes at 4:00-5:00 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.

Seeking volunteers for SABR’s Publications Marketing Committee

SABR’s new Publications Marketing Committee is growing. Do you have experience in marketing or communications? Want to help share the tremendous work that SABR members are producing? The committee is tasked with promoting SABR’s latest publications by building relationships with different chapters and local, regional, and national media connections.

If you are interested in joining, please contact Marketing Committee Chair Bill Pearch at wcpearch@comcast.net.

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
Paul Appelbaum	Swampscott, MA	Aaron Dubester	Oshkosh, WI
Hunter Augins	Gainesville, FL	Brenden Freedman	New York, NY
Steven Austin	Los Angeles, CA	Jim Hunt	Flintstone, GA
Alejandro Baradat	Phoenix, AZ	Gillian Husovsky	San Diego, CA
Dylan Baxter	Hanford, CA	Nicholas Inverno	San Diego, CA
Seth Bienstock	Westport, CT	Janet Moran	Chicago, IL
Todd Brunning	Portland, OR	Barry Rahmy	Weatogue, CT
Michael Castro	San Diego, CA	Roger Ratzenberger	Milford, CT
William Crawford	West Hempstead, NY	Jon Reno	Blair, NE
Brian Culler	Ashland, OH	Tim Ryder	West Babylon, NY
Jonathan Davis	Naples, FL	Paul Semendinger	Wyckoff, NJ
Joseph Davis	Naples, FL	Alexander Speier	Dedham, MA
Ernie DeGraw	Leesburg, VA	Glenn Tanner	San Marcos, TX
James Dimond	Kent, WA	Devin Thompson	Pullman, WA
Nick DiNatale	Lowell, MA	Lane Westernan	Bellville, TX
Jason Dodge	Tampa, FL	Ben Williams	Canton, NC

Research Committee news

Here are the new research committee updates this week:

Biographical Research: February 2021 newsletter
Nineteenth Century: Watch replays from the 19th Century Baseball Speaker Series

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:

Baseball Reminiscence: March 6 meeting recap
Boston Chapter: Read a new “Dispatches From the Mudville Bureau,” by Joanne Hulbert (Boston, MA)
Emil Rothe Chicago Chapter: March 2021 newsletter (Chicago, IL)
Rickwood Field Chapter: March 6 meeting recap (Birmingham, AL)

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:

Emma Baccellieri: The Last Ordinary Inning (Sports Illustrated)
Bobby Nightengale: ‘I’m meant to be here’: Cincinnati Reds’ Katie Krall worked her way to MLB front office (Cincinnati Enquirer)
Jen McCaffrey: A trailblazer in baseball, Elaine Steward remains vital to Red Sox front office (The Athletic)
Corey Brock: Finding Flexen: How scouting the KBO led the Mariners to sign the revamped starter (The Athletic)
Zach Schonbrun: The lawyer who became a (pitching) ninja (New York Times)
Jayson Stark: Yes, Juan Soto at 22 just might be Ted Williams (The Athletic)
Rob Arthur: Seam-Shifted Wake Affects Fastballs, Too (Baseball Prospectus)
Tyler Kepner: The Red Sox Hope the Ghosts of 2018 Won’t Haunt Them (New York Times)
Mark Simon: Cardinals Could Have Best Defense in MLB (ACTA Sports)
Jay Jaffe: Strasburg’s Return and a Thumbnail Guide to the Majors’ Most Improved Rotations (FanGraphs)
RJ McDaniel: Baseball on the Radio, 100 Years Later (FanGraphs)
Chris Foran: 60 years ago, Milwaukee County tried to ban carry-ins at the stadium. It did not go well. (MIlwaukee Journal-Sentinel)
Tom Ruane: Retro-review of the 1902 MLB season (Retrosheet)
Matt Monagan: Joey Meyer and the longest home run ever (MLB.com)
Grant Brisbee: The most important at-bats in Giants postseason history? There’s a stat for that (The Athletic)
Steve Steinberg: Interview with Don Zminda on Double Plays and Double Crosses on the 1920 Black Sox (Pandemic Baseball Book Club)
Alex Speier: The Red Sox are four months away from making a franchise-changing pick in the draft. How are they prepping? (Boston Globe)
Rob Mains: The Times-Through-The-Order Penalty is Worse Than You Thought (Baseball Prospectus)
Eno Sarris/Brittany Ghiroli: Can we determine which teams are best and worst at developing fastball velocity? (The Athletic)
Aaron Gleeman: 6,000 Days of Winter: Making sense of the Twins’ historic playoff losing streak (The Athletic)
Amanda Lane: The First Spring of Ichiro (Lookout Landing)
Aaron Dunne: Hall of Fame still eludes Cork man who was MLB’s ‘only successful ambidextrous pitcher’ (Irish Central)
David Laurila: A Conversation With Los Angeles Angels Right-Hander Dylan Bundy (FanGraphs)
Nick Vossbrink: Images as Currency (SABR Baseball Cards Blog)
Paul Ember: Covering the Bases: 1986 Topps #85 Tony Perez (w/ guest Eric Davis) (SABR Baseball Cards Blog)
Nick Vossbrink: On thinking about what makes a card a card (SABR Baseball Cards Blog)

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.

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