This Week in SABR: March 14, 2025
Welcome to “This Week in SABR” on Friday, March 14, 2025.
Click here to view this newsletter on the web.
SABR Analytics Conference is now under way
Join us on March 23 for webinar on MLB pitching injuries
SABR Digital Library: The 2005 World Champion Chicago White Sox: Grinders and Gamers
SABR 500 Club membership referral drive
Larry Gerlach receives Seymour Medal at NINE Conference
Call for nominations: 2025 SABR Board of Directors election
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2025 SABR Analytics Conference is under way!
The 14th annual SABR Analytics Conference kicked off this weekend and will continue through Sunday, March 16. With an attendance of more than 800 combined in-person and virtual student registrants for this event at the Beus Center for Law and Society in Phoenix, Arizona, 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.
- Digital Program: Click here to download the digital program (PDF)
- Speakers: Click here to learn more about our Featured Speakers.
- Schedule: Click here to view the full conference schedule.
- Research Presentations: Click here for Research Presentation abstracts and bios.
- Diamond Dollars Case Competition: Check out the winners in the 2025 Diamond Dollars Case Competition.
To learn more about the SABR Analytics Conference, visit SABR.org/analytics.
2025 Diamond Dollars Case Competition winners announced
The 2025 Diamond Dollars Case Competition winners were announced Friday, March 14 during the SABR Analytics Conference.
The winning teams selected were from Vanderbilt University, Syracuse University, NYU-Tisch Institute for Global Sport, and the Branson School.
The Branson School team — which was picked to deliver an encore presentation in front of the full SABR Analytics Conference on Saturday — included Remy DeJean, Christopher Mao, Zach Redlin, Spencer Weinberg, and Theo Zak.
Click here to read the full announcement at SABR.org.
Join us on March 23 for SABR-ABBS Webinar on MLB Pitching Injuries
SABR and the American Baseball Biomechanics Society are bringing together a group of experts for a special webinar at 7:00 p.m. EDT on Sunday, March 23 to discuss the recently published MLB Report on Pitching Injuries. This discussion will explain the results of the study and explore how players, teams, trainers, coaches, and organizations can better limit pitching injuries in the future. Attendance is limited to members of SABR and ABBS.
- Moderator: Dr. Arnel Aguinaldo
- Panelists: Dr. Glenn Fleisig, Dr. Kristen Nicholson, Mike Reinold, Eno Sarris
Click here to register in advance for the Zoom meeting.
SABR Digital Library: The 2005 World Champion Chicago White Sox: Grinders and Gamers
Add a new baseball book to your collection from the SABR Digital Library:
The 2005 World Champion Chicago White Sox: Grinders and Gamers
Edited by Eric Conrad, Mark Morowczynski, Bill Nowlin, and Don Zminda
Associate editors: Len Levin and Carl Riechers
Foreword by Jerry Reinsdorf
ISBN (ebook): 978-1-960819-36-9, $9.99
ISBN (paperback) 978-1-960819-37-6, $34.95
8.5″ x 11″, 326 pages
The 2005 World Champion Chicago White Sox: Grinders and Gamers, published on the twentieth anniversary of the team’s historic World Series victory, celebrates the club that broke “the curse of the Black Sox” to finally bring the White Sox a championship after an 87-year drought. Featuring biographies of every player on the club’s roster in 2005—from the big stars like Paul Konerko and Mark Buehrle to the “cup of coffee” players like Jamie Burke and David Sanders—the book also includes bios of owner Jerry Reinsdorf (who also contributed the Foreword), general manager Kenny Williams, manager Ozzie Guillén and his coaching staff, the team’s television and radio broadcasters, and the club’s home ballpark.
More than a dozen articles cover key games, from Buehrle’s Opening Day 1-0 gem (in an hour and 51 minutes) to Game Four of the World Series against the Houston Astros—another 1-0 White Sox victory. Additional essays tell the story of how this club of “grinding and games” fought its way to the title.
Visit SABR.org/ebooks to download the free ebook edition or save 50% off the purchase of the paperback edition.
SABR 500 Club membership referral drive
Do you have friends or family members who would love SABR? Now is the time to encourage them to join as we kick off the SABR 500 Club membership drive!
The SABR 500 Club is a referral-based membership drive with the goal of welcoming 500 new SABR members between March 1 and April 30, 2025. New members who sign up for an annual or multi-year membership during the referral period will receive a custom baseball card set featuring SABR-Rucker Archive images of members of the 500 home run club. Current members who refer three or more new members during the drive, regardless of membership type, will receive their choice of a card set or SABR logo lapel pin.
Visit SABR.org/500-club to learn more.
Early registration now available for SABR 53 in Dallas-Fort Worth
This summer we’ll head to the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex on June 25-29, 2025, for the 53rd SABR convention. SABR 53 will feature a Texas-sized speaker lineup we know you’ll love, alongside an invigorated social experience emphasizing SABR’s ability to unite all of us in baseball fellowship. All baseball fans are welcome to attend.
Here are some of our featured speakers and panelists:
- Iván Rodríguez, Texas Rangers great and 2017 Baseball Hall of Fame inductee
- Bruce Bochy, Texas Rangers manager and four-time World Series champion
- Chris Young, Texas Rangers President of Baseball Operations
- Tom Schieffer, former Texas Rangers president
- Rob Matwick, Executive Vice President, Public Affairs, Texas Rangers
- Jack Hill, former Senior Vice President, Project Development, Texas Rangers
- James Beckett, founder and CEO of Beckett Media
- Tim Purpura, former Houston Astros general manager and Texas League president
- Bob Baillargeon, former Texas League player
- Rick Herrscher, former Texas League player
- Stay tuned for more speakers and panelists to be announced!
If you’ve never attended a SABR convention, this is the perfect year to join us and make new baseball friendships. If you’re a veteran attendee, we can’t wait for you to experience our rejuvenated convention experience. It will be an incredible week of baseball fellowship in the heart of Texas and we hope you’ll make plans to be part of it!
Visit SABR.org/convention to register now or learn more.
Students, apply now for a Yoseloff Scholarship to attend SABR 53
With generous funding from The Nanar and Anthony Yoseloff Foundation, Inc., SABR will award up to 4 scholarships to high school or college students to attend SABR 53 on June 25-29, 2025, in Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas. This scholarship will pay for registration, transportation and lodging (double occupancy) up to a total value of $1,250.
Students must be currently enrolled in a high school, college undergraduate or graduate program, and be between 18 and 29 years of age at the time of the conference. All applications must be postmarked or e-mailed to Scott Carter no later than April 11, 2025.
Click here to learn more or to download an application.
Subscribe to the Baseball Research Journal in 2025
In 2025, all SABR members exclusively receive the Baseball Research Journal electronically twice a year. The Spring 2025 issue will be sent out in April. However, if you are interested in a paperback copy of BRJ for your personal library, we have rolled out a subscription option at a significantly discounted rate: $7 per issue for members, compared to $19.95 at retail.
- To subscribe and receive a printed edition of BRJ, visit SABR.org/subscribe
(If you have any questions about your subscription, please email brjsubscribe@sabr.org.)
Click here for a short video on how to subscribe to printed copies of BRJ.
Larry Gerlach receives SABR Seymour Medal at NINE Conference
Larry Gerlach, author of Lion of the League: Bob Emslie and the Evolution of the Baseball Umpire, received his 2025 SABR Seymour Medal award during the 32nd annual NINE Spring Training Conference on Saturday, March 8 in Tempe, Arizona. The Dr. Harold and Dorothy Seymour Medal honors the best book of baseball history or biography published during the preceding calendar year.
The NINE Conference was highlighted by an evening with Tom Hoffarth, commemorating the 75th anniversary of Vin Scully’s first game behind the mic, along with research presentations by SABR members Lindsay Bell, David Bohmer, Jason Cannon, Alan Cohen, Mark Cryan, Geri Driscoll, Doug Feldmann, Eric Gray, David Gunzerath, Leslie Heaphy, Jay Hurd, Jeff Jaech, David Krell, Jon Leonoudakis, Dan Levitt, Todd McDorman, Mark McGee, Mitchell Nathanson, Jim Overmyer, Eric Poulin, Brian Pulverenti, Jay Thomas, Steve Treder, and Sidney Carlson White. To learn more, visit nineconference.com.
Call for nominations: 2025 SABR Board of Directors election
The SABR Nominating Committee is now seeking nominations for candidates for the 2025 Board of Directors elections. To be eligible for the Board of Directors, candidates must have been members of the Society for at least the preceding four years. Any candidate for an officer position must have at least one year of prior service on the Board during the preceding five-year period. The deadline for nominations is March 26, 2025. The offices to be filled are:
- President (2-year term)
- Director (3-year term)
- Director (3-year term)
Self-nominations are welcome. If you would like to nominate yourself or another candidate or suggest a question for the candidates, contact Nominating Committee chair Stew Thornley.
Click here to read the full announcement at SABR.org.
Deadline to submit new project proposals to SABR Editorial Board is April 1
SABR’s Editorial Board welcomes new project proposals from members to be considered for publication through the Digital Library, SABR.org, or any other multimedia formats. We strongly encourage new proposals that involve collaboration between SABR research committees and/or chapters, and web-based projects with an eye toward enhanced multimedia presentation.
- Click here to submit a SABR project proposal
Next deadline: April 1, 2025 (for publication in late 2026 or 2027)
SABR seeks to publish 2-4 web-based multimedia projects and 6-8 books per year. Book projects should be of a scope that can fit in a single volume, typically between 100,000 and 200,000 total words.
Click here to read the full announcement at SABR.org.
Find new updates to the SABR Research Collection below, including the Baseball Biography Project, Games Project, and Oral History Collection.
8 new stories published at SABR Games Project
- May 22, 1901: Noodles Hahn sets record with 16 strikeouts; attains first pitcher’s cycle, by Herm Krabbenhoft
- July 3, 1940: Athletics’ lead goes for naught as Red Sox come from behind with a storybook ninth, by Bill Nowlin
- August 31, 1948: Pirates break Forbes Field season attendance record in win over Giants, by John Fredland
- May 20, 1951: Phillies blast Pirates in 17-0 shutout win, by Howard Rosenberg
- June 19, 1955: Ted Williams homers off both Herb Score and Bob Feller in the same game, by Bill Nowlin
- October 6, 1985: Yankees’ Phil Niekro notches win number 300, by Larry DeFillipo
- October 26, 2002: Angels’ record-breaking comeback stuns Giants in Game 6, by Jake Rinloan
- June 15, 2003: Steve Trachsel’s one-hitter, José Reyes’ first home run lead Mets over Angels, by Thomas J. Brown Jr.
Visit SABR.org/gamesproject to learn more about the SABR Games Project or to get involved.
From Bytown to the Big Leagues:
150 Years of America’s Pastime in Canada’s Capital
Ottawa Baseball from 1865 to 2025
Edited by Steve Rennie and Bill Nowlin
Visit SABR.org to download the free e-book edition or save 50% off the paperback edition of all Digital Library books.
Here are some SABR headlines from recent weeks that we don’t want you to miss:
- Rob Fitts, Gary Gillette, Richard Malatzky honored with Henry Chadwick Award
- SABR members approve By-Laws revision in 2025 special election
- Hundreds of ProQuest US newspapers added to SABR Research Resources
- Paul Zwirecki joins SABR staff as External Relations Officer
- 19th Century League Documents now available in SABR Research Collection
- In Memoriam: Fay Vincent
- SABR Digital Library: When Minor League Baseball Almost Went Bust: 1946-1963
- Save the date! 2025 SABR/IWBC Women in Baseball Conference is September 19-21
- Read SABR biographies of 2025 Baseball Hall of Fame inductees
- Browse the new, searchable SABR MLB Team Employee Database
- Find complete collection of SABR-Rucker Archive baseball images online
- Historical Black Newspapers Collection added to SABR Research Resources
- Get a gift for baseball fan in your life with the SABR Store @ CafePress
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 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tiffany Babb | Diamond Bar, CA | Shannon Keith | Beaverton, OR | ||
| Jeffrey Baskett | Albuquerque, NM | Jack Knight | West Roxbury, MA | ||
| Charles Benfer | Auburn, AL | Joel Krentz | Saskatoon, SK | ||
| Savannah Bitto | Sanford, FL | Allen Lavine | Mequon, WI | ||
| Francesco Buccella | Hudson, MA | Stacy Moss | Skokie, IL | ||
| Richard Fein | Boca Raton, FL | Masahiro Nishida | Fukuoka City, JPN | ||
| Bryan Flood | Pflugerville, TX | Heath Santo | Dayton, OH | ||
| Terry Gans | San Carlos, CA | Grayson Sheridan | Coppell, TX | ||
| Joseph Giglio | Levittown, NY | Keith Sims | Bloomington, ID | ||
| Jared Hines | Atlanta, GA | Doug Taylor | Pasco, WA | ||
| Jacob James | Rapid City, SD | Tucker Warner | Brooklyn, NY | ||
| Rick Kaempfer | Mt. Prospect, IL | Ryan Wianecki | Dover, NJ |
- Events Calendar: Find details of all upcoming SABR events.
- Video Replays: This week, we heard from Dave Heller (Deadball Era Book Talks); Bailey Hall (“Which is Worse: A Leadoff Walk or a Leadoff Single?”); Terry Bohn (“The Sad Tale of Dapper Dan Lally”); Jeffrey Orens (“Selling Baseball: How Superstars George Wright and Albert Spalding Impacted Sports in America”); and the Hank Gowdy Columbus Chapter hot stove meeting. Click here to view video replays of virtual SABR events.
Upcoming Virtual Meetings
- March 14-16: SABR Analytics Conference (Phoenix, AZ)
- March 15: Mathewson-Plank (PA) Chapter book club meeting with Tim Newby (10:00 a.m. EDT)
- March 17: Clyde Sukeforth (NH/ME) Chapter meeting with William Humber (7:00 p.m. EDT)
- March 17: Halsey Hall (MN) Chapter research committee meeting (7:00 p.m. CDT)
- March 17: Larry Dierker (TX) Chapter meeting with Benny Gilbert (7:00 p.m. CDT)
- March 18: Luke Easter (NY) Chapter meeting with Will Bardenwarper (7:00 p.m. EDT)
- March 18: Spring Training Committee meeting (7:00 p.m. EDT)
- March 19: Pee Wee Reese (KY) Chapter meeting with Eric Gray (6:00 p.m. EDT)
- March 19: Jack Graney (OH) Chapter meeting (7:00 p.m. EDT)
- March 19: Joint Chapter Meeting with John W. Miller (7:00 p.m. CDT)
- March 19: New SABR Member Experience Meeting (8:00 p.m. EDT)
- March 20: Boston Chapter meeting (7:30 p.m. EDT)
- March 20: 19th Century Baseball Book Club (8:00 p.m. EDT)
- March 22: Hoyt-Allen Cincinnati Chapter meeting with Daniel M. Linnenberg, Ginny Skinner-Linnenberg, Russ Speiller, and Don Slavik (9:30 a.m. EDT)
- March 23: SABR-ABBS Webinar on MLB Pitching Injuries (7:00 p.m. EDT)
Upcoming In-Person Meetings
- March 15: Babe ‘n’ Bob Chapter Breakfast (Edgewater, MD)
- March 15: Maddux Bros.-Las Vegas Chapter meeting (Las Vegas, NV)
- March 16: Rogers Hornsby Chapter meeting (Round Rock, TX)
- March 18: Bob Davids Chapter Hot Stove Dinner (Silver Spring, MD)
- March 19: Rocky Mountain Chapter monthly lunch (Denver, CO)
- March 22: Ted Williams Chapter lunch meeting (San Diego, CA)
- March 23: Elysian Fields Chapter meeting (Little Falls, NJ)
To add your SABR event to our calendar listings, please contact Jacob Pomrenke.
- Games and Simulations: All SABR members are invited to participate in a Games and Simulations Committee daily or weekly transaction Rotisserie 5×5 league in 2025. Click here to learn more, including league rules and additional information.
Sign up for SABR research committee announcements at SABR.org/research/committees.
- Hanlan’s Point Chapter: Winter 2025 newsletter (Toronto, ON)
Sign up for SABR chapter announcements at SABR.org/chapters.
Click here to learn more about SABR chartered communities.
Here are some recent articles published by and about SABR members:
- Jay Jaffe: Never Is a Long, Long Time: Permanent Ineligibility and the Hall of Fame (FanGraphs)
- Andy McCullough: Baseball’s 2020 club: Five years ago they realized a dream, but COVID-19 stopped anyone from seeing it (The Athletic)
- Patrick Dubuque: Sacrifices Must Be Made (Baseball Prospectus)
- Mark Simon: Which MLB Teams Have The Best Defensive Reputations? (Sports Info Solutions)
- Michael Baumann: My NRIs Have Seen the Glory (FanGraphs)
- Russell A. Carleton: The Force Behind Baseball’s Rising Tide (Baseball Prospectus)
- Jayson Stark: As the Phillies eye a World Series ring, is their arrow pointing up or down? (The Athletic)
- Richard Goldstein: Frank Saucier, Slugger Sidelined by a Publicity Stunt, Dies at 98 (New York Times)
- Dan Cichalski: Art Schallock, oldest living AL/NL player and 3-time World Series champ, dies at 100 (MLB.com)
- David Laurila: Quinn Priester Is Poised To Turn a Corner In Boston (FanGraphs)
- Ryan Fagan: Bottoming Out or Bouncing Back? MLB Players Who Stand at a Crossroads (Opta Analyst)
- Derrick Goold: Cardinals attempt to spark offense starts at top with auditions for potential leading men (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
- Susan Slusser: How Giants blended players’ pampered palates and nutritional needs (San Francisco Chronicle)
- Ryan Divish: Mariners’ J.P. Crawford swinging free, feeling fine after epiphany (Seattle Times)
- Alex Speier: Is the Bregman Effect real? Red Sox answer is yes (Boston Globe)
- Anthony Castrovince: ‘Sky’s the limit’ for newly inked Butler; is the same true of upstart A’s? (MLB.com)
- Theo Balcomb: Japanese Baseball Began On My Family’s Farm In Maine (NPR)
- John Wakelin: Negro Leagues rare baseball collection donated to Bethune-Cookman University (YouTube)
- Brad Balukjian: Blue Jays mementos fan-favorite Lloyd Moseby saved from his playing career (The Athletic)
- Matt Monagan: Why MVP Baseball 2005 was one of greatest video games ever (MLB.com)
- Tim Booth: Mariners, Padres create the ‘Vedder Cup,’ endorsed by Eddie himself (Seattle Times)
- Matt Martell: Bob Uecker’s Voice Lives On (FanGraphs)
- Craig Brown: Examining a murky baseball image from the Washington Ellipse, 1860 (Threads of Our Game)
- Rick Kogan: Opening Day is upon us, and the new baseball book ‘Justice Batted Last’ hits a homer (Chicago Tribune)
- Jeff Cohen/Len Aberman: Baseball and BBQ interview with Dom Scala (Baseball and BBQ)
- Derek Bain: Computer Statis Pro Baseball tutorial (SABR Games and Simulations)
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: March 14, 2025. Last Updated: March 14, 2025.