This Week in SABR: March 18, 2016

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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 March 18, 2016:

Check out highlights from the 2016 SABR Analytics Conference

Couldn’t make it to Arizona for the SABR Analytics Conference? Visit SABR.org/analytics for full coverage of this exciting event that brings together the top minds in the baseball analytics community in 2016. You’ll feel like you’re wandering through the Hyatt Regency Phoenix with stories and highlights from the great panel discussions and research presentations on our schedule, photo galleries, and much more.

  • During the conference, you could follow along on Twitter by searching for the hashtag #SABRanalytics or by reading tweets from our account (@SABR) and from other conference attendees.
  • View photo galleries from each day of the conference at SABR.org/analytics/photos.

We hope you’ll join us for the SIXTH annual SABR Analytics Conference on March 9-11, 2017, at the Hyatt Regency Phoenix!

For more highlights, click on a link below:

Thursday, March 10

Friday, March 11

Saturday, March 12

Stay tuned for more stories, clips, and highlights from the 2016 SABR Analytics Conference! For more coverage, visit SABR.org/analytics.

Baumer, Brudnicki, McMurray win 2016 SABR Analytics Conference Research Awards

Ben Baumer, Alexis Brudnicki, and John McMurray were announced as the winners of 2016 SABR Analytics Conference Research Awards on Saturday, March 12 at the fifth annual SABR Analytics Conference in Phoenix, Arizona.

Baumer, along with co-authors Shane T. Jensen and Gregory J. Matthews, were voted as the winners of the Contemporary Baseball Analysis Award for their article “OpenWAR: An Open Source System for Evaluating Overall Player Performance in Major League Baseball,” which appeared in the June 2015 edition of the Journal of Quantitative Analysis. Baumer is an assistant professor in the Statistical & Data Sciences program at Smith College in Massachusetts and a former statistical analyst in the New York Mets front office. Matthews is an Assistant Professor in Mathematics and Statistics at Loyola University in Chicago. Jensen is an Associate Professor in Statistics at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School.

Brudnicki was voted as the winner of the Contemporary Baseball Commentary Award for her article “I’m Different. I’m the Same.”, published by The Hardball Times on November 18, 2015. Brudnicki is the lead baseball writer for the Canadian Baseball Network and the founder of the Turn Two Baseball Foundation. She has also written for MLB.com and Baseball America and worked with the Toronto Blue Jays in game-day production.

McMurray was voted as the winner of the Historical Baseball Analysis/Commentary Award for his article “Examining Stolen Base Trends by Decade from the Deadball Era through the 1970s,” which appeared in the Fall 2015 edition of SABR’s Baseball Research Journal. McMurray is the chair of SABR’s Deadball Era Research Committee and Oral History Research Committee and vice-chair of the Baseball and the Media committee. He has written for Baseball Digest, Sports Collectors Digest, and many other publications.

The SABR Analytics Conference Research Awards recognize baseball researchers who have completed the best work of original analysis or commentary during the preceding calendar year. To view all of the 2016 finalists, click here.

Voting for the winners was conducted online from February 1-February 15, 2016, at SABR.org, BaseballProspectus.com, FanGraphs.com, HardballTimes.com, and BeyondtheBoxScore.com, with results weighted equally at 20%.

For a list of previous winners, click here.

Deadline extended! Submit your SABR 46 presentation abstract

SABR invites all members to present their research findings to their colleagues attending SABR 46, the 2016 annual convention on July 27-31 in Miami, Florida.

Oral presentations are expected to last 20 minutes, followed by a five minute question-and-answer period. Posters will be presented, with the author on-hand to discuss the work, during a poster session of 90 or so minutes, and will probably remain on display throughout the convention. Through on-site judging, the most highly-regarded presentations will receive the Doug Pappas Award for best oral presentation and the USA Today Sports Weekly Award for best poster presentation.

The submission deadline for SABR 46 abstracts is midnight PST, Sunday, MARCH 20, 2016. Click here for complete details and criteria.

Submit abstracts to sabr2016-presentations@comcast.net, the research presentations address for SABR 46. You may also use the alternate address sabr46-presentations@comcast.net.

Please note: If your abstract is accepted and you intend to make a research presentation, you must register to attend the SABR 46 convention. Registration and hotel information for SABR 46 is now available at SABR.org/convention.

Early registration now open for SABR 46 in Miami

We hope you’ll join us for what promises to be a spectacular SABR 46 convention, July 27-31, 2016, at the Hyatt Regency Miami in downtown Miami, Florida.

  • Registration: Click here for complete information on SABR 46 registration rates, all-inclusive packages, and optional sessions. Or click here to register for SABR 46! More details on guest speakers, panelists, and presenters will be announced soon. We’re again offering a special all-inclusive rate for the annual SABR convention. SABR members can pay $269 for an all-inclusive package that includes full registration to SABR 46, a premium Home Plate Box ticket to the Miami Marlins game on Friday, July 29 (includes special pregame ballpark session/tour and roundtrip bus transportation), and one ticket to the Awards Luncheon — the package is a savings of $40 off the regular rate. Non-members can pay $299 for the all-inclusive rate. The deadline to register at the all-inclusive rate is Monday, June 13, 2016.
  • Hotel: Don’t forget to book your hotel room at the Hyatt Regency Miami; our room block usually goes quickly. Click here to book your room online. The deadline to book your room at the SABR group rate of $129/night (plus tax) is Monday, June 13, 2016. If you have any questions about your reservation, please call the hotel at (305) 358-1234.
  • Pregame ballpark session/tour: SABR 46 attendees will have a special opportunity to visit Marlins Park for an exclusive pregame ballpark session with Miami Marlins executives and players. Before the Marlins 7:10 p.m. game against the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday, July 29, a special SABR 46 panel discussion will take place at Marlins Park followed by a ballpark tour for convention attendees. Guest speakers and more details will be announced soon. Purchase of SABR 46 conference registration AND a game ticket will be required to attend this special session. A SABR 46 Marlins game ticket also includes roundtrip bus transportation. Click here to learn more.
  • Pre-order your SABR logo shirts, caps, or souvenir baseballs: Avoid the rush at registration, and pre-order your SABR logo polo shirt, T-shirt, baseball caps, or souvenir crystal baseball online when you register for SABR 46. Please indicate shirt size (adult S to XXXL) when you register. Caps are one-size-fit-most. Your items will be available to be picked up when you arrive at the SABR convention. The souvenir baseballs are crystal paperweights measuring about 3 inches around, with an embossed SABR logo in the center. Deadline to pre-order: Monday, June 13, 2016.
  • Apply for a Yoseloff Scholarship: With generous funding from The Anthony A. Yoseloff Foundation, Inc., SABR will award up to four scholarships to high school or college students to attend SABR 46 in Miami. 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. Some form of age verification (photocopy of driver’s license, passport, etc.) must be attached to your application. Submissions must include a written essay and a letter of recommendation from a current high school/college teacher, guidance counselor or a school administrator. For full details on how to apply, click here.

All SABR 46 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 Miami area. All SABR members, whether you attend the convention or not, will receive the expanded e-book edition of The National Pastime in their inboxes later this summer. Click here to register for SABR 46.

Registration now open for 2016 Jerry Malloy Negro League Conference

The 19th annual Jerry Malloy Negro League Conference will be held July 7-9, 2016, in Kansas City. The conference is open to all baseball, history and sports fans of all ages. Registration is now available.

  • To register: Click here to register online at the SABR Store. Or click here to download a printable registration form and information packet (PDF); you can mail your check or money order before June 20 to SABR Malloy Conference, Cronkite School at ASU, 555 N. Central Ave. #416, Phoenix, AZ 85004. The early registration rate for SABR members is $165 for adults (includes all activities) or $120 for students. (Non-members: $200 adults/$150 students). Single-day registration for Friday or Saturday is $75 for SABR members, $95 non-members. The Thursday education forum only is $15 for SABR members, $30 non-members. Optional sessions or guest tickets are also available. Please note: The early registration rate expires on May 10, 2016.
  • Book your hotel room: The Malloy Conference will be held at the Sheraton Overland Park Hotel at the Convention Center, 6100 College Boulevard, Overland Park, KS 66211. Limited rooms are available at a special discounted rate of $119/night (plus tax) for singles/doubles or $129/night (plus tax) for triples. Click here to reserve your room today or call (866) 837-4214 and mention the Jerry Malloy Conference. Please note: The cutoff date to book your room at the SABR discounted rate is June 13, 2016.

The 2016 Jerry Malloy Negro League Conference will celebrate “Barnstorming in the Negro Baseball Leagues.” Barnstorming has always been a central part of the life of Negro League ballplayers. All Negro Leaguers took part in barnstorming games across the country and in cities like Kansas City. Monarchs great Satchel Paige, whose 110th birthday is being celebrated during this conference, did his fair share of barnstorming. Presentations may focus on any topic related to the theme, or other Negro Leagues issues.

Visit SABR.org/malloy for information on the 2016 Call for Papers, Essay Contest, Art Contest, and Library Grant Program.

Bill Pennington receives 2016 SABR Seymour Medal at NINE Conference banquet

2016 Seymour Medal winner Bill Pennington, author of Billy Martin: Baseball’s Flawed Genius, accepted his award at the banquet of the 23rd annual NINE Spring Training Conference on Saturday, March 12 in Tempe, Arizona.

“This is a great honor,” said Pennington, a veteran reporter who covered the New York Yankees during Martin’s final years as manager. “I feel like I’ve been walking around with this book for 30 years or more. When I first met him, I thought, ‘Wow, I’ve never met anyone like this guy.’ He did so many interesting things and he was so complex. … Thirty years have passed, and I still have never met anyone like that.”

The Seymour Medal honors the best book of baseball history or biography published during the preceding calendar year. Pennington’s Billy Martin biography was published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

The Seymour Medal, named in honor of Dr. Harold Seymour and Mrs. Dorothy (Seymour) Mills, was first awarded by SABR in 1996.

For more information, click here.

SABR Digital Library: 1986 Mets/Red Sox: There Was More Than Game Six

It’s a double feature! Add two new baseball books to your collection with the latest releases from the SABR Digital Library:

The 1986 New York Mets: There Was More Than Game Six
Edited by Leslie Heaphy and Bill Nowlin
ISBN (paperback): 978-1-943816-13-2, $19.95
ISBN (ebook): 978-1-943816-12-5, $9.99
8.5″ x 11″, 360 pages


The 1986 Boston Red Sox: There Was More Than Game Six
Edited by Bill Nowlin and Leslie Heaphy
ISBN (paperback): 978-1-943816-13-2, $19.95
ISBN (ebook): 978-1-943816-12-5, $9.99
8.5″ x 11″, 415 pages

This two-book companion series focuses on the rivals that met in the 1986 World Series, the Boston Red Sox and the New York Mets, including biographies of every player, coach, broadcaster, and other important figures in baseball’s top organizations that year.

This book on the 1986 season re-tells the story of that year’s classic World Series. After four games, each team had won two away games and neither had won at home. Then the Red Sox won Game Five at Fenway, and were one game away from winning their first World Championship in 86 years. It came to the point they were one pitch away from baseball Nirvana. And then …

Just about everyone knows what happened, but there are takes on it here you might not have read elsewhere. Mostly, this is the story of each of the players, coaches, managers, and broadcasters, their lives in baseball, and the way the 1986 season fit into their lives.

As with many of the books published by SABR, this was a true collaborative effort. There are 74 different SABR members who contributed to making these two books on the Mets and Red Sox a reality. It took us two books to tell the story as well as we wanted. Get your copy of each book for the full story!

SABR members, get these e-books 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 e-books for free. To download any past publications, visit SABR.org/ebooks.

3 new biographies published by SABR BioProject

Three new biographies were posted this week as part of the SABR Baseball Biography Project, which brings us to a total of 3,698 published biographies. Here are the new bios:

All new biographies can be found here: http://sabr.org/bioproj/recent

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, will air this weekend at its regular time, 7:00-8:00 p.m. ET on Sundays, on MLB Network Radio.

Now, you can watch video highlights of Behind the Numbers: Baseball SABR Style on SiriusXM on MLB.com and you can also listen to all 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.

For more information, click here.

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: http://sabr.org/content/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 (SABR.org/directory).

Name Hometown     Name Hometown
Andrew Arends London, ENG     Bryan Lee Pittsburgh, PA
Bill Arnold Lincoln, RI     Nick Mannon Columbus, OH
William Blair Ridgecrest, CA     Dennis Miera Dunlap, IL
David Casale Prospect, KY     Shane Newell Hesperia, CA
Rick Cole Port Colborne, ON     John Racanelli La Grange, IL
Audrey Cornelison Sacramento, CA     Duncan Rogers Ratley, ENG
Jordan Englekirk Rancho Mirage, CA     Chuck Taylor Springfield, IL
Jacob Goldfinger Brooklyn, NY     Tim Tiffany San Diego, CA
Spero Koulouras Los Gatos, CA        

Research Committee news

Here are the new SABR research committee updates this week:

  • Negro Leagues: March 2016 newsletter
  • Educational Resources: The SABR Educational Resources Committee is creating a Syllabi and Activity Depository to collect baseball related education materials. We are hoping in the near-future to create a database for people to search, and download these materials. We are asking that if you are teaching a “baseball course” (Introduction to Baseball Literature, etc.) or using baseball as an example to teach a particular topic to please share those materials with us. Please fill out one of our surveys — click here for the Syllabi form or click here for the Activity form — and then e-mail your activity or syllabi (in PDF format) to Tom Mueller at hoopsgis@gmail.com. 

Find all SABR research committee newsletters at SABR.org/research.

Regional Chapter news

Here are the new regional chapter updates this week:

  • Maddux Brothers-Las Vegas Chapter meeting recap (March 5; Las Vegas, NV)
  • Quebec Chapter SABR Day meeting recap (January 30; Montreal, QC)
  • Connecticut Smoky Joe Wood Chapter: Information on ordering the chapter’s new book, 100: The 100 Year Journey of a Baseball Journeyman, Mike Sandlock, can be found on the chapter website at smokyjoewood.com. Contributors include chapter members Don Harrison, Norman Hausmann, Alan Cohen, Steve Krevisky, Stan Dziurgot, Peter Seidel, Tom Monitto, and Karl Cicitto. The book will be available on Amazon for $14.95 plus shipping. SABR members can pre-order copies for $10 plus shipping by emailing Karl Cicitto at kcicitto@cox.net.

Visit SABR.org/chapters for more information on SABR regional chapters.

SABR Events Calendar

Here is a list of upcoming SABR events:

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: March 18, 2016. Last Updated: April 3, 2020.

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