This Week in SABR: March 28, 2025

March 28, 2025/in This Week in SABR /by Jacob Pomrenke

Welcome to “This Week in SABR” on Friday, March 28, 2025.
Click here to view this newsletter on the web.

Subscribe to the Baseball Research Journal by April 1
Join us at SABR 53 for Seitz Decision 50th Anniversary Panel
Learn more about recipients of SABR Local Grants in 2025
SABR 500 Club membership referral drive
Last call to submit project proposals to SABR Editorial Board
Deadlines approaching for student scholarship applications

Subscribe to the Baseball Research Journal by April 1

All SABR members exclusively receive the Baseball Research Journal electronically twice a year. The Spring 2025 issue will be sent out to all members’ inboxes 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 by April 1, 2025
(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.

Join us at SABR 53 for Seitz Decision 50th Anniversary Panel

SABR’s 53rd annual convention is scheduled for June 25-29, 2025, in Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas. 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.

A featured panel discussing the 50th anniversary of arbitrator Peter Seitz’s landmark decision on baseball free agency will include:

Don Fehr, former Executive Director of the MLB Players Association
Steve Rogers, Special Assistant, MLB Players Association, and former Montreal Expos All-Star pitcher
Moderator: Bradford William Davis, Fort Worth Star-Telegram columnist

In addition, former Texas Rangers All-Star infielder Elvis Andrus will join our Hitters Panel with Hall of Fame catcher Iván Rodríguez and more speakers to be announced soon.

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

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.

Learn more about recipients of SABR Local Grants in 2025

SABR is pleased to announce the recipients of Local Grants in 2025:

Connie Mack-Dick Allen Chapter: Philadelphia Negro Leagues Student Research Scholarships
Boston Chapter: Sea Foam House commemorative storyboard
Bob Broeg St. Louis Chapter: 150th anniversary of St. Louis’s first major-league game
Roush-Lopez Gulf Coast Chapter: St. Petersburg Spring Training Trolley Tour
Lefty O’Doul Bay Area Chapter: Lefty O’Doul Grave Marker Restoration
Allan Roth Chapter: Manzanar Baseball Project historical re-enactment

Click here to learn more about each of these projects.

The SABR Local Grants program provides an opportunity for chapters, research committees, and chartered communities to apply for funding for their projects under SABR’s Four Pillars: Research, Scholarship, Preservation, and Future of the Game. In total, $10,000 in SABR Local Grants will be awarded in 2025. Visit SABR.org/local-grants to learn more or to apply for a future grant.

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 during our 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. The current SABR member who refers the most new members will receive a complimentary registration for SABR’s 53rd annual convention in Dallas-Fort Worth this June. Cash prizes will also be awarded to SABR chapters with the most referrals.

Visit SABR.org/500-club to learn more.

Join us on April 16 for a SABR Live Oral History Interview with Dale Murphy

Baseball fans, join us for a special virtual event at 7:30 p.m. Eastern on Wednesday, April 16: a live SABR Oral History interview with former National League MVP and Atlanta Braves great Dale Murphy.

All fans are invited to attend this interview session on Zoom, which will be conducted by Oral History Committee chair John McMurray. The interview will be recorded and added to SABR’s Oral History Collection archive afterward.

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.

Deadlines approaching for SABR Convention, Negro Leagues student scholarships

With generous funding from The Nanar and Anthony Yoseloff Foundation, Inc., SABR will award up to four scholarships to high school and college students who wish to attend this summer’s SABR convention:

Yoseloff Scholarship—SABR 53: With generous funding from The Nanar and Anthony Yoseloff Foundation, Inc., SABR will award up to four scholarships to high school and college students who wish to attend the SABR 53 convention on June 25-29, 2025, in Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas. This scholarship will pay for all registration fees and expenses associated with the conference. Deadline to apply: April 11, 2025. Click here to learn more or to download an application.

In addition, SABR’s Negro Leagues Committee awards $1,000 scholarships to high school seniors in its annual Thomas R. Garrett Scholarship essay contest. Students must write a 1,200-word essay answering a question related to one of the Negro League figures who are the namesakes of the scholarships. Deadline to apply: April 15. Click here to download an application or learn more about the scholarships.

Visit SABR.org/scholarships to learn more about student scholarship opportunities.

Writing opportunity: Spring training articles and essays

The editors of an upcoming SABR publication are seeking original articles and essays that explore all aspects of baseball’s spring training, including notable and historical locations, prominent or influential people, cultural implications, memorable moments, or personal narratives. All SABR members are welcome to contribute. Please send queries to editor David Pegram by October 1, 2025.

Click here to learn more about contributing to upcoming SABR projects.

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

Games Project celebrates 2025 Opening Day with collection of new stories

As we celebrate the start of a new baseball season in 2025, the SABR Games Project has published a variety of new stories on memorable Opening Day games, from the pioneering National Association to a game played under COVID protocols; plus the newly branded Boston Red Sox; and games featuring Hall of Famers Mel Ott, Eddie Mathews, Willie Stargell, Cal Ripken Jr., Wade Boggs, Tom Glavine, and Pedro Martinez.

April 26, 1872: Mansfields of Middletown are ‘Chicagoed’ in National Association debut, by Larry DeFillipo
April 14, 1908: Boston wins first game as the Red Sox after formal name change, by Bill Nowlin
April 16, 1946: Giants’ Mel Ott hits 511th and final career home run on Opening Day, by Richard Cuicchi
April 15, 1952: Eddie Mathews debuts in final Boston Braves home opener, by Kurt Blumenau
April 12, 1960: Chuck Essegian repeats World Series magic for Dodgers on Opening Day, by Tim Otto
April 10, 1975: Willie Stargell returns to first base, homers twice in Pirates’ Opening Day win over Cubs, by John Fredland
April 10, 1981: Pawtucket, Rochester warm up for longest game with extra innings on Opening Day, by Kurt Blumenau
April 9, 1985: Giants’ Jim Davenport makes managerial debut with Opening Day victory over Padres, by Tom Schott
April 7, 1992: Braves’ Tom Glavine beats Astros for first time with two-hit shutout on Opening Day, by Andrew Harner
April 4, 2005: Pedro Martinez makes his Mets debut; Reds rally for Opening Day win, by Thomas J. Brown Jr.
April 6, 2021: Juan Soto’s first career walk-off hit gives Nationals an Opening Day win over Braves, by Laura H. Peebles

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

New additions to 19th Century League and Team Resources collection

SABR’s Nineteenth Century Committee has added more files to the 19th Century League and Team Resources collection, which aims to collect all available pre-1900 baseball documents and make them available online to future researchers. The collection now includes draft by-laws and constitutions for the Union Association (1884) and Players League (1890), a record of the initial National League organizational meeting (1875), and more. Click here to learn more.

The 2005 World Champion Chicago White Sox: Grinders and Gamers
Edited by Eric Conrad, Mark Morowczynski, Bill Nowlin, and Don Zminda

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:

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
Allen Balint	Homewood, AL	Christopher Hawkins	Milford, MI
Stratis Bohle	Centreville, VA	Scott Johnson	Fresno, CA
Bill Broadhurst	Leonardo, NJ	Laurel Krahn	Minneapolis, MN
Russ Chappius	Vineland, NJ	Gabriel Lerman	Toronto, ON
Ryan Crants	Nashville, TN	Jonny Lintell	Stamford, CT
Javier de los Santos	San Gerónimo, DOM	Martin LuSoto	Derry, NH
Justin Firesheets	Trussville, AL	Robert Lynch	Ellicott City, MD
John Fitzgerald	Maple Grove, MN	Derek McKim	East Lansing, MI
Ed Gerard	O’Fallon, MO	Isaac Paulson	Petersburg, AK
Russell Gilardi	Gaithersburg, MD	Mehul Shah	Belmont, MA
Moe Golden	Washington, DC	Brock Splawski	Chicago, IL
David Hall	Wichita, KS	Sally Yi	Seattle, WA

Events Calendar: Find details of all upcoming SABR events.
Video Replays: This week, we heard from Bailey Hall (“Which is Worse: A Leadoff Walk or a Leadoff Single?”); Gabriel Lerman (Belonging in the Bleachers: NPB Fandom and Travel); Benny Gilbert (“Houston Astrodome 60th Anniversary”); the 19th Century Book Club (The Original Louisville Slugger); the Mathewson-Plank (PA) Chapter hot stove meeting; and the 2025 AL Central Chapters season preview. Click here to view video replays of virtual SABR events.

Upcoming Virtual Meetings

March 29: Hank Gowdy Columbus (OH) Chapter book club meeting (9:30 a.m. EDT)
March 30: Baltimore Babe Ruth (MD) Chapter meeting with Vince Guerrieri (7:00 p.m. EDT)
March 31: Clyde Sukeforth (NH/ME) Chapter meeting with Gregory Duhamel (7:00 p.m. EDT)
April 2: Baltimore Babe Ruth (MD) Chapter meeting with Alan Gaff (7:00 p.m. EDT)
April 3: Magnolia (GA) Chapter meeting with Brent Ingram (7:30 p.m. EDT)
April 5: Bob Davids Chapter: Talkin’ Baseball with Tim Newby (9:00 a.m. EDT)
April 5: Rice-Russell Nashville (TN) Chapter meeting with Ken Clawson and Alan Gaff (10:00 a.m. CDT)

Upcoming In-Person Meetings

March 29: Casey Stengel Chapter meeting (New York, NY)
March 30: Cliff Kachline Chapter meeting (Gloversville, NY)
March 31: Hank Gowdy Columbus Chapter get-together (Westerville, OH)
April 2: Bob Broeg St. Louis Chapter fellowship meeting (St. Louis, MO)
April 5: Halsey Hall Chapter book club meeting (Roseville, MN)
April 5-6: SABR Board of Directors meeting (Pittsburgh, PA)

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

Nineteenth Century: Spring 2025 newsletter

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

Halsey Hall Chapter: April 2025 newsletter (Minneapolis, MN)
Larry Dierker Chapter: March 17 meeting recap (Houston, TX)

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:

Save 40% off the purchase of baseball books at University of Nebraska Press through June 13
Brian Kenny: Interview with Dr. Glenn Fleisig on his studies of weighted baseballs (MLB Now)
Justin Tinsley: MLB shouldn’t take the Defense Department’s attempted erasure of Jackie Robinson lightly (Andscape)
Ryan Whirty: A struggle we can, and must, overcome (Negro Leagues Up Close)
Sarah Langs: The major milestones within reach for star players in 2025 (MLB.com)
Emma Baccellieri: MLB’s Umpire School Is Adapting to a New Era of Increased Scrutiny (Sports Illustrated)
Michael Clair: Baseball’s global home run king, Sadaharu Oh, has never seen this ‘level of excitement’ (MLB.com)
Ben Lindbergh: Do MLB Prospects Have It Harder Than Ever? (The Ringer)
Rob Mains: Has the Disengagement Rule Democratized Stolen Bases? (Baseball Prospectus)
J.J. Cooper: What The Pirates & Twins Finances Reveal About MLB’s Revenue Divide (Baseball America)
Richard Deitsch: After 36 years, ESPN’s ‘Sunday Night Baseball’ enters its final season (for now) (The Athletic)
Jay Jaffe: Triple Crown Winners and Cy Young Hopefuls Headline This Year’s Crop of Opening Day Starters (FanGraphs)
Tyler Kepner: Opening Day’s oldest rookie: A Brewers coach gets the call after 44 years (The Athletic)
Russell A. Carleton: Defending from the Bench (Baseball Prospectus)
Davy Andrews: We Are Invincible, We Are Already Dead (FanGraphs)
Jayson Stark: A trek to Tropicana Field, baseball’s haunted house: Blue skies, but no Rays (The Athletic)
Kevin Baxter: ‘We’re not guaranteed 3,000 at-bats’: What it’s like to have a one-game MLB career (Los Angeles Times)
Stephen J. Nesbitt: The brothers Bednar: A baseball family and two fairy-tale careers at crossroads (The Athletic)
Eric Stephen: History of former Cy Young Award winners battling at Dodger Stadium (True Blue LA)
David Laurila: Bassitt, Blank, Kirby, and the Impact of the Inevitable ABS (FanGraphs)
Chad Dotson: For Reds Fans, Hope Is Undefeated in March (Cincinnati Magazine)
Steven Goldman: Pale Swain, Pale Rider (Baseball Prospectus)
Richard Johnson: Remember sports sculptor Armand LaMontagne (Boston Globe)
Jen McCaffrey: Breslow’s Red Sox front-office audit resulted in painful cuts. Will the changes bring wins? (The Athletic)
Alex Speier: How the Red Sox’ Garrett Crochet made the transformation from reliever to one of the most dominant starters in baseball (Boston Globe)
Derrick Goold: Nolan Arenado welcomes the chance to give Cardinals fans ‘something better’ (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
Roy Carlson: Drawing Conclusions: More Topps Copycat Capers (Sports Collectors Daily)
Mark Kolier: Opening day used to belong to the Cincinnati Reds (Almost Cooperstown)
James Groh: The Forgotten Champions: The story of the 1944 pro baseball team the Milwaukee Chicks (WTMJ)
Jeff Cohen/Len Aberman: Baseball and BBQ interview with Buck Showalter (Baseball and BBQ)
Patrick Bone: The Name on the Card (SABR Baseball Cards)
Derek Bain: Full Count Baseball game 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.

Are you receiving our e-mails? “This Week in SABR” goes out by e-mail to all members on Friday afternoons. If they’re not showing up, try adding “sabr.notes@sabr.org” to your contact list to ensure they show up in your inbox.

Originally published: March 28, 2025. Last Updated: March 28, 2025.

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