This Week in SABR: May 27, 2022

May 27, 2022/in This Week in SABR /by Jacob Pomrenke

Welcome to “This Week in SABR!” Please note: The SABR office will be closed for the Memorial Day holiday on Monday, May 30. Click here to view this week’s newsletter on the web. Here’s what we’ve been up to as of May 27, 2022:

SABR 50: Babe Ruth panel with Jane Leavy, Mike Gibbons, Bill Jenkinson

Attendees at this summer’s SABR’s 50th annual convention — scheduled for August 17-21, 2022, at the Hyatt Regency Inner Harbor hotel in Baltimore — will enjoy hearing a special panel discussion on Baltimore’s native son, Babe Ruth.

On Thursday, August 18, from 10:00-11:00 a.m., award-winning authors Jane Leavy (The Big Fella) and Bill Jenkinson (The Year Babe Ruth Hit 104 Home Runs) along with Mike Gibbons, Director Emeritus and Historian for the Babe Ruth Birthplace and Museum, will speak about the life and legacy of Babe Ruth, who was born in Baltimore in 1895, learned to play baseball at St. Marys Industrial School for Boys, and began his professional career at the age of 19 with the minor-league Baltimore Orioles in 1914.

The annual SABR convention, which is open to all baseball fans, includes top featured speakers from around the baseball world, innovative panel discussions, groundbreaking research presentations, ballgames, the SABR Trivia Contest, the Awards Luncheon, and most of all, the opportunity to make and renew baseball friendships over the course of this exciting and memorable event.

Early registration discounts are now available for SABR 50. Click here for complete details on the SABR 50 All-Inclusive Package, Regular Registration, and other optional sessions.

To learn more about SABR 50, or to register, visit SABR.org/convention.

Jerry Malloy Negro League Conference begins next week in Birmingham

Join us next week for SABR’s annual Jerry Malloy Negro League Conference, which will be held on June 2-4, 2022, at the Sheraton Birmingham Hotel in Birmingham, Alabama. All baseball fans are welcome to attend.

The full schedule for the 2022 Malloy Conference is now available online; click here to view the daily panels, presentations, and historic site tours.

Register: Click here to register online for the 2022 Malloy Conference. Full registration is $195, students: $140. Single-day registration is also available for $75 for Friday or Saturday. Extra tickets can be purchased for the Rickwood Field bus tours, Thursday’s “meet and greet” reception, the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute Tour, or the awards banquet on Saturday night. All of these sessions are included in the full registration package.
Hotel: Please note: Hotel rooms at the Sheraton Birmingham are now sold out. A limited number of rooms are available at the Courtyard Birmingham Homewood, 500 Shades Creek Parkway, Homewood, AL 35209, at a special rate of $145/night (plus tax). Please call 205-879-0400 to book your room at the Courtyard hotel; you must identify yourself as a member of the Jerry Malloy Negro League Conference to get the special SABR rate while availability lasts. The Sheraton Birmingham, our host hotel, is located at 2101 Richard Arrington Jr. Blvd., North Birmingham, AL 35203. Call 205-324-5000 for any questions with the Sheraton.
Schedule: Click here to view the full schedule for the 2022 Malloy Conference.
COVID-19 policy: All attendees must supply proof of a negative test. Those who can provide proof of vaccination are exempt from this requirement. Attendees will be required to follow any additional local public health declarations, including mask mandates. Click here to learn more.
Contact: For questions, email Larry Lester or Leslie Heaphy.

Visit SABR.org/malloy to learn more.

Submit your questions for next week’s Ballpark Figures with sports logo designer Todd Radom

Join us each month for SABR’s Ballpark Figures, a new interview series hosted by award-winning writer Shakeia Taylor. The virtual Zoom event is free and open to all active SABR members.

At 8:00 p.m. EDT on Thursday, June 2, we’ll be joined by Todd Radom, an independent graphic designer who has created logos for professional sports franchises and events for the past two decades. His work includes the official logos for Super Bowl XXXVIII and the 2009 NBA All Star Game, the graphic identities for the Washington Nationals and Los Angeles Angels, and the SABR 49 and SABR 50 convention logos, among many others. He is the author of Winning Ugly: A Visual History of the Most Bizarre Baseball Uniforms Ever Worn and, most recently, Fabric of the Game, on the NHL’s team names, logos, and uniforms.

Click here to pre-register for Ballpark Figures with Shakeia Taylor on June 2
Q&A: If you would like to submit a question in advance for the next Ballpark Figures show, please click here to fill out our submission form.

Visit SABR.org/ballpark-figures to learn more or to watch replays of past episodes.

Read all articles from the Spring 2022 Baseball Research Journal online

Good news! The Spring 2022 edition of the Baseball Research Journal has been mailed out to all SABR members. This issue — which celebrates women in baseball and the 50th anniversary of Title IX — includes a special illustrated cover from the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League by SABR member Gary Cieradkowski.

Those of you who receive the print edition should find your BRJ arriving in the next two to four weeks. For digital subscribers, the e-book edition was delivered to your inbox on Wednesday, May 18.

Buy the magazine: Purchase the print edition of the Spring 2022 Baseball Research Journal from Amazon.com
Download the PDF: Click here to download the PDF file of the Spring 2022 Baseball Research Journal
Read online: Find articles from the Spring 2022 Baseball Research Journal online at SABR.org

We hope you enjoy reading the Spring 2022 Baseball Research Journal!

Sign up now for the SABR 50 annual convention in Baltimore

SABR’s 50th Annual Convention will take place on August 17-21, 2022, in Baltimore, and we are beyond thrilled to celebrate with you in person. Registration for SABR 50 and hotel accommodations at the Hyatt Regency Baltimore Inner Harbor is now available at SABR.org/convention.

This is an event well worth the wait, and we already have an All-Star lineup of featured speakers and exciting events planned, including:

Keynote address by Tim Kurkjian, winner of the BBWAA’s 2022 Career Excellence Award
Opening Remarks by Sig Mejdal, Vice President and Assistant General Manager, Analytics, Baltimore Orioles
Oriole Park at Camden Yards panel with Bill Stetka (Orioles Team Historian), Greg Bader (Orioles Senior Vice President, Administration & Experience), and Joe Spear (founder of Populous)
Women in Leadership panel with Orioles executives Eve Rosenbaum (Director, Baseball Development), Nicole Sherry (Director, Field Operations), Jennifer Grondahl (Senior Vice President, Community Development & Communications), and Lisa Tolson (Senior Vice President, Human Resources)
Baltimore Orioles vs. Boston Red Sox game on Friday, August 19

Of course, there is a lot more on the way — innovative panel discussions, ground-breaking research presentations, and more opportunities to make and renew cherished baseball friendships. We hope to see you this summer in Baltimore!

Visit SABR.org/convention to learn more.

Students: One week left to submit your SABR 50 Yoseloff Scholarship application

With generous funding from The Anthony A. Yoseloff Foundation, Inc., SABR will award up to 10 scholarships to currently enrolled high school or college students to attend SABR 50 on August 17-21, 2022, in Baltimore. This scholarship will pay for registration, transportation and lodging (double occupancy) up to a total value of $1,250.

The objective of this scholarship fund is to encourage high school and college-level student engagement with baseball research and to engender an active interest in baseball and SABR. Deadline to apply: June 3, 2022.

Click here to learn more or download the application form.

SABR 50: Join us in Baltimore for the Historic Ballparks Bus Tour

This summer in Baltimore, attendees at SABR’s 50th annual convention will have an opportunity to visit the sites of six former major-league stadiums — including stepping on the field at Memorial Stadium and a visit to Peabody Heights Brewery — on a special Historic Ballparks Bus Tour, scheduled for 4:00-6:30 p.m. on Thursday, August 18, 2022.

Click here to register for SABR 50, and add the Historic Ballparks Bus Tour for just $15 per person

The annual SABR convention on August 17-21, 2022, which is open to all baseball fans, includes top featured speakers from around the baseball world, innovative panel discussions, groundbreaking research presentations, ballgames, the SABR Trivia Contest, the Awards Luncheon, and most of all, the opportunity to make and renew baseball friendships over the course of this exciting and memorable event. Click here for complete details on the SABR 50 All-Inclusive Package, Regular Registration, and other optional sessions.

Note: If you have already registered for SABR 50 and wish to add the Historic Ballparks Bus Tour, please contact Jessica Smyth.

Visit SABR.org/convention to learn more about SABR 50.

3 days left to vote in the 2022 SABR Board of Directors election

SABR members, please pay attention to the e-mail address that you have on file with SABR; you should have received a reminder email on Tuesday, May 17, with a link to vote online in the 2022 SABR Board of Directors election. If you did not receive the election ballot, please email jpomrenke@sabr.org to have your ballot re-sent. The poll will close at 11:59 p.m. Mountain Standard Time on Wednesday, June 1.

You can read the candidate biographies, along with full descriptions of the positions and responses the candidates made to a series of questions, in the 2022 SABR Election Guide which is available for download below:

Download the 2022 SABR Election Guide here (PDF)

When you vote, please rank the candidates in order of preference, with 1 being your top choice. SABR elections use a simplified preferential voting system, allowing voters to rank their preferred candidates 1-2-3 and transferring preferences until a winner with more than 50 percent of votes is achieved.

You will find two items on the 2022 election ballot: the election of the SABR Vice President and two (2) Directors positions. The candidates are:

For Vice President

Leslie Heaphy
Bruce McClure

For Director (2 seats)

Allison Levin
Bill Nowlin
Bill Pearch

Click here to learn more and to download the Election Guide.

Make a contribution to SABR’s Give Local campaign today

As SABR strives to become the essential community for the world of baseball, our amazing chapters, research committees and communities of interest continue to promote our great game and share our passion for baseball’s past, present and future.

In 2021, SABR launched its Local Grants Program, delivering mission-focused funding to chapters and committees for projects concentrating on one or more of SABR’s four pillars: Research, Preservation, Scholarship, and Future of the Game. During our Give Local campaign, we’ll proudly share some of the stories of our inaugural group of Local Grants recipients and how they will put these funds to work in their communities.

By joining our Give Local campaign between now and June 10, you will help support SABR’s general operation and fund more of our members’ amazing work on the local level.

While seven projects initiated by SABR chapters across the country received Local Grants for 2022, there were many more worthy applications submitted that we were unable to fund in the first year of the program.

Visit SABR.org/donate/give-local to learn more.

SABR adds Clifford Evans radio interviews to Oral History Collection

An invaluable collection of more than 50 audio interviews of baseball players and figures from the 1960s conducted by radio and TV executive Clifford Evans has been added to the SABR Oral History Collection.

Evans, a longtime executive with RKO radio, traveled to spring training in Florida each year during the early 1960s and conducted dozens of interviews with baseball players and managers who were preparing for the upcoming season. The broadcast-quality interviews, typically about 5 to 10 minutes in duration, were acquired, digitized from reel-to-reel tapes, and donated by Gregory L. Peterson, a SABR member and attorney from New York.

Click here to listen to the Clifford Evans interviews at the SABR Oral History Collection

Recordings of 11 Hall of Famers are included in this set: Roberto Clemente, Frankie Frisch, Nellie Fox, Goose Goslin, Al Lopez, Frank Robinson (two separate interviews), Red Ruffing, Duke Snider, Casey Stengel, Bill Terry, and Paul Waner.

SABR Digital Library: The 1883 Philadelphia Athletics: American Association Champions

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

The 1883 Philadelphia Athletics: American Association Champions
Edited by Paul Hofmann and Bill Nowlin
Associate editors Bob LeMoine and Len Levin
ISBN (ebook): 978-1-970159-69-1, $9.99
ISBN (paperback): 978-1-970159-70-7, $24.95
8.5″ x 11″, 206 pages

Click here to read the 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 The 1883 Philadelphia Athletics for FREE from the SABR Store. Available in PDF, Kindle/MOBI and EPUB formats.
Paperback: Get a 50% discount on The 1883 Philadelphia Athletics 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.

Visit SABR.org/ebooks for more titles from the SABR Digital Library.

Sign up now for SABR Analytics Certification online course

It’s time to get SABR Certified! The first course in the new SABR Analytics Certification program — Conversational Analytics and Critical Thinking in Baseball — is available online now.

The SABR Analytics Certification program is an online, on-demand curriculum offering professional development and learning opportunities for those interested in elevating their skills and knowledge relating to baseball analytics. The curriculum was developed by current baseball professionals, including employees of Major League Baseball and its clubs.

SABR members get a significant discount on this Analytics Certification course registration, saving $55 off the regular price.

Visit SABR.org/analytics/certification to sign up today or learn more.

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.

Video Replays: This week, we heard from author Ted Meyer (Championing the Cause of Leadership) and John Herson of the APBA Baseball game company. 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:

June 1: Baltimore Babe Ruth Chapter meeting (7:00 p.m. EDT)
June 2: Magnolia (GA) Chapter meeting with Joe Posnanski (7:30 p.m. EDT)
June 2: Ballpark Figures with Shakeia Taylor and Todd Radom (8:00 p.m. EDT)
June 4: Talkin’ Baseball: Larry Baldassaro (9:00 a.m. EDT)

In addition, the following events will be held in person:

May 28: Bob Davids Chapter ballgame/meeting (Fredericksburg, VA)
May 29: Hanlan’s Point Chapter ballgame/meeting (Brantford, ON)
June 1: Bob Broeg St. Louis Chapter fellowship meeting (St. Louis, MO)
June 4: Connecticut Smoky Joe Wood Chapter breakfast (Middletown, CT)

Find more upcoming SABR meetings on our Events Calendar page.

3 new biographies posted at SABR BioProject

Three new biographies were posted this week as part of the SABR Baseball Biography Project:

George Barclay, by Bill Lamb
Wayne Housie, by Bill Nowlin
Dick Koecher, by Bill Nowlin

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.

8 new stories published at the SABR Games Project

Eight new game stories were posted this week as part of the SABR Games Project:

June 13, 1888: Sam Barkley hits for the cycle but Kansas City Cowboys lose to Cincinnati Reds, by Mike Huber
May 14, 1901: McAleer makes unusual proposal in effort to shore up deteriorated pitching corps after Milwaukee sweeps Cleveland, by Andrew Harner
August 14, 1922: Lizzie Murphy becomes first woman to play against major leaguers at Fenway Park, by Bill Nowlin
June 30, 1943: World War II relief game is a South Side success in Chicago, by Jeff Allan Howard
October 9, 1951: Gil McDougald’s grand slam leads Yankees to Game 5 rout of Giants, by Mark S. Sternman
July 5, 1963: Dodgers notch 1-0 win in Johnny Podres’ 2-hitter, by David Krell
June 30, 1982: Expos top punchless Mets in ‘Nylon Curtain’ game, by Kurt Blumenau
September 13, 2020: Cubs’ Alec Mills stymies Brewers’ bats in no-hitter, by Theo Tobel

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.
Read all stories from Griffith Stadium greatest games book: All of the game recaps from A Palace in the Nation’s Capital: Griffith Stadium, Home of the Washington Senators can now be found online at the SABR Games Project. SABR members can download a free e-book edition of A Palace in the Nation’s Capital or save 50% off the purchase of the paperback edition at SABR.org/ebooks.

SABRcast with Rob Neyer: Listen to an interview with author Bill Nowlin

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 #163 on Monday, May 23 featured Bill Nowlin, a prolific historian of the Boston Red Sox and a member of SABR’s Board of Directors since 2004. He is the author of Working a “Perfect Game”: Conversations With Umpires and more than 75 other baseball books, including dozens published by the SABR Digital Library. He has contributed hundreds of articles to SABR’s BioProject. He is also one of three founders of Rounder Records, one of America’s most successful independent record labels and a member of the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame. He was the 2011 winner of the Bob Davids Award, SABR’s highest honor. He was a guest on SABRcast #67 in July 2020.

Visit SABR.org/sabrcast to listen to the full episode.

Subscribe to SABRcast on your favorite podcast networks, including Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Spotify, or Stitcher, and listen to each episode as soon as it’s released on Mondays. To learn more, visit SABR.org/sabrcast.

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 for the regular season. Listen to new episodes at 8:00-9:00 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.

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
Brian Axell	New York, NY	Joseph Marra	Merion Station, PA
Michael Cabell	Madison, WI	Christopher Michaels	Parker, CO
Rexford Cristal	Manchester, NJ	Casey Pieper	Highland Park, IL
Jim Gill	Beach City, OH	Mark Ryan	Syracuse, NY
Noah Gittell	Woodbury, CT	Jacob Shuagis	Cresson, PA
Tyler Griffin	Charlottesville, VA	Chad Thompson	Urbandale, IA
Thomas Hardiman	Staunton, VA	Thomas Van Wazer	McLean, VA
Chris Leonard	Ventura, CA	Tim Wendel	Charlottesville, VA
Adam Marcoux	Phoenix, AZ

Research Committee news

There are no new research committee updates this week.

Committee leaders, please send in your Annual Report to Jacob Pomrenke before Wednesday, June 1.

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:

Halsey Hall Chapter: June 2022 newsletter (Minneapolis, MN)
Larry Dierker Chapter: May 16 meeting recap (Houston, TX)
Rickwood Field Chapter: June 2022 newsletter (Birmingham, AL)
Chapter and community leaders, please send in your Annual Report to Peter Cottrell before Wednesday, June 1.

Click here for more information on SABR regional chapters. Click here to learn more about SABR chartered communities.

Around the Web

Here are some recent articles published by and about SABR members:

Tyler Kepner: Roger Angell: A Writer Who Was Around the Game, and of the Fans (New York Times)
Jay Jaffe: Your Favorite Baseball Writer’s Favorite Baseball Writer: Roger Angell (1920-2022) (FanGraphs)
Joel Rippel: Ron Rabinovitz, pen pal to Jackie Robinson, dies at 76 (Minneapolis Star-Tribune)
Emma Baccellieri: Brett Phillips Is MLB’s Master of Fun (Sports Illustrated)
Ben Clemens: How Good Are Those Probabilities on the Apple TV+ Broadcasts? (FanGraphs)
Ginny Searle: Does Batted Ball Data Say What We Think? (Baseball Prospectus)
Rob Arthur: The 2022 Baseball Is More Variable Than Past Years (Baseball Prospectus)
Dan Levitt/Mark Armour: Baseball cheating: It’s déjà vu all over again (Seattle Times)
John Shea: Every MLB rosin bag comes from one San Francisco craftsman’s workshop (San Francisco Chronicle)
Stephanie Apstein: With Adley Rutschman, the Orioles Can Hold On to Hope for a Brighter Future (Sports Illustrated)
Derrick Goold: How Cardinals’ men of steal are pickpocketing pitchers and running ahead of MLB trends (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
Howard Megdal: The Phillies’ Defense Might Be Good Enough (FiveThirtyEight)
Robert Orr: Quantifying Batters’ ‘Bad Decision’ Rate (Baseball Prospectus)
David Laurila: Sergio Romo Doesn’t Plan to Pitch Forever (Really) (FanGraphs)
Pete Grathoff: Joe Pignatano, whose trade to KC helped build Dodger Stadium, dies at age 92 (Kansas City Star)
Russell A. Carleton: Can You Feel The Tension? (Baseball Prospectus)
S. Christopher Michaels: Not all wins are created equal: When the (sabermetric) data is mightier than the sword (Baseball Almanac)
Bobby Metcalf: After 38 years, Don Doxsie joins sports hall of fame (Quad-City Times)
Larry Baldassaro: Interviews with baseball’s greatest Italian players (Baseball Italian Style)
Noah Hintz: Author, teacher Mitch Lutzke readies for new chapter (WKAR Radio)
Craig Brown: The 1884 Athletics: both real, and not real (Threads of Our Game)
M. Shawn Hennessy: High-Flying WWII Big Island Navy Baseball (Chevrons and Diamonds)
John W. Miller: How America Sold Out Little League Baseball (America Magazine)
Jeff Cohen: Baseball and BBQ interview with author John Rosengren (Baseball and BBQ)
Joe Guzzardi: On Memorial Day, remembering MLB’s first WWI fatality (Red Bluff Daily News)
Michael Baribault: Peanuts, Cracker Jack and the origins of spring training: the evolution of baseball’s preseason (Cronkite News)
Michael Kane: Revisiting the 1973 Set – The Ugliest Topps Baseball Set Ever (SABR Baseball Cards Committee)

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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