This Week in SABR: May 28, 2021

May 28, 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. Please note: The SABR office will be closed on Monday, May 31 for the Memorial Day holiday. Here’s what we’ve been up to as of May 28, 2021:

Free access to Newspapers.com World Collection online archives

All SABR members now have FREE online access to the Newspapers.com World Collection, with more than 10,000 newspaper titles from the United States, Canada, and other countries, allowing you to explore full and partial runs of well-known regional, state, and small local newspapers dating back to the 1700s.

As we look to build on the value of your membership, we are always searching for resources to augment your existing benefits. Whether you are a researcher or an avid consumer of baseball history, this new tool puts an incredible depth of knowledge at your fingertips. An annual subscription to Newspapers.com runs $89, but is now included free with your SABR membership.

SABR members, log in to view the Research Resources page and start browsing the Newspapers.com World Collection.

Major titles included in this collection include: Boston Globe (1872-1922), Brooklyn Daily Eagle (1841-1963), Chicago Daily Herald (1901-2006), Houston Post (1893-1952), Kansas City Times (1908-1976), New York Tribune (1841-1922), Philadelphia Inquirer (1794-1922), Pittsburgh Courier (1911-1977), St. Louis Globe-Democrat (1853-1963), San Francisco Examiner (1865-1922), Washington Evening Star (1852-1939), and others.

Click here to read the full announcement at SABR.org.

Join us on June 25-27 for Summer of SABR: Golden Celebration Series

As part of SABR’s 50th anniversary in 2021, all baseball fans are invited to join us online for the Summer of SABR: Golden Celebration Series, presented by Major League Baseball and Baseball-Reference.com. The opening session begins on June 25-27, 2021.

Join us for a series of presentations, chats, and panel discussions featuring authors, scholars, and figures from around the game, including: Katie Krall, Cincinnati Reds; Bianca Smith, Boston Red Sox; Janet Marie Smith, Los Angeles Dodgers; J.J. Cooper, Baseball America; Rick White, Atlantic League; Sean Forman, Sports Reference; Gary Ashwill, Seamheads.com; Larry Lester, SABR Negro Leagues Committee; Peter Kurz, Team Israel; Kundy Gutierrez, Team Mexico; Leonte Landino and Enrique Rojas, ESPN Deportes; and more.

Registration: Click here to register for the Summer of SABR: Golden Celebration Series. Registration is $35 for SABR members and $50 for non-members. The single registration fee will provide access to the entirety of the Summer of SABR: Golden Celebration Series, including every session in June, July and August. That’s NINE incredible virtual sessions, including the full Jerry Malloy Negro League Conference, for just one registration price. Note: Donors who contribute $100 or more during the Future 50 Campaign receive a complimentary registration to this event. For questions relating to donor registrations for this event, please email Scott Carter.
Contact: Please e-mail Chanel Zapata with any other questions about your registration.
Schedule: The Summer of SABR online sessions will be held on the weekends of June 25-27, July 23-25, and August 10, 13-14. Click here for a closer look at each date and the broad range of topics to be explored.

Visit SABR.org/summer to register today or for more information.

One week left to donate to the Future 50 Campaign and receive complimentary registration for Summer of SABR

Donors who contribute $100 or more during the Future 50 Campaign will receive a complimentary registration to our Summer of SABR: Golden Celebration Series virtual event beginning on June 25.

As SABR celebrates its 50th Anniversary in 2021, we are excited to both commemorate our history and look forward to our shared vision of the organization’s future. We hope you are able to join us as we continue to come together in thoughtful baseball fellowship, since SABR could not have reached this golden milestone without members like you.

By joining our Future 50 Campaign, you will help ensure SABR’s next 50 years are even brighter than the first 50. You can support SABR’s Future 50 Campaign by making a gift of at least $100 by June 4, 2021.

All donors joining the Future 50 Campaign with a gift of $500 or more will receive:

Customized SABR Dugout Mug featuring 50th Anniversary logo
Paperback edition of The National Pastime: The Future According to Baseball journal
SABR 50th Anniversary lapel pin
Complimentary registration to the Summer of SABR: Golden Celebration Series
Recognition in This Week in SABR and on SABR.org
Recognition during an upcoming Summer of SABR virtual event

Ten randomly selected donors will also win an autographed copy of Eric Nusbaum’s 2021 Seymour Medal-winning book Stealing Home.

Thank you so much for your consideration in joining the Future 50 Campaign. With your support, SABR will continue to be the world’s essential baseball community for the next 50 years and beyond!

Registration now open for 19th Century Baseball Speaker Series virtual events

SABR’s Ninteenth Century Committee is excited to announce a new season of monthly virtual research presentations, beginning in September 2021.

The 19cBB Speaker Series will consist of research presentations presented at the Frederick Ivor-Campbell 19th Century Base Ball Conference (“The Fred”). These informative 1-hour talks will be delivered each second Tuesday of the month beginning at 8:00 p.m. Eastern time.

The 2021-22 speaker series will include presentations by Bruce Allardice, Michael Haupert, Lawrence Phillips, Rob Bauer, Alan Cohen, Monica Nucciarone, Dennis Thiessen, Terry Bohn, and Eric Frost.

Visit SABR.org/19th-century-baseball-speaker-series to register now for these free virtual Zoom meetings.

SABR Digital Library: Jackie: Perspectives on 42

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

Jackie: Perspectives on 42
Edited by Bill Nowlin and Glen Sparks
Associate editors: Carl Riechers and Len Levin
ISBN (ebook): 978-1-9701-5950-9, $9.99
ISBN (paperback): 978-1-9701-5951-6, $29.95
8.5″ x 11″, 324 pages

Click here to read the full description at SABR.org.

SABR members, get this e-book for FREE!

E-book: Click here to download the e-book version of Jackie: Perspectives on 42 for FREE from the SABR Store. Available in PDF, Kindle/MOBI and EPUB formats.
Paperback: Get a 50% discount on the Jackie: Perspectives on 42 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 e-book editions for free and save 50% on purchase of the paperback editions. Visit SABR.org/ebooks to view all past 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 Wednesday, June 2, at 7:00 p.m. EDT, SABR’s Baltimore Babe Ruth Chapter will hold a virtual Zoom meeting with Janet Marie Smith, Executive Vice President of Planning and Development for the Los Angeles Dodgers, who will speak to our group on ballpark construction and renovations. All baseball fans are invited to attend. Click here to register in advance for this Zoom meeting.
Video Replays: This week, we heard from authors Gregory Wolf (The Base Ball Palace of the World: Comiskey Park); Don Zminda (Double Plays and Double Crosses: The Black Sox and Baseball in 1920); Paul Hensler (Gathering Crowds); MLB.com reporter Thomas Harding; and Dan Wallach, Executive Director of the Shoeless Joe Jackson Museum and Baseball Library. 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:

May 30: Baltimore Babe Ruth Chapter meeting (7:00 p.m. EDT)
June 1: Bay Area/Sacramento (CA) joint chapter meeting with Steve Treder (7:00 p.m. PDT)
June 2: Baltimore Babe Ruth Chapter meeting with Janet Marie Smith (7:00 p.m. EDT)
June 5: Talkin’ Baseball with Bill Nowlin (9:00 a.m. EDT)
June 5: Bay Area/Sacramento (CA) joint chapter meeting with Lincoln Mitchell (10:00 a.m. CDT)

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

May 29: Mountain Athletic Club Grounds dedication ceremony (Fleischmanns, NY)
June 5: Connecticut Smoky Joe Wood Chapter breakfast (Cromwell, CT)
June 5: Halsey Hall Chapter book club meeting (St. Paul, MN)

Find more upcoming SABR meetings on our Events Calendar page.

Read articles from the Spring 2021 Baseball Research Journal online

Good news! The Spring 2021 edition of the Baseball Research Journal has been mailed out to all SABR members.

Those of you who receive the print edition should find your BRJ arriving in the next few weeks. For digital subscribers, the e-book edition — with a special illustrated cover design of Babe Ruth by SABR member Gary Cieradkowski — was delivered on April 13.

All articles from the new Baseball Research Journal are now available to be read online at SABR.org.

To learn more about contributing to a future SABR publication, click here. We hope you enjoy reading the Spring 2021 Baseball Research Journal!

SABRcast with Rob Neyer: Listen to an interview with author Rowan Ricardo Phillips

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 #112 on Monday, May 24 featured Rowan Ricardo Phillips, an award-winning poet, author, screenwriter, academic, translator, and journalist. His writing appears in the New York Times Magazine, The New Yorker, The Paris Review, and other national and international publications. His books include Living Weapon, The Circuit: A Tennis Odyssey, and Heaven. He has also written the screenplay for Legendary’s biopic on baseball icon Roberto Clemente, adapted from Pulitzer Prize winner David Maraniss’s biography Clemente: The Passion and Grace of Baseball’s Last Hero. He is an English professor at Williams College and on the faculty of the Creative Writing Program at Princeton University.

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.

9 new SABR biographies published

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

Si Burick, by Mike Lackey
Jack Gorman, by Paul Winter
Dick Gray, by Andy McCue
Jim Hannan, by Len Pasculli
Wade Lefler, by Darren Gibson
Davey Lopes, by Bob Trostler
Parson Nicholson, by Paul Winter
Rudy Schwenck, by Darren Gibson
Red Torkelson, by Jim Leeke

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 SABR bios from 1935 Pittsburgh Crawfords book online

In Pride of Smoketown: The 1935 Pittsburgh Crawfords, edited by Frederick C. Bush and Bill Nowlin and published in 2020, we told the story of one of the Negro Leagues’ most dominant teams, which boasted four Hall of Fame players in outfielder James “Cool Papa” Bell, first baseman/manager Oscar Charleston, catcher Josh Gibson, and third baseman William “Judy” Johnson.

With a roster full of such illustrious stars, it is easy to see why the Crawfords were dominant. Nonetheless, the team unexpectedly had to scratch and claw its way to the Negro National League pennant by defeating the New York Cubans in a thrilling seven-game championship series.

All of the biographies from Pride of Smoketown are now available to read online at the SABR BioProject.

SABR members can visit SABR.org/ebooks to download the free e-book edition or save 50% off the paperback of Pride of Smoketown.

6 new stories published at the SABR Games Project

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

August 28, 1942: When only the ball was white in Lima, Ohio: Josh Gibson, Homestead Grays top Philadelphia Stars, by Mike Lackey
July 29, 1958: Ted Williams unloads with a game-winning homer in the 11th, by Bill Nowlin
April 8, 1975: Mets beat Phillies in Opening Day battle between Tom Seaver, Steve Carlton, by Thomas J. Brown Jr.
June 8, 1989: Two-run blast by Glenn Davis propels Astros to fourth walk-off win in six games, by Madison McEntire
June 15, 2016: Atlanta’s Freddie Freeman completes the rarest cycle, by Mike Huber
August 19, 2020: Dane Dunning, Casey Mize make their debuts, both strike out seven, by Laura H. Peebles

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 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.

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
Timothy Argue	Quarryville, PA	Pierre LaRocco	Drexel Hill, PA
David Boyle	Mercer Island, WA	Cy Lu	Hsinchu, TWN
Benjamin Brady	Sylvania, OH	Charles Luppert	Williamsport, PA
Thomas Brown	Westbury, NY	David Medd	Whitby, ON
Mike Carminati	West Windsor, NJ	Tim Morris	Columbia, MO
Miles Causey	Powassan, ON	Clay Parker	West Monroe, LA
Mike Diamanti	Coupeville, WA	Arnaldo Rincones	Indian Rocks Beach, FL
Anne Enos	Scottsdale, AZ	David Saba	Bethlehem, PA
Chris Goering	Philadelphia, PA	Charles Slamar	Glenview, IL
Cody Gregory	Milford, NE	Mike Slocum	Bellingham, WA
Ron Ieraci	Pittsburgh, PA	Christopher Tonstad	Rahway, NJ
Alonso Jasso	San Antonio, TX	Ryan Trembath	Wheaton, IL
Tsutomu Jinji	Tokyo, JPN	Chance Turner	McKinney, TX
Phil Kahn	Wilton, NY	Anson Whaley	Pittsburgh, PA

Research Committee news

Here are the new research committee updates this week:

Business of Baseball: Spring 2021 newsletter
Origins: May 2021 newsletter

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: May 22 meeting recap
Lajoie-Start Southern New England Chapter: May 2021 newsletter (Providence, RI)
Jimmy Sebring/Williamsport Chapter: Learn more about our newest regional chapter in north-central Pennsylvania

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:

Tom Thress: Retrosheet’s latest release adds box scores for 500 Negro League games (Retrosheet.org)
David Waldstein: 2 Million Runs: Baseball on Verge of Milestone (New York Times)
J.P. Hoornstra: Hoornstra: Finding MLB’s real 20,000th player, with apologies to Jose Godoy (Orange County Register)
Jay Jaffe: Scoring This Year’s No-Hitters (FanGraphs)
Tyler Kepner: As Velocity Increases, So Does Danger to Batters (New York Times)
Rob Arthur: A Lighter Baseball May Be Behind The Strikeout Increase (Baseball Prospectus)
Michael Clair: The bizarre Báez play: A breakdown in GIFs (MLB.com)
Jayson Stark: Weird and Wild, the Max Scherzer Graduation Day Edition (The Athletic)
Mark Harper: For decades, John Wakelin built a Negro Leagues collection. Now, he’s given it all to Bethune-Cookman (Daytona Beach News-Journal)
Craig Goldstein/Patrick Dubuque: We Need a Restrictor Plate for Pitching (Baseball Prospectus)
Derek Rhoads/Rob Mains: Introducing the Baseball Prospectus IL Ledger (Baseball Prospectus)
Levi Weaver: A memorial for the now-legendary New Era ‘Local Market’ caps, gone too soon (The Athletic)
RJ McDaniel: What You Can Bring to the Ballpark in 2021 (FanGraphs)
Sarah Langs: Let’s play 4! 2 doubleheaders, 1 city (MLB.com)
Michael Baumann: Carlos Rodón Is a Cy Young Contender, Whether He Believes It or Not (The Ringer)
Grant Brisbee: The Giants lost to the Dodgers again, and perspective is becoming harder to find (The Athletic)
Emma Baccellieri: The Mets Are in First Place, But ‘Big Mets Energy’ Is Alive and Well (Sports Illustrated)
J.J. Cooper: ‘It’s Awful’: Sloppy Play Rampant Across Minors After Unprecedented Layoff (Baseball America)
Mark Simon: Which Defensive Positions Have Been Most Valuable In 2021? (ACTA Sports)
Alex Speier: A closer look at Chris Sale’s possible return to the Red Sox (Boston Globe)
Keith Olbermann: The Famous Disappearing Red Sox Cap of 1974 (Uni Watch)
Russell A. Carleton: Changes Are Coming to MLB (Baseball Prospectus)
Tom Ruane: A Retro-review of the 1907 season (Retrosheet.org)
David Laurila: Adam Frazier Eyes More Walks Than Ks (a Batting Title in Sight) (FanGraphs)
Gary Cieradkowski: Luis Olmo: Kidnapping, safe houses, and other minor league hijinx (Studio Gary C)
Richard Peterson: Take us out to the ball game — to ‘repair our losses’ (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
Kurt Blumenau: That’s amore. (SABR Baseball Cards Blog)
Jason Schwartz: A “most valuable” Josh Gibson 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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