This Week in SABR: May 5, 2023
Welcome to “This Week in SABR” on Friday, May 5, 2023.
Click here to view this newsletter on the web.
Armour, Levitt, Williams, Evans, Shieber elected to SABR Board of Directors
SABR 51: Early-bird registration discounts expire tonight
SABR 51: Reimagining Wrigley Panel
SABR Digital Library: Willie Mays: Five Tools
Watch video highlights from 2023 SABR Analytics Conference
1 week left to apply for SABR Negro Leagues Committee scholarships
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SABR 51: Early-bird registration discount expires tonight
If you haven’t yet signed up for SABR’s annual convention on July 5-9, 2023 at the Palmer House Hilton in Chicago, now is the time! Early registration discounts expire on Friday, May 5, so this is your chance to get the lowest pricing available for SABR 51 in Chicago.
Visit SABR.org/convention to learn more and register.
- What we’re looking forward to in Chicago: Click here to watch a short video featuring some of our Emil Rothe Chicago Chapter hosts, sharing their favorite reasons to attend this summer’s SABR 51 convention in their hometown.
SABR 51: Reimagining Wrigley Panel with Ed Hartig, Kelly Holton, Fred Mitchell
We’re excited to announce more featured speakers for SABR’s 51st annual convention on July 5-9, 2023, in Chicago. On Saturday, July 8, the Reimagining Wrigley Panel will include:
- Ed Hartig, Team Historian, Chicago Cubs
- Kelly Holton, Brand Activation Manager, Populous
- Moderator: Fred Mitchell, award-winning sports writer and DePaul University journalism professor
Click here to learn more about our featured speakers and panelists at SABR 51.
SABR Digital Library: Willie Mays: Five Tools
Add a new baseball book to your collection from the SABR Digital Library! Willie Mays: Five Tools, edited by Bill Nowlin and Glen Sparks, tells the story of arguably the greatest baseball player in the game’s history, through more than 20 insightful essays and recaps of over 30 of the most significant games in his career.
Some essays explore Mays’ time in the Negro Leagues and minor leagues, while others examine the the relationship of Mays to his managers, the press, and his mentoring of Bobby and Barry Bonds.
Visit SABR.org/ebooks to download the free e-book edition or save 50% off the purchase of a paperback edition.
Watch video highlights from 2023 SABR Analytics Conference
The 12th annual SABR Analytics Conference was held from March 10-12, 2023, in Phoenix, Arizona, 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 watch video replays from our featured panels and research presentations, which are now available online at SABR.org.
Our featured speakers included former major-leaguers Dallas Braden and Bobby Scales; MLB front office executive Ari Kaplan; Mike Petriello, Jason Bernard, Dana Bennett, Clay Nunnally, and Graham Goldbeck of Major League Baseball; Brian Hall of Tidal Quantitative Research; Kyle Glaser of Baseball America; Meg Rowley and Ben Clemens of FanGraphs; Hannah Keyser of Yahoo! Sports; Rob Mains of Baseball Prospectus; Webster University professor Allison R. Levin; and more.
Visit SABR.org/analytics for more highlights, photos, and stories.
Join SABR’s Campaign for Baseball Research!
We say it right in our name: Society for American Baseball RESEARCH.
Research is at the heart of what we do as an organization. SABR’s online Research Collection and array of Research Resources are major sources of pride and a key component in our vision of becoming the essential community for the world of baseball.
This spring, we invite you to join the Campaign for Baseball Research. Our goal is to raise $60,000 to expand, maintain, and preserve SABR’s Research Collection and Research Resources for current and future generations of baseball enthusiasts. We will use your best gift of $150, $300, $500, or $1,000 to better serve our growing membership base, attract more attention for our research, and offer new tools to all corners of the worldwide baseball community.
To donate or learn more about the Research Collection projects and improvements to our Research Resources, assets, and tools that will be funded by a successful campaign, visit sabr.org/donate/research-campaign.
Second course in SABR Analytics Certification program now available
In 2022, we launched the SABR Analytics Certification program, 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 second course in the program, Level Two – Advanced Analytics in Baseball, is now available!
SABR members save $55 on both available courses (and future courses), so we hope you’ll check out these exciting opportunities at sabr.org/analytics/certification.
One week left to apply for SABR Negro Leagues Committee scholarships
SABR’s Negro Leagues Committee will award $1,000 scholarships to high school seniors in its 15th annual Thomas R. Garrett Scholarship essay contest in 2023. 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.
- Click here to learn more about each scholarship or to download an application. The deadline to apply has been extended until May 15, 2023.
Visit SABR.org/malloy to learn more about our annual School Library Grants, High School Essay Contest, and Art Contest.
Armour, Levitt, Williams, Evans, Shieber elected to SABR Board of Directors
SABR members have re-elected three incumbents, along with new Directors Kat Williams and Tom Shieber, to the organization’s Board of Directors in the 2023 election.
- Mark Armour was re-elected as SABR’s President, receiving 837 of 844 first-preference votes.
- Dan Levitt was re-elected as SABR’s Treasurer, receiving 840 of 843 first-preference votes.
- Kat Williams, Dan Evans and Tom Shieber were elected as SABR Directors. Williams and Evans will serve three-year terms through 2026. Shieber will serve a one-year term through 2024, according to the SABR By-Laws revisions approved by voters in the 2023 special election.
SABR members can find complete 2023 election results, including write-in candidates and voting totals, posted here.
Special thanks to Tellers Committee members Stephen Barnes, Mike Emeigh, and Alex Marks for certifying the results on May 4 in a virtual meeting and to the Nominations Committee of Stew Thornley, Chris Dial, and Joanne Hulbert for their help in preparing the candidate statements.
Click here to read the full announcement at SABR.org.
Call for papers: 2023 SABR/IWBC Women in Baseball Conference
SABR and the International Women’s Baseball Center have announced a call for papers for the fifth annual SABR/IWBC Women in Baseball Conference, scheduled for September 29-October 1, 2023, at Rockford University in Rockford, Illinois.
The 2023 conference will be a hybrid event, with panels and presentations on Zoom and a dinner banquet and golf outing in Rockford, Illinois. Registration information will be available soon. Please submit abstracts of approximately 200 words, along with contact information and a short biography, by June 30, 2023, to Leslie Heaphy at Lheaphy@kent.edu.
Click here to read the full announcement at SABR.org.
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 #212 on Monday, May 1 featured J.J. Cooper, Editor in Chief at Baseball America. Visit SABR.org/sabrcast to listen to the full episode or subscribe to SABRcast on your favorite podcast networks.
Find new updates to the SABR Research Collection below, including the Baseball Biography Project, Games Project, and Oral History Collection.
4 new stories published at the SABR BioProject
- John Happenny, by Kurt Blumenau
- Mitchell Page, by Dan Schoenholz
- Jim Whitney, by Bill Lamb
- Carlos Zambrano, by Tim Odzer
Visit SABR.org/bioproject to learn more about the SABR BioProject or to get involved.
9 new stories published at the SABR Games Project
- August 16, 1895: Browns’ Tommy Dowd hits for the cycle in ‘somnolent game’, by Mike Huber
- May 1, 1901: Cleveland’s Earl Moore pitches with ‘quality of Cy Young’ in first home appearance, by Andrew Harner
- July 19, 1910: Russ Ford loses no-hitter in ninth on misjudged fly ball, by Gary Belleville
- July 9, 1958: Relief pitcher carries the load in Eastern League no-hitter, by Kurt Blumenau
- June 4, 1982: Cardinals’ Bob Forsch wins 100th career game, by Tom Schott
- August 7, 1999: Wade Boggs becomes the first major-leaguer to homer for his 3,000th hit, by Douglas Jordan
- May 29, 2000: Randy Velarde’s unassisted triple play and homer not enough as A’s lose to Yankees, by Bill Marston
- April 13, 2013: Red Sox record first of season’s 11 walk-off wins, by Bill Nowlin
- April 29, 2022: Five pitchers combine for second no-hitter in Mets history, by Thomas J. Brown Jr.
Visit SABR.org/gamesproject to learn more about the SABR Games Project or to get involved.
Yankee Stadium 1923-2008: America’s First Modern Ballpark
Edited by Tara Krieger and Bill Nowlin
Visit SABR.org to download any SABR Digital Library e-book for free or save 50% off the paperback edition.
Here are some SABR headlines from recent weeks that we don’t want you to miss:
- 10,000 images from SABR-Rucker Archive added to Research Collection
- SABR members approve By-Laws changes in special election
- Boyd, Harris selected as winners of 2023 SABR Jefferson Burdick Award
- 2023 SABR Baseball Research Award winners announced
- 2023 Larry Ritter Book Award finalists announced
- The SABR Bookshelf: Spring 2023
- Submissions open for fourth edition of Turnstyle: The SABR Journal of Baseball Arts
- Learn more about the recipients of 2023 SABR Local Grants
- Watch a preview of the Landmarks Committee’s new SABR Baseball Map
- Get a gift for baseball fan in your life with the SABR Store @ CafePress
- All e-books in SABR Digital Library available for free to members
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 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beau Adams | Port Orange, FL | Tim Kodyra | Plainfield, IL | ||
| Paul Batesel | Portland, ND | Ron Krug | McHenry, MD | ||
| Robert Castillo | Los Angeles, CA | Rowena Kuo | Palatine, IL | ||
| James Coppola | Amherst, NY | Christian Limbach | East Northport, NY | ||
| Michael Croce | Chicago, IL | Jaxson Martines | White Rock, NM | ||
| Tom Dierickx | Surprise, AZ | Christopher McGrail | Dedham, MA | ||
| Janelle Frese | La Palma, CA | Felix-Olivier Pharand | Candiac, QC | ||
| Jason Hendricks | Cheyenne, WY | Blithe Rocher | Alameda, CA | ||
| Scott Hodges | Myrtle Beach, SC | Gary Swain | Lincolnwood, IL | ||
| Donald Howell | Allison park, PA | Jonathon Symons | Winnipeg, MB | ||
| William Kashatus | Paoli, PA | Ira Wallin | Mahwah, NJ | ||
| Steve Knowles | Edmonton, AB |
Here is a list of SABR supporters for the month of April 2023.
| NAME | NAME | |
|---|---|---|
| Ron Adams | Henry Levy | |
| Mark Armour | Joseph Luchok | |
| Stephen Barnes | Robert Mains | |
| John Bauer | Peter Mancuso | |
| Jake Bell | Bruce McClure | |
| Michael Bender | Andy McCue | |
| D. Bruce Brown | David Newman | |
| Ralph Caola | Bill Nowlin | |
| Ken Carrano | Tim Otto | |
| Karl Cicitto | James Overmyer | |
| Vincent Comparato | Dwight Oxley | |
| Jim Cox | Richard Panther | |
| Richard Cuicchi | John Rall | |
| Daniel Desrochers | Michael Rosenwasser | |
| Ed Edmonds | Charles Roussel | |
| Helen Edwards | Bob Russon | |
| Steven Elsberry | Neal Sarswat | |
| Daniel Evans | Jason Scheller | |
| David Firstman | Douglas Schoppert | |
| Adam Foldes | Jeff Self | |
| Janelle Frese | Rob Sheinkopf | |
| Robert Hagerman | John Smith | |
| Leslie Heaphy | Mike Sparks | |
| Tim Herlich | Thomas Stone | |
| Rockwell Hoffman | Wesley Story | |
| Matt Hudson | Robert Tholkes | |
| David Hughes | Joseph Thompson | |
| Rick Huhn | Neal Traven | |
| Jeff Jaech | Joseph Wancho | |
| Donald Jensen | Steve West | |
| Theodore Knorr | Beach Wires | |
| Dirk Lammers | Jeffrey Wood | |
| Leonard Levin | Don Zminda |
Click here to make a recurring monthly contribution or click here to learn more about our Giving Circles to make a one-time contribution.
- Events Calendar: Find complete details of all SABR events
- Video Replays: This week, we heard from authors Lee Lowenfish (Baseball’s Endangered Species) and Dan Schlossberg (Baseball’s Memorable Misses). Click here to view more video replays of virtual SABR events.
Upcoming Virtual Meetings
- May 6: Talkin’ Baseball: Tara Krieger (9:00 a.m. EDT)
- May 8: Bob Broeg St. Louis (MO) Chapter meeting with David Jerome (6:00 p.m. CDT)
- May 8: Northern New England Chapter meeting with Corky Gaskell (7:00 p.m. EDT)
- May 9: 19th Century Speaker Series: John Pregler (8:00 p.m. EDT)
- May 11: Games and Simulations Committee meeting with F.X. Flinn (8:00 p.m. EDT)
Upcoming In-Person Meetings
- May 6: Forbes Field Chapter meeting (Pittsburgh, PA)
- May 6: Ken Keltner Chapter meeting (Milwaukee, WI)
- May 6: Maddux Bros.-Las Vegas Chapter meeting (Las Vegas, NV)
- May 6: Pacific Northwest Chapter meeting (Seattle, WA)
- May 13: 20th annual Southern Association Conference (Nashville, TN)
- May 13: Halsey Hall Chapter Hot Stove Saturday Morning (Minneapolis, MN)
- May 13: Rogers Hornsby Chapter meeting (Austin, TX)
- May 13: Larry Dierker (TX) Chapter ballgame/meet-up (Sugar Land, TX)
To add your SABR event to our calendar listings, please contact Jacob Pomrenke.
- Baseball Records: Spring 2023 newsletter
Sign up for SABR research committee announcements at SABR.org/research/committees.
- Juan Marichal Chapter: April 27 meeting recap (Santo Domingo, DOM)
- Ken Keltner Badger State Chapter: May 2023 newsletter (Milwaukee, WI)
- Larry Dierker Chapter: Spring 2023 newsletter (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:
- Justice B. Hill: Negro Leagues Baseball Museum looks to capitalize on popularity of Black baseball (Andscape)
- Bill Ladson: Negro Leagues Museum to build new facility, campus at historic site (MLB.com)
- Ben Lindbergh: Baseball’s Pitch Clock Has Transformed Game Length—and Not Just in the Obvious Way (The Ringer)
- Emma Baccellieri: The New and Improved Home Run Celebration Is a Team Sport (Sports Illustrated)
- Lindsey Adler: Don’t Throw Shohei Ohtani Your Best Pitch—He Might Steal It (Wall Street Journal)
- Tyler Kepner: The Rays Are Better Than Everyone. At Everything. (New York Times)
- Jayson Stark: What we’ve learned in first 30 games of MLB season, from pitch clock to Rays to A’s (The Athletic)
- Grant Brisbee: Back to the baseball future of rule changes (The Athletic)
- Sarah Langs: The division that’s on track to be historically competitive (MLB.com)
- Derrick Goold: Cardinals traveled a long way to get nowhere, far from the team they need to be (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
- Joshua Mellin: Looking to the Future, Japan Would Say Goodbye to Its Baseball Past (New York Times)
- Jay Jaffe: Cody Bellinger Is in a Much Better Place (FanGraphs)
- Shakeia Taylor: Keynan Middleton always felt ‘different’ in baseball (Chicago Tribune)
- Eno Sarris: Which bats are primed for a rebound from among the league’s slowest starters? (The Athletic)
- Alex Speier: Red Sox aren’t just playing a good game, they’re talking a good one, too, in hitters’ meetings before the game (Boston Globe)
- Gordon Edes: Randy Arozarena: Tampa Bay Rays’ new king and ruler of ‘Randy Land’ (Bally Sports)
- R.J. Anderson: Why baseball’s next unionization effort could come from MLB front offices (CBS Sports)
- J.J. Cooper: The Coming Artificial Intelligence Revolution (Baseball America)
- Michael Clair: Team Mexico inspires the future of Mexican baseball (MLB.com)
- Rob Mains: Where Have All The Pinch-Runners Gone? (Baseball Prospectus)
- Russell A. Carleton: So You’ve Decided to Designate A Runner (Baseball Prospectus)
- Daniel R. Epstein: Brad Keller is Throwing Not One, Not Two, but Three New Pitches (Baseball Prospectus)
- Stephanie Apstein: Matt Chapman’s Offensive Transformation Arriving Right on Time (Sports Illustrated)
- Eric Nusbaum: The Tacoma Dome Turns 40 (Seattle Met)
- Michael Baumann: Gambling Cost Alabama’s Coach His Job. What Might it Cost Baseball? (FanGraphs)
- M. Shawn Hennessy: Barney McCosky: From Naval Aviation Cadet to Slugging Champion (Chevrons and Diamonds)
- Ryan Fagan: Diamond Kings artist Dick Perez chats about upcoming documentary on his life (The Sporting News)
- David Laurila: Bill Haselman Recalls the Brawl That Almost Broke Cal’s Streak (FanGraphs)
- Chad Osborne: This Marion Mets catcher became a world-famous elephant trainer (Substack)
- G. Scott Thomas: Expansion class of 1998 (Substack)
- Dom Rettberg: What Could Have Been: A Review of MLB Front Office Manager (SABR Baseball Gaming)
- Derek Bain: Retro Computer Baseball Game Review: Monday Morning Manager (SABR Baseball Gaming)
- Jason Schwartz: New Dick Perez film features card set (SABR Baseball Cards Committee)
- Chad Osborne: Al Williams: Pitcher, Fighter, Survivor (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. To find past editions of TWIS, click here.
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Originally published: May 5, 2023. Last Updated: May 5, 2023.