This Week in SABR: November 22, 2017

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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 for Thanksgiving on November 23-24. Here’s what we’ve been up to as of November 22, 2017:

Get a gift for baseball fan in your life with the new SABR Store @ CafePress

Just in time for the upcoming holiday season, the SABR Store @ CafePress is a new online shop for members and friends to purchase SABR-logo apparel and gifts for themselves or the baseball fans in their life.

http://www.cafepress.com/sabrstore

Items will feature the full-color SABR logo and will be available for purchase throughout the year. Shirts are available in men’s and women’s sizes in a variety of colors and styles. Mugs, stickers, and other collector’s items are also on sale now.

Check out the SABR Store today!

Read articles from the Fall 2017 Baseball Research Journal online

Good news! The Fall 2017 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 two to four weeks, although we’ve heard reports that some have already arrived. For digital subscribers, the e-book edition was delivered to your inboxes last week.

As editor Cecilia M. Tan writes, this issue includes Stew Thornley and Bob Tholkes’s article on the evolution of the official scorer; Paul Doutrich’s recap of the 1885 postseason series between Chicago and St. Louis, a precursor of the World Series; an exhaustive study by Herm Krabbenhoft of former President George H.W. Bush’s collegiate baseball career; Rich Arpi’s inside look at a 1914 prison in Minnesota to see the birth of the “Sisal Sox”; Bob LeMoine has the story of Cy Young’s barnstorming tour when he was 67 years old; a research team led by Jose Luis Lopez prove beyond much doubt that Andres Galarraga did indeed hit a homer well over 500 feet at Pro Player Stadium; Lori Livingston and Susan Forbes challenge the notion that amateur umpires quit because of negativity and verbal abuse; and Krabbenhoft is back with a list of all the rare “quasi-cycles” (like a cycle but replace the single with an extra-base hit). And that’s just a fraction of what’s in this issue. Click here to read more from the Fall 2017 BRJ.

To learn more about contributing to a future SABR publication, click here.

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.

We hope you enjoy reading the Fall 2017 Baseball Research Journal!

Help us reach our donation-drive goal this year

This has been a banner year for SABR, and your year-end charitable gift can help us bring 2017 to an even more successful close.

SABR continues to offer unparalleled opportunities for involvement and benefits for members around the world. We depend upon the volunteer work of members to mount our exciting events like the SABR Convention (in Pittsburgh next summer), the SABR Analytics Conference in Phoenix, and the Jerry Malloy Negro League Conference; to produce groundbreaking research through the SABR Digital Library e-book program (with 8-10 free e-books provided to members each year), the Baseball Research Journal, and The National Pastime; and to expand the online resources of the research committees, regional chapters, the BioProject, the Games Project, and much more. SABR continues to offer unparalleled opportunities for involvement and benefits for members around the world.

As a 501(c)3 organization, tax-deductible donations allow SABR to expand member opportunities and to become an even larger voice in the baseball community. Many members have already become donors, and you can join them right now by making your gift online at SABR.org/donate. Please help us reach our donation drive goal!

You can also send your donation by check to: SABR, Cronkite School at ASU, 555 N. Central Ave. #416, Phoenix, AZ 85004.

All of us at SABR appreciate your support of our great organization and the game we love.

To learn more, visit SABR.org/donate.

It’s time to renew your membership for 2018

For those of you whose SABR memberships expire by December 31 — you can check your current membership status here — it’s time for you to renew!

From the Baseball Research Journal and the SABR Digital Library to “This Week in SABR” and our extensive list of research resources — and, of course, all the memorable conferences, chapter meetings, and events — we hope you enjoyed the many benefits of SABR membership this past year.

We hope you please continue your support by renewing your SABR membership today.

  • Pay online: Click here to renew your SABR membership for 2018!
  • Renew by mail: To pay by check or money order, mail this downloadable PDF form and your payment to the office at SABR, Cronkite School at ASU, 555 N. Central Ave. #416, Phoenix, AZ 85004.
  • Pay by phone: To process your credit-card payment over the phone, please call the SABR office at (602) 496-1463 during regular business hours. (We accept Visa, Mastercard, or Discover Card.)

Dues are the same as they have been in recent years: $65 for one year or $175 for three years, with discounts available to anyone under 30 or over the age of 65.

Please note: If you have had trouble logging in to the SABR website, please try resetting your password using this reset link. Then try logging in to renew at the link above.

Thank you for your support of SABR as we continue to strive to make SABR membership a great experience and a great value!

SABR Digital Library: Sportsman’s Park in St. Louis

From Gorgeous George and the Gashouse Gang to Stan the Man and Gibby, add this new baseball book from the SABR Digital Library to your collection:

Sportsman’s Park in St. Louis:
Home to the Browns and Cardinals at Grand and Dodier
Edited by Gregory H. Wolf
Associate Editors: James Forr, Len Levin, Bill Nowlin
ISBN (paperback): 978-1-943816-61-3, $19.95
ISBN (e-book): 978-1-943816-60-6, $9.99
8.5″ x 11″, 391 pages

The intersection of Grand Avenue and Dodier Street on the north side of St. Louis is one of the fabled locations in baseball history. Amateurs began playing on a sandlot there as far back as the 1860s. In the winter of 1908-09 Sportsman’s Park, a dilapidated wooden structure, was rebuilt and extensively renovated and modernized. The new concrete and steel park served as the center of professional baseball in St. Louis for the next six decades. The home of the Browns and — beginning in July 1920 — the Cardinals, Sportsman’s Park hosted more than 7,000 major-league games. 

This book rekindles memories of the venerable ballpark through detailed summaries of 100 games played there from 1909 through 1966. There are also insightful feature essays about the park’s history.

This volume is a collaborative effort of 40 members of the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR). Contributors include: Mark Armour, John Bauer, Phillip Bolda, Frederick C. “Rick” Bush, Ken Carrano, Alan Cohen, Richard Cuicchi, Greg Erion, Doug Feldmann, Scott Ferkovich, Dan Fields, Jeff Findley, James Forr, Gordon J. Gattie, Chip Green, Tom Hawthorn, Mike Huber, Dwayne Isrig, Norm King, Russ Lake, Len Levin, Kellen Nielson, Bill Nowlin, Dennis Pajot, Ryan Parker, J.G. Preston, Richard Riis, C. Paul Rogers III, Joe Schuster, Lyle Spatz, Steve Steinberg, Mark S. Sternman, Cecilia Tan, Doug Walden, Joseph Wancho, John J. Watkins, Mike Whiteman, Jim Wohlenhaus, Gregory H. Wolf, and Brian P. Wood.

SABR members, get this e-book for FREE!

SABR members will get discounted rates for all Digital Library publications, including the e-book editions for free. To find more SABR Digital Library books, visit SABR.org/ebooks.

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.

Call for papers: 2018 The National Pastime

The 2018 SABR national convention will take place in Pittsburgh from June 20-24. To coincide with the convention, the summer 2018 issue of The National Pastime will focus on baseball in Pittsburgh and the immediate environs.

Pittsburgh has ample baseball history, dating from the 19th century to the present, from the 1882 Allegheny club to today’s Pirates, who count 11 Hall of Famers among their number. Pittsburgh was the site of important Negro Leagues history as well, and home to both the Homestead Grays and Pittsburgh Crawfords. The legacies of Roberto Clemente and Willie Stargell are referenced regularly in Major League Baseball today. And then there are the minor leagues, colleges, scouts, umpires, women in baseball, and more with Pittsburgh connections that could be explored.

For this issue of The National Pastime, we are looking for research articles on a variety of topics. Articles may be historical, biographical, or analytical, but please avoid personal narrative, oral histories, or interviews. No reprints: new articles only. Purely biographical articles should be coordinated with the BioProject, while those with unique takes or analysis are welcome.

Publications Director Cecilia Tan will be taking queries and abstracts until December 15, 2017, and will make assignments no later than January 1. First drafts of articles will be due no later than March 1 and rewrites (if needed) will be due by April 1. To query, email to ctan@sabr.org with the subject line “TNP Query:” and a key word or two on your subject. For example: “TNP Query: Germantown and Baseball”.

Click here to for detailed criteria and submission information.

Read SABR biographies of 2018 Hall of Fame ballot candidates

The full 2018 Baseball Hall of Fame ballot was released this week, and you can find all published SABR biographies of 2018 HOF candidates (including Modern Era finalists) at the SABR BioProject. Visit the link below to read bios on Hall of Fame candidates Trevor Hoffman, Edgar Martinez, Jamie Moyer, and more:

http://sabr.org/category/demographic/2018-hall-fame-ballot

As part of our BioProject Hall of Fame Ballot initiative, we are still seeking authors for the following players: Chipper Jones, Andruw Jones, Scott Rolen, Johan Santana, Johnny Damon, and others. Ideally, we would like to have the bios written, edited, and fact-checked by the end of 2017 so we can post them on the BioProject website and on social media before the election announcements. Please contact Emily Hawks at emilyhawks@gmail.com if you are interested in writing about one of these players.

Find more SABR biographies at SABR.org/BioProject.

The SABR Bookshelf: Fall 2017

Periodically throughout the year, SABR.org publishes The SABR Bookshelf, a listing of new books that are received at the SABR office. Here are The SABR Bookshelf listings for Fall 2017:

https://sabr.org/content/sabr-bookshelf-fall-2017

Click on the link above for more detailed information on each of these books:

  • Sportsman’s Park in St. Louis: Home to the Browns and Cardinals at Grand and Dodier, edited by Gregory H. Wolf
  • 20-Game Losers, edited by Bill Nowlin and Emmet R. Nowlin
  • The Call, by Laurie Boris
  • Don’t Blame the Knuckleballer II: More Baseball Legends, Myths, Stories, and Trivia, by K.P. Wee
  • St. Louis Browns: The Story of a Beloved Team, by Bill Borst, Bill Rogers, and Ed Wheatley
  • No Bull: The Real Story of the Rebirth of a Team and a City, by Ron Morris
  • Clutch, by Heather Camlot
  • The New Boys of Summer: Baseball’s Radical Transformation in the Late Sixties, by Paul Hensler
  • National Pastime: U.S. History Through Baseball, by Martin C. Babicz and Thomas W. Zeiler
  • Fate’s Take-Out Slide: A Baseball Scout Recalls Can’t-Miss Prospects Who Did, by George Genovese with Dan Taylor
  • Baseball on the Brink: The Crisis of 1968, by William J. Ryczek
  • Player Won-Lost Records in Baseball, Measuring Performance in Context, by Tom Thress
  • Black Baseball in New York City: An Illustrated History, 1885-1959, by Larry Lester

Bolded names indicates that the author(s) is a SABR member. Click here for a list of publishers found in the SABR Bookshelf, along with their contact information.

To view previous listings in The SABR Bookshelf, click here.

Early registration now open for 2018 SABR Analytics Conference

We hope you’ll join us for the seventh annual SABR Analytics Conference on Friday, March 9 to Sunday, March 11, 2018, at the Hyatt Regency Phoenix, where we’ll bring 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. All baseball fans are welcome to attend.

Early registration is now open at SABR.org/analytics. Sign up today to join us!

This year’s conference will feature the high-quality content you’ve always enjoyed at the SABR Analytics Conference and the same number of featured panels and research presentations, but there will be a few changes to the usual schedule: We will begin programming early Friday afternoon on March 9 and will run through Sunday afternoon on March 11. The change in schedule is due to the availability at our host hotel this year. However, we have a large block of rooms for SABR Analytics Conference attendees on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights.

In addition, the Diamond Dollars Case Competition will start at 6:00 p.m. on Friday evening and the networking reception will be held on Saturday evening, March 10 at the Hyatt Regency Phoenix. Lunch, which is included in your conference registration, will be served at noon on Friday — before the regular programming begins — and also on Saturday between the morning and afternoon sessions.

Visit SABR.org/analytics to learn more.

2018 Diamond Dollars Case Competition applications now open

The SABR Analytics Conference is pleased to host the unique Diamond Dollars Case Competition on Friday evening, March 9, 2018 at the Hyatt Regency Phoenix in Arizona.

In the Diamond Dollars Case Competition, undergraduate, graduate and professional school students from colleges and universities across the country compete against each other by preparing an analysis and presentation of a baseball operations decision — the type of decision a team’s GM and his staff is faced with over the course of a season. The cases are developed by SABR President Vince Gennaro, author of Diamond Dollars: The Economics of Winning in Baseball, and consultant to MLB teams. The Diamond Dollars Case Competition is the first national competition to be based solely on baseball operations issues.

Four- to five-person student teams are asked to evaluate a baseball operations case problem. The student team presents their analysis and recommendations to a panel of judges that includes MLB front office executives.

More than 40 alumni from the 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017 Diamond Dollars Case Competitions have secured internships or permanent positions within Major League Baseball.

For more information on entering the 2018 Diamond Dollars Case Competition, please contact SABR President Vince Gennaro or click here for rules and entry requirements.

Students, apply now for a Yoseloff Scholarship to attend the 2018 SABR Analytics Conference

With generous funding from The Anthony A. Yoseloff Foundation, Inc., SABR will award up to four scholarships to high school and college students who wish to attend the 2018 SABR Analytics Conference. This scholarship will pay for registration, air transportation and lodging (double occupancy) up to a total value of $1,250. All applications must be postmarked or e-mailed to Jeff Schatzki at jschatzki@sabr.org no later than December 31, 2017.

The Yoseloff scholarship is to assist young researchers who want to attend SABR’s Analytics Conference and to introduce them to fellow SABR members and professionals within the baseball community. Through this fund, SABR hopes to inspire future baseball research, expose students to high-quality research and build the research capability of interested students.

Click here to learn more or to download the 2018 Yoseloff Scholarship application.

Seeking nominations for 2018 SABR Analytics Conference Research Awards

What are the best baseball analytics articles you’ve read in 2017?

We’re seeking nominations for the 2018 SABR Analytics Conference Research Awards, which recognize baseball researchers who have completed the best work of original analysis or commentary during the preceding calendar year in the following categories:

  • Contemporary Baseball Analysis: Honoring the best analysis focusing on a subject related to the modern game(s), team(s) or player(s).
  • Contemporary Baseball Commentary: Honoring the best commentary focusing on a subject related to the modern game(s), team(s) or player(s). 
  • Historical Baseball Analysis/Commentary: Honoring the best original analysis or commentary focusing on a subject related to a game(s), team(s) or player(s) throughout baseball history.

Please send all nominations via e-mail to this address: 2018-analytics-awards@sabr.org no later than January 5, 2018. Include author, title, date of publication and a URL link (if applicable). Click here for complete details and category criteria.

Voting for the winners will be conducted online in January-February 2018 at SABR.org, BaseballProspectus.com, FanGraphs.com, HardballTimes.com and BeyondtheBoxScore.com, with results weighted equally at 20%.

Results will be announced and presented at the seventh annual SABR Analytics Conference, March 9-11, 2018, at the Hyatt Regency Phoenix in Phoenix, Arizona. Learn more at SABR.org/analytics.

To view past award winners and finalists, click here.

2 new SABR biographies published

Two new biographies were posted this week as part of the SABR Baseball Biography Project, which brings us to a total of 4,316 published biographies. Here are the new bios published this week:

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

5 new stories published by the SABR Games Project

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

New Games Project stories can be found at SABR.org/gamesproject/recent. Find all published Games Project articles at SABR.org/GamesProject.

If you have any questions about the Games Project, please contact Greg Erion. If you want to know if a game is available to write about, please contact Bruce Slutsky. After the article has been completed in accordance with our Authors’ Guidelines, please submit it to Len Levin, who will initiate the editing process and get your story started toward publication.

  • 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.
  • Seeking volunteers to help enhance Games Project articles on website: Any volunteer who is willing to assist with linking player biographies in previously published Games Project stories on the SABR website, please contact Jacob Pomrenke. No experience necessary, but any background working in Drupal, WordPress or other standard content management systems is a plus.

Read all articles from Au jeu/Play Ball: The 50 Greatest Games in the History of the Montreal Expos online

All articles from Au jeu/Play Ball: The 50 Greatest Games in the History of the Montreal Expos” (SABR, 2016), edited by Norm King, can now be found online at the SABR Games Project. To read more articles from this book, click here.

Here is a sampling:

To download your free e-book copy of the Montreal Expos book or to get 50% off the paperback edition, click here.

Listen to a new episode from the SABR Media Committee’s Baseball Buffet podcast

SABR’s Baseball and the Media Committee welcomes you to The Baseball Buffet, our monthly roundtable podcast focusing on recent baseball events, the media’s coverage of the national pastime, and more.

Our buffet of baseball commentators include Thom Henninger, Chuck Hildebrandt, Stuart Shea, and host Jim Walker. Each podcast runs about 20-25 minutes, a length which fits quite nicely as a quick listen into your own lunch schedule.

Listen now to the November 2017 episode, where we recap the 2017 playoffs and the Houston Astros’ historic World Series championship; look at the recent flurry of managerial changes, expected and unexpected; and discuss radical realignment of the big leagues (“Farewell, NL?”) with special guests Andie Giafaglione, award-winning baseball photographer and former shuttersmith for the Chicago Cubs; and author and poet James Finn Garner.

To learn more about The Baseball Buffet podcast, or to listen to recent episodes, click here.

Call for SABR award nominations

  • Seymour Medal, due 12/31/2017: The Dr. Harold and Dorothy Seymour Medal honors the best book of baseball history or biography published during the preceding calendar year. The award is presented during the Seymour Medal Banquet at the NINE Spring Training Conference every March. If you have a book to nominate with a 2017 publication date, contact Ken Fenster at kfenster2001@yahoo.com by December 31, 2017.
  • Larry Ritter Award, due 12/31/2017: Each year, SABR’s Deadball Era Committee presents the Larry Ritter Book Award to recognize the best new book primarily set in the Deadball Era that was published during the previous calendar year. The award is presented during the committee’s meeting at the annual SABR convention. If you have a book to nominate with a 2017 publication date, contact Doug Skipper at theskippers1@hotmail.com by December 31, 2017.
  • Ron Gabriel Award, due 12/31/2017: The Ron Gabriel Award annually honors the author(s) of the best research, published or unpublished, on the subject of the Brooklyn Dodgers completed during the preceding calendar year. To submit a nomination for the 2018 awards, please send a copy of your work to Gary Sarnoff at runtowin89@hotmail.com by December 31, 2017.
  • SABR Baseball Research Award, due 1/31/2018: The SABR Baseball Research Award (formerly the Sporting News-SABR Baseball Research Award) honors those whose outstanding research projects completed during the preceding calendar year have significantly expanded our knowledge or understanding of baseball. To submit a nomination for the 2018 awards, please contact Bill Felber at bfelber@att.net.
  • McFarland-SABR Baseball Research Award, due 2/15/2018: The McFarland-SABR Baseball Research Award honors the authors of the best articles on baseball history or biography completed or published during the preceding calendar year. To submit a nomination for the 2018 awards, please contact Len Levin at lenlevin5@hotmail.com.

Please note: Only ONE entry per nomination will be considered (do not submit multiple nominations for the same award). For more information on SABR Awards, click here.

Listen to Behind the Numbers: Baseball SABR Style on SiriusXM on Sunday

Behind the Numbers: Baseball SABR Style on SiriusXM, a radio show hosted by SABR President Vince Gennaro is back for the Hot Stove League offseason, at a new time: 4:00-5:00 p.m. ET on Sundays, on MLB Network Radio.

This week’s guests include highlights from recent interviews with Michael Bentley of Blast Motion and author Mitchell Nathanson on the Jim Bouton panel at SABR 47 in New York City.

You can also listen to archives of recent episodes on-demand on the SiriusXM Internet Radio App, and you can watch video highlights of Behind the Numbers: Baseball SABR Style on SiriusXM on MLB.com. Click here to watch more video highlights of Baseball SABR Style from MLB.com.

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.

Save the date! SABR 48 will be held in Pittsburgh in 2018

SABR will be returning to the Steel City for our 48th national convention on June 20-24, 2018, at the Wyndham Grand in downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Registration information will be available at SABR.org/convention in early 2018. The Pirates are scheduled to play at home against the Arizona Diamondbacks that weekend.

The Wyndham Grand is conveniently located within walking distance from PNC Park and a light rail station, many downtown cultural amenities, and right across the street from the picturesque 36-acre Point State Park where the three rivers converge.

SABR’s 2018 national convention will be our 48th annual gathering; the organization’s founding in Cooperstown in 1971 is counted as the first. Learn more about SABR’s convention history by clicking 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.

For more information, click here.

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
Gary Box Warren, OH   Ralph Fessler Ellicott City, MD
William Faller Yakima, WA   Greg Schulte Phoenix, AZ

 

Research Committee news

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

Regional Chapter news

Here are the new regional chapter updates this week:

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

SABR Events Calendar

Here is a list of upcoming events on the SABR calendar:

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.

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 (and not the spam folder.)

 

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Originally published: November 22, 2017. Last Updated: April 3, 2020.

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