This Week in SABR: October 4, 2024
Welcome to “This Week in SABR” on Friday, October 4, 2024.
Click here to view this newsletter on the web.
Early registration is now open for 2025 SABR Analytics Conference
SABR Analytics research presentation abstracts accepted until November 20
Help us Bring It Home in 2024 and invest in SABR’s future
In Memoriam: Pete Rose
Read bios, games, essays from 2004 Red Sox book online
 |
 |
 |
Early registration is now open for 2025 SABR Analytics Conference
Early registration is now open for the SABR Analytics Conference, which will be held in person from March 14-16, 2025, at the Beus Center for Law and Society on Arizona State University’s Downtown Phoenix Campus in Phoenix, Arizona.
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. Register today to join us!
- Registration: Click here to register for the 2025 SABR Analytics Conference. Early-bird registration is $395 for SABR members, $495 for non-members, and $150 for currently enrolled high school or college students. Student-only virtual registration is $50. Students should email Scott Carter with a photo of their student ID to receive the discounted registration link.
- Student Registration: Students should email Scott Carter with a photo of their student ID to receive a special link to register at a discounted rate. Students have the option of choosing virtual ($50) or in-person ($150) registration. Both include access to General Session panels and presentations on Friday, March 14 through Sunday, March 16, and a student-only virtual session on Thursday, March 13. All student registrations also include a one-year SABR membership ($25 value).
- Research Presentations: Present your baseball research at the 2025 SABR Analytics Conference. Deadline to submit an abstract: November 20, 2024.
- Diamond Dollars Case Competition: Click here to register your team for the 2025 Diamond Dollars Case Competition. Registration is $1,750 per team, which includes admission to all SABR Analytics Conference sessions and a one-year SABR membership for each participant.
- Yoseloff Scholarship: Students, apply now for a Yoseloff Scholarship to attend the 2025 SABR Analytics Conference. Deadline: January 3, 2025.
- Research Awards: We’re seeking nominations for the 2025 SABR Analytics Conference Research Awards. Deadline: December 31, 2024.
- Certification Courses: The first three courses in the online, on-demand SABR Analytics Certification program, including the newest offering Level Three – Introduction to Baseball Programming, are available now. Click here to learn more or to sign up.
Submit your presentation abstract for 2025 SABR Analytics Conference
SABR is excited to announce the call for presentations for the SABR Analytics Conference, which will be held on March 14-16, 2025, in Phoenix, Arizona.
Abstracts of proposed research presentations should be no more than 500 words in length, and must include the abstract’s title, review of previous work on the subject, a summary of the research methodology and preliminary and/or final results, and the expected contribution to the field of baseball analytics offered by this work. Please send all abstracts to this e-mail address: analytics-presentations@sabr.org. Please clearly indicate whether you are submitting for the general track or for the student track of presentations. The submission deadline for all 2025 SABR Analytics Conference presentation abstracts is 11:59 p.m. MST on November 20, 2024.
Click here to read the full announcement at SABR.org.
Students, apply now for a SABR Analytics Yoseloff Scholarship
With generous funding from The Nanar and Anthony Yoseloff Foundation, Inc., SABR will award up to four scholarships to high school and college students who wish to attend the SABR Analytics Conference on March 14-16, 2025, in Phoenix, Arizona. This scholarship will pay for registration, transportation and lodging fees associated with the conference up to a total value of $1,250.
Click here to read the full announcement at SABR.org.
Seeking nominations for 2025 SABR Analytics Conference Research Awards
What are the best baseball analytics articles you’ve read in 2024? We’re seeking nominations for the 2025 SABR Analytics Conference Research Awards, which recognize baseball researchers who have completed the best work of original analysis or commentary.
Please send all nominations via e-mail to this address: analytics-awards@sabr.org no later than December 31, 2024. Include author, title, date of publication and a URL link (if applicable).
Click here to read the full announcement at SABR.org.
Help us Bring It Home in 2024 and invest in SABR’s future
SABR has made great progress toward our vision of becoming the essential community for the world of baseball, but there is still work to be done to fulfill that goal. By investing in mission-focused initiatives and outreach, SABR will be well positioned to sustain and grow into the future. Key areas of focus to achieve that growth include the continual addition of research resources, expansion and amplification of programming, and an emphasis on connection for our members and the wider baseball community. Gifts from members like you will help us BRING IT HOME, ensuring we achieve a successful 2024 while making investments in our collective future.
You can support SABR’s annual Bring it Home Campaign by making a gift of $150 or more by December 31, 2024. We will use your best gift of $150, $300, $500, or $1,000 to boost SABR’s general operations. Contributions from generous donors like you are critical in supporting SABR as we add to our research resources, expand programming, and strengthen the connection of our baseball community.
Visit SABR.org/donate/2024 to learn more.
In Memoriam: Pete Rose
Pete Rose, Major League Baseball’s career hits leader who was permanently banned after he was found to have bet on games involving the Cincinnati Reds, died at the age of 83 on Monday, September 30.
As Andy Sturgill wrote for the SABR BioProject, “His skill, reckless abandon, and desire to win endeared him to millions of baseball fans, but that same hard edge combined with personal missteps to give his detractors more than enough fodder to tear him down. Through baserunning and bravado, girlfriends and gambling, one thing was indisputable: Pete Rose was an outstanding baseball player.”
Click here to read the full article at SABR.org.
One month left to submit abstracts for 2025 SABR Frederick Ivor-Campbell 19th Century Base Ball Conference
All SABR members are invited and encouraged to submit a Research Presentation Proposal Abstract on any topic of 19th-century baseball for the 2025 Frederick Ivor-Campbell 19th Century Base Ball Conference at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. The 16th annual Ivor-Campbell Conference is scheduled for April 25-26, 2025. The deadline for proposal Abstracts is October 31, 2024.
Click here to read the full announcement at SABR.org.
Submit new project proposals to SABR Editorial Board by November 1
SABR’s Editorial Board welcomes new project proposals from members to be considered for publication through the Digital Library, SABR.org, or any other multimedia formats. We strongly encourage new proposals that involve collaboration between SABR research committees and/or chapters, and web-based projects with an eye toward enhanced multimedia presentation.
- Click here to submit a SABR project proposal
Next deadline: November 1, 2024 (for publication in early 2026 or 2027)
SABR seeks to publish 2-4 web-based multimedia projects and 6-8 books per year. Book projects should be of a scope that can fit in a single volume, typically between 100,000 and 200,000 total words.
Click here to read the full announcement at SABR.org.
Call for volunteers: Weiss Baseball Player Questionnaires
SABR seeks volunteers to help adding Baseball-Reference IDs to the Bill Weiss Baseball Player Questionnaires, a collection of self-completed surveys of professional baseball players from 1945-2005, which will soon be made available at SABR.org. Matching the players to Baseball-Reference IDs will make it easier for everyone to find their favorite player. No experience or time commitment is needed, just a love for baseball, data, and history. You can jump right into volunteering at https://tinyurl.com/WeissPage or contact Jason Sigler for an informational video and more instructions.
Since we began this project in October 2023, more than 100,000 questionnaires have already been transcribed. These questionnaires will give baseball researchers tremendous first-hand knowledge from the pens of 18-year-old minor leaguers.
Writing Opportunities: 2005 Chicago White Sox book
Authors are needed for three more biographies for an upcoming SABR book project on the 2005 Chicago White Sox. Bios are needed for Neal Cotts, José Contreras, and broadcaster Darrin Jackson. If you are interested in contributing to this book, please contact Bill Nowlin.
All SABR members are encouraged to help out as editors and fact-checkers for our upcoming book and web projects, including the ongoing Biography Project, Games Project, and more. Click here to learn more.
Find new updates to the SABR Research Collection below, including the Baseball Biography Project, Games Project, and Oral History Collection.
Read bios, games, essays online from 2004 Boston Red Sox book
Earlier this year, the SABR Digital Library published Sox Bid Curse Farewell: The 2004 Boston Red Sox, edited by Bill Nowlin, celebrating the twentieth anniversary of Boston’s first championship team of the twenty-first century by collecting biographies all of the players on the roster, alongside memorable games and essays about that unprecedented postseason run and its ripples throughout New England.
- Essays: Find all essays from Sox Bid Curse Farewell in the SABR Research Collection online
- Biographies: Read bios of 2004 Red Sox players and coaches at the SABR BioProject
- Game recaps: Find recaps of memorable 2004 Red Sox games at the SABR Games Project
Visit SABR.org/ebooks to download the free e-book edition of Sox Bid Curse Farewell or save 50% off the purchase of the paperback edition.
3 new stories published at SABR BioProject
- Tony Freitas, by Len Pasculli
- Al Luplow, by Larry DeFillipo
- John Upham, by Len Pasculli
Visit SABR.org/bioproject to learn more about the SABR Biography Project or to get involved.
6 new stories published at SABR Games Project
- September 10, 1916: Giants, Yankees play exhibition for Hollywood, charity, by Vincent T. Ciaramella
- May 30, 1928: Months before his death, Urban Shocker pitches two final innings for Yankees in loss to Nationals, by Tim Odzer
- August 13, 1949: Red Sox beat Senators on Vern Stephens’ walk-off grand slam in 12th inning, by Bill Nowlin
- October 4, 2013: Red Sox pounce on Rays in Game One as momentum sputters for Tampa Bay, by Bill Nowlin
- October 5, 2013: Red Sox beat Rays in Game 2 behind David Ortiz’s two home runs, by Bill Nowlin
- October 16, 2014: Travis Ishikawa hits walk-off home run to send San Francisco Giants to the World Series, by Shyar Shah (first-time author)
Visit SABR.org/gamesproject to learn more about the SABR Games Project or to get involved.
Sandy Koufax
Edited by Marc Z. Aaron, Bill Nowlin, and Glen Sparks
Visit SABR.org to download the free e-book edition or save 50% off the paperback edition of all Digital Library books.
Here are some SABR headlines from recent weeks that we don’t want you to miss:
- Check out highlights, photos, and recordings from the SABR 52 convention in Minneapolis
- Browse the new, searchable SABR MLB Team Employee Database
- Watch highlights from 2024 SABR/IWBC Women in Baseball Conference
- D. Bruce Brown selected as 2024 Bob Davids Award winner
- Barbara Gregorich honored with Dorothy Seymour Mills Lifetime Achievement Award
- Save the date! SABR 53 will be in Dallas/Fort Worth in 2025
- SABR special committee: 1949-50 Negro American League, independent Black teams are major-league caliber
- Check out highlights from the 2024 Jerry Malloy Negro League Conference
- Call for papers: Turnstyle: The SABR Journal of Baseball Arts
- Learn more about recipients of SABR Local Grants in 2024
- Find complete collection of SABR-Rucker Archive baseball images online
- Historical Black Newspapers Collection added to SABR Research Resources
- Get a gift for baseball fan in your life with the SABR Store @ CafePress
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 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jordan Cowsert | Las Cruces, NM | Blake O’Hayre | Lakewood, CO | ||
| Amanda Curto | Hudson, OH | Ryan Preston | Toronto, ON | ||
| Paul Drezen | Dixon, IL | Douglas Rubin | Princeton, NJ | ||
| Christopher Edwards | Port Neches, TX | Andy Sjerven | Otsego, MN | ||
| Bienvenido Gilbert | Santa Fe, TX | Jonathan Stafford-Bentley | La Mesa, CA | ||
| Angela Kuhn | St. Louis, MO | Jason Stowers | Grayson, KY | ||
| James Mahoney | Toronto, ON | Don Wahl | Arvada, CO | ||
| Daniel McGarr | Akron, OH |
Here is a list of SABR supporters for the month of September 2024.
| NAME | NAME | |
|---|---|---|
| Jake Bell | Bruce McClure | |
| John Boucher | Mark Morowczynski | |
| D. Bruce Brown | Linda Nichols | |
| Ralph Caola | Bill Nowlin | |
| Ken Carrano | Mark Pollak | |
| Karl Cicitto | John Rall | |
| Vincent Comparato | Michael Rosenwasser | |
| Jim Cox | Charles Roussel | |
| Chris Dial | Bob Russon | |
| Mark Dugo | William Ryczek | |
| Helen Edwards | Jason Scheller | |
| David Firstman | Douglas Schoppert | |
| Adam Foldes | Rob Sheinkopf | |
| Cyber Grants | Thomas Stone | |
| Robert Hagerman | Wesley Story | |
| Leslie Heaphy | Joseph Thompson | |
| Tim Herlich | Neal Traven | |
| Rockwell Hoffman | Marlene Vogelsang | |
| David Hughes | Molly Vriezelaar | |
| Rob Janes | Steve West | |
| Donald Jensen | Beach Wires | |
| Henry Levy | Jeffrey Wood | |
| Peter Mancuso | Don Zminda | |
| Peter Marcus |
Want to become a Friend of SABR? 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 details of all upcoming SABR events.
- Video Replays: This week, we heard from Patrick Carpentier and Christian Trudeau (“Léo Dandurand, French-Canadian Nationalism, and Baseball”); Ben Ernst (“The History of the Northern League”); and Vince Guerrieri (“Ten-Cent Beer Night”). Click here to view video replays of virtual SABR events.
Upcoming Virtual Meetings
- October 4: Rocky Mountain (CO) Chapter meeting (6:00 p.m. MDT)
- October 5: Mathewson-Plank (Central PA) Chapter book club meeting (10:00 a.m. EDT)
- October 7: Clyde Sukeforth (NH/ME) Chapter meeting with Maxwell Kates (7:00 p.m. EDT)
- October 8: 19th Century Speaker Series: Justin Mckinney (8:00 p.m. EDT)
- October 8: Games and Simulations Committee meeting with Alex Ehrath (8:00 p.m. EDT)
- October 9: Joint Chapter Meeting: Danny Spewak, “The Legacy of Charlie Peete” (7:00 p.m. EDT)
- October 10: Ken Keltner (WI) Badger State Chapter meeting with Don August (7:00 p.m. CDT)
Upcoming In-Person Meetings
- October 5: Connecticut Smoky Joe Wood Chapter breakfast (Middletown, CT)
- October 7: Bob Broeg St. Louis Chapter meeting (St. Louis, MO)
- October 9: Buck O’Neil/North Florida Chapter meeting (Tallahassee, FL)
- October 10: Pee Wee Reese Chapter: Cave Hill Cemetery sports tour (Louisville, KY)
- October 12: Mathewson-Plank Chapter meeting (Gettysburg, PA)
- October 12: Baltimore Babe Ruth Chapter: Book Series (Baltimore, MD)
To add your SABR event to our calendar listings, please contact Jacob Pomrenke.
- Baseball Cards: The SABR Baseball Cards Research Committee is looking to fill new vice-chair positions for Membership, Outreach, Social Media, and Events. Click here for more information.
- Nineteenth Century: Fall 2024 newsletter
- Oral History: The Oral History Committee is seeking a newsletter editor. If you are interested in helping out, please contact committee chair John McMurray to learn more.
Sign up for SABR research committee announcements at SABR.org/research/committees.
- Casey Stengel Chapter: September 2024 newsletter (New York, NY)
- Ken Keltner Badger State Chapter: October 2024 newsletter (Milwaukee, WI)
- Magnolia Chapter: Fall 2024 newsletter (Atlanta, GA)
- Ted Williams Chapter: October 2024 newsletter (San Diego, CA)
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:
- Jay Jaffe: For Pete Rose (1941-2024), the Hustle Has Finally Ended (FanGraphs)
- Steven Goldman: Pete Rose: The Ghost is Gone; His Power Ends (Baseball Prospectus)
- Karin Fischer: How a Group of Amateurs Rewrote the History of America’s Pastime (Chronicle of Higher Education)
- 2025 Ford C. Frick Award ballot finalists are announced (BaseballHall.org)
- Jayson Stark: Pete Alonso’s amazin’, improbable October home run and a Mets comeback for the ages (The Athletic)
- Jason Foster: Shohei Ohtani achieves another rare feat: 400 total bases (MLB.com)
- Michael Rosen: Can Data Sharing Solve the Pitcher Injury Epidemic? (FanGraphs)
- Clinton Yates: The Oakland A’s, Lawrence Butler and another personality taken from the Bay (Andscape)
- Russell A. Carleton: How to Manage Your Luck (Baseball Prospectus)
- Tyler Kepner: For the Brewers, a chance for reflection after their season’s sudden crushing end (The Athletic)
- Davy Andrews: When the Lights Went Out in Houston (FanGraphs)
- Stephanie Apstein: Phillies Owner John Middleton Provides an Unsparing Blueprint for His Peers (Sports Illustrated)
- Ryan Fagan: Why the San Diego Padres Might Be the Toughest Out of the 2024 MLB Postseason (Opta Analyst)
- Derrick Goold: What it means for Cardinals as Bally Sports’ parent company moves to unplug some teams (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
- Mark Simon: 2024 Minor League Defensive Standouts (Sports Info Solutions)
- Lindsey Adler: How a 500-to-1 Long Shot Reached the MLB Playoffs (Wall Street Journal)
- David Laurila: All Hail the Detroit Tigers (and Kudos AL Central) (FanGraphs)
- Rob Mains: The Bill James World Series Prediction System, 2024 Edition (Baseball Prospectus)
- Tom Hawthorn: Kaye Kaminishi, 102, was last living member of Vancouver’s storied Asahi team (Globe and Mail)
- John Thorn: Baseball pioneers: Billy Bean (Our Game)
- Alex Speier: Here’s how the Red Sox became so distant from October baseball, and how they can turn the slide around (Boston Globe)
- Frederic J. Frommer: The White Sox are historically bad. The Cleveland Spiders were worse. (Washington Post)
- Lewie Pollis: Why Do Most Wild Card Series End in Sweeps? (The Lewsletter)
- Jeff Cohen/Len Aberman: Baseball and BBQ interview with Erik Sherman (Baseball and BBQ)
- Roy Carlson: Drawing Conclusions: Eric White’s Vintage Topps Cartoon Discoveries (Sports Collectors Digest)
- Jason Schwartz: Pete Rose’s Hairy Legacy (SABR Baseball Cards)
- Todd Marcum: Three interesting under-the-radar 1941 baseball cards (SABR Baseball Cards)
Please note: Some articles may require a separate subscription to view online. SABR does not endorse, and is not responsible or liable for, any content that appears on a third-party website.
This Week in SABR is compiled by Jacob Pomrenke. If you would like us to include an upcoming event, article, or any other information in “This Week in SABR,” e-mail jpomrenke@sabr.org. To find past editions of TWIS, click here.
Are you receiving our e-mails? “This Week in SABR” goes out by e-mail to all members on Friday afternoons. If they’re not showing up, try adding “sabr.notes@sabr.org” to your contact list to ensure they show up in your inbox.
Originally published: October 4, 2024. Last Updated: October 4, 2024.