This Week in SABR: October 6, 2017

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Welcome to “This Week in SABR!” Click here to view this week’s newsletter on the web. Here’s what we’ve been up to as of October 6, 2017:

It’s almost 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 almost 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.

Here are some of the membership benefits that SABR members enjoyed in the past year:

  • Two issues of the Baseball Research Journal and The National Pastime convention journal
  • The SABR 47 convention in New York City, which enjoyed record-breaking attendance, entertaining panels on Jim Bouton, Yogi Berra, and Jackie Robinson, and a special trip to Citi Field
  • The SABR Analytics Conference during spring training in Phoenix, where we heard from Hall of Famer Randy Johnson and postseason legend Luis Gonzalez, sabermetric pioneer Bill James, and the Chicago Cubs’ front office about their journey to the World Series
  • 8-10 new e-books published by the SABR Digital Library — all FREE to members — including Puerto Rico and Baseball: 60 Biographies, The SABR Book on Umpires and Umpiring and Bittersweet Goodbye: The Black Barons, the Grays, and the 1948 Negro League World Series
  • Discounted registration to SABR’s national events and conferences, like the Jerry Malloy Negro League Conference and the Frederick Ivor-Campbell 19th Century Base Ball Conference
  • Hundreds of new articles published through the SABR BioProject and the SABR Games Project
  • The work of our 30+ research committees and 70+ regional chapters
  • Free access to The Sporting News archives through Paper of Record

Want to learn more? Click here for Frequently Asked Questions about getting the most out of your SABR membership.

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!

Terry Kennedy to speak at 2017 SABR Arizona Fall League Experience; early registration ends next week

We’re excited to announce more featured speakers for the ninth annual SABR Arizona Fall League Experience, which will be held Thursday, November 2 to Saturday, November 4, 2017:

  • Terry Kennedy, four-time All-Star catcher and Chicago Cubs scout since 2014

Kennedy is scheduled to speak, along with AFL founder Roland Hemond, San Francisco Giants executive Tony Siegle, former major-league pitcher and author John D’Acquisto, and MLB.com’s Barry Bloom, at the Hemond-Delhi Arizona Chapter meeting on Saturday, November 4 at the Embassy Suites, 5001 Scottsdale Road in Scottsdale, AZ, prior to the nationally televised Fall Stars Game that evening at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick.

On Thursday, November 2, former major-leaguer Del Unser and AFL executive director Steve Cobb will speak at the ballpark dinner at Scottsdale Stadium before the Scottsdale Scorpions’ game against the Peoria Javelinas. On Friday, November 3, we’ll have a special dinner at Don and Charlie’s, home of one of the best baseball memorabilia collections you’ll ever see. The SABR AFL Experience will also feature three AFL games showcasing baseball’s top prospects.

All of this, including transportation, is included in one low registration price. The 2017 SABR Arizona Fall League Experience is open to all baseball fans. Remember, the early-bird registration discount ends next week!

  • Register now by clicking here! Registration is $175 for all SABR members and guests before October 12, 2017; $195 afterward.
  • Host hotel: SABR’s recommended hotel is the Embassy Suites (5001 N. Scottsdale Rd., Scottsdale, AZ 85251) in Old Town Scottsdale. Click here to book your room online or call the hotel at (480) 949-1414 or (800) 528-1456 and mention “SABR” to book your room at our special group rate of $129/night (plus tax).

In the first eight years of the SABR AFL conference, attendees were treated to sneak peeks at Mike Trout, Bryce Harper, Buster Posey, Stephen Strasburg, Nolan Arenado, Gerrit Cole, Billy Hamilton, and Gary Sanchez before they hit the big leagues.

Visit SABR.org/AFL to sign up today or to find the full schedule.

Note: Local or visiting SABR members can purchase extra or optional tickets to the Thursday evening ballpark dinner and game ($35) at Scottsdale Stadium, the Friday afternoon game at Scottsdale Stadium ($7), the Friday night dinner at Don and Charlie’s ($60), or the Fall Stars Game ($7) on Saturday night at Salt River Fields. Extra AFL Media Guides ($12) are also available for purchase while supplies last. Please contact Deb Jayne at djayne@sabr.org for details. Please note: All speakers are subject to change depending on availability.

Related links:

Get the Fall 2017 Baseball Research Journal delivered straight to your inbox

Once again, SABR is offering members the opportunity to opt out of receiving the printed version of the Fall 2017 Baseball Research Journal. We’ll deliver the e-book version of the Fall 2017 BRJ in the format of your choice (EPUB, MOBI/Kindle or PDF) straight to your inbox in early November. Click here to learn more about receiving the e-book edition of the BRJ.

Opt out of receiving the printed edition by 11:59 p.m. MST tonight, Friday, October 6 in order to get early access to all the great content in the BRJ in e-book format and online at SABR.org.

  • To opt out of receiving the printed version of the Baseball Research Journal: Click here to edit your membership profile. Scroll to the bottom and select “Receive publications electronically.” Then save your changes.

Please note: If you do nothing, you will continue to receive two print editions of the Baseball Research Journal every year by mail.

If you’ve never read a Baseball Research Journal in e-book form, click here to try it out with the Spring 2017 edition. The Baseball Research Journal, and all SABR e-books, are available in EPUB, MOBI/Kindle or PDF formats.

To read articles from the BRJ archives, click here.

Submit your presentation abstract for 2018 SABR Analytics Conference

SABR and Baseball Info Solutions are excited to announce the call for presentations for the seventh annual SABR Analytics Conference, scheduled for Friday, March 9 to Sunday, March 11, 2018, at the Hyatt Phoenix Downtown.

The SABR Analytics Conference brings together the leading minds in baseball analytics to discuss and debate topics relevant to the quantitative analysis of the game of baseball, including aspects of innovation and technology. Past conferences have been attended by representatives from more than 25 MLB teams.

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 anticipated results, and the expected contribution to the field of baseball analytics offered by this work. Please send all abstracts to this e-mail address: 2018-analytics-presentations@sabr.org.

The submission deadline for 2018 SABR Analytics Conference presentation abstracts is 11:59 p.m. MST, Friday, November 3, 2017. Please note: If your presentation abstract is accepted, you will be required to register for the conference in order to qualify for a presentation slot.

Click here for complete details and submission criteria.

From the archives: SABR interviews with heroes of Octobers past

As Major League Baseball begins the postseason, we took a whirl through the SABR archives for interviews with heroes of Octobers past conducted by members of our Oral History Research Committee.

Over the last four decades, the SABR Oral History Committee has compiled hundreds of interviews of former players in the majors, minors, Negro Leagues and All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, along with executives, scouts, authors and writers, broadcasters and fans.

  • Click here to listen to excerpts from our Oral History Collection, including clips from Lew Burdette, Hank Bauer, Dusty Rhodes, Al Gionfriddo, and Marty Marion.

For more information on the SABR Oral History interview collection, visit sabr.org/research/oral-history-research-committee.

SABR Digital Library: 20-Game Losers

Be a winner, and add this new baseball book from the SABR Digital Library to your collection:

20-Game Losers
Edited by Bill Nowlin and Emmet R. Nowlin
Associate Editors: Bob LeMoine, Len Levin, and Carl Riechers
ISBN (ebook): 978-1-943816-58-3, $9.99
ISBN (paperback): 978-1-943816-59-0, $21.95
8.5″ x 11″, 486 pages

Click here to read a full description of this book at SABR.org.

SABR members, get this e-book for FREE!

SABR members will get discounted rates for all Digital Library publications, including many for free. Visit SABR.org/ebooks to find all previously published books.

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.

It’s official! SABR 48 will be held in Pittsburgh in 2018

Save the date! 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 48 will be our second convention held in Pittsburgh and first since 1995. Our 25th annual convention that year featured a keynote speech from former Pirates manager Chuck Tanner and panel discussions commemorating the 1960 and 1971 World Series champions. Learn more about SABR’s convention history by clicking here.

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

For more information on the SABR convention, visit SABR.org/convention.

Staples, Tobias receive scholarships in 2017 SABR Women in Baseball essay contest

SABR’s Women in Baseball Committee is pleased to award two scholarships to high school senior in its inaugural Women in Baseball Essay Contest in 2017.

Due to the generous donations of committee members, the Women in Baseball Committee has awarded a $500 scholarship to Josh Staples of Chandler, Arizona, and a $250 award to Sara Tobias of New York City.

Students were asked to write an essay of 1,500 words or less addressing the following question: “Choose one person or event in women’s baseball history that you believe has made a significant impact on the game and explain the importance.”

Click on a PDF link below to read the winning essays:

To learn more about the winners, click here.

Jefferson Street Ballparks historical marker dedicated at ceremony in Philadelphia

From Julie Shaw at the Philadelphia Inquirer:

About 40 people gathered on a grassy North Philadelphia field on  Saturday, September 30 to celebrate a new state historical marker honoring the spot where, on September 3, 1869, civil rights activist Octavius V. Catto captained the all-black Pythians baseball team in the country’s first recorded interracial game.

The Pythians lost to the all-white Olympics. But the fact that the game was played shortly after the Civil War spoke to progress being made.

The Jefferson Street Ballparks, on Jefferson Street near 26th, now home to the baseball fields, playground, and basketball courts of the Athletic Recreation Center, served as the practice grounds for the Olympics and another all-white team, the Athletics, in the late 19th century.

SABR member Matt Albertson, 28, of Havertown, a baseball history buff who made the nomination to the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission for the marker, told the seated and standing crowd before the unveiling: “This site was host to monumental baseball events, which both pressed for cultural change and ushered in the modern era of professional sports in America.”

The new cast aluminum marker is one of more than 2,000 in Pennsylvania commemorating a part of the state’s history.

“Pythian captain Octavius Catto, to whom a brand-new statue was dedicated at City Hall this past Tuesday, used baseball — among other things — as a vehicle for social change,” Albertson said. “They challenged the established racial hierarchy immediately following the Civil War and proved that baseball was no longer a game for moneyed elites, but was also for the common man and free African Americans.”

Read the full article here: http://www.philly.com/philly/news/jefferson-street-ballparks-north-philly-marker-catto-phillies-pythians-mlb-20170930.html

Related links:

Call for papers: 2018 SABR 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 2018 Frederick Ivor-Campbell 19th Century Base Ball Conference at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. The 10th annual Ivor-Campbell Conference is scheduled for April 20-21, 2018.

The deadline for proposal Abstracts is October 31, 2017. Your abstract must be between 200-500 words for a 20- to 25-minute presentation. Please include name, title, and contact information and send your proposal as a Microsoft Word or PDF attachment to Peter Mancuso at peterplus4@earthlink.net.

Click here to learn more.

Registration now open for SABR Rocky Mountain Chapter banquet

The SABR Rocky Mountain Chapter is pleased to announce that our 20th Annual Chapter Banquet will be held on Saturday, November 11, 2017. For the third consecutive year it will be held at Coors Field, home of the Colorado Rockies. The banquet is open to all SABR members and baseball fans.

Rocky Mountain SABR welcomes several special guests to this year’s event, including Keynote Speaker Patrick Saunders, Rockies beat writer for the Denver Post and current president of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA); Featured Speaker Ryan Spilborghs, former Rockies player and Emmy Award-winning commentator for ROOT Sports, Rockies Vice President of Scouting Bill Schmidt, former Rockies GM Bob Gebhard, SABR Director Bill Nowlin, MLB.com columnist Barry Bloom, and our Master of Ceremonies for the evening, former Rockies pitcher Jason Hirsh.

As usual, we will conduct our Silent Auction of baseball memorabilia and artifacts. We will reprise last year’s popular book sale and feature a special sale of Rockies baseball cards. Tickets for the banquet are $65 per person and can be purchased online by visiting RMSABR.org/banquet.html. You may also mail a check to RMSABR Banquet, 5803 Orchard Creek Lane, Boulder, CO 80301. Please make checks payable to “Rocky Mountain SABR.”

For more information, visit RMSABR.org.

5 new SABR biographies published

Five new biographies were posted this week as part of the SABR Baseball Biography Project, which brings us to a total of 4,287 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:

These articles all appeared in Au jeu/Play Ball: The 50 Greatest Games in the History of the Montreal Expos (SABR, 2016), edited by Norm King. To read more articles from this book at the SABR Games Project, click here.

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. Must be comfortable working in Drupal, WordPress or other standard content management systems.

1967 Red Sox essays now published at SABR.org

On the 50th anniversary of a pennant-winning season, more articles from The 1967 Impossible Dream Red Sox: Pandemonium on the Field (SABR, 2017), edited by Bill Nowlin and Dan Desrochers, were published recently at SABR.org. These essays include:

Click here to read all player biographies that appeared in The 1967 Impossible Dream Red Sox at the SABR BioProject.

To download the e-book version of The 1967 Impossible Dream Red Sox for free or to get 50% off the paperback edition, click here.

Listen to archives of Behind the Numbers: Baseball SABR Style on SiriusXM

Behind the Numbers: Baseball SABR Style on SiriusXM, a radio show hosted by SABR President Vince Gennaro, will be on hiatus during the MLB postseason. After the World Series ends, the show will air again at its regular time, 7:00-8:00 p.m. ET on Sundays, on MLB Network Radio. But you can still listen to archives of recent episodes on-demand on the SiriusXM Internet Radio App.

You can also 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.

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
Cindy Baker Lexington, KY     Tanner Maier Missoula, MT
Matthew Bills Decorah, IA     Andrew Murphy Lexington, KY
David Cieslinski Rochester, NY     John Murray Taylors, SC
Mark Edmund Wauwatosa, WI     Cory Ritterbusch Shullsburg, WI
David Frank Bethesda, MD     Clinton Rumble Essex, MA
Lee Freeman Dearborn, MI     Ryder Shelley Amherst, NY
Patrick Gallagher Omaha, NE     Michael Stewart Duluth, MN
T.J. Harrison Lawrence, KS     Robert Watt Providence, RI
Kaz Kalita Huntington, IN     Phil Williams Charlotte, NC

 

Research Committee news

Here are the new SABR research committee updates this week:

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

Regional Chapter news

Here are the new regional chapter updates this week:

  • Hemond-Delhi Arizona Chapter: October 2017 newsletter (Phoenix, AZ)
  • Rocky Mountain Chapter: Registration is now open for the chapter’s 20th annual banquet on November 11, 2017, at Coors Field in Denver. Visit RMSABR.org/banquet.html for complete information and details.
  • Best Practices handbook: Chapter leaders, you can download the updated Chapter Leaders Best Practices Handbook on the Admin Tools page at admin.sabr.org. The handbook offers suggestions and guidelines for meetings, speakers, revitalizing a chapter, and getting publicity for SABR and chapter events.

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: October 6, 2017. Last Updated: April 3, 2020.

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