This Week in SABR: September 1, 2023
Welcome to “This Week in SABR” on Friday, September 1, 2023. Please note: The SABR office will be closed on Monday, September 4 for the Labor Day holiday. Click here to view this newsletter on the web.
Register now for 2023 SABR/IWBC Women in Baseball Conference
Join us on September 7 for Ballpark Figures with Bianca Smith
Join us in October for a special SABR Scholar Session
Coming soon: Third course in SABR Analytics Certification program
19th Century Grave Marker Project honors Bobby Mathews in Baltimore
Submit new project ideas to SABR Editorial Board
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Register now for the 2023 SABR/IWBC Women in Baseball Conference
Join us for the fifth annual SABR/IWBC Women in Baseball Conference, which will be held virtually on September 29-October 1, 2023. All baseball fans are welcome to attend!
This year’s conference — co-sponsored by SABR and the International Women’s Baseball Center and hosted by Rockford University — is a virtual event with the theme “Through the Lens of Baseball.” The conference will feature research presentations, panels, pylon unveiling, presentation of the Dorothy Award and keynote speaker Melissa Ludtke. Stay tuned for the full schedule to be released soon.
Visit SABR.org/women-in-baseball-conference for complete details. Hope to see you there!
Join us on September 7 for Ballpark Figures with Bianca Smith
Join us each month for SABR’s Ballpark Figures, a new interview series hosted by Shakeia Taylor. The virtual Zoom event is free and open to all active SABR members.
On Thursday, September 7, we’ll hear from Bianca Smith, who in 2020 became the first African-American woman to serve as a professional baseball coach when she was hired by the Boston Red Sox. She now works in Japan as a Sports Exchange Advisor with the JET Program.
Visit SABR.org/ballpark-figures to learn more or to watch replays of past episodes.
Join us on October 3 for a special SABR Scholar Session
All student and young professional members of SABR are invited to our first SABR Scholar Session, held virtually on Zoom at 8:00 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, October 3, 2023.
Join host Tyrone Brooks, Senior Director, Front Office and Field Staff Diversity Pipeline Program at Major League Baseball, for a new quarterly virtual series created exclusively for SABR student and young professional members. Our guest will be Katie Krall, Senior Product Manager, Baseball Strategy at Hawk-Eye Innovations and former Boston Red Sox Development Coach.
- To learn more or to pre-register for the SABR Scholar Session on Zoom, please contact Jessica Smyth.
Coming soon: Third course in SABR Analytics Certification program
We’re excited to announce that in the coming weeks, we will introduce the newest course in the SABR Analytics Certification program, Level Three – Introduction to Baseball Programming.
Taught by award-winning baseball writer and analyst Rob Arthur, the Level Three course provides an introduction to programming using a practical approach in its application for baseball and focusing on R (with a dash of SQL) as a programming language, the goal of this online, on-demand course is to give learners a foundational understanding of the technical skills necessary for a career in data science and baseball analytics.
To sign up to be notified as soon as Level Three is available, or to learn more about previous courses, visit SABR.org/analytics/certification.
SABR 19th Century Grave Marker Project honors star pitcher Bobby Mathews
SABR’s Baltimore/Babe Ruth Chapter and the 19th Century Grave Marker Project held a dedication ceremony at Bobby Mathews’ grave on Saturday, August 26 at New Cathedral Cemetery. The event also included a tour of the cemetery, including the gravesites of other baseball notables buried there.
Mathews won 297 games over a 15-year career that ended in 1887. He was one of the 19th century’s greatest and longest-lasting pitchers, having achieved his success in the era when the pitcher was becoming the game’s most important position.
Click here to find more photos of the newly installed Mathews grave marker and dedication ceremony at RIPbaseball.com.
Call for papers: 2024 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 2024 Frederick Ivor-Campbell 19th Century Base Ball Conference at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. The 15th annual Ivor-Campbell Conference is scheduled for April 19-20, 2024.
The deadline for proposal Abstracts is October 31, 2023. Your abstract must be between 200-400 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 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, 2023 (for publication in early 2025 or 2026)
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.
Vote now for 2023 IBWAA Content Creator Awards
Voting is open for the inaugural Internet Baseball Writers Association of America Content Creator Awards, through September 8. Nominees were submitted by IBWAA and SABR members. Click here to cast your vote; all baseball fans are welcome to participate. Winners will be announced during a live, online show on Sunday, October 1.
In addition, the IBWAA is pleased to announce that Mark Armour will receive the IBWAA Lifetime Achievement Award. Armour is the founder of the SABR BioProject and SABR Baseball Cards Committee, co-author of Intentional Balk: Baseball’s Thin Line Between Innovation and Cheating and six other books, and a dedicated SABR volunteer, organizer, and leader.
— Daniel R. Epstein
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 #229 on Monday, August 28 featured Earl Santee, Senior Principal, Global Chair, and Co-Founder of Populous. 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.
New Oral History interview: Dennis Biddle
- Dennis Biddle, former Negro Leagues pitcher with the Chicago American Giants
Recorded August 20, 2023, by Nicholas Digrispino
Visit SABR.org/oralhistory to find more interviews from the SABR Oral History Collection.
6 new biographies published at the SABR BioProject
- Connie Creeden, by Kurt Blumenau
- John Fox, by Bill Lamb
- Stan Pawloski, by William C. Kashatus
- Bill Shipke, by Stephen V. Rice
- Fleury Sullivan, by Bill Lamb
- Stefan Wever, by Eric Vickrey
Visit SABR.org/bioproject to learn more about the SABR BioProject or to get involved.
10 new stories published at the SABR Games Project
- September 7, 1899: Louisville Colonels’ ‘Mysterious Twirler’ Clay Fauver defeats Pirates for only big-league win, by Mark Hodermarsky
- August 31, 1953: Would Ted Williams trade 18 points off his batting average for a game-winning home run?, by Bill Nowlin
- September 1, 1963: Yankees’ Tom Metcalf gets sole major-league win, aided by home runs, by Michael Trzinski
- September 5, 1970: Pirates rookie Fred Cambria beats Phillies for only major-league win, by John Paul Hill
- September 1, 1979: Arrest at Orioles game spurs upgrades for fans with disabilities, by Kurt Blumenau
- September 6, 2004: Manny Ramírez and David Ortiz hit back-to-back home runs for the sixth time in season, by Bill Nowlin
- September 7, 2004: Johnny Damon hits his third leadoff home run of the year for Red Sox, by Bill Nowlin
- September 3, 2006: Ryan Howard’s 3 home runs power Phillies’ win over Braves, by Steve Ginader
- September 4, 2013: Red Sox hit team-record 8 home runs to turn showdown into rout, by Bill Nowlin
- September 6, 2013: Mike Napoli’s grand slam helps Red Sox to come-from-behind win over Yankees, by Bill Nowlin
Visit SABR.org/gamesproject to learn more about the SABR Games Project or to get involved.
The Stars Shone on Philadelphia: The 1934 Negro National League Champions
Edited by Frederick C. Bush 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:
- Save the date! SABR 52 will be in Minneapolis in 2024
- 40,000 rare images now available in SABR-Rucker Archive
- Historical Black Newspapers Collection added to SABR Research Resources
- SABR forms new Special Negro Leagues and Teams Committee
- SABR Defensive Index rankings released through August 13
- Neal Traven selected as 2023 Bob Davids Award recipient
- Highlights from the 2023 Jerry Malloy Negro League Conference
- SABR Landmarks Committee unveils new Baseball Grave Map
- Read articles from new 2023 The National Pastime online
- Watch video highlights from 2023 SABR Analytics Conference
- Learn more about the recipients of 2023 SABR Local Grants
- 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 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aiden Aqui | Richmond Hill, ON | Jerry Mikorenda | East Northport, NY | ||
| Robert Babb | Baltimore, MD | Geoff Ng | Deerfield, IL | ||
| Ken Cromley | Blue Springs, MO | David Ormandy | London, ON | ||
| Tom Farrell | Cincinnati, OH | Douglas Penner | Eloy, AZ | ||
| Christopher Gilbert | West Columbia, TX | Barry Shollenberger | Valrico, FL | ||
| John Ginther | Benton, AR | Gurleen Singh | Philadelphia, PA | ||
| Robin Jettinghoff | Penobscot, ME | Patrick Stern | Midland Park, NJ | ||
| Alex Kiiffner | Ottawa, ON | Richard Vachet | Belchertown, MA | ||
| Amy Kohan | Birmingham, AL | Anthony Zheng | Brookline, MA | ||
| Timothy Melville | Santa Monica, CA |
- Events Calendar: Find complete details of all SABR events
- Video Replays: This week, we heard from Joe Posnanski (Why We Love Baseball); Steve Steinberg (Deadball Era Book Talks); Jesse Asbury and Fred Worth of the Oklahoma Chapter; and the 19th Century Book Club on Level Playing Fields. Click here to view more video replays of virtual SABR events.
Upcoming Virtual Meetings
- September 5: Elysian Fields (NJ) Chapter meeting with Paul Hensler (7:00 p.m. EDT)
- September 6: Baltimore Babe Ruth (MD) Chapter Meeting with Robert Garratt (7:00 p.m. EDT)
- September 7: Ballpark Figures with Shakeia Taylor and Bianca Smith (8:00 p.m. EDT)
- September 12: Northern New England Chapter meeting with Matt Dahlgren (7:00 p.m. EDT)
- September 12: 19th Century Speaker Series with Bill Humber (8:00 p.m. EDT)
Upcoming In-Person Meetings
- September 4: Gardner-Waterman Chapter lunch meeting (Burlington, VT)
- September 6: Bob Broeg St. Louis Chapter fellowship meeting (St. Louis, MO)
- September 6: Buck O’Neil/North Florida Chapter meeting (Tallahassee, FL)
- September 10: Field of Dreams Chapter ballgame/meet-up (Des Moines, IA)
To add your SABR event to our calendar listings, please contact Jacob Pomrenke.
- Baseball and the Arts: Check out the new Baseball and the Arts Committee Facebook group
Sign up for SABR research committee announcements at SABR.org/research/committees.
- Bob Broeg St. Louis Chapter: Submit presentation abstracts for the 2023 Rygelski Research Conference on September 30 (St. Louis, MO)
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:
- Brent Maguire: New documentary highlights White Sox rebrand’s place in hip-hop history (MLB.com)
- Hack Wilson historical marker dedicated in Pennsylvania hometown (EllwoodCity.org)
- Eno Sarris: Can a struggling hitter really turn it around in the last month? (The Athletic)
- Emma Baccellieri: Stephen Strasburg Was More Than Just an All-Time ‘What If?’ (Sports Illustrated)
- Lindsey Adler: Why Shohei Ohtani May Keep Everyone Guessing About His Plans to Treat Injury (Wall Street Journal)
- Tyler Kepner: Knocked Off Their Perch, the Rangers Hope to Climb Back Up (New York Times)
- Michael Baumann: Is Nobody Hitting for Average, or Is Every Hitter Average Now? (FanGraphs)
- Pete Palmer/Rob Mains: Leverage: History and Value (Baseball Prospectus)
- Derrick Goold: Finally at home in St. Louis, Willson Contreras treats his parents to a show (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
- Jay Jaffe: Bryce Harper Is Finally Crushing the Ball Again (FanGraphs)
- Daniel R. Epstein: The Red Sox Resort to Plan J at Shortstop (Baseball Prospectus)
- Alex Speier: Justin Turner’s unexpected departure from the Dodgers has been the Red Sox’ gain (Boston Globe)
- David Laurila: Giants Prospect John Michael Bertrand Has Irish in Him (FanGraphs)
- Ryan Fagan: Yankees’ season of nightmares: Major changes will be on the way this offseason (Sporting News)
- Russell A. Carleton: The Dog Days Are Over (Baseball Prospectus)
- Zach Buchanan: MLB Hitters and Batting Gloves: A Love Story (New York Times)
- Zack Moser: Dominican Baseball for Dominicans: A History of MLB, Imperialism, and the Dominican Republic (Baseball Prospectus)
- Michael Clair: It’s the baseball game that never ends — on purpose and for charity (MLB.com)
- Gary Cieradkowski: Finishing the Black Sox Box Set (Studio Gary C)
- Gabe Fernandez: SF’s most interesting athlete ended career as a middle school teacher (SFGate.com)
- Kevin Czerwinski: The story of Gummy Arts baseball cards (BallNine)
- Chad Osborne: Nolan Ryan pitches last game for Marion… and it’s a stinker (Marion Mets)
- Jason Schwartz: Steve Garvey’s top ten baseball cards (SABR Baseball Cards Blog)
- Louis Moore: Eric the Red’s top ten baseball cards (SABR Baseball Cards Blog)
- Dan Cichalski: Beneath the Earth, Above the Stars: Cy Young Rests in Peoli (SABR Landmarks)
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: September 1, 2023. Last Updated: August 30, 2023.