This Week in SABR: September 18, 2020

September 18, 2020/in This Week in SABR /by Jacob Pomrenke

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 September 18, 2020:

Watch highlights from the 2020 SABR/IWBC Women in Baseball Conference

The second annual Women in Baseball Conference, sponsored by SABR and the International Women’s Baseball Center, and hosted by Rockford University, was held on September 11-13, 2020.

This year’s conference was a virtual event centered around the theme “Celebrating African American Women in Baseball.”

Click here to watch highlights from every panel and presentation on YouTube

In addition to learning about topics such as the Dolly Vardens, Maud Nelson, Tillie Ford, the Hagerstown Mollys, and much more, there was a celebration of the Negro Leagues Centennial on Saturday night, with a special design unveiling for an outdoor pylon in Rockford. The celebration was followed by the announcement of Effa Manley as the 2020 Dorothy Seymour Mills Lifetime Achievement Award winner.

Our featured speaker on Friday night was Lauren Meyer, Emmy Award-nominated director of The Other Boys of Summer.

Saturday was highlighted by a Player Panel that included MLB’s Elizabeth Benn, Rachel Folden of the Chicago Cubs, Team Canada’s Marika Lyszczyk, Bianca Smith from Carroll University, and Madison Femia.

Sunday’s events included a panel discussion on working as a Black woman in baseball with agent Lonnie Murray, Maacah Scott of the Chicago White Sox, and Jacara Ware of the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Visit SABR.org/women-in-baseball-conference for more highlights, stories, and clips from this exciting event.

Effa Manley selected as 2020 Dorothy Seymour Mills Lifetime Achievement Award winner

Effa Manley, former owner of the Negro League Newark Eagles and the only woman elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame, was honored on Saturday, September 12, 2020, with the Dorothy Seymour Mills Lifetime Achievement Award during the SABR/IWBC Women in Baseball Conference.

SABR’s Women in Baseball Committee established the Dorothy Seymour Mills Lifetime Achievement Award — “The Dorothy” — named in honor of Dorothy Seymour Mills and her lifetime of contributions to promoting women’s baseball.

Manley and her husband Abe created a championship team with the Newark Eagles of the Negro National League. Her role as co-owner of the Eagles included handling contracts and travel schedules for the Eagles, as well as promoting the team. From 1935 until she sold the team in 1948, Manley worked tirelessly to make the Eagles a team to beat as well as an integral part of the Newark community.

Click here for a list of previous award recipients.

Click here to read the full announcement at SABR.org.

SABR 50 at 50: Most Impactful Players of the Past 50 Years

Leading up to the 50th anniversary of SABR’s original meeting at the National Baseball Hall of Fame, we invite all baseball fans to celebrate the game we all love with the SABR 50 at 50 Project, a monthly series recognizing figures that have had a significant impact on the sport since 1971.

Our first feature, which launched last week at SABR.org, is on the 50 baseball players who have had the most impact on the game in the past 50 years.

Click here to view SABR 50 at 50: Players

This list was compiled by Gregory H. Wolf, Rory Costello, Carl Riechers, James Forr, and Len Levin of the SABR BioProject.

Over the coming months, SABR 50 at 50 will take a look at significant off-field figures, ballgames, record-breaking feats, books, films, stories, milestones, and trading cards whose stories make up the fabric of the sport.

This project is in conjunction with our new anthology book, SABR 50 at 50: The Society for American Baseball Research’s Fifty Most Essential Contributions to the Game, edited by Bill Nowlin and published by the University of Nebraska Press, which celebrates SABR’s wide-ranging contributions through the pages of our publications.

SABR 50 at 50 panel discussion: The Pandemic Baseball Book Club invites all SABR members to join us at 8:00 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, September 23 for a talk with John Thorn, Mark Armour, Bill Nowlin, and Leslie Heaphy about the new SABR 50 at 50: The Society for American Baseball Research’s Fifty Most Essential Contributions to the Game. It’s free! Email pandemicbaseball@gmail.com to register.

SABR members: Join the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America for access to more online events

SABR is pleased to partner with the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America to connect more baseball enthusiasts together and help organize more online events throughout the year.

With more than 600 writers and content creators, the IBWAA serves the online baseball writing community, striving to increase visibility, networking, and opportunities for its members. An annual IBWAA membership is open to everyone and provides you with the opportunity to attend monthly virtual meetings with guest speakers from around the game, participate in IBWAA award voting at the end of the season, and network with fellow members.

Upcoming IBWAA meetings include Now Batting: Current Events in Baseball, hosted by Gabrielle Starr, at 8:00 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, September 23 and Baseball History and Trivia, hosted by Brian Harl with special guest Ray Doswell of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, at 8:00 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, September 29. Click here to register for these free Zoom meetings or check the SABR Events Calendar for complete details.

To learn more, visit IBWAA.com/join.

Join us for more Stay Home With SABR virtual events

SABR chapters and committees are encouraged to set up virtual meetings to stay engaged with our members throughout the world at SABR.org, as part of our Stay Home With SABR initiative to assist in limiting the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.

This week, we heard from Oscar Charleston author Jeremy Beer, Babe Ruth: A Superstar’s Legacy author Jerry Amernic, and Doc: The Life of Roy Halladay author Todd Zolecki.

Here are some more upcoming virtual events you can attend online; check the Events Calendar for complete details:

September 19: Mathewson-Plank (PA) Chapter meeting (1:00 p.m. EDT)
September 19: Rogers Hornsby (TX) Chapter meeting (1:00 p.m. CDT)
September 20: Detroit (MI) Chapter book club meeting (7:00 p.m. EDT)
September 21: Larry Dierker Chapter meeting with Joe Gallagher and Sam Quintero (7:00 p.m. CDT)
September 21: SABR Board of Directors conference call (8:00 p.m. EDT)
September 21: Bay Area/Sacramento joint chapter meeting with Bob Kendrick (7:00 p.m. PDT)
September 22: Ken Keltner Badger State (Wis.) Chapter meeting with Lee Kluck and Matt Bednarski (7:00 p.m. CDT)
September 23: Connecticut Smoky Joe Wood Chapter meeting with Jon Pessah, Erik Sherman, and Alan Cohen (7:00 p.m. EDT)
September 23: IBWAA: Now Batting: Current Events in Baseball (8:00 p.m. EDT)
September 23: Pandemic Baseball Book Club panel: SABR 50 at 50 with John Thorn, Mark Armour, Bill Nowlin and Leslie Heaphy (8:00 p.m. EDT)
September 24: Detroit Negro Leagues Centennial Symposium (10:00 a.m. EDT)
September 24: Larry Doby (S.C.) Chapter meeting with Jeff Juden (7:00 p.m. EDT)
September 24: South Florida Chapter meeting with Eric Nusbaum and Scott Christopher (7:00 p.m. EDT)
September 24: Luke Easter (N.Y.) Chapter meeting with Jim Overfield and Mike Billoni (7:30 p.m. EDT)

Find more upcoming virtual meetings and watch replays of past events on our SABR Events Calendar page.

Seeking volunteers for new SABR Publications Marketing Committee

SABR’s new Publications Marketing Committee is up and running, but we are still actively recruiting new members. This committee is tasked with promoting SABR’s latest publications by building relationships with different chapters and local, regional, and national media connections.

Even if you have no background in this area, but want to develop practical experience working on a marketing effort, contact committee chair Bill Pearch via email at marketing@sabr.org.

Read articles from The National Pastime: A Bird’s Eye View of Baltimore

Thank you to all the donors and sustainability benefactors who made the publication of The National Pastime: A Bird’s-Eye View of Baltimore possible.

You can read all of the articles from this journal online now at SABR.org or download the e-book edition for free!

Read online: Click here to read articles from The National Pastime online at SABR.org
Download the e-book: Click here to download a free e-book edition of The National Pastime at the SABR Store
Purchase the print edition: Click here to pre-order the print edition of The National Pastime from University of Nebraska Press

The National Pastime serves as SABR’s convention-focused publication. Published annually, this research journal provides in-depth articles focused on the respective geographic region where the national convention is taking place in a given year.

SABR Digital Library: Pride of Smoketown: The 1935 Pittsburgh Crawfords

Add a new baseball book to your collection from the SABR Digital Library:

Pride of Smoketown: The 1935 Pittsburgh Crawfords
Edited by Frederick C. Bush and Bill Nowlin
Associate editors Len Levin and Carl Riechers
ISBN (paperback): 978-1-970159-25-7, $34.95
ISBN (e-book): 978-1-970159-24-0, $9.99
8.5” x 11”, 349 pages

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

SABR members, get this e-book for FREE!

E-book: Click here to download the e-book version of Pride of Smoketown for FREE from the SABR Store. Available in PDF, Kindle/MOBI and EPUB formats.
Paperback: Get a 50% discount on the Pride of Smoketown paperback edition from the SABR Store ($17.95 includes shipping/tax; delivery via Kindle Direct Publishing can take up to 4-6 weeks.)

SABR members can download all Digital Library e-books for free or save 50% off the paperback editions. To find all titles, 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.

SABR office continuing to work remotely

The SABR office, housed at Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication in Phoenix, Arizona, has been closed indefinitely due to the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) situation. Staff members will work remotely until it is advisable to resume normal operations on-site.

Please contact a member of the SABR staff by email or phone with any questions.

SABRcast with Rob Neyer: Listen to an interview with author Eric Nusbaum

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 #77 on Monday, September 14 featured Eric Nusbaum, author of Stealing Home: Los Angeles, the Dodgers, and the Lives Caught in Between. He writes a weekly subscription newsletter called Sports Stories and is a former editor at VICE Sports. His work has also appeared in Sports Illustrated, ESPN the Magazine, The Daily Beast, Deadspin, and the Best American Sports Writing anthology.

Visit SABR.org/sabrcast to listen to the full episode.

Subscribe to SABRcast on your favorite podcast networks, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or Google Play, and listen to each episode as soon as it’s released on Mondays. To learn more, visit SABR.org/sabrcast.

9 new SABR biographies published

Nine new biographies were posted this week as part of the SABR Baseball Biography Project. Here are the new bios published this week:

Ed Ashenbach, by Stephen V. Rice
Jeff Ballard, by Malcolm Allen
Jeff McCleskey, by Darren Gibson
Milt Nielsen, by Armand Peterson
Poll Perritt, by Paul Proia
Humberto Robinson, by Russ Walsh
John Shovlin, by Malcolm Allen
Frank Sigafoos, by Chad Moody
Pop-boy Smith, by Darren Gibson

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

Find any SABR biography: You can visit sabr.org/bioproject to search for any player — or manager, executive, scout, spouse, broadcaster, or umpire — who appears in the SABR BioProject. In addition, we have pages for Ballparks, Broadcasters, Executives, Games, Managers, Scouts, Spouses, Umpires, Writers, people who were Famous Outside Baseball, and a lot more.
Sign up to view Trello submission pipeline: Chief Editor Rory Costello has made the BioProject submission pipeline visible to project contributors using the signboard app Trello. If you would like to see the pipeline — to know where your story stands in the review process or how many articles we have in the system — e-mail Rory for an invitation to become an observer.

9 new stories published by the SABR Games Project

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

July 18, 1890: Jumbo Davis hits for the cycle, but Brooklyn falls to Louisville in a walk-off, by Mike Huber
May 17, 1925: Cleveland’s Tris Speaker records 3,000th career hit, by Gordon Gattie
May 20, 1968: Jim Fregosi’s walk-off single completes second career cycle, by Mike Huber
July 24, 1970: Tommie Agee steals home in 10th to win it for Mets, by David Krell
September 19, 1972: Oakland A’s use record 30 players in one game, by Jim Klann (first-time author)
May 2, 1980: Lefty relievers are all right for Cardinals, by Tom Schott
June 22, 1980: Mets’ Claudell Washington hits three home runs at Dodger Stadium, by David Krell
April 13, 1983: Baudilio el Último: Phillies’ Bo Díaz hits an ultimate grand slam, by Andrea Long
October 30, 2019: Clutch pitching, late hitting lead Washington Nationals to World Series title, by Steven C. Weiner

New Games Project stories can be found at SABR.org/gamesproject.

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.
Social media: Follow the SABR Games Project on Twitter or Facebook to keep up with new stories and updates.

Listen to recent episodes of Behind the Numbers: Baseball SABR Style on SiriusXM on Saturdays

Behind the Numbers: Baseball SABR Style on SiriusXM, a radio show hosted by former SABR Board President Vince Gennaro, is back at a new time. Listen to new episodes at 5:00-6:00 p.m. ET on Saturdays on MLB Network Radio.

You can also listen to archives of recent episodes on-demand on the SiriusXM Internet Radio app.

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: https://sabr.org/content/this-week-in-sabr-archives.

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.

Name	Hometown	Name	Hometown
Carlos Barrera	Kennesaw, GA	Nick Kekic	Kalamazoo, MI
Jonathan Becker	Drexel Hill, PA	Ian Leggin	Oregon, WI
Mark Blanchette	Worcester, MA	Ellen Lindner	New York, NY
Eric Chalek	York, ME	Christopher Ludwiczak	Charlotte, NC
Aaron Corbett	Kansas City, MO	Dan Luebbert	Spicewood, TX
Caston Countz	Columbia, MS	Aaron Meyers	Alexandria, VA
Katie Crane	Gilbert, AZ	Eric Poulin	Easthampton, MA
Mike Fallona	Scarborough, ME	Rick Pyle	Concord, CA
Charles Giannone	Bronx, NY	Tony Sindone	LaPorte, IN
Eddie Guy	Kingsport, TN	Dennis Thompson	Roswell, GA
Robert Hillman	Davis, CA	Terrence Wilson	Toronto, ON

Research Committee news

Here are the new research committee updates this week:

BioProject: September 2020 newsletter
Games Project: Check out the new First Games Back project
Women in Baseball: Watch highlights from the SABR/IWBC Women in Baseball Conference

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

Regional Chapter news

Here are the new regional chapter updates this week:

Boston Chapter: Read a new “Dispatches From the Mudville Bureau,” by Joanne Hulbert (Boston, MA)

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

SABR Events Calendar

Scroll up to the top of this newsletter to learn more about the upcoming virtual events on the SABR calendar.

We strongly recommend that all SABR chapters follow CDC public health guidelines and your local/state government regulations when scheduling any in-person meetings and events.

Find details on all upcoming meetings on our SABR Events Calendar page.

Around the Web

Here are some recent articles published by and about SABR members:

Benjamin Hoffman: ‘In Baseball, There Is Neither Crying Nor the Asterisk’ (New York Times)
Jayson Stark: Answering questions about the strangest postseason ever (The Athletic)
Eno Sarris: Which teams should benefit most from MLB’s new playoff structure? (The Athletic)
Rob Arthur: A better plan for expanded playoffs (Baseball Prospectus)
David Laurila: SABR CEO Scott Bush on the Business of Minor League Contraction (FanGraphs)
Emma Baccellieri: Seattle Air Quality Prompts Concern for MLB Players’ Safety (Sports Illustrated)
Rachael McDaniel: In a burning world, they keep playing baseball (FanGraphs)
Patrick Dubuque: Be early for things (Baseball Prospectus)
Pete Grathoff: Betty Caywood Bushman, who broke barriers as Kansas City A’s broadcaster, dies at 89 (Kansas City Star)
Jason Gay: ‘I Don’t Want to Be an Oracle.’ Baseball Writer Roger Angell at 100 (Wall Street Journal)
Effectively Wild: The Roger Angell Centennial Celebration podcast (FanGraphs)
Peter Gammons: Marking baseball wordsmith Roger Angell’s century of influence (The Athletic)
Kelly Candaele/Peter Dreier: Tom Seaver’s Major League Protest (The Nation)
Mark Tomasik: Lou Brock reveals how Cubs, Cardinals differed (RetroSimba)
Mark Aubrey: The Women in TSN Player Contract Cards Collection (BBSAS.net)
Tim Kurkjian: MLB umpire Joe West has never missed a call. Just ask him (ESPN.com)
Zach Crizer and Hannah Keyser: Should MLB keep seven-inning doubleheaders in future seasons? (Yahoo! Sports)
Rob Mains: Some bunts are OK (Baseball Prospectus)
Roger Cormier: The Dodgers refuse to play real baseball (Baseball Prospectus)
Marc Carig: Why the uncertainty of Steve Cohen is still an improvement for the Mets (The Athletic)
Jay Jaffe: DJ LeMahieu’s Opposite Approach Pays Dividends in Bronx (FanGraphs)
Mark Simon: Several Teams Have Defensive Streaks On The Line (ACTA Sports)
Stephen J. Nesbitt: Pranks, panic, power: Tales of Barry Bonds’ magical years in Pittsburgh (The Athletic)
Ryan Fagan: ‘My mother forgot my birthday once’: Baseball cards reveal personal bonds with players (The Sporting News)
Cody Stavenhagen: What if Tiger Stadium could have been renovated? (The Athletic)
Gary Cieradkowski: My Process: The Seeds of a Story (Studio Gary C)
Don Zminda: Back Story: 1971 Topps (SABR Baseball Cards Blog)
Jim Osborne: Oh, Oh, Oh Oh Jackie Blue (SABR Baseball Cards Blog)
Rob Neyer: All Action All the Time (SABR Baseball Cards Blog)

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.

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