TWIS archives

This Week in SABR: September 20, 2024

This Week in SABR: September 20, 2024

Welcome to “This Week in SABR” on Friday, September 20, 2024.
Click here to view this newsletter on the web.

Top Headlines

SABR/IWBC Women in Baseball Conference begins tonight
Submit your presentation abstract for 2025 SABR Analytics Conference
Subscribe to the Fall 2024 print edition of the Baseball Research Journal
SABR Digital Library: Sandy Koufax
Read all SABR biographies from One-Win Wonders online
Seeking volunteers for Weiss Baseball Questionnaires


Research Collection Events Calendar Around the Web

SABR/IWBC Women in Baseball Conference logo

2024 SABR/IWBC Women in Baseball Conference begins tonight

The sixth annual SABR/IWBC Women in Baseball Conference begins tonight! The virtual event will take place on September 20-22, 2024, with Zoom sessions beginning at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, and 11:00 a.m. on Sunday (all times listed in the Eastern Time Zone.) All baseball fans are welcome to join us.

Celebrated baseball author and photographer Jean Fruth will be the keynote speaker on Saturday evening. Fruth is a co-founder of Grassroots Baseball, an organization that celebrates the amateur game around the world and encourages kids to play ball, and the author of three books, including the upcoming See Her Be Her.

This year’s conference — co-sponsored by SABR and the International Women’s Baseball Center and hosted by Rockford University — is a virtual Zoom event. The conference will feature research presentations, panels, pylon unveiling, and presentation of the Dorothy Award.

Visit SABR.org/women-in-baseball-conference for complete details.


2025 SABR Analytics Conference

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. Registration for the conference will open in early October. 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.

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.

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


Spring 2024 SABR Baseball Research Journal

Subscribe to the Fall 2024 print edition of the Baseball Research Journal

Beginning in 2024, all SABR members exclusively receive the Baseball Research Journal electronically twice a year. The Fall 2024 issue will be sent out in early November. However, if you are interested in a paperback copy of BRJ for your personal library, we have rolled out a subscription option at a significantly discounted rate: $7 per issue for members, compared to $19.95 at retail.

Click here for a short video on how to subscribe to printed copies of BRJ.


SABR Digital Library: Sandy Koufax, edited by Marc Z. Aaron, Bill Nowlin, and Glen Sparks

SABR Digital Library: Sandy Koufax

Add a new baseball book to your collection from the SABR Digital Library: Sandy Koufax, edited by Marc Z. Aaron, Bill Nowlin, and Glen Sparks, explores what made the Los Angeles Dodger legend so special in baseball and American society through 17 insightful essays and recaps of 36 key games in his career.

Touching on subjects from Koufax’s potential basketball career, his relationship with manager Walt Alston, celebrity culture in LA, and his effect on the hurlers who came after him, to analyses of Koufax’s stats and records, Sandy Koufax takes a deep dive into one of baseball’s true greats.

Visit SABR.org/ebooks to download the ebook edition for free or save 50% off the purchase of the paperback edition.


Los Angeles Angels executive Roland Hemond, right, talks with two 1961 USC players before the expansion draft. (National Baseball Hall of Fame Library)

Check out the new SABR MLB Team Employee Database

A historical database of Major League Baseball team employees — covering more than 40,000 people dating back to the late 19th century — is now available online through SABR’s Business of Baseball Committee. The SABR MLB Team Employee Database offers a new lens into major-league front and back offices, from team owners to ticket sales.

The MLB Team Employee Database is available for viewing to all SABR members on the Research Resources page. Browse or search by person, team, or season to learn more about the scope of baseball and business operations.

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


Call for papers: 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.

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.


SABR Research Collection updates

Find new updates to the SABR Research Collection below, including the Baseball Biography Project, Games Project, and Oral History Collection.

SABR Research Collection: Ted Williams, One-Win Wonders, Earl Weaver

Read all SABR biographies from One-Win Wonders

In One-Win Wonders, edited by Bill Nowlin and published by the SABR Digital Library earlier this year, we meet 78 players whose time in the major leagues included only a single pitching win. One-Win Wonders is a companion book to the 2021 SABR book One-Hit Wonders, which included biographies of players who had gotten only a single hit.

All of the biographies from One-Win Wonders are now available to read online at the SABR BioProject, from Nick Adenhart and John Baker to George Tsamis and Wilson Valdéz.

Visit SABR.org/ebooks to download your free e-book edition of One-Win Wonders or save 50% off a purchase of the paperback edition.

3 new stories published at SABR BioProject

Visit SABR.org/bioproject to learn more about the SABR Biography Project or to get involved.

7 new stories published at SABR Games Project

Visit SABR.org/gamesproject to learn more about the SABR Games Project or to get involved.


Featured E-Book from the SABR Digital Library

Turnstyle: The SABR Journal of Baseball Arts, Volume 4 (2024), edited by Joanne Hulbert and Jay Hurd

Turnstyle: The SABR Journal of Baseball Arts, Volume 4 
Edited by Joanne Hulbert and Jay Hurd

Visit SABR.org to download the free e-book edition or save 50% off the paperback edition of all Digital Library books.


Recent Highlights

Here are some SABR headlines from recent weeks that we don’t want you to miss:


New Members

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
Lee Brown N. Richland Hills, TX     Mark Kozlevcar El Segundo, CA
Robert Daugird Corpus Christi, TX     Madeline Landis Lititz, PA
Aaron Fischman Woodland Hills, CA     Carlos Ruiz Apache Junction, AZ
Dan Holmes Grand Rapids, MI     Jenna Veri Concord, OH
Gareth Jackson Strood, ENG     Torreon Woods Addison, TX
Andrew Jett Waxahachie, TX     Haoyang Yan Seattle, WA
Aaron Kaltenbach Fort Mill, SC        

SABR Events Calendar

SABR's Emil Rothe Chicago Chapter invites all baseball fans to join us for a special virtual Zoom meeting at 7:00 p.m. Central on Tuesday, September 24, 2024, to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the 1984 Chicago Cubs. Center fielder Bobby Dernier, catcher Jody Davis, reliever Warren Brusstar, and trainer Tony Garofalo will join us to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of the historic division-clinching game and recount their best memories of that magical season at Wrigley Field.

Upcoming Virtual Meetings

  • September 23: Clyde Sukeforth (NH/ME) Chapter meeting with Clem Hamilton (7:00 p.m. EDT)
  • September 23: Halsey Hall (MN) Chapter research committee meeting (7:00 p.m. CDT)
  • September 24: Emil Rothe Chicago Chapter meeting with Warren Brusstar, Jody DavisBobby Dernier, and Tony Garofalo (7:00 p.m. CDT)
  • September 25: Joint Chapter Meeting: Don Slavik, “A Hit Model from the MLB 2023 Season” (7:00 p.m. EDT)
  • September 26: Southern Michigan Chapter meeting (7:30 p.m. EDT)
  • September 28: Quebec Chapter meeting with Patrick Carpentier and Christian Trudeau (1:00 p.m. EDT)
  • September 29: Baltimore Babe Ruth (MD) Chapter meeting with Ben Ernst (7:00 p.m. EDT)

Upcoming In-Person Meetings

  • September 20: Baseball Heritage Museum: A Tribute to the 1945 Cleveland Buckeyes (Cleveland, OH)
  • September 21: Babe ‘n’ Bob Chapter Breakfast (Edgewater, MD)
  • September 21: Marty Appel: “Slide, Kelly, Slide” (Paterson, NJ)
  • September 22: Baltimore Babe Ruth Chapter ballgame/meet-up (Baltimore, MD)
  • September 26: Gary Sarnoff: 1924 Washington Senators presentation (Cohasset, MA)
  • September 28: 2024 Rygelski Baseball Research Conference (St. Louis, MO)
  • September 28: Clyde Sukeforth Chapter meeting (New London, NH)

To add your SABR event to our calendar listings, please contact Jacob Pomrenke.


Research Committee news

  • Latino Baseball: 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.


Regional Chapter news

Sign up for SABR chapter announcements at SABR.org/chapters.

Click here to learn more about SABR chartered communities.


Around the Web headlines

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

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 20, 2024. Last Updated: September 20, 2024.