The Top 40 Baseball Storylines Of The SABR Era
In conjunction with the Society for American Baseball Research’s 40th anniversary in August, we conducted a survey to determine the top baseball storylines in the SABR Era — from our founding in 1971 to today.
In conjunction with the Society for American Baseball Research’s 40th anniversary in August, we conducted a survey to determine the top baseball storylines in the SABR Era — from our founding in 1971 to today.
Here are the results:
Top baseball storylines in the SABR Era
- 1. The introduction of free agency (1975-76)
- 2. The Steroid Era (1990s-2000s)
- 3. Hank Aaron hits 715th career home run, breaking Babe Ruth’s record (1974)
- 4. Designated hitter introduced in American League (1973)
- 5. Cal Ripken plays in 2,131st consecutive game, breaking Lou Gehrig’s record (1995)
- 6. 1994 labor dispute ends season, cancels World Series (1994)
- 7. Influx of international players in Major League Baseball
- 8. The Pete Rose saga: Hit King banned for life (1989)
- 9. Wild card/three-division realignment (1994)
- 10. Evolution of relief pitching: The rise of the closer (1980s-1990s)
The rest of the top 40 storylines for our 40th anniversary, as chosen by SABR members:
- Decline in number of African-American players in major leagues
- Expansion of MLB teams from 24 to 30
- Metal bats introduced, widely used in amateur baseball
- MLB loses status as America’s No. 1 sport to NFL
- Ownership controversies (Finley, Steinbrenner, Schott, McCourt)
- Revenue earned by major league teams explodes
- Sabermetrics gains wide acceptance
- Stories of women/minorities in baseball begin being told
- 1971: Pittsburgh Pirates field first all-black starting lineup
- 1973: George Steinbrenner buys New York Yankees, value of team rises to nearly $1 billion
- 1975: Carlton Fisk’s home run wins Game 6 of World Series
- 1981: Labor dispute forces split season, extra round of playoffs
- 1982: Rickey Henderson breaks single-season stolen base record, then career record
- 1986: Bill Buckner’s error in Game 6 of World Series
- 1988: Kirk Gibson’s home run wins Game 1 of World Series
- 1980s-1990s: Popular resurgence of minor league baseball
- 1990s: Rise of Bud Selig as owner-turned-commissioner
- 1990s: Ken Griffey Jr. becomes most recognizable face in the game
- 1990s: Rebirth of New York Yankees dynasty
- 1997: Interleague play introduced
- 1998: Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa: The Great Home Run Chase
- 1999: Offices of American League/National League presidents eliminated
- 1990s-2000s: Building of dozens of new major league stadiums
- 2000s: Universal TV/radio/Internet access to MLB games
- 2001: Baseball’s role in response to 9/11
- 2001: Barry Bonds breaks single-season home run record, then career
- 2004: Boston Red Sox win World Series, first in 86 years
- 2005: Baseball returns to Washington, D.C.
- 2006: World Baseball Classic introduced
Visit http://sabr.org/40years for more coverage of our 40th anniversary — including an updated history of the organization, a multimedia look at every SABR national convention, a timeline of SABR’s progress and our members’ achievements, and much more.
Originally published: August 8, 2011. Last Updated: April 27, 2020.