This Week in SABR: December 14, 2018

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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 December 14, 2018:

Fall 2018 Baseball Research Journal is on its way

Good news! The Fall 2018  edition of the Baseball Research Journal has been mailed out to all SABR members.

Those of you who receive the print edition should find your BRJ arriving in the next few weeks, although we’ve heard reports that some have already arrived. For digital subscribers, the e-book edition will delivered to your inboxes very soon.

To learn more about contributing to a future SABR publication, click here.

We hope you enjoy reading the Fall 2018 Baseball Research Journal!

SABR member Jayson Stark wins 2019 J.G. Taylor Spink Award

We are proud to congratulate longtime SABR member Jayson Stark, who was elected as the 2019 winner of the J.G. Taylor Spink Award by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.

Stark, who writes for The Athletic and appears regularly on MLB Network, will be honored with the award which honors meritorious contributions to baseball writing during the National Baseball Hall of Fame’s induction weekend on July 19-22, 2019, in Cooperstown, New York. He joined SABR in 1995 and has spent more than four decades as one of the leading baseball writers in the country.

Stark is the 10th SABR member to win the Spink Award, joining Bob Elliott (2012), Bill Madden (2010), Tracy Ringolsby (2005), Leonard Koppett (1992), Jerome Holtzman (1989), Jack Lang (1986), Allen Lewis (1981), Bob Broeg (1979) and Fred Lieb (1972).

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

Related links:

Lee Smith, Harold Baines elected to Baseball Hall of Fame

Lee Smith and Harold Baines were elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame by the Today’s Game Era Committee.

Smith was named on all 16 ballots while Baines was named on 12 of 16 ballots (75 percent), with both reaching the 75-percent threshold necessary for election. The Today’s Game Era Committee considered a ballot of six former players, three former managers and one former executive whose contributions to the game were most significant from 1988 through the present. The Today’s Game Era Committee held meetings in Las Vegas, site of Baseball’s Winter Meetings.

Smith and Baines will be joined in the Hall of Fame Class of 2019 by any electees who emerge from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America voting, which will be announced on January 22.

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

Learn more about Lee Smith’s life and career at the SABR BioProject, in this article written by Neal Poloncarz. Harold Baines’s SABR biography is being written by Tim Deale.

Last call for papers: The National Pastime in 2019

The 2019 SABR national convention will take place in San Diego from June 26-30. To coincide with the convention, the summer 2019 issue of The National Pastime will focus on baseball in the San Diego/Mexicali region, giving us a chance to expand research topics internationally. Research articles may be historical, biographical, or analytical (stats welcome), but please avoid personal narrative. 

This issue of The National Pastime will be edited by publications director Cecilia Tan. She will be taking queries and abstracts until December 15, 2018, and will make assignments no later than January 1, 2019. First drafts of articles will be due no later than March 1 and rewrites (if needed) will be due by April 15.

To query, email to ctan@sabr.org with the subject line “TNP Query:” and a key word or two on your subject. For example: “TNP Query: The Western Metal Supply Company.”

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

Give the gift of SABR this holiday season

Looking to purchase SABR-logo apparel and a gift for yourself or the baseball fan in your life this holiday season? Check out the SABR Store @ CafePress:

http://www.cafepress.com/sabrstore

Items will feature the full-color SABR logo and will be available for purchase throughout the year. Shirts are available in men’s and women’s sizes in a variety of colors and styles. Mugs, stickers, and other collector’s items are also on sale now. Check out the SABR Store today!

A SABR membership also makes a great gift for the baseball fan in your life! All baseball fans are welcome to join SABR. Gift memberships are $65/year (with discounts available to anyone under 30 or over 65), and members receive all the benefits of a standard membership.

Click here to learn more about a gift membership to SABR.

Final day to submit presentation abstracts for 2019 SABR Analytics Conference

SABR and Baseball Info Solutions are excited to announce the call for presentations for the eighth annual SABR Analytics Conference, scheduled for Friday, March 8 to Sunday, March 10, 2019, at the Hyatt Phoenix Downtown.

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: analytics@baseballinfosolutions.com. The submission deadline for 2019 SABR Analytics Conference presentation abstracts is 11:59 p.m. MST, Friday, December 14, 2018.

Click here for complete details at SABR.org.

To register for the conference, or for more information, visit SABR.org/analytics.

SABR Digital Library: Base Ball’s 19th Century “Winter” Meetings, 1857-1900

The hot stove is heating up, so settle in and add this new baseball book from the SABR Digital Library to your collection:

Base Ball’s 19th Century “Winter” Meetings, 1857-1900
Edited by Jeremy K. Hodges and Bill Nowlin
Associate Editors: Len Levin, Robert Tholkes, Jim Frutchey, William J. Ryczek, Clifford Blau, and Maurice Bouchard
Foreword by John Thorn 
ISBN (paperback): 978-1-9438-1691-0, $29.95
ISBN (e-book): 978-1-9438-1690-3, $9.99
384 pages, 8.5″ x 11″

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

Base Ball’s 19th Century “Winter” Meetings is one of three volumes — totaling more than 1,500 pages — devoted to the study of the business of baseball. Published previously were Baseball’s Business: The Winter Meetings: 1901-1957 (published in December 2016) and Baseball’s Business: The Winter Meetings: 1958-2016 (published in December 2017.) This volume looks at the years from 1857 through 1900, thus completing SABR’s study of the business meetings for a period spanning 161 years.

SABR members, get this e-book for FREE:

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.

Find all past SABR Digital Library titles at SABR.org/ebooks.

SABR Digital Library: Time for Expansion Baseball

Add a brand-new baseball book from the SABR Digital Library to your collection this season:

Time for Expansion Baseball
Edited by Maxwell Kates and Bill Nowlin
Associate Editors: Len Levin and Carl Riechers
ISBN (paperback): 978-4-2940-9768-7, $24.95
ISBN (e-book): 978-1-9438-1688-0, $9.99
429 pages, 8.5″ x 11″

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

SABR members, get this e-book for FREE:

Students: Apply for a Spring 2019 internship with SABR

SABR is seeking Spring 2019 interns to work in our office in Phoenix, Arizona.

The internship is an educational opportunity that may count toward college credit, covering 15-20 hours per week (flexible schedule), at the SABR office in Phoenix, Arizona. The internship will be for a fixed period of time and is designed to provide the intern with skills and training that may be applicable to working in a nonprofit research environment or in other research-based organizations. No housing assistance will be provided.

Please send a resume and cover letter in PDF form to jpomrenke@sabr.org by January 4, 2019.

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

Students, apply now for a SABR Negro Leagues Committee scholarship in 2019

SABR’s Negro Leagues Committee will award $1,000 scholarships to high school seniors in its 11th annual Thomas R. Garrett Scholarship essay contest in 2019. Students must write a 1,200-word essay answering a question related to one of the Negro League figures who are the namesakes of the scholarships.

Eligible applicants must be 1) a current high school senior, 2) anticipating completion of high school diploma at the time of application, 3) planning to pursue a degree at an accredited U.S. post-secondary institution, and 4) carrying a minimum 2.5 GPA at the end of their junior year of high school.

Click here to learn more about each scholarship or to download an application. The deadline to apply is April 15, 2019.

Questions can be addressed to Dr. Leslie Heaphy at Lheaphy@kent.edu.

2019 SABR Analytics Conference early registration is now open

Join us for the eighth annual SABR Analytics Conference on Friday, March 8 to Sunday, March 10, 2019, at the Hyatt Regency Phoenix, where we’ll bring together the top minds in the baseball analytics community to discuss, debate and share insightful ways to analyze and examine the great game of baseball. All baseball fans are welcome to attend. The early-bird registration discount ends on Monday, January 14, 2019, so register today to join us!

The Analytics Conference schedule consists of a combination of Guest Speakers, Panels, and Research Presentations — plus the unique Diamond Dollars Case Competition, in which undergraduate, graduate and law school students from across the country analyze and present a real baseball operations decision.

For more information on the 2019 SABR Analytics Conference, visit SABR.org/analytics.

Students, apply now for a Yoseloff Scholarship to attend the 2019 SABR Analytics Conference

With generous funding from The Anthony A. Yoseloff Foundation, Inc., SABR will award up to four scholarships to high school and college students who wish to attend the 2019 SABR Analytics Conference. This scholarship will pay for registration, air transportation and lodging up to a total value of $1,250.

All applications must be postmarked or e-mailed to Leslie Heaphy at Lheaphy@kent.edu no later than December 31, 2018.

The objective of this scholarship fund is to encourage student engagement with baseball analytics, and to engender an active interest in baseball research and SABR.

Click here to download the 2019 Yoseloff Scholarship application.

It’s time to renew your membership for 2019

For those of you whose SABR memberships expire by December 31 — you can check your current membership status here — it’s 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 2019!
  • 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. 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!

Help us reach our 2018 donation-drive goal

This has been another outstanding year for SABR, with an entertaining, informative SABR 48 convention in Pittsburgh and a special day at the ballpark at PNC Park, innovative research and publishing projects, and outstanding involvement from volunteers. Your year-end charitable gift will help us close out 2018 and enable us to make 2019 even more successful.

Please help us reach this year’s giving goal! As a 501(c)3 organization, tax-deductible donations allow SABR to expand member opportunities and to become an even larger voice in the baseball community. Many members have already become donors, and you can join them right now by making your gift online at SABR.org/donate. By doing so you help SABR fulfill its mission and increase the impact of our baseball analysis and historical study.

All of us at SABR appreciate your support of our great organization and the game we love. If you have questions regarding your gift, feel free to e-mail SABR CEO Scott Bush at sbush@sabr.org.

Join us for SABR Day on January 26, 2019

The 10th annual SABR Day will be held Saturday, January 26, 2019. We’re starting to compile details now on 2019 SABR Day chapter meetings around the country. We’ll post them as soon as we get them at SABR.org/sabrday.  

Regional SABR meetings are open to all baseball fans and are usually free to attend, so bring a friend! Guest speakers often include current and former baseball players, managers, umpires, executives, scouts, writers and authors.

Check back soon at SABR.org/sabrday for more information on a SABR Day meeting close to you. Chapter leaders, please be sure to send any details on your SABR meeting to Jacob Pomrenke at jpomrenke@sabr.org so we can update our SABR Day map.

For a complete recap of 2018 SABR Day activities, visit SABR.org/sabrday/2018.

Save the date! SABR 49 will be in San Diego in 2019

Save the date! SABR will be returning to San Diego for our 49th national convention on June 26-30, 2019, at the Manchester Grand Hyatt in downtown San Diego, California. Registration information and our special hotel room block will be available at SABR.org/convention in early 2019. The Padres are scheduled to play at home against the St. Louis Cardinals that weekend.

The Manchester Grand Hyatt is conveniently located within walking distance from Petco Park; our host hotel, a frequent host of baseball’s Winter Meetings, features a spectacular waterfront resort-like setting with shopping, dining, and entertainment venues in abundance at the nearby Gaslamp Quarter. The San Diego Central Library’s Sullivan Family Baseball Research Center, just a few blocks away, is home to the spectacular SABR Collection curated by our host chapter, the San Diego Ted Williams Chapter.

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

New team ownership history: Miami Marlins

The SABR Team Ownership Histories Project is a joint effort of SABR’s Business of Baseball Committee and the BioProject. The intention is to keep its essays up-to-date and to provide as much detail as possible about the organization and composition of ownership groups, franchise sales, relocations, stadiums, and other issues that provide the financial context for team success on the field. One new article was published this week:

Click here to read all published team ownership histories at SABR.org.

This project is a continuing effort. Some team articles have been assigned, but anyone who wishes to contribute is encouraged to contact Andy McCue at amccue@sabr.org. Thanks to Len Levin for his work in copy editing all of these essays. To find out which essays still need authors, or to read author guidelines, click here.

Read all 1950 Phillies biographies at the SABR BioProject

In The Whiz Kids Take the Pennant: The 1950 Philadelphia Phillies (SABR, 2018), edited by C. Paul Rogers III and Bill Nowlin, we told the story of a memorable National League championship team from the City of Brotherly Love.

The Whiz Kids were a team with one of the most memorable nicknames in baseball history. Not only does this book recap how their run to the flag was marked by clutch hitting and pitching in close games, it contains biographies of every player who appeared, including Richie Ashburn, Robin Roberts, Willie “Puddin’ Head” Jones, and Eddie Waitkus.

Click here to read all biographies of the 1950 Phillies at the SABR BioProject.

To download a free e-book edition or get 50% off the paperback edition of The Whiz Kids Take the Pennant, click here.

4 new stories published by the SABR Games Project

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

New Games Project stories can be found at SABR.org/gamesproject/recent. Find all published Games Project articles at SABR.org/GamesProject.

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, is back for the Hot Stove League offseason at a new time, 4:00-5:00 p.m. ET on Sundays, on MLB Network Radio.

This week’s guests are SABR CEO Scott Bush, Art Chou of Rapsodo, and Simon Ferrer of WIN Reality.

You can also listen to archives of recent episodes on-demand on the SiriusXM Internet Radio App. Click here to learn more.

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.

Deadlines approaching for SABR award nominations

  • Seymour Medal, due 12/31/2018: The Dr. Harold and Dorothy Seymour Medal honors the best book of baseball history or biography published during the preceding calendar year. The award is presented during the Seymour Medal Banquet at the NINE Spring Training Conference every March. If you have a book to nominate with a 2018 publication date, contact Leslie Heaphy at Lheaphy@kent.edu by December 31, 2018.
  • Larry Ritter Award, due 12/31/2018: Each year, SABR’s Deadball Era Committee presents the Larry Ritter Book Award to recognize the best new book primarily set in the Deadball Era that was published during the previous calendar year. The award is presented during the committee’s meeting at the annual SABR convention. If you have a book to nominate with a 2018 publication date, contact Doug Skipper at theskippers1@hotmail.com by December 31, 2018.
  • Ron Gabriel Award, due 12/31/2018: The Ron Gabriel Award annually honors the author(s) of the best research, published or unpublished, on the subject of the Brooklyn Dodgers completed during the preceding calendar year. To submit a nomination for the 2019 awards, please send a copy of your work to Gary Sarnoff at runtowin89@hotmail.com by December 31, 2018.
  • SABR Baseball Research Award, due 1/31/2019: The SABR Baseball Research Award (formerly the Sporting News-SABR Baseball Research Award) honors those whose outstanding research projects completed during the preceding calendar year have significantly expanded our knowledge or understanding of baseball. To submit a nomination for the 2019 awards, please contact Bill Felber at bfelber@att.net.
  • McFarland-SABR Baseball Research Award, due 2/15/2019: The McFarland-SABR Baseball Research Award honors the authors of the best articles on baseball history or biography completed or published during the preceding calendar year. To submit a nomination for the 2019 awards, please contact Len Levin at lenlevin5@hotmail.com.

Please note: Only ONE entry per nomination will be considered (do not submit multiple nominations for the same award). For more information on SABR Awards, click here.

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 (SABR.org/directory).

Name Hometown     Name Hometown
Kenneth Aber Southampton, PA     John Hanly Arlington, VA
Ryan Altman Los Angeles, CA     Anton Holmes Roselle Park, NJ
Charles Bartlett Palm Beach, FL     Matt Karlak Parma, OH
John Beisner Linden, VA     Chris Lampe Sunnyvale, CA
Armando Benavides Ciudad de Mexico, MEX     Sean Leahy Wheat Ridge, CO
Alex Benedek Lewiston, NY     Michael Mack Havertown, PA
Angel Camacho Bayamon, PRI     Philip Maguran Kalamazoo, MI
Chris Conlon Baltimore, MD     Kevin Ringgenberg Denver, CO
Joel Crites Brecksville, OH     Gordon Schrage Glendale, AZ
Bryan Dunmire Barrington, NH     Andrew Wandler New York, NY
Marty Grossberg Clawson, MI     Jim Williams West Allis, WI

 

Research Committee news

There are no new 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:

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: December 14, 2018. Last Updated: April 3, 2020.

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