This Week in SABR: January 23, 2015

January 23, 2015/in This Week in SABR /by jpomrenke

Welcome to “This Week in SABR!” Here’s what we’ve been up to as of January 23, 2015:

Register now for the 2015 SABR Analytics Conference

Early registration is now available for the fourth annual SABR Analytics Conference, March 12-14, 2015, at the Hyatt Regency Phoenix in downtown Phoenix, Arizona. Click here to register today at the SABR Store. The conference is open to all baseball fans.

We’re pleased to welcome Ken Rosenthal of MLB Network/FoxSports.com for the SABR Analytics Conference. Rosenthal is a Baseball Insider for MLB Network and regularly appears on MLB Tonight and Hot Stove. A sportswriter for more than 20 years, he also is FoxSports.com’s senior baseball writer and a weekly contributor to the Fox Saturday Baseball Game of the Week. On-air since 2005, he serves as the field reporter during Fox Sports’ featured baseball matchup.

Ken will join an All-Star lineup of featured speakers, including: Larry Baer, President and CEO of the San Francisco Giants; Tony La Russa, Chief Baseball Officer, Arizona Diamondbacks; Dave Stewart, Senior VP/General Manager, Arizona Diamondbacks; Jeff Bridich, Senior VP/General Manager, Colorado Rockies; Brian Kenny, MLB Network host; Curt Schilling, ESPN analyst and former major league pitcher; John Kruk, ESPN analyst and former major league first baseman; Laurel Prieb, Vice President of Western Operations, Major League Baseball; Zack Rosenthal, Assistant General Manager/Baseball Operations, Colorado Rockies; T.J. Barra, Manager of Baseball Research and Development, New York Mets; Jim Callis, MLBPipeline.com senior writer; John Thorn, MLB Official Historian; Vince Gennaro, SABR President; Dick Cramer and Pete Palmer, sabermetrics pioneers; and many, many more. Visit SABR.org/analytics/speakers for full biographies of our featured speakers. (Please note: All speakers are subject to change based on availability.)

SABR has a long and storied history with baseball statistical analysis, evidenced by the link between our name and sabermetrics. While SABR is a multi-faceted organization involved in virtually every aspect of baseball, we have taken a major step to re-connect with our beginnings by producing and hosting the fourth annual:

SABR Analytics Conference
March 12-14, 2015
Hyatt Regency Phoenix
Phoenix, Arizona

Once again, we’re bringing together the top minds of the baseball analytic community under one roof to discuss, debate and share insightful ways to analyze and examine the great game of baseball.

The schedule will consist 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.

Conference registration is available now at the SABR Store. Click here to register. The conference is open to all baseball fans. The early registration rate is $395 for SABR members and $495 for nonmembers, or $350 for currently enrolled high school or college students (includes one-year membership to SABR).

The 2015 SABR Analytics Conference will be held Thursday, March 12 through Saturday, March 14 at the Hyatt Regency Phoenix, 122 N. 2nd St., Phoenix, AZ 85004. Click here to book your hotel room at the special SABR group rate of $174/night (plus tax) for double occupancy. Or call (602) 252-1234 and mention that you’re with the SABR Analytics Conference.

Check back soon at SABR.org/analytics as we announce more featured speakers, panels and presentations!

For complete coverage of last year’s SABR Analytics Conference, visit SABR.org/analytics/2014.

Early registration now open for SABR 45 in Chicago

We hope you’ll join us for what promises to be a spectacular SABR 45 convention, June 24-28, 2015, at the Palmer House Hilton in Chicago, Illinois.

Hotel and conference registration for the 2015 convention is now available. Click here for complete information on SABR 45 registration rates, all-inclusive packages, and optional sessions. Or click here to register for SABR 45. More details on guest speakers, panelists, and presenters will be announced soon.

Hotel: Click here to book your room at the Palmer House Hilton online. The deadline to book your room at the SABR group rate of $189/night (plus tax) is 11:59 p.m. MST Friday, May 15, 2015. The Palmer House Hilton is at 17 East Monroe Street, Chicago, IL 60603, in the heart of the downtown Loop, right next to two CTA stops (Blue Line at Adams/Wabash or Red Line at Monroe.) If you have any questions about your reservation, please call the hotel at (312) 726-7500.
Conference registration: Click here for complete information on SABR 45 registration rates. Once again, we’re offering a discounted all-inclusive package for the annual SABR convention. For a savings of $44 off the regular rate, SABR members can get:
     — 1 full conference registration (regular rate: $199)
     — Choose: 1 Upper Deck Box ticket to the Cubs game on Thursday, June 25 (regular: $48) OR 1 Terrace Reserved ticket (regular: $38)
     — 1 round-trip ticket on the CTA Red Line train to and from Wrigley Field (regular: $6)
     — 1 ticket to the Awards Luncheon on Friday, June 26 (regular: $50)
The all-inclusive package is available to SABR members for $259 with an Upper Deck Box ticket or $249 with a Terrace Reserved ticket to the Cubs game instead, plus all of the above amenities. Please note: The all-inclusive packages are only available until May 15, 2015. Click here to register for SABR 45.
Cubs ballgame: At SABR 45, we’ll be attending the Cubs-Dodgers game on Thursday afternoon, June 25, at Wrigley Field. The SABR block of tickets is available in two sections when you register: Upper Deck Box-Outfield ($48) or Terrace Reserved-Outfield ($38). This game is expected to sell out and our ticket block is only available on a first-come, first-serve basis through Friday, May 15, 2015. Game tickets in the SABR block will NOT be available for purchase on-site at the convention.
Please note: Your purchase of a SABR 45 all-inclusive package includes round-trip transportation to and from Wrigley Field on the CTA Red Line train. (Purchasing a game ticket as part of regular/a la carte registration does NOT include transportation.) Click here for more details on SABR 45 registration.
The Baseball Project concert: On Thursday evening, June 25, SABR 45 attendees will have a special opportunity to see The Baseball Project in concert in the Grand Ballroom at the Palmer House Hilton. Advance presale tickets are available for $25 members/$40 non-members when you register for SABR 45 before May 15, 2015. Tickets will be $40 online after May 15 or until the concert venue reaches capacity. Click here for more details.
Call for presentations: SABR invites all members to present their research findings to their colleagues attending SABR 45, the 2015 annual convention in Chicago. Through on-site judging, the most highly-regarded presentations will receive the Doug Pappas Award for best oral presentation and the USA Today Sports Weekly Award for best poster presentation. Click here for details on submitting your presentation abstract. Please note: If your abstract is accepted and you intend to make a research presentation, you must register to attend the SABR 45 convention. Deadline to apply: Sunday, February 15, 2015.

Please note: The SABR 45 all-inclusive package includes 1 full conference registration; 1 ticket to the Cubs game on Thursday, June 25; 1 round-trip ticket on the CTA Red Line train; and 1 ticket to the Awards Luncheon on Friday, June 26. It does NOT include any other optional events such as the Downtown Baseball Walking Tour on Wednesday, June 24, The Baseball Project concert on Thursday, June 25, or the Historical Ballpark Sites Bus Tour on Sunday, June 28. Those tickets must be purchased separately.

All SABR 45 attendees will also receive a souvenir print edition of The National Pastime, our annual convention journal, focusing on baseball teams, players and events in the Chicago area. All SABR members, whether you attend the convention or not, will receive the expanded e-book edition of The National Pastime in their inboxes later this summer. Click here to register for SABR 45.

For more information on SABR 45, visit SABR.org/convention.

SABR 45: Join us for a special concert with The Baseball Project

Attendees at the SABR 45 convention this summer in Chicago will have a special opportunity to see The Baseball Project in concert on Thursday, June 25, 2015, in the Grand Ballroom at the Palmer House Hilton.

Advance presale tickets for The Baseball Project at SABR 45 are available for an early-bird price of $25 members/$40 non-members when you register for the SABR convention online at SABR.org/convention before May 15, 2015. Tickets will be $40 online after May 15 or until the concert venue reaches capacity.

Formed in 2007 by Scott McCaughey (Young Fresh Fellows, The Minus 5, R.E.M.) and Steve Wynn (The Dream Syndicate, Steve Wynn and the Miracle 3, Gutterball), The Baseball Project began as a way for a couple of fans to pay musical tribute to our national pastime. But The Baseball Project has since blossomed into a full-fledged, much-loved band in its own right, one which includes drummer Linda Pitmon (Steve Wynn and the Miracle 3, Zuzu’s Petals), and Peter Buck and Mike Mills, founding members of R.E.M., one of the best-selling alternative rock bands of all time.

Their mutual love of baseball inspired them to record their first album, Volume 1: Frozen Ropes and Dying Quails, in 2008. It includes baseball-themed songs such as “Gratitude (For Curt Flood),” “The Yankee Flipper,” and “The Death of Big Ed Delahanty.” They followed up with Volume 2: High and Inside in 2011, which features the San Francisco Giants World Series-themed hit “Panda and the Freak” along with “Tony (Boston’s Chosen Son)” and “The Straw that Stirs the Drink.” Their third album, 3rd, was released in 2014.

To learn more about The Baseball Project, visit their website at thebaseballproject.net or their YouTube channel at youtube.com/thebaseballproject.

Details and registration for SABR 45 are now available at SABR.org/convention.

32 events scheduled for tomorrow’s sixth annual SABR Day

You’re not going to want to miss the sixth annual SABR Day on Saturday, January 24, 2015!

SABR Day is our annual Hot Stove gathering to celebrate the beginning of a new baseball season. It’s always held on the weekend between the NFL championship games and the Super Bowl. On that day, SABR’s regional chapters organize baseball events around the globe, and you’re all invited to attend.

2015 SABR Day schedule: Click here for complete details on all of Saturday’s events on our 2015 SABR Day map (or click here to view details in spreadsheet form)
Schedule changes: Due to inclement weather, the SABR Day event in Middletown, Connecticut, has been moved back to Saturday, February 7. More details TBA as soon as they are available.

SABR Day meetings can include premier guest speakers, such as ESPN The Magazine writer Peter Keating and ESPN TV producer Willie Weinbaum — part of a panel discussion at our New York City SABR Day event on the 40th anniversary of Frank Robinson’s hiring as MLB’s first African-American manager — Spink Award winner Rick “The Commish” Hummel at our St. Louis SABR Day event at Mike Shannon’s Steaks and Seafood; and Las Vegas 51s President/COO Don Logan, who’s speaking at our Las Vegas SABR Day event at The Mob Museum.

Other guest speakers for SABR Day include former major league players Chris Burke (at our Louisville SABR Day event at the Slugger Museum), Tom Lawless (St. Louis), and Steve Jones (Knoxville); Michael L. Gibbons, Executive Director of the Babe Ruth Birthplace Museum (New York City); Amaury Pi-Gonzalez, Vice-President of the Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum (San Francisco); Padres baseball operations staffers Brian McBurney and Wells Oliver (San Diego); Joe Maglie, son of All-Star pitcher Sal “The Barber” Maglie (Little Rock); Royals team historian Dave Webster (Kansas City); and authors/writers Mike Sielski (Philadelphia), Stuart Shea (Detroit), John Erardi (Cincinnati), and Barry Bloom and Tony DeMarco (Phoenix).

Some SABR chapters, such as those in Austin, Boston, Des Moines, and Montreal, are meeting informally at a restaurant or library just to talk baseball or present their new research. Other chapters, such as Houston, Seattle, and Dallas-Fort Worth, will participate in their local MLB team FanFests scheduled for Saturday.

In Cooperstown, we’ll listen to some great research presentations from Bill Deane, Tom Shieber, Bruce Markusen, and Gabriel Schechter at the Baseball Hall of Fame’s Bullpen Theater.

In Denver, we’ll host two panel discussions, one on Video Coordinators with the Rockies’ Chris Warren and former Twins video coordinator Luke French, moderated by Root Sports’ Marc Stout; and a Scouts Panel with Kent Gregory, Ed Henderson, Marc Johnson, Tom Maloney, and Charles Ro, following the conclusion of RockiesFest at Coors Field.

In Toronto, join us for a sneak peek at SABR member Bill Humber’s “Baseball Spring Training” class (now in its 37th year!) at Seneca College. This special class is free to all fans only on SABR Day, January 24, and will include research presentations and discussions on Canadian baseball history.

The Chicago and Milwaukee chapters plan to meet in the middle — at the Brat Stop in Kenosha, Wisconsin — for a meeting with guest speakers including Ozzie Guillen Jr. and Mauricio Rubio of Baseball Prospectus.

All baseball fans are welcome on SABR Day; you don’t have to be a SABR member to attend, although if you like what you see we hope you’ll sign up.

You can find details of all 32 meetings scheduled tomorrow for SABR Day 2015 at SABR.org/sabrday. Find one near you and join us!

SABR Day doesn’t end at midnight! Some chapters are holding their SABR Day meetings in the coming weeks, due to venue or schedule availability. The Bob Davids Chapter in Washington, D.C., has a tremendous event scheduled on Saturday, January 31, with Adam Cromie, Assistant General Manager and Director, Baseball Operations, Washington Nationals; Retrosheet’s David W. Smith; Michael Hand, Chief Marketing Officer/President, MiLB Enterprises; John Eisenberg of the Baltimore Sun; and more. (Click here for details or to RSVP.) Also meeting on January 31 are the SABR chapters in Los Angeles, Detroit, Orlando, Toledo, and Columbus. On Saturday, February 7, the Magnolia/Georgia Chapter will hold its annual winter meeting, along with the SABR chapters in Cleveland and Rochester. Find complete details at SABR.org/sabrday. Hope to see you there!

Announcing finalists for 2015 SABR Analytics Conference Research Awards

We’re pleased to announce the finalists for the 2015 SABR Analytics Conference Research Awards, which will recognize baseball researchers who have completed the best work of original analysis or commentary during the preceding calendar year.

Nominations were solicited by representatives from SABR, Baseball Prospectus, FanGraphs, The Hardball Times, and Beyond the Box Score. Here are the finalists for the 2015 SABR Analytics Conference Research Awards:

Contemporary Baseball Analysis

Russell Carleton, “N=1,” Baseball Prospectus 2014: The Essential Guide to the 2014 Season, January 2014.
Jay Jaffe, “The Case of the Disappearing Slugger: Where Did MLB’s Power Go?” SI.com, September 3, 2014.
Harry Pavlidis and Dan Brooks, “Framing and Blocking Pitches: A Regressed, Probabilistic Model,” Baseball Prospectus, March 3, 2014.
Jon Roegele, “The Effects of Pitch Sequencing,” The Hardball Times, November 24, 2014.
Jeff Sullivan, “Alex Gordon Barely Had a Chance,” FanGraphs, October 30, 2014.

Contemporary Baseball Commentary

Grant Brisbee, “Rumors, Rumors, Every Where, Nor Any Drop to Drink,” SB Nation, December 15, 2014.
Dave Cameron, “If Someone Has A Good Way To Evaluate Managers, Let Us Know,” FoxSports.com, September 5, 2014.
Lewie Pollis, “If You Build It: Rethinking the Market for Major League Baseball Front Office Personnel,” Brown University, senior honors thesis, Spring 2014.
Eno Sarris, “Learning the Language of the Clubhouse,” The Hardball Times, March 13, 2014.
Jason Turbow, “The Essence of Velocity: The Pitching Theory That Could Revolutionize Baseball, If Only The Sport Would Embrace It,” SB Nation, June 18, 2014.

Historical Analysis/Commentary

Frank Jackson, “Shots Fired But Not Heard ‘Round the World,” The Hardball Times, October 7, 2014.
Erik Malinowski, “Swing Away: The Untold Story of the First Home Run Derby,” FoxSports.com, July 10, 2014.
Sam Miller, “Baseball’s Seven Wonders: Kerry Wood’s 20-K Game,” Baseball Prospectus, March 18, 2014.
Bryan Soderholm-Difatte, “The 1914 Stallings Platoon: Assessing Execution, Impact, and Strategic Philosophy,” SABR Baseball Research Journal, Fall 2014.
Steve Treder, “The Strikeout Ascendant (and What Should Be Done About It),” The Hardball Times Baseball Annual 2014.

Details and criteria for each category can be found here. Only one work per author was considered as a finalist.

Voting for the winners will be conducted online beginning next week at SABR.org, BaseballProspectus.com, FanGraphs.com, HardballTimes.com, and BeyondtheBoxScore.com, with results weighted equally at 20%.

Results will be announced and presented at the fourth annual SABR Analytics Conference, March 12-14, 2015, at the Hyatt Regency Phoenix in Phoenix, Arizona. Learn more or register for the conference at SABR.org/analytics.

Students, there’s still time to apply for 2015 Diamond Dollars Case Competition

Everyone wants the opportunity to showcase their talents to the right people. That’s exactly what the Diamond Dollars Case Competition is all about.

At the fourth annual SABR Analytics Conference — March 12-14, 2015, at the Hyatt Regency Phoenix in Phoenix, Arizona — graduate students from Business Schools, Sports Management programs, and other graduate and undergraduate programs across the country compete against each other by preparing an analysis and presentation of a real baseball operations decision — the type of decision a team’s GM and his staff is faced with over the course of a season.

Four- to five-person teams of students are asked to evaluate proposed player transactions, apply statistical analysis of player performance and assess the financial impact of the team’s proposed moves.

The case will be authored and led by SABR President, Vince Gennaro, a consultant to MLB teams, author of Diamond Dollars: The Economics of Winning in Baseball, a regular contributor to MLB Network’s “Clubhouse Confidential” — someone who’s been in the front office helping teams analyze key baseball operations decisions.

For information on signing up for the Diamond Dollars Case Competition, click here.

To learn more about last year’s winners, visit SABR.org/analytics/case/2014.

There’s still time to renew your SABR membership!

For those of you whose memberships expired recently, there’s still a little time left to renew and be a part of the SABR community again in 2015. If you’ve already renewed, we thank you for your support and look forward to another exciting year ahead.

Renew now to receive the Spring 2015 edition of the Baseball Research Journal, plus discounts on registration to the 2015 SABR Analytics Conference and SABR 45 in Chicago, and a lot more! Please note: We MUST receive your dues by February 28, 2015, in order for you to receive the upcoming BRJ.

Here’s how to renew: You can renew your membership for 1 year or 3 years online at the SABR Store; by phone at (602) 343-6450; or by mailing this downloadable PDF form and your payment to the SABR office at 4455 E. Camelback Road, Ste. D-140, Phoenix, AZ 85018.

Dues are the same as they have been in recent years: for this, you get two editions of the Baseball Research Journal, the expanded e-book edition of The National Pastime; 8-10 free e-books published by the SABR Digital Library; “This Week in SABR” every Friday; access to research resources such as Paper of Record (with complete archives of The Sporting News); discounts to all SABR conferences such as the National Convention (Chicago 2015), the SABR Analytics Conference, the Jerry Malloy Negro League Conference, and the Frederick Ivor-Campbell 19th Century Conference; discounts to MLB.TV; and much, much more.

We believe SABR has something for everyone, from the active researcher to someone passionate about baseball. We hope you’ll invite your friends, colleagues and family members to join at store.sabr.org.

Last call: Vote in primary election for SABR’s Overlooked 19th Century Baseball Legend

Happy New Year, everyone! Once again, it is time to begin the process of choosing our Overlooked 19th Century Baseball Legend for 2015.

Last year, Daniel Lucius “Doc” Adams joined previous winners Pete Browning (2009), Hall of Famer Deacon White (2010), Harry Stovey (2011), Bill Dahlen (2012), and Ross Barnes (2013) as SABR’s Overlooked 19th Century Baseball Legends.

Once again, the Nineteenth Century Research Committee will select 10 individuals from 25 preliminary candidates to create the final ballot for the 2015 Overlooked Legend. The 10 finalists will be presented to the entire SABR community, giving all of SABR a chance to vote for our next Overlooked Legend.

The preliminary voting process, which we call the Overlooked Primary Election, will consist of each voter selecting 10 names from the ballot of 25. (If a voter doesn’t select 10 names, the votes will not count in the final tally.) The top 10 will be presented to the SABR membership for a vote in May 2015, and the winner will be announced at the SABR 45 convention in Chicago this summer.

Below is a PDF with the 25 candidates for 2015 and a brief explanation of their baseball accomplishments and/or contributions to our national pastime. You can download the PDF with biographies for the 25 candidates by clicking on the link below:

https://sabr.box.com/shared/static/ovt2hg2xl34ogeardszu.pdf

The voting in the Overlooked Primary Election began this week and will end on January 23, 2015. To vote in the Primary Election, you must be a member of the Nineteenth Century Committee. E-mail Project Chairman Adam Darowski to request a ballot.

The Overlooked 19th Century Baseball Legends Project Committee consists of Charles Faber, Ralph Peluso, Samuel Reich, Bob Gregory, Joe Williams, and myself. On behalf of the committee, thanks to all of the great researchers of the Nineteenth Century Committee and SABR. If not for our members, both past and present, the bios for this project could not have been compiled.

— Adam Darowski

Related link: Register now for 2015 SABR Frederick Ivor-Campbell 19th Century Conference

11 new biographies published by the SABR BioProject

Eleven new biographies were posted as part of the SABR Baseball Biography Project, which brings us to a total of 3,017 published biographies. Here are the new bios:

Vin Campbell, by Robert Peyton Wiggins
Bob Cremins, by Bill Nowlin
Tom Delahanty, by Bill Lamb
Ben Franklin, by Bruce Allardice
Ben and Lou Levi, by Bruce Allardice
Jock Menefee, by David Nemec
Hal O’Hagan, by David Nemec
Tom O’Meara, by David Nemec
Harvey Smith, by David Nemec
Hal Wiltse, by Bill Nowlin
Carl Zork, by Bruce Allardice

All new biographies can be found here: http://sabr.org/bioproj/recent

You can find the SABR BioProject at SABR.org/BioProject.

Bios on more than just ballplayers: The ambitious goal of the SABR Baseball Biography Project is to publish a full-life biography of every major league player in history. But SABR members write about a lot more than just ballplayers. In addition, we have pages for Ballparks, Broadcasters, Executives, Managers, Scouts, Spouses, Umpires and a lot more on the BioProject website. You can browse all of these categories at http://sabr.org/bioproj/browse. So if you’ve ever thought, “Hey, that person (or ballpark) should get the full BioProject treatment” — write the story and we’ll publish it!

Get involved! If you’d like to help contribute to the SABR BioProject, visit our BioProject Resources page or read the FAQs section to get started. We’re also looking to expand the BioProject to include all “encyclopedic” articles on baseball-related subjects from past SABR publications or committee newsletters. If you come across an article you think should be included in the SABR “baseball repository” at the BioProject, send a copy or link to markarmour04@gmail.com or jpomrenke@sabr.org.

5 new stories published by the SABR Games Project

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

September 21, 1922: Doc Hamann makes inglorious debut for Indians, by Chris Rainey
October 1, 1932: The Babe calls his shot … or does he?, by Gary Sarnoff
May 6, 1937: The Hindenburg Game at Ebbets Field, by Gary Sarnoff
October 1, 1946: Red Sox tune up for World Series vs. AL All-Stars, by Michael Hamel
September 29, 2007: Craig Biggio dons the tools of ignorance one final time, by Frederick C. Bush

The SABR Baseball Games Project was launched in January 2014 to research and write articles on major-league and Negro League regular, postseason, and All-Star Games. These game accounts will complement Retrosheet and Baseball-Reference box scores as well as BioProject essays on the players involved.

The articles are not intended to be mere play-by-play summaries, nor should they be first-person narratives. Rather the goal is to put each game in historical context — whether that history is of a particular player, team, season, or something even broader.

Visit the new Games Project website at SABR.org/gamesproject.

Get involved: 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.
Questions: Contact Greg Erion for more information about the Games Project, James Forr to request an assignment, or Chip Greene to submit your draft article.

Armour and Levitt: The best 25 GMs in baseball history

From SABR members Mark Armour and Dan Levitt, authors of the upcoming In Pursuit of Pennants: Baseball Operations from Deadball to Moneyball (University of Nebraska Press), continue their countdown of the best 25 general managers in baseball history:

Armour and Levitt write, “Because of the disparity in resources and opportunities available among the various front offices over the years, and the evolving nature of the job itself, evaluating general managers is largely a subjective exercise. … Comparing their performances is not easy. How should we apportion credit (or blame) for teams that have the stamp of previous GMs? Gene Michael collected most of the players Brian Cashman built around—how much credit should he receive for the New York Yankees success after he was no longer in charge?”

Read the introduction to their series here, along with all posted entries: https://pursuitofpennants.wordpress.com/2015/01/09/intro-the-best-25-gms-in-baseball-history/

Seeking research help for Unpublished Averages List

SABR member Carlos Bauer is beginning to put together the “Unpublished Averages List” for the 2014 professional baseball season. If anyone would like to add to this list, which will be made available in February, please e-mail carlosfb@dslextreme.com with details of your 2014 research.

Started by the late founding SABR member Bob McConnell and continued by Bauer ever since, the list includes compiled averages of minor league (including non-Organized Baseball leagues), and additional stats done for a league, and any new statistics in other sources (e.g., a newspaper).

Call for SABR award nominations

SABR Baseball Research Award, due 1/31/2015: 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 2015 awards, please contact Bill Felber at bfelber@att.net.
McFarland-SABR Baseball Research Award, due 2/15/2015: 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 2015 awards, please contact Len Levin at lenlevin5@hotmail.com.
Ron Gabriel Award, due 3/1/2015: 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. Eligible works include but are not limited to magazine and journal articles, previously unpublished chapters or articles in anthologies or other books with multiple authors, unpublished research papers, written versions of oral presentations, books, databases and websites. To submit a nomination for the 2015 awards, please contact Craig Murden at hncsports@optonline.net.

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: http://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 New Member 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
Jason Aquino	Arlington, VA	Richard Marston	Newport Beach, CA
David Avery	n/a	Charles McAtee	New Palestine, IN
Tyler Bard	Los Angeles, CA	Connor McDavitt	Holden, MA
Mark Bodner	Rogers, AR	Ryan Mitchell	Middletown, CT
Ned Buchbinder	West Bend, WI	Benjamin Modica	Schwenksbille, PA
Donald Burge	Colorado Springs, CO	Mike Moyer	Littleton, CO
Jean-Marc Choukroun	Penn Valley, PA	David Nelson	Cypress, TX
Tony D’Alesandro	Tempe, AZ	Josh Nelson	Chicago, IL
Andrew Ettel	Arden Hills, MN	Steven Painter	Washington, DC
Andre Gonzalez	Aurora, CO	Andy Potter	Albuquerque, NM
Terry Graham	Brandon, FL	Greg Prescott	Fairfax, VA
Lawrence Gramling	Tolland, CT	Jeffrey Schlerf	Wilmington, DE
Roger Hadix	Colorado Springs, CO	Tom Taborn	Plymouth, MI
David Kull	Simsbury, CT	Kenn Tomasch	Glendale, AZ
Ron Kuykendall	Fountain Valley, CA	Ryan Vetter	Palatine, IL
Greg Larsen	Hoquiam, WA	Vinnie Vrotny	Katy, TX
Jim Lucey	Hollidaysburg, PA	William Walsh	Scottsdale, AZ

Research Committee news

There were no SABR research committee newsletters published this week.

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

Regional Chapter news

Here are the new regional chapter updates published this week:

Houston/Larry Dierker Chapter meeting recap (January 19; Houston, TX)
Bill McCurdy: SABR/Sugar Land Skeeters Hot Stove Banquet was a smash hit (January 22; Sugar Land, TX)

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

SABR Events Calendar

Here is a list of upcoming SABR events:

January 23: Dr. Raymond Petras: “The Psychology of a Sports Injury” (Peoria, AZ)
January 24: 2015 SABR Day
January 28: Magnolia Chapter “Fourth Wednesday” meeting (Tucker, GA)
January 31: Allan Roth Chapter meeting (Los Angeles, CA)
January 31: Bob Davids Chapter annual meeting (Arlington, VA)
January 31: Emil Rothe/Chicago and Ken Keltner Badger State Chapter joint meeting (Kenosha, WI)
January 31: Hank Gowdy Chapter book club meeting (Columbus, OH)
January 31: Bresnahan-Mud Hens Chapter meeting (Toledo, OH)
January 31: Detroit Chapter meeting (Detroit, MI)
January 31: Auker-Seminick Chapter meeting (Orlando, FL)
February 6-8: Luis Castro Chapter “Baseball Scoring and Sabermetrics” workshop (Maracay, VZ)
February 7: Halsey Hall Chapter book club (Roseville, MN)
February 7: Luke Easter Chapter/Rochester Hot Stove Dinner (Rochester, NY)
February 7: Jack Graney Chapter winter meeting (Cleveland, OH)
February 7: Magnolia/Georgia Chapter Hot Stove meeting (Kennesaw, GA)
February 7: Smoky Joe Wood Connecticut Chapter winter meeting (Middletown, CT)
February 8: John Thorn: “Baseball: America’s Game” (Albany, NY)

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:

David Kronheim: Minor league attendance saw big increase in 2014 (MiLB.com)
Nathaniel Grow: MLB’s antitrust status remains after almost a century (WBUR.org)
Barry Bloom: Scouts dinner highlights best aspects of the game (MLB.com)
Christina Kahrl: Finding common ground in baseball (University of Chicago)
Peter Nash: Is Mort Rogers the granddaddy of the American baseball card? (Hauls of Shame)
Jack Moore: Minor league wages and the new commissioner (The Hardball Times)
Phil Birnbaum: Are umpires biased in favor of star pitchers? (Sabermetric Research)
Scott Lindholm: Baseball ejections, a visual analysis (Beyond the Box Score)
Bill Lucey: Replaying volcanic eruptions from legendary managers (The National Pastime Museum)
Robert Arthur: Forecasting with fastball frequency (Baseball Prospectus)
Jeff Sullivan: Identifying MLB’s most- and least-shiftable teams (FoxSports.com)
SABR member Phil S. Dixon discusses Kansas City Monarchs’ impact on race relations (Joplin Globe)
Gabriel Schechter: An era summed up in one game, June 15, 1929 (The National Pastime Museum)
Rob Neyer: How nasty were Cincinnati’s ‘Nasty Boys’? (FoxSports.com)
Nick Diunte: Documents reveal the accounting behind Negro League baseball (Baseball Happenings)
John Tenney: Baseball on the hill in Morenci, Arizona (Base Ball in Arid Land)
J.G. Preston: Don Fisher, Larry Anderson, and the unlikeliest pitching performances in MLB history (J.G. Preston Experience)
Rob Neyer: Can I really outrun David Ortiz? The results are in (FoxSports.com)

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.

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