TWIS archives

This Week in SABR: March 6, 2020

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 March 6, 2020:


Download the SABR Analytics Conference digital program

Download the digital programWe’re just a week away from the ninth annual SABR Analytics Conference on March 13-15 at the Renaissance Phoenix Downtown in Phoenix, Arizona. We have an All-Star lineup of speakers, panelists and presenters on the schedule this year.

Complete coverage of the SABR Analytics Conference, including a full schedule, can be found at SABR.org/analytics. We’ll be posting stories, photos, and multimedia clips online next week. You can also follow along live on Twitter by searching for the hashtag #SABRanalytics during the conference.

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 SABR Analytics Conference 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.

Find more information on the 2020 SABR Analytics Conference below:

For more information, or to register, visit SABR.org/analytics.


Check out our featured panels for the 2020 SABR Analytics Conference

2020 SABR Analytics Conference speakers

Join us for the ninth annual SABR Analytics Conference on Friday, March 13 to Sunday, March 15, 2020, at the Renaissance Phoenix Downtown. Register now to join us!

Here is some more information about our featured panels:

  • The State of Analytics, with MLB Network host and author Brian Kenny (1:05 p.m., Friday, March 13)
  • MLB Statcast updates, with Greg Cain, Clay Nunnally, Daren Willman, and Jason Bernard of Major League Baseball (3:30 p.m., Friday, March 13)
  • Intangibles: How do Teams Evaluate, Value, and Encourage Team Chemistry?, with Arizona Diamondbacks coach Jonny Gomes, former major-leaguer Rickie Weeks Jr., author Joan Ryan, and former SABR Board President Vince Gennaro (4:35 p.m., Friday, March 13)
  • The Changing Baseball: What We Know, What We Think We Know, and What It Means, with Rob Arthur of Baseball Prospectus, Meredith Wills of SportsMEDIA Technology (SMT), Jay Jaffe of FanGraphs, and Arizona Diamondbacks broadcaster Mike Ferrin (8:30 a.m., Saturday, March 14)
  • Technology Panel, with T.J. Barra of Major League Baseball, Eno Sarris of The Athletic, Seth Daniels of Rapsodo, and MLB Network host Brian Kenny (11:15 a.m., Saturday, March 14)
  • Automated Strike Zone: Perspectives on the Technology and How it May Affect the Game, with Chicago Cubs mental skills coach and former major-leaguer John Baker, Ben Jedlovec of Major League Baseball, and SABRcast host and author Rob Neyer (10:05 a.m., Sunday, March 15)
  • Groundbreaking research presentations all weekend, by representatives from Baseball Info Solutions, SportsMEDIA Technology (SMT), Driveline Baseball, DVS Baseball, Algomi, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, Vanderbilt University, Wake Forest University, Southern Methodist University, Kansas State University, Syracuse University, University of California-Irvine, Illinois Wesleyan University, and more.

Please note: All speakers are subject to change depending on availability.

To learn more, visit SABR.org/analytics.


2020 SABR Analytics Conference: Networking Reception

SABR is once again teaming up with the Baseball Industry Network for the 2020 SABR Analytics Conference Networking Reception  which will feature food, drinks and great opportunities to network with baseball professionals and other attendees from the conference.

The reception will be held from 5:00-7:00 p.m. on Saturday, March 14 at the Renaissance Phoenix Downtown, 100 N. 1st St., Phoenix, AZ 85004.

Admission to the welcome reception is included with your SABR Analytics Conference registration.

Members of the Baseball Industry Network can attend the reception separately for $32. To sign up for the Networking Reception at EventBrite, click here.


Jeremy Beer to receive 2020 Seymour Medal at NINE Conference banquet on Saturday

2020 Seymour Medal winner Jeremy Beer will receive his award at the banquet of the 27th annual NINE Spring Training Conference on Saturday, March 7 at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel in Tempe, Arizona.

The banquet includes the Seymour Medal ceremony, dinner, and the NINE keynote address by Ron Rapoport, author of Let’s Play Two: The Legend of Mr. Cub, the Life of Ernie Banks.

To learn more about the NINE conference, or to view the full schedule, visit nineconference.com.

Beer won the Seymour Medal — which honors the best book of baseball history or biography published during the preceding calendar year — for Oscar Charleston: The Life and Legend of Baseball’s Greatest Forgotten Player, published by the University of Nebraska Press.

The Seymour Medal, named in honor of Dr. Harold Seymour and Mrs. Dorothy (Seymour) Mills, was first awarded by SABR in 1996. To be considered for the medal, a work must be the product of original research or analysis. The winning book shall significantly advance our knowledge of baseball and shall be characterized by understanding, factual accuracy, profound insight and distinguished writing.

To see a list of previous Seymour Medal winners, click here.


Michael Aronstein selected as winner of 2020 SABR Jefferson Burdick Award

Michael Aronstein and Andrew AronsteinTCMA founder Michael Aronstein was selected as the winner of the inaugural Jefferson Burdick Award, which honors individuals who have made significant contributions to the baseball card hobby, by SABR’s Baseball Cards Research Committee. He will be honored at the SABR 50 convention this summer in Baltimore.

Aronstein founded the influential TCMA baseball card comapny with Tom Collier in 1972 and was one of the pioneers of the modern baseball card industry, arranging and hosting early conventions and co-organizing the biannual American Sports Card Collectors Association shows in New York City.

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

To learn more about the Burdick Award, click here.


Early registration now open for SABR 50 in Baltimore

Join us in Baltimore to celebrate a special occasion this summer: SABR’s 50th annual convention! Conference and hotel registration for SABR 50 — scheduled for July 15-19, 2020, at the Hyatt Regency Inner Harbor in Baltimore — is now available at SABR.org/convention.

Click here for complete details on the SABR 50 All-Inclusive Package, Early-Bird Registration, and optional sessions. Or click here to register for SABR 50.

Attendees at our SABR 50 convention this summer in Baltimore will have a special opportunity to visit Camden Yards for an exclusive Day at the Ballpark session on the morning of Thursday, July 16 to hear from Baltimore Orioles executives and players. Guest speakers and more details will be announced later this spring. Access to the Day at the Ballpark session at Camden Yards is included in your registration for SABR 50. We’ll return to Camden Yards on Friday night for a game between the Orioles and Tampa Bay Rays.

Our featured speakers for SABR 50 are expected to include:

  • Tim Kurkjian, ESPN analyst, author of three baseball books, and Maryland native
  • Janet Marie Smith, who oversaw the building of Camden Yards and the revitalization of Baltimore’s waterfront
  • Sig Mejdal, Baltimore Orioles Vice President and Assistant GM

Click on a link below for more information about SABR 50.

Visit SABR.org/convention to learn more.


Last call: Submit your SABR 50 research presentation abstract

Camden YardsSABR invites all members to present their research findings to their colleagues attending SABR 50, the 2020 annual convention in Baltimore. Oral presentations are expected to last 20 minutes, followed by a five minute question-and-answer period. Posters will be presented, with the author on-hand to discuss the work, during a poster session of 60 minutes and they will remain on display throughout the convention.

Through on-site judging, the most highly-regarded presentations will receive the Doug Pappas Award for best oral presentation and the SABR Convention Poster Presentation Award for best poster presentation. 

SABR 50 will be held July 15-19, 2020, at the Hyatt Regency Inner Harbor in Baltimore. Early registration rates and hotel information are now available at SABR.org/convention.


Students, apply now for a Yoseloff Scholarship to attend SABR 50 in Baltimore

With generous funding from The Anthony A. Yoseloff Foundation, Inc., SABR will award up to four scholarships to high school or college students to attend SABR 50 on July 15-19, 2020, in Baltimore. This scholarship will pay for registration, transportation and lodging (double occupancy) up to a total value of $1,250.

The objective of this scholarship fund is to encourage high school and college-level student engagement with baseball research and to engender an active interest in baseball and SABR.

All applications must be postmarked or e-mailed to Leslie Heaphy at Lheaphy@kent.edu no later than Friday, March 29, 2020.

Click here for complete details and submission criteria.


2020 Southern Association Conference begins tomorrow in Birmingham

SABR’s Rickwood Field Chapter announces the 17th annual Southern Association Conference, which will be held on Saturday, March 7, 2020, at Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Alabama.

Dedicated to the preservation of the history of the Southern Association and the history of baseball in the South, the conference will take place from 8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. at historic Rickwood Field, located at 1137 2nd Avenue West, Birmingham, AL 35204.

The cost is $35 per person, and a snack breakfast and full lunch is included. Contact Clarence Watkins for more information.


2020 SABR Ivor-Campbell 19th Century Base Ball Conference is now sold out

The 11th annual Frederick Ivor-Campbell 19th Century Base Ball Conference, scheduled for April 24-25, 2020, at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, is now sold out.

If you wish to be added to a waiting list in case a seat opens up, please contact Peter Mancuso at peterplus4@earthlink.net.

Click here to download the information packet with detailed schedule information (PDF)

The 2020 conference will be highlighted by a keynote address from Major League Baseball’s Official Historian John Thorn, along with a panel discussion on National League president William Hulbert with Jack Bales, Richard Hershberger, Bill Lamb, and moderator Bill Ryczek; a special presentation by David Block on “Baseball’s Origins: A Progress Report”; a Member Spotlight interview of Tom Gilbert by Bob Bailey; plus book signings, research presentations, and a welcome dinner.

For more information, or to register, visit SABR.org/ivor-campbell19c.


Friends of SABR for February 2020

Thanks to all of our supporters for helping SABR fulfill its mission! Here is a list of SABR supporters for the month of February 2020:

     
D. Bruce Brown   Chris Petroff
Ken Carrano   Mike Phillips
John Carvalho   Michael Rosenwasser
Peter Coolbaugh   Charles Roussel
David Curtoys   Bob Russon
Richard Dempsey   Gary Sarnoff
Mark Dugo   Robert Sawyer
Thomas Dunn   Douglas Schoppert
Diane Firstman   John Smith
F.X. Flinn   Thomas Stone
Adam Foldes   Wesley Story
Leslie Heaphy   Joseph Thompson
Rockwell Hoffman   John Thorn
David Hughes   Thomas Tomsick
Thomas Jennings   Neal Traven
Thomas Lee   Clayton Trutor
Daniel Levitt   Thomas Tuttle
Dennis Link   Robert Weintraub
Richard Marzulli   Steve West
William Nowlin   Jeffrey Wood
Dave Ogden   Don Zminda
Gregg Pericich    

 

Want to become a Friend of SABR? Click here to make a recurring monthly contribution or click here to learn more about our Giving Circles to make a one-time contribution.


SABRcast with Rob Neyer: Listen to an interview with baseball original Rob Nelson

Rob NelsonListen to a new episode of SABRcast with Rob Neyer, a new weekly podcast hosted by award-winning author and longtime SABR member Rob Neyer.

Visit SABR.org/sabrcast to listen to Episode #49 — our guest this week is Rob Nelson, a baseball original. He is most famous for co-inventing Big League Chew bubble gum with Jim Bouton when they were teammates with the minor-league Portland Mavericks (of Battered Bastards of Baseball fame) in the 1970s.

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.


4 new SABR biographies published

Dan ArdellFour new biographies were posted this week as part of the SABR Baseball Biography Project, which brings us to a total of 5,102 published biographies. Here are the new bios published this week:

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


13 new stories published by the SABR Games Project

Albert PujolsThirteen 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.

  • 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.
  • Read all stories from Wrigley Field greatest games book online: In Wrigley Field: The Friendly Confines at Clark and Addison, edited by Gregory H. Wolf and published in 2019, we delivered an ode to that storied ballpark, evoking its history through detailed retellings of 100 games played there, including not only historic triumphs and defeats of the Chicago Cubs (and the Federal League Whales), but also Negro Leagues matchups, youth championships, and even games by the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. You can read all of the game stories from our Wrigley Field book online now at the SABR Games Project. Click here to download your free Wrigley Field e-book or get 50% off the paperback edition at SABR.org.

 


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 for the Hot Stove offseason at a new time! Listen to a new episode at 4:00-5:00 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. 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.


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
Andrew Aronstein Peekskill, NY     Bill Franciscus Bethel Park, PA
Mike Blanco State College, PA     Andrew Hutchinson Prairie Grove, AR
Tom Brett Charlottesville, VA     Joseph Lyman Emeryville, CA
A.J. Carter Commack, NY     Jerry Mefford Buford, GA
Mike Dickerman Littleton, NH     Jeremy Scott Crittenden, KY
Rob DiPietro Belford, NJ     Patrick Sullivan Atlanta, GA
Stacey Flores Phoenix, AZ     Tracey Tiburcio de Cuesta La Romana, DOM
Alec Francen Atlanta, GA     Ron West Little Rock, AR

 


Research Committee news

Here are the 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.

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Originally published: March 6, 2020. Last Updated: June 17, 2020.