This Week in SABR: May 4, 2018

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 May 4, 2018:


SABR 48: Join us to hear from Pirates players and broadcasters in Media Panel, Player Panel

We are pleased to announce the Media Panel and Player Panel for the SABR 48 convention this summer in Pittsburgh. The conference is open to all baseball fans, and early registration is now available online. Click here to register!

The Media Panel, scheduled for 9:15 a.m. on Friday, June 22 at the Wyndham Grand hotel in downtown Pittsburgh, is expected to include:

  • Steve Blass, Pittsburgh Pirates color commentator and former major-league pitcher
  • Joe Block, Pittsburgh Pirates play-by-play announcer
  • Greg Brown, Pittsburgh Pirates play-by-play announcer
  • Lanny Frattare, the longest-tenured broadcaster in Pittsburgh Pirates history
  • Moderator: Curt Smith, author and baseball broadcasting historian

The Player Panel, scheduled for 9:15 a.m. on Saturday, June 23 at the Wyndham Grand hotel, is expected to include:

  • John Candelaria, former major-league pitcher and 1979 World Series champion
  • Grant Jackson, former major-league pitcher and 1979 World Series champion
  • More panelists TBA soon!
  • Moderator: Joe Block, Pittsburgh Pirates play-by-play announcer

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

Click here to learn more about SABR 48 speakers and panelists.

For more information on SABR 48, or to register, visit SABR.org/convention.


SABR 48: Research Presentations

Here is the list of research presentations for SABR 48, which will be held June 20-24, 2018, at the Wyndham Grand hotel in downtown Pittsburgh.

Full research abstracts and presenter bios will be posted online soon at SABR.org/convention.

  • John McMurray, “Why Didn’t Babe Ruth Ever Become a Major League Manager?”
  • David Wanczyk, “Baseball for the Blind, A Brief History”
  • Daniel R. Levitt, “From Deadball to Techball: The Evolution of Baseball Innovation”
  • Dr. Paul Scimonelli, “Roy Sievers: The Sweetest Right Handed Swing in 1950s Baseball”
  • John J. Burbridge Jr., “Ralph Kiner and Branch Rickey: Not a Happy Marriage”
  • Alan Cohen, “Not Just the Homestead Grays and Crawfords: Negro Baseball Exhibitions in Pittsburgh”
  • Aviva Kempner, John Thorn, and Bijan C. Bayne, “Collusion and Collision: Hank Greenberg in Pittsburgh in 1947”
  • Thomas E. Van Hyning, “Carlos Bernier: A Pittsburgh Pioneer 65 Years Ago”
  • Alan Nathan, “The Humidor and the Predictive Power of Physics”
  • Rich Puerzer, “The 1935 Negro National League Championship Series: The Pittsburgh Crawfords vs. the New York Cubans”
  • Ed Edmonds, “Injuries in the Stands: MLB Responds With Extended Netting”
  • Curt Smith, “Pittsburgh: Baseball’s Broadcast Cradle and Characters”
  • Rob Garratt, “Baseball Moves West”
  • Brian C. Engelhardt, “January 30, 1959: The Pirates Trade Whammy, Frank (and Others) for Smoky, Tiger, Kitten, and a Pennant”
  • Andy McCue, “Baseball Moves West: And Much Else Follows”
  • James Goldstein and Paul Sauer, “Determinants of Revenue Across Different Baseball Markets”
  • Robert C. Trumpbour, “Barney Dreyfuss and Engineering Forbes Field: Ahead of Its Time in 1909”
  • Noah Goodman, “Fast Money or Holding Out for More? Measuring the Opportunity Cost of Signing a Contract Extension and Buying Out Free Agent Years”
  • Chris Dial, “Gold Glove Awards in the Advanced Metric Age”
  • Paul Ember, “The Warhol Triple Play: Maris, Seaver & Rose”
  • Melissa (Missy) Booker, “Nunn-thing Is Impossible”
  • Joseph L. Price, “In Harmony: The National Anthem for the National Pastime”
  • Eliza Richardson Marone, “Will a 20-second pitch clock quicken the pace of play?”
  • Callie Batts Maddox, “Ty Cobb has nothing on her: Early twentieth century women’s collegiate baseball in Ohio”
  • David W. Smith, “Why do games take so long?”
  • Mike Bates, “Chris von der Ahe’s Pittsburgh Vacation”
  • Mark Armour, “Season-long Platoons”
  • Millard Fisher, “The Emerald Diamond: From Lizzie Murphy to Mike “King” Kelly: How the Irish Transformed America’s Greatest Pastime to Their Culture”
  • Todd Peterson, “Negro Leagues = Major Leagues”
  • Steve Steinberg, “The Forgotten Team in the 1908 NL Pennant Race: the Pittsburgh Pirates”
  • Mark Pankin, “Bobby Bragan in Pittsburgh: Sabermetrician Ahead of His Time?”
  • Dave Bohmer, “A 1961 Perspective of Frick’s 61* Ruling”

In addition, here is the list of poster presentations that will be on display during SABR 48 in Pittsburgh:

  • Ed Edmonds, “Roy Face’s Incredible 1959 Season”
  • Gordon Gattie, “On the Road Again … Pittsburgh’s Opening Games from 1893 through 1954”
  • Steven Glassman, “Dealing along the Pennsylvania Turnpike—A History of Transactions between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia”
  • Alan Cohen, “Never on a Sunday — the Saga of Attempts to Finally Bring Sunday Baseball to Pittsburgh in 1934”
  • Navneet Vishwanathan, “Predictive Models for MLB Arbitration Hearings”
  • Wayne M. Towers, “Measuring Relief Pitching in the Hall of Fame (HOF) Golden Days (1950-1969): HOF Hoyt Wilhelm and the Four “Lost Boys”: Roy Face, Lindy McDaniel, Ron Perranoski and Dick Radatz”
  • Choonghwan (Jason) Lee, “Predicting a Prospect’s Success in Majors”
  • Diane Firstman, “From Usenet Joke to Baseball Flashpoint: The Growth of ‘Three True Outcomes'”
  • Michael Dudkin, “Investigating Major League Baseball amateur draft patterns pertaining to climate”
  • Gregory H. Wolf, “Honus Wagner: A Footnote in the History of Pirates Skippers”
  • Chuck Hildebrandt, “Isn’t This Ever Going to End? Addressing Baseball’s Perceived Time Problem”
  • Curtis R. Sproul, “The relationship between team and player status”
  • Brendan Bingham, “Coco Laboy, Chris Cannizzaro, and more than a hundred other guys: The 1969 MLB expansion, focusing on players and their plate appearances”
  • J.R. Wildridge, “Analysis of Pirates’ Schedule from 1900 through 2018”
  • Tom Thress, “The 1960 World Series as Seen Through the Prism of Baseball Player Won-Lost Records”
  • John L. Williams, “The Tale of Three Teams: A content analysis of the narratives used to describe success and failure in a simulation baseball league”

For more information on SABR 48, or to register, visit SABR.org/convention.


SABR 48: Just two weeks left to register early for 2018 national convention in Pittsburgh

We hope you’ll join us for what promises to be a spectacular SABR 48 convention on June 20-24, 2018, at the Wyndham Grand Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 

Early registration is available now — but only through May 18 — at SABR.org/convention; all baseball fans are welcome to attend. Click here for more information on SABR 48 registration rates, all-inclusive packages, and optional sessions. Or click here to register for SABR 48.

The Wyndham Grand Pittsburgh is conveniently located within walking distance from PNC Park and a light rail station, many downtown cultural amenities, and right across the street from the picturesque 36-acre Point State Park where the three rivers converge.

Click on a link below for more information about SABR 48.

  • Registration: We’re again offering a special all-inclusive rate for the annual SABR convention. For $319, a savings of $30 off the regular rate, SABR members can get:
    — Full registration to SABR 48 in Pittsburgh (early-bird: $249; regular rate: $279)
    — 1 ticket in the Corner Box (LF) section to the Pirates vs. Diamondbacks game on Friday, June 22 — includes special “A Day at the Ballpark” pregame session at PNC Park ($40 value)
    — 1 ticket to the Awards Luncheon on Friday, June 22 ($60 value)
    Non-members can pay $394 for the all-inclusive rate. The deadline to register with the all-inclusive rate is Friday, May 18, 2018. Click here for complete information on SABR 48 registration rates, all-inclusive packages, and optional sessions. Or click here to register for SABR 48!
  • Hotel: Please note: Our SABR room block at the Wyndham Grand Pittsburgh is almost sold out! If you have trouble booking your room online, please contact Deb Jayne at djayne@sabr.org to be placed on a waiting list in case any rooms become available. The special SABR group rate of $149/night (plus tax) is only available to registered convention attendees for the nights of Wednesday, June 20 through Saturday, June 23.  The Wyndham Grand Pittsburgh is located at 600 Commonwealth Place, Pittsburgh, PA 15222.
  • Awards Luncheon: SABR will host a special Awards Luncheon on Friday, June 22 at the Wyndham Grand Pittsburgh. The Awards Luncheon, which includes a full meal, will feature the announcement of SABR’s annual awards — including the Bob Davids Award, our highest honor. One ticket to the Awards Luncheon is included in the all-inclusive package or guest tickets are available for $60 when you register for SABR 48.
  • A Day at the Ballpark: For the third year in a row and fourth time in five years, SABR will present “A Day at the Ballpark” before the Pittsburgh Pirates game against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday, June 22 at PNC Park. Special thanks to the Pirates for this great opportunity and for offering us a large block of tickets in the Corner Box (LF) section at an affordable price of $40 for SABR members ($45 for non-members). Purchase of SABR 48 conference registration AND a game ticket will be required to attend this special session. Guests and spouses can get in the ballpark early with purchase of a special SABR 48 Ballpark Session pass ($25) and a Pirates game ticket. Click here for more details.
  • Speakers: Click here to learn more about our featured speakers and panelists
  • Research presentations: Click here to learn more about our research presentations and poster presentations

All SABR 48 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 Pittsburgh area. All SABR members, whether you attend the convention or not, will receive the e-book edition of The National Pastime in their inboxes later this summer.

Stay tuned for more featured speakers and the complete schedule to be announced in the coming months. Visit SABR.org/convention to learn more.

We hope to see you this summer in Pittsburgh!


Spring 2018 Baseball Research Journal is on its way

Good news! The Spring 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 two to four weeks. For digital subscribers, the e-book edition was delivered on Thursday, May 3.

Click here to download the PDF, EPUB or Kindle/MOBI version of the Spring 2018 Baseball Research Journal, Vol. 47, No. 1, to your computer.

To purchase a copy of the print edition from Amazon.com, click here.

Articles from the Spring 2018 Baseball Research Journal will be available to read online soon at SABR.org/research.

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

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


Check out new articles at the SABR Games and Simulations Committee website

Are you interested in baseball games, from vintage table games to computer and video-game simulations? Then follow along with the SABR Games and Simulations Committee’s brand-new website, which launched last week at sabrbaseballgaming.com.

Led by committee co-chairs Richard Bergstrom and Joe Runde, the SABR Baseball Gaming site will include essays and articles on all sorts of baseball games — how they mirror baseball, how they effectively further our understanding of how the sport actually works, and how they influence our appreciation of its players, teams, and organizations.

You can also follow along with the Baseball Gaming committee on Twitter at @SABRbballgaming.

Check out the new articles posted this week:

The committee is also seeking contributions from any SABR members who wish to write about baseball games and simulations. If you are interested in learning more, please contact Richard Bergstrom at sabrbaseballgaming@gmail.com.


SABR Digital Library: Moments of Joy and Heartbreak: 66 Significant Episodes in the History of the Pittsburgh Pirates

As we gear up for the SABR 48 convention this summer in Pittsburgh, add this new baseball book from the SABR Digital Library to your collection:

Moments of Joy and Heartbreak: 66 Significant Episodes in the History of the Pittsburgh Pirates
Edited by Jorge Iber and Bill Nowlin
Associate Editors: Russ Lake and Len Levin
ISBN (paperback): 978-1-943816-73-6, $19.95
ISBN (e-book): 978-1-943816-72-9, $9.99

201 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!

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.

SABR members will get discounted rates for all Digital Library publications, including many for free. For a full list of SABR Digital Library titles, visit SABR.org/ebooks.


2 new SABR biographies published

Two new biographies were posted this week as part of the SABR Baseball Biography Project, which brings us to a total of 4,505 published biographies. Here are the new bios published this week:

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

  • Search for any SABR biography: You can now visit sabr.org/bioproj_search to search for any player — or manager, executive, scout, spouse, broadcaster, or umpire — who appears in the SABR BioProject. You can also browse all of these BioProject categories and a lot more, including 300-game winners, Hall of Famers, 1960s All-Stars, or Negro Leaguers, at our Browse page: sabr.org/bioproj/browse.
  • Read bios from SABR’s No-Hitters book: In SABR’s No-Hitters, edited by Bill Nowlin and published in 2017, we focused on pitchers who threw no-hitters and the no-hitters they threw. Naturally, we couldn’t present biographies of everyone who ever threw a no-hitter nor could we present Games Project accounts of all of them. From around 300 no-hitters thrown in the majors (out of over 213,000 games), we have selected 59 no-hitters to include, along with the biographies of the men who threw them. All of the biographies — from Hall of Famers such as Bob Feller, Sandy Koufax, and Randy Johnson to more obscure pitchers such as Larry Corcoran, Charlie Robertson, and Dallas Braden — that appeared in No-Hitters can now be read online at the SABR BioProject. More game summaries from the No-Hitters book will be posted at the SABR Games Project soon. You can also download the No-Hitters e-book for free or purchase the paperback edition at 50% off by clicking here.

8 new stories published by the SABR Games Project

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

Most of these articles appeared in When Pops Led the Family: The 1979 Pitttsburgh Pirates (SABR, 2016), edited by Bill Nowlin and Gregory H. Wolf. To read more game stories from this book at the SABR Games Project, click here.

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

If you have any questions about the Games Project, please contact Mike Huber. To request an assignment, please contact Steven C. Weiner. After the article has been completed in accordance with our Authors’ Guidelines, please submit it to Len Levin, who will initiate the editing process and get your story started toward publication.

  • 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 articles from SABR book on greatest games at Milwaukee’s County Stadium

In SABR’s From the Braves to the Brewers: Great Games and Exciting History at Milwaukee’s County Stadium, edited by Gregory H. Wolf and published in 2016, we told the stories of memorable moments from the heart of the Badger State. All of the stories that appeared in this book are now available to be read online at the SABR Games Project by clicking here.

Here is a sampling of articles from this book:

To read more articles from the SABR Games Project, visit SABR.org/GamesProject.


Listen to Behind the Numbers: Baseball SABR Style on SiriusXM on Sunday nights

Behind the Numbers: Baseball SABR Style on SiriusXM, a radio show hosted by SABR President Vince Gennaro, is back for the 2018 season at its regular time: 7:00-8:00 p.m. ET on Sundays, on MLB Network Radio.

This week’s guest is broadcaster and studio host Mike Ferrin of the Arizona Diamondbacks and MLB Network Radio.

You can listen to archives of recent episodes on-demand on the SiriusXM Internet Radio App, and you can watch video highlights of Behind the Numbers: Baseball SABR Style on SiriusXM on MLB.com. Click here to watch more video highlights of Baseball SABR Style from MLB.com.

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.


In Memoriam: J. Gordon Hylton

  • SABR member J. Gordon Hylton, 65, of Charlottesville, Virginia, died on May 2, 2018, of complications due to cancer treatment. He was a SABR member since 1986, a legal historian and professor at the University of Virginia Law School, and a prolific author of sports-related articles in many law review journals. His interests ranged from the origins of grievance arbitration in professional baseball to baseball cards and the right of publicity to why the city of Milwaukee lost the Braves. He was “a beloved instructor” celebrated for his teaching style for more than three decades at UVA, the Marquette University Law School, and the Chicago-Kent College of Law at the Illinois Institute of Technology. He majored in history and English literature as an undergraduate at Oberlin College before earning a master’s degree and law degree from UVA. He later earned a Ph.D. in the history of American civilization from Harvard University. He is survived by his four children. A funeral is planned for 2:00 p.m. Saturday, May 5 at the First United Methodist Church in Pearisburg, Virginia. Condolences can be sent to The Hylton Family, 1601 Concord Drive, Charlottesville, VA 22901. Click here to read more about his life.

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.

For more information, click here.


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
Jeff Brinkman Half Moon Bay, CA     Tyler Lorenzi San Jose, CA
Ryan Cafferty Kyle, TX     Michael McFarlane Shaker Heights, OH
John Falardeau Annandale, VA     Randy Napier Mansfield, TX
Wally Grotophorst Hamilton, VA     Armand Priore Park Ridge, NJ
Carter Hailey Lynchburg, VA     Kevin Salmon Chapel Hill, NC
Henry Henderson Evanston, IL     Curtis Sproul Statesboro, GA
Tae Hwa Hong Atlanta, GA     Nick Thompson Merrimack, NH
Samantha Janco Atlanta, GA     Brandon Thress Chicago, IL
Carson King Overland Park, KS     David Wanczyk Athens, OH

 


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

There are no 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: May 4, 2018. Last Updated: April 3, 2020.