This Week in SABR: September 14, 2018

/in /by

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 September 14, 2018:

SABR Digital Library: Met-rospectives: A Collection of the Greatest Games in New York Mets History

New York Mets fans can soak in some Amazin’ memories with the newest book from the SABR Digital Library:

Met-rospectives: A Collection of the Greatest Games in New York Mets History
Edited by Brian Wright and Bill Nowlin
Associate Editors: Len Levin and Carl Riechers
ISBN (paperback): 978-1-943816-87-3, $14.95
ISBN (e-book): 978-1-943816-86-6, $9.99
139 pages, 8.5″ x 11″

The Mets are a team known for warming hearts one day and breaking them the next. Nothing has ever come easy for the National League’s third franchise in New York. Even the miraculous championship year of 1969 didn’t occur without seven preceding years of futility. And in the dominant 1986 regular season, the road to an expected World Series title didn’t happen without gut-wrenching, precipice-of-defeat dramatics in the playoffs.

There have been fair measures of wondrous and woeful in the franchise’s history, but this book’s 57 game summaries — coinciding with the number of Mets years through 2018 — are strictly for the eternal optimist. All, with the exception of one valiant defeat, end in triumph for the orange and blue. The selection process for these games involved various criteria including the time in the season, the dramatic level, and the impact in shaping franchise history.

The games are recounted here thanks to the combined efforts of 32 SABR members. They run the gamut of the team’s lifespan, beginning with its very first victory in April 1962 at Forbes Field, running through Tom Seaver’s “Imperfect Game” in July ’69 and the unforgettable Game Sixes in October ’86, the “Grand Slam Single” in the 1999 NLCS, then concluding with extra-inning heroics in September 2016 at Citi Field that helped ensure a wild-card berth.

Contributors include: Thomas J. Brown Jr., Frederick C. “Rick” Bush, Alan Cohen, Rory Costello, Tom Cuggino, Richard A. Cuicchi, Brian M. Frank, Irv Goldfarb, Paul Hofmann, Michael Huber, Tara Krieger, Kevin Larkin, Seth Moland-Kovash, Alan Raylesberg, David Rickard, Joel Rippel, Joe Schuster, Matthew Silverman, Bruce Slutsky, Mark S. Sternman, Tony Valley, Cosme Vivanco, Joseph Wancho, Bob Webster, Steven C. Weiner, Brian Wright, Mike Wuest, and Jack Zerby.

SABR members, get this e-book for FREE!

SABR members will get discounted rates for all Digital Library publications, including many for free. Find all past titles in our collection at SABR.org/ebooks.

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.

Early registration now open for 2018 SABR Arizona Fall League Experience

We hope you’ll join us for the 10th annual SABR Arizona Fall League Experience, which will be held Thursday, November 1 to Saturday, November 3, 2018.

The event will feature four AFL games showcasing baseball’s top prospects. On Friday night, we’ll come together for a special poolside taco bar dinner at our host hotel, The Saguaro, just steps away from Scottsdale Stadium and many Old Town Scottsdale attractions. On Saturday morning after our conference breakfast, attendees will join members of SABR’s Hemond-Delhi Arizona Chapter for their regional fall meeting with research presentations and guest speakers. We’ll conclude the conference with the nationally televised Fall Stars Game on Saturday evening at Surprise Stadium. All of this is included in one low registration price.

  • Register now by clicking here! Registration is $199 for all SABR members and guests before October 12, 2018; $239 afterward.
  • Host hotel: SABR’s recommended hotel is The Saguaro (4000 North Drinkwater Blvd., Scottsdale, AZ 85251) in Old Town Scottsdale. Click here to book your room online or call the hotel at (480) 470-8247 and mention “SABR” to book your room at our special group rate of $129/night (plus tax).
  • Schedule: Visit SABR.org/AFL for the detailed schedule

Your registration fee includes four game tickets; an AFL Media Guide; the poolside taco bar dinner on Friday and the conference breakfast on Saturday; and transportation to and from all events.

Note: Local or visiting SABR members can purchase extra or optional tickets to the Friday evening poolside taco bar dinner ($45) at The Saguaro, the Saturday morning breakfast at The Saguaro ($25), or any of the ballgames, including the Fall Stars Game at Surprise Stadium ($7 apiece). Extra AFL Media Guides ($12) are also available for purchase while supplies last. Please contact Deb Jayne at djayne@sabr.org for details.

The 2018 team rosters were released last week and MLB’s No. 1 prospect, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. of the Toronto Blue Jays, leads a star-studded cast this season in the AFL.

The annual conference, hosted by SABR’s Arizona Hemond-Delhi Chapter, is held in conjunction with the Arizona Fall League (mlbfallball.com), baseball’s premier player development league. In the first nine years of the conference, attendees have been treated to sneak peeks at MLB stars like Mike Trout, Bryce Harper, Buster Posey, Stephen Strasburg, Nolan Arenado, Gerrit Cole, Gary Sanchez, and Ronald Acuña Jr. before they hit the big leagues.

All baseball fans are welcome to attend the SABR Arizona Fall League Experience. Visit SABR.org/AFL for photos and highlights from past conferences.

Seeking nominations for 2019 SABR Analytics Conference Research Awards

What are the best baseball analytics articles you’ve read in 2018?

We’re now seeking nominations for the 2019 SABR Analytics Conference Research Awards, which recognize baseball researchers who have completed the best work of original analysis or commentary during the preceding calendar year.

Please send all nominations via e-mail to this address: 2019-analytics-awards@sabr.org no later than December 31, 2018. Include author, title, date of publication and a URL link (if applicable).

Voting for the winners will be conducted online in January-February 2019 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 eighth annual SABR Analytics Conference, March 8-10, 2019, at the Hyatt Regency Phoenix in Phoenix, Arizona. Learn more at SABR.org/analytics.

Call for papers: 2019 SABR Ivor-Campbell 19th Century Base Ball Conference

All SABR members are invited and encouraged to submit a Research Presentation Proposal Abstract on any topic of 19th-century baseball for the 2019 Frederick Ivor-Campbell 19th Century Base Ball Conference at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. The 11th annual Ivor-Campbell Conference is scheduled for April 26-27, 2019.

The deadline for proposal Abstracts is October 31, 2018. Your abstract must be between 200-400 words for a 20- to 25-minute presentation. Please include name, title, and contact information and send your proposal as a Microsoft Word or PDF attachment to Peter Mancuso at peterplus4@earthlink.net.

Click here for complete details and submission criteria at SABR.org.

To learn more about the Ivor-Campbell Conference, visit SABR.org/ivor-campbell19c.

Join us for the 2018 SABR Cleveland 19th Century Baseball Interdisciplinary Symposium

Join us for the SABR Cleveland 19th Century Baseball Interdisciplinary Symposium, which will take place on Saturday, November 10, 2018, from 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. at the majestic Main Branch of the Cleveland Public Library in the heart of downtown Cleveland.

The day-long Saturday symposium will be devoted to 19th-century baseball as it was played and evolved in Cleveland and its greater region of northeastern Ohio. A keynote luncheon address of interdisciplinary history by David Goldberg, Professor of History at Cleveland State University, will provide a look at late 19th-century Cleveland with a particular understanding of one of that city’s most important and powerful forces, its transportation system. In addition to the on-site luncheon, there will be both an early morning and mid-afternoon coffee and refreshments service.

Other speakers are expected to include John Thorn, MLB’s Official Historian; John Skrtic, Director of Public Services, CPL; Jeremy Feador, Cleveland Indians, Historian & Curator; and four SABR researchers and authors with specific focus on elements of 19th-century Cleveland area baseball: David Fleitz, Joseph Wancho, Ken Krsolovic, and Bryan Fritz. Click here to download a complete schedule (PDF).

We hope to see you there!

Scott Bush begins as SABR Chief Executive Officer on October 1

The SABR Board of Directors is pleased to announce the hiring of Scott Bush as the organization’s Chief Executive Officer. Bush comes to SABR after serving as the Senior Vice President for Business Development with the Goldklang Group, a premier baseball ownership group that operates both independent clubs and MLB affiliates.

Since graduating from the University of Minnesota, Bush has held positions with increasing responsibilities in both sports and media, including a five-year stint as Assistant General Manager for the St. Paul Saints, where he played a key role in establishing CHS Field in St. Paul, Minnesota. His demonstrated commitment to creativity and his established track record of generating revenue, cultivating new markets, and collaborating with a wide range of stakeholders make Bush an ideal fit for the next stage of SABR’s evolution within the baseball ecosystem.

“I’m excited to build on SABR’s great foundation, expand its relationships within the baseball industry, and explore new media channels for the great content produced by our devoted group of baseball lovers,” Bush said. “I will also look for ways that regional chapters can engage their local communities to help cultivate new baseball fans and, ultimately, new members. Having been fortunate enough to build a career around the game of baseball, I am honored to be responsible for the direction of SABR.”

Bush will begin in his role on October 1 and be based at the SABR headquarters in Phoenix, Arizona.

Register now for 2018 Southern Negro League Baseball Conference in Birmingham

SABR’s Rickwood Field Chapter is joining with the Center for Negro Baseball Research, the Southern Negro League Baseball Museum, and Friends of Rickwood to host the inaugural Southern Negro League Baseball Conference on October 4-6, 2018, at Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Alabama.

This conference is dedicated to the preservation of the history of Southern Negro League Baseball, and the history of Negro Leagues players from the South. Download the registration form for full details and schedule.

This year’s conference’s theme will be the final Negro League World Series in 1948, including a visit with Rev. Bill Greason, who played for the Birmingham Black Barons in that series 70 years ago. Please consider attending and sharing your commitment to keeping alive the rich history of Southern Negro League Baseball.

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

San Diego SABR faithful honor ‘The Kid’ Ted Williams at recent meeting

On the last Thursday of August, about 50 people assembled at the Central Library’s Sullivan Family Baseball Research Center in San Diego to mark the 100th anniversary of the birth of Ted Williams.

The celebration was thrown by the San Diego chapter of the Society for American Baseball Research — which is named for Williams — and hosted by chapter secretary Tom Larwin. Larwin noted in his opening remarks that Williams’ actual birthdate may well have been Aug. 20, 21 or 30, as all three dates appeared on his birth certificate in varying states of cross-outs and scribble-ins.

Whichever day the Splendid Splinter entered the world, he made his impact first in San Diego. Three of the five speakers Larwin introduced dealt at least in part with Williams’ days with the Pacific Coast League’s Padres, from 1936 -1937.

Click here to read the full article at MLBlogs.com.

— Josh Jackson

Bob Tholkes provides massive update to Protoball early baseball games database

SABR member Bob Tholkes has provided to Protoball.org his impressive new database, the “Registry of Interclub Matches” (RIM), which comprises more than 5,000 interclub baseball matches from 1845-1865.

This represents a major addition to Protoball’s pre-professional database, which began with Craig Waff’s contribution of about 2,300 of the earliest modern games and increased with the SABR Origins Committee’s “Spread of Base Ball” project, many of which were unearthed by Bruce Allardice, and Peter Morris’ fine tomes on Base Ball Pioneers and Base Ball Founders.

Tholkes’ files contain about 250 additional games from 1845-1857, and about 4,900 other matches from 1858-1865. He also supplies a key and introduction, and a list of sources where game accounts can be accessed. Dave Anderson is now setting forth to integrate these games into Protoball’s pre-professional database, but if you want to scan or download the RIM Excel file at this point, visit Protoball.org/Bob_Tholkes%27_RIM_Tabulation.

The Protoball Project was established to help researchers and writers locate and refine primary data on the evolution and spread of ball play from ancient times to up to 1870, just before the first professional baseball league began. For more information, visit Protoball.org.

— Larry McCray

1 new SABR biography published

One new biography was posted this week as part of the SABR Baseball Biography Project, which brings us to a total of 4,625 published biographies. Here are the new bios published this week: 

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

1948 Negro League World Series player bios now posted online

In Bittersweet Goodbye: The Black Barons, the Grays, and the 1948 Negro League World Series (SABR, 2017), edited by Frederick C. “Rick” Bush and Bill Nowlin, we focused on the end of an era in black baseball.

All of the biographies that appeared in Bittersweet Goodbye are now available to read online at the SABR BioProject:

SABR.org/category/completed-book-projects/1948-negro-league-world-series

This book was inspired by the last Negro League World Series ever played and presents biographies of the players on the two contending teams in 1948 — including Piper Davis, Nat Pollard, and Artie Wilson of the Birmingham Black Barons and Buck Leonard, Luke Easter, and Sam Bankhead of the Homestead Grays — as well as the managers, owners (including Tom Hayes of the Black Barons and Hall of Famer Cumberland Posey of the Grays), and articles on the ballparks the teams called home, Rickwood Field and Griffith Stadium.  

Also included are articles that recap the season’s two East-West All-Star Games, the Negro National League and Negro American League playoff series, and the World Series itself. Additional context is provided in essays about the effects of Organized Baseball’s integration on the Negro Leagues, the exodus of Negro League players to Canada, and the signing away of top Negro League players — specifically Willie Mays of the Black Barons.

SABR members, click here to download the e-book edition for free or get a 50% discount off the paperback edition.

3 new stories published by the SABR Games Project

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

In addition, these stories from Dome Sweet Dome: History and Highlights from 35 Years of the Houston Astrodome (SABR, 2017), edited by Gregory H. Wolf, were also posted online this week:   

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 stories from Boston’s First Nine book at the SABR Games Project

In Boston’s First Nine: The 1871-75 Boston Red Stockings (SABR, 2016), edited by Bob LeMoine and Bill Nowlin, we looked at the most dominant team in the old National Association, considered by many to be baseball’s first major league. In this five-year period, the Red Stockings won four pennants and were led by five future Hall of Famers, including player-manager Harry Wright, his talented brother and shortstop George Wright, pitcher Albert Spalding, barehanded catcher James “Deacon” White, and first baseman “Orator” Jim O’Rourke.

You can now read about the Red Stockings’ most memorable moments on the field with new stories from this book posted online.

Click here to read articles from Boston’s First Nine at the SABR Games Project.

SABR members can click here to download the e-book edition of Boston’s First Nine for free or get 50% off the paperback at SABR.org.

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 guests are SABR members David Laurila of FanGraphs and Tyler Kepner of the New York Times.

You can 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
Evin Casey Valley City, ND     Bob Joyce Kingwood, TX
Jack Chiaramonte New City, NY     Neel Mehta San Francisco, CA
Robert Erb Plandome, IL     Preston Salisbury Starkville, MS
Justin Ford Pine, CO     Randy Scarbrough Paris, TN
Ben Greenspan New York, NY     Kevin Vigallon Pleasanton, CA

 

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.)

 

Follow us:

Contact us:

More info:

 


Originally published: September 14, 2018. Last Updated: April 3, 2020.

Support SABR today!

Donate Join

Cronkite School at ASU
555 N. Central Ave. #406-C
Phoenix, AZ 85004
Phone: 602-496-1460

About

History

Meet the Staff

Board of Directors

Annual Reports

Diversity Statement

Contact SABR

DONATE

© SABR. All Rights Reserved