SABR BioProject: June 2022 newsletter
High and Inside
The Newsletter of the BioProject Committee
Society for American Baseball Research (SABR)
June 2022
Editor: Andrea Long
From Co-Directors, Rory Costello and Gregory H. Wolf
BioProject Tags: a call for suggestions
Published stories on the BioProject have various tags, i.e., links that bring you to pages for all players in a category. These categories include Birthplace, Demographic, Achievements, Awards and Honors, Book Projects, and All-Stars (by decade).
The Demographics category is a loose aggregation that includes sub-categories such as Black Sox Scandal, One-Gamers, Executives, and Scouts. Gregory and Rory have suggested to Jacob Pomrenke that another broad category could be broken out: Other Distinctions. This could enable more accurate classification.
Jacob responded that the Demographics category could alternately be renamed to something broader – in practice, we’re already using it now as an “other distinctions” category anyway.
As for which new category pages to consider creating, Jacob thinks at least some of the criteria should be:
1) Interest: Are a significant number of people searching online for this grouping of players? Does the category name stand on its own? Or does the list need further explanation/context (e.g., a list of pitchers who threw a Golden Pitch)?
2) Marketability: Does this grouping of players get mentioned in current events (i.e., would we have opportunities to promote the page when a new player gets added to the group)? Or when the topic comes up in the news?
3) Scope: What are the lower/upper limits of how many players could be included on this page? Fewer than 20, and the group may not have enough significance to create a page. More than 100, and users might be better served to search rather than to browse.
4) Inclusiveness: Is this a category in which we could seamlessly include Negro Leaguers and/or other players outside of the NL and AL that might qualify? For example, it’s eye-opening and educational to have a page for 1940s All-Stars or Batting Champions where Joe Cronin and George Crowe are listed right next to each other.
If and when we do decide on new categories to create, and then take the time to populate them in WordPress (the platform on which the BioProject stories are published), the subject should either fill a void we don’t currently have elsewhere on the website – or that we expect a significant number of people will want to visit, search for, or browse through.
Update on Submission Window and Cap Policy
As of this writing, the BioProject submission window is once again temporarily closed. However, it had remained open from April 10 through June 5 – an indication that the process has been working as intended thanks to the efforts of the review team. The closures have been relatively brief, again because stories have in general been moving through the pipeline at a good pace. The end of the current closure is in sight.
Gregory and Rory will continue to monitor developments with an eye toward possible adjustments in the policy. Potentially raising the cap might be one, but we don’t deem that necessary at this time.
Authors and reviewers may continue to monitor what’s in the pipeline by means of the BioProject signboard on Trello. A flag in the leftmost column of the board shows whether the window is open.
The auto-reply message from the submission e-mail address, biosubmit@sabr.org, will also let you know whether the window is open.
The BioProject on Social Media
Guess who learned how to make QR codes!
 |
 |
Our social media platforms are a great way to connect with fellow SABR members and researchers! Not sure how? See those two icons below—that friendly “f” and the cute little bird? Yeah, those! You can scan the QR codes or click on them to follow the BioProject on Facebook and Twitter. See? It’s really that easy!
On Facebook, where we’re over 3,600 members strong, various people frequently post informative notes on bios. On Twitter, Gregory H. Wolf tweets on behalf of the BioProject to more than 18,700 followers. We’ve had over 5 million impressions and more than 20,000 profile visits generated. That means 20,000+ people clicked on the BioProject website. Twitter is by far our best advertising!
Update on BioProject Submissions
The BioProject recently hit a milestone with our 6,000th biography! Since the April 2021 newsletter (the last one in which we gave an update), we’ve posted 337 new bios online, including 14 by first-time authors.
Project Team
- Rory Costello (Co-Director, Chief Editor)
- Gregory H. Wolf (Co-Director)
- Len Levin (Senior Editor)
- Alan Cohen (Chief Fact Checker)
- Bill Nowlin (Team Projects & Assignments)