Welcome to “This Week in SABR” on Friday, February 7, 2025.
Click here to view this newsletter on the web.

SABR Analytics: MLB Statcast and Baseball Analysts panel
Texas League panel added to SABR 53 speakers lineup
ProQuest US newspapers added to SABR Research Resources
In Memoriam: Fay Vincent
Check out SABR Day videos, photos, and highlights
SABR Scholar Session with Dan Evans on February 10

2025 SABR Analytics Conference: MLB Statcast and Baseball Analysts panel

We’re just over one month away from the SABR Analytics Conference on March 14-16, 2025, in Phoenix, Arizona! Sign up today to hear our panels on MLB Statcast Updates and The Evolution of Baseball Analysts. Our featured speakers and panelists will include:

• Mike Petriello, Stats Analyst, Major League Baseball
• Jason Bernard, Senior Manager, Baseball Research & Development, Major League Baseball
• Kyle Boddy, Founder, Driveline Baseball
• Alex Caravan, Data Science Manager, Penn Interactive
• Will Carroll, Under the Knife columnist

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

• Registration: Click here to register for the 2025 SABR Analytics Conference. Early-bird registration is $395 for SABR members, $495 for non-members, and $150 for currently enrolled high school or college students. The deadline for early registration discounts is February 21, 2025. Student-only virtual registration is $50. Students should email Scott Carter with a photo of their student ID to receive the discounted registration link.
  
• Student Registration: Students should email Scott Carter with a photo of their student ID to receive a special link to register at a discounted rate. Students have the option of choosing virtual ($50) or in-person ($150) registration. Both include access to General Session panels and presentations on Friday, March 14 through Sunday, March 16, and a student-only virtual session on Thursday, March 13. All student registrations also include a one-year SABR membership ($25 value) and a complimentary Rapsodo certification course ($395 value). SABR membership will be fulfilled after event sign-up and access to Rapsodo course will be delivered after the conference.
• Diamond Dollars Case Competition: Click here to register your team for the 2025 Diamond Dollars Case Competition. Registration is $1,750 per team, which includes admission to all SABR Analytics Conference sessions and a one-year SABR membership for each participant.
• Certification Courses: The first three courses in the online, on-demand SABR Analytics Certification program, including the newest offering Level Three – Introduction to Baseball Programming, are available now. Click here to learn more or to sign up.

Visit SABR.org/analytics to learn more or to register.

Vote now for Analytics Conference Research Award winners

Here’s your chance to vote for the 2025 SABR Analytics Conference Research Awards winners. The SABR Analytics Conference Research Awards 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 Internet Baseball Writers Association of America, and Sports Info Solutions.

• Click here to vote for the 2025 SABR Analytics Conference Research Awards

Voting for the winners will be conducted online through Friday, February 14 at SABR.org, BaseballProspectus.com, FanGraphs.com, and IBWAA.com. Results will be announced and presented at the SABR Analytics Conference, March 14-16, 2025, in Phoenix, Arizona.

SABR 53: Texas League panel added to speaker lineup

This summer, we’ll head to the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, on June 25-29, 2025, for the 53rd SABR convention. SABR 53 will feature a Texas-sized speaker lineup we know you’ll love, alongside an invigorated social experience emphasizing SABR’s ability to unite all of us in baseball fellowship.

Here are some of our featured speakers and panelists:

• Iván Rodríguez, Texas Rangers great and 2017 Baseball Hall of Fame inductee
• Bruce Bochy, Texas Rangers manager and four-time World Series champion
• Chris Young, Texas Rangers President of Baseball Operations
• Tom Schieffer, former Texas Rangers president
• Rob Matwick, Executive Vice President, Public Affairs, Texas Rangers
• Jack Hill, former Senior Vice President, Project Development, Texas Rangers
• James Beckett, founder and CEO of Beckett Media
• Tim Purpura, former Houston Astros general manager and Texas League president
• Bob Baillargeon, former Texas League player
• Rick Herrscher, former Texas League player
• Stay tuned for more speakers and panelists to be announced!

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

If you’ve never attended a SABR convention, this is the perfect year to join us and make new baseball friendships. If you’re a veteran attendee, we can’t wait for you to experience our spectacular convention experience. It will be an incredible week of baseball fellowship in the heart of Texas and we hope you’ll make plans to be part of it!

SABR 53: Early registration now open

Conference and hotel registration for SABR 53 is now available. Click here for complete details on SABR 53 Early-Bird Registration and optional sessions.

With the most affordable convention hotel rate in years, our host hotel at the Westin DFW Airport is conveniently located three miles away from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, with a free 24/7 hotel shuttle, and a short drive from Globe Life Field and many other area attractions. The Texas Rangers will host a weekend series against the Seattle Mariners during SABR 53.

• Registration: Click here for complete information on SABR 53 Early-Bird Registration and optional sessions. Or click here to register for SABR 53! Registration includes access to all panel discussions, research presentations, and committee meetings at the Westin DFW Airport, plus the Welcome Reception on Wednesday, Coffee Talks on Thursday/Friday, and Closing Ceremonies on Saturday. Please note: ALL registrations are a la carte in 2025. Attendees will need to select tickets for all optional events or merchandise they would like when they register.
  • SABR members: $285 before April 25; $315 regular rate
    
  • Non-members: $335 before April 25; $365 regular rate
• Hotel: The special SABR group rate at the Westin DFW Airport of $169/night plus tax (single/double occupancy) is only available to registered convention attendees. Please note: The cut-off date to book your room at the SABR group rate is May 30, 2025. The hotel offers a free 24/7 hotel shuttle to and from Dallas Fort-Worth International Airport; call 972-929-4500 to request the shuttle. Click here for more details on shuttle pickup locations. After you register for the SABR 53 convention, you will receive an e-mail confirmation with details on how to book your hotel room at the SABR group rate.
• Yoseloff Scholarship: Students, click here to learn more about a Yoseloff Scholarship to attend SABR 53 in Texas. The deadline to apply is April 11, 2025.

SABR 53: 1 week left to submit research presentation abstracts

SABR invites all members to present their research findings to their colleagues attending SABR 53, the annual convention on June 25-29, 2025, in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. 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.

Click here to submit abstracts for SABR 53

The submission deadline for SABR 53 abstracts is 11:59 p.m. PST on Sunday, February 16, 2025.

In addition, we seek volunteers who wish to participate in the blind review process (beginning in March) and/or on-site judging (at the convention in North Texas.) Those volunteers are also requested to apply by sending an email to convention-presentations@sabr.org.

Hundreds of ProQuest US newspapers added to SABR Research Resources

SABR members have enjoyed free online access to The Sporting News archives through Paper of Record, the Newspapers.com World Collection, and the Historical Black Newspapers Collection at ProQuest. This week, another important new archive has been added to our Research Resources as a benefit for all members.

The ProQuest Historical Newspapers: US Collection brings SABR’s archival offerings up to the present day with more than 600 publication titles from 35 states, including significant newspapers from major-league cities such as Atlanta, Cincinnati, Detroit, Minneapolis, New York, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, San Francisco, and Tampa/St. Petersburg.

• SABR members, log in to view the Research Resources page and start browsing the ProQuest Historical Newspapers: US Collection.

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

In Memoriam: Fay Vincent

In the introduction to his memoir, Fay Vincent wrote, “Baseball is in the public domain. The game is ours.”

A longtime SABR member who served as the eighth Commissioner of Baseball from 1989 to 1992, Francis T. Vincent Jr. spent his career and public life after baseball encouraging those in the game to live up to those words. Vincent died at the age of 86 on February 1 in Vero Beach, Florida. Vincent’s brief and turbulent tenure as Commissioner was marked by a variety of thorny issues, starting with the interruption of the 1989 World Series by the Loma Prieta earthquake that struck the San Francisco Bay area. He also contended with labor relations, expansion, TV superstations, and the banishment from baseball of Yankees owner George Steinbrenner and pitcher Steve Howe.

Vincent stayed involved with baseball after he left the Commissioner’s Office. He joined SABR in 2005 and became an invaluable supporter of the Jerry Malloy Negro League Conference and other programs over the next two decades. He also spent several years conducting videotaped interviews with scores of prominent baseball figures, including Marvin Miller, Buck O’Neil, Yogi Berra, Frank Robinson, and Larry Doby. Vincent’s oral history interviews — some of which he graciously allowed SABR to make available online in the SABR Oral History Collection — were the focus of his three books.

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

SABR Digital Library: From Bytown to the Big Leagues: 150 Years of America’s Pastime in Canada’s Capital

Add a new baseball book to your collection from the SABR Digital Library:

From Bytown to the Big Leagues: 150 Years of America’s Pastime in Canada’s Capital, Ottawa Baseball from 1865 to 2025
Edited by Steve Rennie and Bill Nowlin
Associate editors: Frank McDonald, Philippe Cousineau, and Carl Riechers
ISBN (ebook): 978-1-960819-32-1, $9.99
ISBN (paperback): 978-1-960819-33-8, $24.95
8.5″ x 11″, 168 pages

SABR members, get this e-book for FREE!

• E-book: Click here to download the e-book version of From Bytown to the Big Leagues for FREE from the SABR Store. Available in PDF, MOBI, EPUB/Kindle formats.
• Paperback: Get a 50% discount on the From Bytown to the Big Leagues paperback edition from the SABR Store ($15.95 includes shipping/tax; delivery via Amazon Kindle Direct can take up to 4-6 weeks.)

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

Check out SABR Day videos, photos, and highlights

More than 25 chapters gathered on Saturday, February 1 for our annual SABR Day celebration. SABR Day is a way for all baseball fans to come together, regardless of where they live, and talk about the game we all love.

SABR Day events included an All-Star lineup of guest speakers, including Andrew Golden of the Washington Post; FanGraphs founder Dave Appelman; Daniel Piazza of the Smithsonian National Postal Museum; Cleveland Guardians broadcaster Matt Underwood and Guardians Director of Amateur Scouting Ethan Purser; MLB team social media managers Remle Herzberg and Aaron Peralta; filmmaker Jon Leonoudakis; and many award-winning authors and presenters elsewhere.

Visit SABR.org/sabrday to view video replays, photos, stories, and other highlights from 2025 SABR Day events.

Join us on February 10 for a SABR Scholar Session with Dan Evans

All student and young professional members of SABR are invited to our next SABR Scholar Session, held virtually on Zoom at 8:00 p.m. EST on Monday, February 10.

Join host Tyrone Brooks, Senior Director, Front Office and Field Staff Diversity Pipeline Program at Major League Baseball, for our free quarterly virtual series created exclusively for SABR student and young professional members. This session’s guest will be Dan Evans, former Los Angeles Dodgers General Manager and a member of SABR’s Board of Directors.

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

Subscribe to the Baseball Research Journal in 2025

In 2025, all SABR members exclusively receive the Baseball Research Journal electronically twice a year. The Spring 2025 issue will be sent out in April. However, if you are interested in a paperback copy of BRJ for your personal library, we have rolled out a subscription option at a significantly discounted rate: $7 per issue for members, compared to $19.95 at retail.

• To subscribe and receive a printed edition of BRJ, visit SABR.org/subscribe
  (If you have any questions about your subscription, please email brjsubscribe@sabr.org.)

Click here for a short video on how to subscribe to printed copies of BRJ.

1 week left to apply for 2025 Local Grant applications

The SABR Local Grants program provides an opportunity for chapters, research committees, and chartered communities to apply for funding for their projects under SABR’s Four Pillars: Research, Scholarship, Preservation, and Future of the Game.

The deadline to apply has been extended and applications are now open until February 14, 2025. A Grants Review Board will review all submissions and respond with their final determination in February 2025.

Visit SABR.org/local-grants to learn more or to apply.

By-Laws change proposed for special election beginning on February 19

The SABR Board of Directors recommends adoption of a new bylaw intended to avoid conflicts of interest in board service in a special election that will begin on February 19, 2025.

More specifically, the change is intended to avoid situations where board members, whether intentionally or not, might have access to information that could be useful to another competing organization, or might be unable to deliberate in the best interests of SABR due to their relationship with another organization.

An online voting ballot will be sent out from tellers@sabr.org to all eligible SABR voters on February 19. The voting period will remain open until March 5.

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

Save the date! 2025 SABR/IWBC Women in Baseball Conference

Save the date! The seventh annual SABR/IWBC Women in Baseball Conference will be held virtually on September 19-21, 2025. All baseball fans are welcome to attend. Registration information and a call for presentation abstracts will be available soon at SABR.org.

This year’s conference — co-sponsored by SABR and the International Women’s Baseball Center and hosted by Rockford University — will be a virtual Zoom event that includes panel discussions, research presentations, and the presentation of the Dorothy Seymour Mills Lifetime Achievement Award.

Visit SABR.org/women-in-baseball-conference to learn more.

Find new updates to the SABR Research Collection below, including the Baseball Biography Project, Games Project, and Oral History Collection.

2 new stories published at SABR BioProject

• John Kerins, by Bill Lamb
• Hank Morgenweck, by Kurt Blumenau

Visit SABR.org/bioproject to learn more about the SABR Biography Project or to get involved.

7 new stories published at SABR Games Project

• May 31, 1927: Johnny Neun’s unassisted triple play preserves victory for Detroit Tigers, by Bill Marston
• August 26, 1939: Reds beat Dodgers in first televised game in ‘Comedy of Errors’, by Laura H. Peebles
• August 1, 1957: Sandy Koufax mows down Cubs while Gil Hodges belts NL-record 13th grand slam, by Gregory H. Wolf
• July 17, 1970: A protest, a replay, and a losing no-hitter for Tri-City Padres, by Kurt Blumenau
• July 19, 1996: Reds’ Dave Burba becomes first pitcher in the 1990s to homer in two straight starts, by Andrew Harner
• August 15, 2017: Red Sox turn their second triple play of the twenty-first century, by Bill Nowlin
• September 24, 2020: Boston’s Tzu-Wei Lin appears in only big-league game as a pitcher, by Bill Nowlin

Visit SABR.org/gamesproject to learn more about the SABR Games Project or to get involved.

When Minor League Baseball Almost Went Bust: 1946-1963
Edited by George Pawlush

Visit SABR.org to download the free e-book edition or save 50% off the paperback edition of all Digital Library books.

Here are some SABR headlines from recent weeks that we don’t want you to miss:

• Larry Gerlach’s Lion of the League wins 2025 SABR Seymour Medal
• Read SABR biographies of 2025 Baseball Hall of Fame inductees
• Register now for 2025 Ivor-Campbell 19th Century Conference
• Read articles from Fall 2024 Baseball Research Journal online
• In Memoriam: John Holway
• 2024 Rawlings Platinum Glove Award winners announced
• Call for papers: 2025 SABR Jerry Malloy Negro League Conference
• Browse the new, searchable SABR MLB Team Employee Database
• Save the date! SABR 53 will be in Dallas/Fort Worth in 2025
• Call for papers: Turnstyle: The SABR Journal of Baseball Arts
• Find complete collection of SABR-Rucker Archive baseball images online
• Historical Black Newspapers Collection added to SABR Research Resources
• Get a gift for baseball fan in your life with the SABR Store @ CafePress

Please give a warm welcome to all new SABR members who joined this week! View more Members-Only resources at members.sabr.org or click hereto download the Membership Handbook. Find contact information for any SABR member in the online Membership Directory.

Here is a list of SABR supporters for the month of January 2025.

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.

• Events Calendar: Find details of all upcoming SABR events.
• Video Replays: This week, we heard from Mike Acosta (“The Astrodome at 60”); Tim Virgilio (Signatures For Soldiers); Vanessa Ivy Rose(“Hall of Fame DNA: Turkey Stearnes”); Donna L. Halper (“Women in Baseball”); Justin Mckinney (“Billy Geer: Baseball’s Check Forger”); Rogelio Castillo and Chris Brown (Tigers Minor League Report); Howard Johnson (“Estimated Offensive Value”); J.B. Manheim and Lawrence Knorr (“Thomas Edison”); Thomas Van Hyning (The Caribbean Series); the Rice-Russell Nashville Chapter SABR Day meeting; and the Bay Area/Sacramento Chapter SABR Day meeting. Click here to view video replays of virtual SABR events.

Upcoming Virtual Meetings

• February 8: Talkin’ Baseball: Jerry Grillo (9:00 a.m. EST)
• February 8: Ike Brooks/Dominick Denaro: Black Baseball in Cleveland (10:00 a.m. EST)
• February 10: Elysian Fields (NJ) Chapter meeting with Jason Schwartz (7:00 p.m. EST)
• February 10: Ordinary Effort livestream with Chris Baker (8:00 p.m. EST)
• February 10: SABR Scholar Session: Dan Evans (8:00 p.m. EST)
• February 11: 19th Century Speaker Series: Jeff Orens (8:00 p.m. EST)
• February 12: Clyde Sukeforth (NH/ME) Chapter meeting with Frank Harte (7:00 p.m. EST)
• February 12: New SABR Member Experience Meeting (8:00 p.m. EST)
• February 13: Pee Wee Reese (KY) Chapter meeting with Mark Sheldon (7:00 p.m. EST)
• February 15: Pacific Northwest Chapter meeting (12:00 p.m. EST)

Upcoming In-Person Meetings

• February 8: Rocky Mountain Chapter SABR Day meeting (Denver, CO)
• February 8: Elysian Fields Chapter SABR Day meeting (Paterson, NJ)
• February 8: Baltimore Babe Ruth Chapter meeting (Baltimore, MD)
• February 9: Central Illinois Chapter SABR Day meeting (Bloomington, IL)
• February 15: Babe ‘n’ Bob Chapter Breakfast (Edgewater, MD)

To add your SABR event to our calendar listings, please contact Jacob Pomrenke.

• Baseball Cards: The Baseball Cards Committee is seeking nominations for the 2025 Jefferson Burdick Award. Click here to learn more or to submit a nomination.
• Games and Simulations: All SABR members are invited to participate in a Games and Simulations Committee daily or weekly transaction Rotisserie 5×5 league in 2025. Click here to learn more, including league rules and additional information.

Sign up for SABR research committee announcements at SABR.org/research/committees.

• Bob Davids Chapter: February 2025 newsletter (Washington, DC)
• Ken Keltner Badger State Chapter: February 2025 newsletter (Milwaukee, WI)
• Larry Dierker Chapter: February 2025 newsletter (Houston, TX)
• Rogers Hornsby Chapter: February 2025 newsletter (Austin, TX)
• Ted Williams Chapter: February 2025 newsletter (San Diego, CA)

Sign up for SABR chapter announcements at SABR.org/chapters.

Click here to learn more about SABR chartered communities.

Here are some recent articles published by and about SABR members:

• Claire Smith: Fay Vincent leaves a legacy of civility, respect, and triumphs on behalf of the underserved (Philadelphia Inquirer)
• Tyler Kepner: Fay Vincent’s final warning to MLB: ‘Gambling always leads to corruption’ (The Athletic)
• Clinton Yates: CC Sabathia: Hip-hop’s first Baseball Hall of Famer (Andscape)
• Matt Monagan: Negro Leagues royalty and a barnstorming star in Japan: The overlooked Rap Dixon (MLB.com)
• Eno Sarris: The baseball statistic that’s changing MLB — for better or worse (The Athletic)
• Sarah Langs: 10 players vying for record books in 2025 (MLB.com)
• Rob Mains: Who You Gonna Trust, PECOTA Or Your Lyin’ Eyes? (Baseball Prospectus)
• Jay Jaffe: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Enjoy Batting Average Again (FanGraphs)
• Jayson Stark: NFL is the parity league? MLB would like a word (The Athletic)
• Russell A. Carleton: Are You An Older Pitcher Looking For A Job? (Baseball Prospectus)
• Michael Baumann: Are the Pirates Wasting Their Incredible Young Starters? If So, How Much? (FanGraphs)
• Derrick Goold: How JJ Wetherholt preps for his 1st Cardinals spring, gets a quick reaction with new tech (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
• Grant Brisbee: Three Giants stats that are due for a negative regression and how they should prepare (The Athletic)
• David Laurila: George Lombard Jr. Is a Promising Prospect Growing Into His Game (FanGraphs)
• Manny Randhawa: What Dante Bichette’s life as a baseball dad has taught him (MLB.com)
• Paul Hoynes: Kenny Lofton joins forces with filmmaker to honor 1945 Negro League champs (Cleveland.com)
• Richard Cuicchi: Satchel Paige’s baseball travels included stops in New Orleans (Crescent City Sports)
• Joseph Falzata: Barnstorming baseball’s 1981 return to Erindale Campus (The Medium)
• Ally Roeker: Home is where the heart is for Judge Louis Schiff (Mitchell Hamline)
• Gary Mintz: Interview with author Chris Haft (New York Giants Preservation Society)
• Jeff Cohen/Len Aberman: Baseball and BBQ interview with Tom Hoffarth (Baseball and BBQ)
• Steve Dunn: Interview with Judge Robert Pratt (Pug, Fireball and Company)
• Jason Schwartz: Ten Baseball Cards to Visit Before You Die (SABR Landmarks)
• Glenn Renick: They’re Coming For Your Baseball Cards! (SABR Baseball Cards)
• Steve Shaw: How to Easily Address Outliers in Strat-O-Matic Baseball (SABR Games and Simulations)
• Joe Costa: World Series Time Machine: 1966 (SABR Games and Simulations)

Please note: Some articles may require a separate subscription to view online. SABR does not endorse, and is not responsible or liable for, any content that appears on a third-party website.

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. To find past editions of TWIS, click here.

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.

This email was sent to peter.hovis@gmail.com from the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR). If you wish to stop receiving email from us, you can simply remove yourself by clicking here to unsubscribe.

Mailing address: SABR, PO Box 1715, Milwaukee, WI 53201. Physical address: Cronkite School at ASU, 555 N. Central Ave. #406-C, Phoenix, AZ 85004. Website: SABR.org. Phone: 602-496-1460.