Society for American Baseball Research

Society for American Baseball Research
Abbreviation	SABR
Formation	August 10, 1971; 52 years ago
Founder	Bob Davids
Founded at	Cooperstown, New York, U.S.
Headquarters	555 N Central Ave #416; Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.
Field	Baseball research
Membership (2022)	7,194
CEO	Scott Bush
President	Mark Armour
Website	sabr.org

The Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) is a membership organization dedicated to fostering the research and dissemination of the history and record of baseball, primarily through the use of statistics. The organization was founded in Cooperstown, New York, on August 10, 1971, at a meeting of 16 “statistorians” coordinated by sportswriter Bob Davids.^[2] The organization now reports a membership of over 7,500 and is based in Phoenix, Arizona.

Membership

While the acronym "SABR" was used to coin the word sabermetrics (for the use of sophisticated mathematical tools to analyze baseball), the Society is about much more than statistics. Well-known figures in the baseball world such as Bob Costas, Keith Olbermann, Craig R. Wright, and Rollie Hemond are members, along with highly regarded "sabermetricians" such as Bill James and Rob Neyer.

Among Major League Baseball players, Jeff Bajenaru was believed to have been (until 2006) the only active player with a SABR membership; Elden Auker, Larry Dierker, and Andy Seminick also have been involved.

Some prominent SABR members include:

Bob Davids, founder (deceased)
Bob McConnell, Home Run Log (deceased)
Bill James, analyst, writer
David Lander, actor (Laverne & Shirley), baseball scout (deceased)
Larry Lester, Negro Leagues Committee
Stan Musial, Hall of Famer for the St. Louis Cardinals (deceased)
David Neft, writer, historian, encyclopedist
David Nemec, prolific writer
Rob Neyer, analyst, journalist
Pete Palmer, analyst, encyclopedist
Dave Smith, analyst, Retrosheet founder
John Thorn, historian, encyclopedist
Robert L. Tiemann, historian
Monte Irvin, Hall of Famer and former Negro Leagues star (deceased)
David W. Vincent, Home Run Log (deceased)
Larry Dierker, former Major League All-Star pitcher

Activities

Only a minority of members pursue "number crunching" research. Rather, the SABR community is organized both by interest and geography:

Research Committees study a particular issue
Regional Chapters link members by proximity. The latter are frequently named after baseball personalities relevant to their region.

SABR members keep in touch through online directories and electronic mailing lists set up through the SABR headquarters. The headquarters also maintains a number of research tools on its website, including a lending library, home run and triple play logs, and course syllabi related to the game.

SABR holds annual conventions in a different city each year. The conference generally includes panel discussions, research presentations, city-specific tourism, a ballgame, and an awards banquet. The 2007 convention in St. Louis, Missouri, set the attendance record with 726 registered attendees out of approximately 7,000 SABR members.^[3] The organization also hosts an annual baseball analytics conference in Phoenix and a Negro Leagues conference, which is held in a different location each year.^[4]^[5]

Projects and collections

Biography Project, with members authoring well-researched and engaging biographies of a growing list of former big league ballplayers and other notable contributors to the game.^[6]
Games Project, where members research, write, and publish accounts of the major league regular season, postseason, and All-Star Games, including Negro Leagues games, along with other games of historical significance such as in the minor leagues or international or exhibition contests.^[7]
Oral History Collection, a collection of interviews conducted with ballplayers, executives, scouts, authors, writers, broadcasters, and other figures of historical baseball significance.^[8]
SABR-Rucker Archive, an extensive collection of baseball photographs which contain nearly 80,000 images dating from the 19th century to modern-day baseball.^[9]

Publications

The Baseball Research Journal (BRJ) is SABR's flagship publication since 1972 for members to publish and share their research with like-minded students of baseball. The National Pastime is an annual, published from 1982 to 2008 as The National Pastime: A Review of Baseball History, when it was intended as a more literary outlet than the stats oriented BRJ; since 2009 it is a convention-focused journal, with articles about the geographic region where the convention is taking place that year.^[10] Other Society publications are an increasing variety of books (since 1976) and ebooks (since 2011);^[11] 8–10 new e-books published annually are all free to members.^[12]

Awards

SABR annual awards include:

Bob Davids^[13] Award: for exceptional SABR members who have made contributions to SABR and baseball that reflect ingenuity, integrity, and self-sacrifice. It is SABR's highest honor, and was established in 1985.^[14]
Henry Chadwick Award: for baseball researchers—historians, statisticians, annalists, and archivists.^[15]^[16]^[17]
Seymour^[18] Medal: best book of baseball history or biography published during the preceding calendar year.^[19]^[20]^[21]^[22]^[23]^[24]
McFarland-SABR Baseball Research Award: for authors of the best articles on baseball history or biography completed during the preceding calendar year (published or unpublished).^[25]
Sporting News-SABR Baseball Research Award: for projects which do not fit the criteria for The Seymour Medal or the McFarland-SABR Award.
Jerry Malloy Book Prize: best book-length nonfiction manuscript submitted by a member of SABR.^[24]
Doug Pappas Research Award: best oral research presentation at the Annual Convention.
Lee Allen Award: for the best baseball research project at the annual National History Day competition.
Jack Kavanagh Memorial Youth Baseball Research Award: research paper by a researcher in grades 6–8 (middle school category), grades 9–12 (high school category), or undergraduates 22 and under (College Category).

In 2013, SABR began collaborating with Rawlings on the Gold Glove Award.^[26] Rawlings changed the voting process to incorporate SABR Defensive Index, a sabermetric component provided by SABR, which accounts for approximately 25 percent of the vote for the defensive award.^[27]

Research committees

Asian Baseball
Ballparks
Baseball and the Arts
Baseball and the Media
Baseball Card History and Influence
Baseball Index Project
Baseball Records
Biographical Research
BioProject
Black Sox Scandal
Business of Baseball
Collegiate Baseball
Concessions
Deadball Era (1901–1919)
Educational Resources
Games and Simulation
Games Project
Latino Baseball
Minor Leagues
Negro Leagues
19th Century
Official Scoring
Oral History
Origins
Pictorial History
Retrosheet
Science and Baseball
Scouts
Spring training
Statistical Analysis
Umpires
Women in Baseball

Retrosheet is a research and archives organization independent of SABR which holds its annual meeting in conjunction with the society's annual convention.

Regional chapters

Allan Roth – Los Angeles
Auker–Seminick – Orlando, Florida
Bob Broeg – St. Louis, Missouri
Bob Davids^[13] – Washington, D.C. & Baltimore, Maryland
Bobby Thomson – Great Britain
SABRBoston – Boston, Massachusetts
Bresnahan–Mud Hens – Toledo, Ohio
Carolina – North Carolina
Casey Stengel – New York City
Central Illinois - Bloomington–Normal
Cliff Kachline – Cooperstown, New York
Connie Mack – Philadelphia
Dayton, Ohio
Don Lund – Ann Arbor, Michigan
Elysian Fields – Northern New Jersey
Emil Rothe – Chicago
Field of Dreams – Iowa
Flame Delhi – Phoenix, Arizona
Flip Valentini- Louisville
Forbes Field – Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Ford–Harrelson – Long Island, New York
Gardner-Waterman – Vermont
Hall-Ruggles – Dallas, Texas
Halsey Hall – Minnesota
Hank Gowdy- Columbus, Ohio
Hanlan's Point – Toronto
Hoyt–Allen – Cincinnati
Jack Graney – Cleveland, Ohio
Jesse Burkett – Worcester, Massachusetts
Jim O'Rourke – Bridgeport, Connecticut
Ken Keltner – Wisconsin
Lajoie–Start – Providence, Rhode Island
Larry Dierker – Houston, Texas
Leatherstocking – Cooperstown, New York
Lefty O'Doul – San Francisco, California
Lou Criger – South Bend, Indiana
Magnolia – Atlanta
Monarchs – Kansas City, Missouri
Montreal
NWSABR – Seattle, Washington
Orlando Cepeda – San Juan
Oscar Charleston – Indianapolis, Indiana
Pee Wee Reese – Louisville, Kentucky
Rabbit Maranville – Springfield, Massachusetts
Robinson–Kell – Little Rock, Arkansas
Rocky Mountain SABR – Denver, Colorado
Rogers Hornsby – Austin, Texas
Sacramento, California
Schott-Pelican – New Orleans, Louisiana
Seymour-Mills – Southwest Florida
Smoky Joe Wood – Connecticut
South Carolina
South Florida – Miami, Florida
Ted Williams – San Diego
Tennessee – Nashville, Tennessee
Tokyo
Wade Boggs – Tampa, Florida
Wally Pipp – Western Michigan
West Texas – Abilene, Texas
Luis Castro – Maracaibo, Venezuela
Mathewson-Plank – Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

Source: SABR Regional Chapters — Society for American Baseball Research

Past convention sites and keynote speakers

1971 Cooperstown, New York; none
1972 Washington, D.C.; Chuck Hinton
1973 Chicago; Bob Elson and Dave Malarcher
1974 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Fred Lieb, Gene Kelly, and Ted Page
1975 Boston, Massachusetts; Joe Dugan
1976 Chicago, Illinois; Lew Fonseca
1977 Columbus, Ohio; Johnny Bucha
1978 Paramus, New Jersey; Tony Lupien
1979 St. Louis, Missouri; Mike Shannon
1980 Los Angeles, California; Roy Smalley
1981 Toronto, Ontario; none
1982 Baltimore, Maryland; Sparky Anderson
1983 Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Hal Goodenough
1984 Providence, Rhode Island; Lou Gorman
1985 Oakland, California; Roy Eisenhardt
1986 Chicago, Illinois; Bill Gleason
1987 Washington, D.C.; John Steadman
1988 Minneapolis, Minnesota; Andy MacPhail
1989 Albany, New York; Bobby Brown
1990 Cleveland, Ohio; Sam McDowell
1991 New York City; Mel Allen
1992 St. Louis, Missouri; Bing Devine
1993 San Diego, California; Dick Williams
1994 Arlington, Texas; Robin Roberts
1995 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Chuck Tanner
1996 Kansas City, Missouri; Don Fehr
1997 Louisville, Kentucky; Jim Bunning
1998 San Mateo, California; Bill Rigney
1999 Scottsdale, Arizona; Tommy Henrich
2000 West Palm Beach, Florida; Elden Auker
2001 Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Bud Selig
2002 Boston, Massachusetts; Dom DiMaggio and Johnny Pesky
2003 Denver, Colorado; Jim Evans
2004 Cincinnati; Marvin Miller
2005 Toronto; Paul Godfrey
2006 Seattle; Jim Bouton
2007 St. Louis, Missouri; Joe Garagiola
2008 Cleveland, Ohio; Ron Shapiro
2009 Washington, D.C.; Josh Alkin (MLB lobbyist)
2010 Atlanta; John Schuerholz
2011 Long Beach, California; Scott Boras
2012 Minneapolis; John Thorn
2013 Philadelphia; Larry Bowa
2014 Houston; Larry Dierker
2015 Chicago; Ernie Banks/Minnie Miñoso tribute
2016 Miami, Florida; ballpark session with Barry Bonds, Don Mattingly, Andre Dawson, and Tony Perez
2017 New York City; ballpark session with Sandy Alderson, Tom Goodwin, Wayne Randazzo, Steve Gelbs, and Josh Lewin
2018 Pittsburgh; ballpark session with Clint Hurdle, Neal Huntington, Dan Fox, Joe Block, and Thomas E. Kennedy
2019 San Diego, California
2022 Baltimore, Maryland
2023 Chicago
2024 Minneapolis

Source: SABR Convention History – Society for American Baseball Research.

References

Notes

^ "Annual Report" (PDF). Society for American Baseball Research. June 15, 2022. Retrieved January 29, 2023.
^ Thompson, Dick; Hufford, Tom. "A History of SABR". SABR.org. Retrieved January 29, 2023.
^ "SABR Convention History - Society for American Baseball Research".
^ "SABR Analytics Conference - Society for American Baseball Research".
^ "Jerry Malloy Negro League Conference | Society for American Baseball Research". sabr.org. Retrieved 2019-04-17.
^ "SABR Baseball Biography Project". Society for American Baseball Research.
^ "SABR Games Project". Society for American Baseball Research.
^ "SABR Oral History Collection". Society for American Baseball Research.
^ "SABR Rucker Archives". Society for American Baseball Research.
^ "Publications". Society for American Baseball Research. Retrieved June 8, 2016.
^ "Other Society Publications". Society for American Baseball Research. Retrieved June 8, 2016.
^ "The SABR Story". Society for American Baseball Research. Retrieved June 8, 2016.
^ ^a ^b "Bob Davids". Society for American Baseball Research. Archived from the original on 2012-04-26. Retrieved 2011-12-18.
^ "Bob Davids Award - Society for American Baseball Research".
^ Established in November 2009, the Henry Chadwick Award was first presented in 2010. "Henry Chadwick Award". Society for American Baseball Research. Retrieved 2011-12-17.
^ "SABR Creates New "Henry Chadwick Award": James, Ritter, Palmer Among Honorees". OriolesHangout. Archived from the original on 2012-04-26. Retrieved 2011-12-19.
^ Chuck, Bill (February 15, 2011). "SABR Announces 2011 Chadwick Award Recipients". Billy-Ball. Archived from the original on 2012-04-26. Retrieved 2011-12-19.
^ Harold Seymour and his wife Dorothy Seymour Mills together wrote a three-volume history: Baseball: The Early Years (1960), Baseball: The Golden Age (1971), and Baseball: The People's Game (1991). "Harold Seymour and Dorothy Seymour Mills". Society for American Baseball Research. Archived from the original on 2012-04-26. Retrieved 2011-12-18.
^ The Seymour Medal was first awarded in 1996, at the SABR national convention. SABR held the first Seymour Medal Conference in 1999, at Cleveland State University, in conjunction with the presentation of the medal. "The Seymour Medal". Society for American Baseball Research. Archived from the original on 2011-12-27. Retrieved 2011-12-19.
^ "SABR and The Seymour Medal: How Did it Happen?". Dr. Harold Seymour, Baseball Historian. drharoldseymour.com. Archived from the original on 2011-12-23. Retrieved 2011-12-19.
^ "The Seymour Medal: Winners and Finalists". Dr. Harold Seymour, Baseball Historian. drharoldseymour.com. Archived from the original on 2012-02-19. Retrieved 2011-12-19.
^ "Seymour Medal Award". Baseball-Almanac. Retrieved 2011-12-19.
^ Mondout, Patrick. "Seymour Medal Honorees". BaseballChronology.com. Retrieved 2011-12-19.
^ ^a ^b See also: Baseball awards#Baseball book of the year.
^ The McFarland award was "previously named The Macmillan-SABR Baseball Research Award (1987–1999)", according to "McFarland-SABR Baseball Research Award". Society for American Baseball Research. Retrieved 2012-02-17.
^ "Rawlings Gold Glove Award". Rawlings. Retrieved October 13, 2021.
^ "Gold Glove Selection Criteria" (Press release). Rawlings Sporting Goods.

Bibliography

Lewis, Michael (2004). Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game. Norton. ISBN 0-393-32481-8.
Ross, Ken (2004). A Mathematician at the Ballpark: Odds and Probabilities for Baseball Fans. Plume. ISBN 978-0-452-28782-2.

External links

Official website

[1] "Annual Report" (PDF). Society for American Baseball Research. June 15, 2022. Retrieved January 29, 2023.

[history-2] Thompson, Dick; Hufford, Tom. "A History of SABR". SABR.org. Retrieved January 29, 2023.

[3] "SABR Convention History - Society for American Baseball Research".

[4] "SABR Analytics Conference - Society for American Baseball Research".

[5] "Jerry Malloy Negro League Conference | Society for American Baseball Research". sabr.org. Retrieved 2019-04-17.

[6] "SABR Baseball Biography Project". Society for American Baseball Research.

[7] "SABR Games Project". Society for American Baseball Research.

[8] "SABR Oral History Collection". Society for American Baseball Research.

[9] "SABR Rucker Archives". Society for American Baseball Research.

[Publications-10] "Publications". Society for American Baseball Research. Retrieved June 8, 2016.

[Other_Society_Publications-11] "Other Society Publications". Society for American Baseball Research. Retrieved June 8, 2016.

[about-12] "The SABR Story". Society for American Baseball Research. Retrieved June 8, 2016.

[BobDavids-13] "Bob Davids". Society for American Baseball Research. Archived from the original on 2012-04-26. Retrieved 2011-12-18.

[14] "Bob Davids Award - Society for American Baseball Research".

[15] Established in November 2009, the Henry Chadwick Award was first presented in 2010. "Henry Chadwick Award". Society for American Baseball Research. Retrieved 2011-12-17.

[16] "SABR Creates New "Henry Chadwick Award": James, Ritter, Palmer Among Honorees". OriolesHangout. Archived from the original on 2012-04-26. Retrieved 2011-12-19.

[17] Chuck, Bill (February 15, 2011). "SABR Announces 2011 Chadwick Award Recipients". Billy-Ball. Archived from the original on 2012-04-26. Retrieved 2011-12-19.

[18] Harold Seymour and his wife Dorothy Seymour Mills together wrote a three-volume history: Baseball: The Early Years (1960), Baseball: The Golden Age (1971), and Baseball: The People's Game (1991). "Harold Seymour and Dorothy Seymour Mills". Society for American Baseball Research. Archived from the original on 2012-04-26. Retrieved 2011-12-18.

[SABRwebsiteSeymourMedal-19] The Seymour Medal was first awarded in 1996, at the SABR national convention. SABR held the first Seymour Medal Conference in 1999, at Cleveland State University, in conjunction with the presentation of the medal. "The Seymour Medal". Society for American Baseball Research. Archived from the original on 2011-12-27. Retrieved 2011-12-19.

[20] "SABR and The Seymour Medal: How Did it Happen?". Dr. Harold Seymour, Baseball Historian. drharoldseymour.com. Archived from the original on 2011-12-23. Retrieved 2011-12-19.

[21] "The Seymour Medal: Winners and Finalists". Dr. Harold Seymour, Baseball Historian. drharoldseymour.com. Archived from the original on 2012-02-19. Retrieved 2011-12-19.

[22] "Seymour Medal Award". Baseball-Almanac. Retrieved 2011-12-19.

[23] Mondout, Patrick. "Seymour Medal Honorees". BaseballChronology.com. Retrieved 2011-12-19.

[BaseballAwardsBaseballBook-24] See also: Baseball awards#Baseball book of the year.

[25] The McFarland award was "previously named The Macmillan-SABR Baseball Research Award (1987–1999)", according to "McFarland-SABR Baseball Research Award". Society for American Baseball Research. Retrieved 2012-02-17.

[26] "Rawlings Gold Glove Award". Rawlings. Retrieved October 13, 2021.

[sabr_vote-27] "Gold Glove Selection Criteria" (Press release). Rawlings Sporting Goods.

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Society for American Baseball Research

Membership

Activities

Projects and collections

Publications

Awards

Research committees

Regional chapters

Past convention sites and keynote speakers

See also

References

Notes

Bibliography

External links

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