SABR membership

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Posted By: jay behrens

For anyone who hasn't joined SABR (Society for American Baseball Research) they are running a great special for new members. For $80 you get the last 2 books of 2006, which includes Green Cathederals and full membership for 2007.

Here is the link

http://store.sabr.org/sabrstore.cfm?page=list.cfm&cat=0&man=&mem_ID=17087&afid=&criteria=1001&action=list&startrow=1&maxrows=10&CFID=5967015&CFTOKEN=15401780

Jay

I love pinatas. You get to beat the crap of something and get rewarded with candy.

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Posted By: runscott

Jay, this is going to sound negative, but here goes.....I let my SABR membership lapse and have sent two emails to the membership
email link on the SABR website, begging them to give me information on how to renew my membership....NADA

Very disappointing that they ignore emails.

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Posted By: Hutch

Can someone explain the benefits of a SABR membership?

I just found this message board and just re-entered the card hobby after a 10 year hiatus. I love baseball and used to be a stat junkie in my youth but did not follow the sport as closely as I used to until recently. I'd like to jump back into studying the game that I love. I'm just curious if this is worth the price. How often do the publications come out? How big are the 2 books that are included in this deal?

Thanks,
Mike

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Posted By: Max Weder

Mike

The information for SABR membership can be found at http://www.sabr.org/sabr.cfm?a=cms,c,1930,40

I have been a member for a number of years. For me, SABR has been a great place to meet a number of people with a wide range of interests. The convention in Seattle this summer was excellent, and there are a number of regional events that people can attend.

Max

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Posted By: Bruce Babcock

Very worthwhile group. The publications alone are worth the price.

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Posted By: Jim Manos

I am kidding have been a SABR member for 4 yrs. Great stuff...

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Posted By: jay behrens

Scott, there is a link at the URL I posted to renew your membership aside from the deal I mentioned.

I've lost interest in contributing to the groups over the years as the academic eggheads have sucked the life out of what used to be something that was fun. I keep my membership for the publications. They were supposed to issue Deadball Stars of the AL this year, but that's not going to happen. At least Green Cathederals made it out. Looks like Deadball Stars will be part of the 2007 pub schedule. That alone is worth joining for 2007.

Jay

I love pinatas. You get to beat the crap of something and get rewarded with candy.

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Posted By: Rich Klein

You just have to know where to look and how to do it. I have many friends at SABR and NONE of us are the stat head types. I do agree with you though -- that at some point in the very near future I would not be surprised to see SABR have a major problem and split off of researchers of history and researchers of stat analysis.

One of the little things I've learned over the years is that many of the trivia people/historical people get along great even if they have differences while the stat people have some real issues amongst each other.

In addition, we have access through the SABR director on line to many people via email that we might never get through to otherwise. I have found much help in work issues through those contacts.

Yes, and let's not forget the publications.

I'm really looking forward to St Louis next year as that will be easy for me to attend. Jay, if you make it, I'll even buy you a drink at the convetion

Rich

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Posted By: jay behrens

You are right, there areas that are still fun. I've always loved stats, but as you mentioned, the stat heads don't allow anyone to have fun with the numbers anymore. Unless what you are presenting is statically valid and supposedly measures something "important" they don't want to hear about it. The one presentation I ever made was for a fun little stat I created that actually was era independent. I was practiacally laughed out of the room because I used multipliers that had no basis other than they made the stat more asthetically pleasing and era independent. No one seemed to get the fact that it was meant as a serious measure of anything, just something fun to look at.

I actually quit subscribing to the stat committee email because it is so dry and loveless. I still get the 19c emails as the information that comes across is the just amazing at time.

Jay

I love pinatas. You get to beat the crap of something and get rewarded with candy.

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Posted By: Tom Boblitt

hoping to find a few people who also collected.........went to a couple meetings and met a few people and NONE of them collected anything. Guess I went into it for the wrong reason but thought it might yield that and it didn't. Anyway, I would agree that most of the publications are really good and worth the price. If you can wait, however, you will likely find them on ebay second hand for GREATLY reduced prices. Won a couple lots from Sandiegowill for $2-$3-$4 per book.

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Posted By: paulstratton

I joined back in 1990. It took me all of one year to find out that most people were waaaaay too uptight about their "work". Like Tom I've found most of the materials on ebay for downright cheap prices. I've read all of them many times over.

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Posted By: Mike campbell

I was a member about 10 years ago or so, loved the publications, etc. etc. I belong to many civic groups. But I found this particular SABR group ( I am sure all are not like this one,) but I was invisible. Very much a closed group. If you were not part of the so called in crowd, they didn't speak to me, or really care at all that I was there. They couldn't care less about new members. It was way to much effort to strike up conversations, so I quit. Too bad too, because I love what they do, and what they discuss. The cost was irrelevant. I wish it had been different.

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Posted By: Hutch

Well I signed up for a SABR membership to take advantage of the Sept special. Looking forward to getting some of the publications. Have a few question for the members:

1) Do you take advantage of any of the online tools? Are some of these tools worthwhile while others are not? Looks like the online encyclopedia could be helpful while the forums appear to be lacking in truly groundbreaking discussions. Does most of the discussion occur during the regional events?

2) Anything else you recommend that I check out on the website?

Thanks,
Mike

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Posted By: jay behrens

Sign up for the email lists. That's where the real discussions happen. The web forums are pretty dead and no real serious talk goes on there.

Jay

I love pinatas. You get to beat the crap of something and get rewarded with candy.

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Posted By: Max Weder

Hutch

One of the great benefits of SABR has been Proquest, which gives you the ability to search a number of on-line newspapers. Unfortunately, Proquest has had financial problems and is cancelling all charity memberships such as SABR at the end of the year. Given this, you should use it as much as you can. I've been saving a number of baseball articles to my hard drive, including articles on collectible auctions (a Home Run Baker bat sold for $250 in 1912), a great article on Jose Mendez (the black Christy Mathewson--or should it have been vice versa?) and Honus Wagner and Mathewson signing to play in the PCL.

Max

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Posted By: john/z28jd

I got a SABR question for someone.... When did Billy Hamilton lose 25 stolen bases. His record was 937 going back awhile since it was known to be that when Lou Brock passed him but now according to baseball-reference,baseball-almanac,etc etc he has 912 career steals now. Can someone actually steal bases from someone who stole them in the first place?

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Posted By: jay behrens

There an edict from MLB or whoever keeps the records that the rules of the day had to be used when determining records. Example, there was a time when players were credited with SB for advancing an extra base on a hit. Not sure how the SBs disappeared, but I am pretty sure it was due the SBs being counted under one rule that was not in effect during his playing day and recounted according to the rules of day. It's also possible that a number of SBs were lost to boxscores being counted twice, which is not unusual.

Jay

I love pinatas. You get to beat the crap of something and get rewarded with candy.

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Posted By: john/z28jd

Its interesting to see the numbers on most websites dont coincide with the baseball hall of fame's site which is supplied by elias.Of Hamiltons 14 season,only 2 of them have the same total on both the HOF site and sites like baseball-reference.Here they are listed below with 1st and last year listed for reference.

19 23 1888
111 117
102 same
111 115
57 56
43 41
98 99
97 95
83 93
66 70
54 59
19 same
32 29
20 19 1901
912 937

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Posted By: jay behrens

Part of the problem is that Elias is not the offical stats keeper for MLB. Stats, Inc does that now.

Jay

I love pinatas. You get to beat the crap of something and get rewarded with candy.