SABR Day 2011
The Society of American Baseball Research (SABR) will host the second annual SABR Day on January 29. This year’s SABR day especially significant, for it kicks off the 4oth year of the organization.
SABR Chapters around the country, and world, will host meetings and events and talk a little baseball. Late January is, as you know, a lull in the baseball news cycle. Most of the free agent signings are complete, with the marquis names having either returned to their former teams or found new employment. Teams have put the final touches on their rosters in preparation for Spring Training, barely 3 weeks away. And the NFL playoffs have reached the penultimate weekend, with Conference Champions determined but the Super Bowl still a week away.
It’s the perfect weekend to stoke the Hot Stove one final time.
In 2010 37 chapters met in 34 separate events with a total of 712 members attending. That figure is probably lower than the actual total turnout; for example, in my local chapter approximately half of those in attendance were not formal members of SABR.
As was the case last year, individual agendas will vary depending on the preferences of that particular chapter. Last January my local chapter was lucky enough to spend over an hour in a question and answer period with the Director of Baseball Operations for our local Major League team, and this year we are scheduled for 30 minutes with one of the Assistant General Managers. The local St Louis Chapter (Bob Broeg) hosted a luncheon, which included a discussion panel of members of the local media, as well as prominent bloggers, who talked about the rise of blogging and social media in covering baseball and its impact.
There’s a lot to offer the casual baseball follower, and a treasure trove of information for the SABR-inclined fan, at at these chapter events 2 weeks from now.
Details on SABR Day can be found at the SABR website, as well as a list of chapters. Not every chapter has their own website, but contact information for each chapter can be found at the aforementioned link.
So celebrate SABR Day with your local passionate baseball friends. You’ll thank us for the suggestion.