The Society for American Baseball Research

I thought I'd take a moment, especially since the regular season has wrapped up and my hands need a break from all the wringing they've endured the last 7-10 days, to talk about the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR). You may have noticed the SABR logo in the right-hand margin. It's not there just because I dabble in statistical analysis here. I'm also a member of the organization, and have been since 2005.

I was introduced to SABR by a co-worker of mine, who was also a big baseball fan. My interest in the game predates this blog by a long way, and although I had heard of 'sabermetrics', I hadn't had much exposure to it. Turns out, the local chapter (Ted Williams) has its share of stat heads, but mostly it's made up of people who truly love the game. The Padres don't have the storied history a ball club like the Dodgers, Red Sox, Yankees, or Cardinals has, but there are lots of baseball fans here, and they know the game and like to talk about the game, even if its not always about the local nine.

Our chapter typically runs two meetings a year, and we get somewhere between 30-50 folks for those meetings. Those meetings aren't limited to just the membership, but more advanced notice is given to members so they can plan their schedules accordingly. For us, they are on a Saturday morning from say 0900-1300. Our meeting locations move throughout the greater San Diego area; we've met in the Hospitality room in Balboa Park, in one of the auxiliary rooms at Petco Park (courtesy of the San Diego Padres), and our most recent meeting was at the Public Library in Carlsbad. The agenda typically includes members who have been published or are working on a book project, whether it be print books (ex: Bill Nowlin, who's written several books on Ted Williams - here's one), or photo journalists (which seems to attract Cubs fans, as we've had a couple of photo montages presented on the Cubs). We've also heard from San Diego Padres front office personnel (including Paul DePodesta, whose remarks I discussed in some detail), as well as former ML players.

At our last meeting, Irv Noren, John Green, and Andy McCue spoke to the chapter. Irv played in 3 World Series (1952, 1953, 1955) for the Yankees, and shared some great stories about those teams. John is a local author working on the SABR bio project, which is an effort to get the personal story of baseball players of years past, so they don't just turn into a page at Baseball Reference. Andy is the current SABR National President, and he gave a very interesting brief on the personalities and events leading up to Major League Baseball's expansion in 1961/62.

Additionally, SABR puts out periodic newsletters, The National Pastime, a collection of articles with a little less statistical bent, and The Baseball Research Journal, an annual that is also the organization's flagship publication. Published since 1972, it contains all sorts of research findings, articles, statistical analysis, and the like - something for virtually every baseball fan's interest.

So as you can probably tell, I've very much enjoyed my time and association with SABR. I've gotten a lot out of it, and it's enhanced my understanding of both the game as it is played today, and the history of the game leading up to the present. It may do the same for you.

Interested in joining? You can find more information about SABR at their official website. I've also bookmarked the membership page on the SABR site, because I'm all about customer service. You join the national organization, but you become a part of your local chapter, and will receive as much or as little information from them as you want.

Hopefully I've piqued your interest. Check SABR out. You'll like what you find.

San Diego SABR meeting - 24 Jan 09

There hasn't been much said on this site about the San Diego SABR branch that I am a part of. That's because in trying to complete my Masters (which will FINALLY finish 1 Apr), I've really pared down on the things I do outside of work, so I have enough time to complete the coursework. This has put a crimp in my SABR style, to the point where I went to last January's meeting and haven't been to a single function since.

Which has made my life poorer as a result.

However, the clouds parted long enough this weekend for me to attend most of our Winter Meeting, which was Saturday. On the agenda, in addition to the normal research presentations, was a question and answer period with Merv Rettenmund, Major League baseball player and coach, and Warren Miller, Director of Media Relations for the Padres. I was able to stay for all of Mr. Rettenmund's comments, but not for Mr. Miller, which was unfortunate, because I had some questions I wanted to ask him. Maybe some other time.

Because Mr. Rettenmund was the Padres hitting coach until 31 Aug 2007, and therefore had some insight into Khalil Greene, I was really looking forward to hearing him speak. Some interesting things that he offered during his 45 minutes with us (NOTE: These aren't exact quotes unless so indicated, rather, my interpretation and paraphrasing what was said):

- A long, slow swing means you're probably a good fastball hitter, not a good breaking ball hitter (I always thought it was the opposite).

- Older generations of hitters might have gotten 8000 minor league at bats; now you're lucky to get 800. The number of broken bats we see may be due to players not having taken enough swings to really learn how to hit.

- On inside pitches, don't shift your body to get your shoulder out of the way, get your hands through sooner (I've been shifting my body. Good tip)

- There is no such thing as 2 strike hitting. What can you do? Get ready earlier, swing slower, get to the ball? Hitting's all about timing.

- Choking up makes no sense with today's lighter bats. Players 50 years ago using 35-40 oz bats, you could choke up and have some bat left. Now, you choke up and have what, 20 oz? You got no bat left.

- Hardest parks to hit in: Comerica, old Arlington Stadium in Texas, Oakland Alameda, and Petco. He loved to hit in Tiger Stadium. He REALLY likes the new ballpark in St Louis.

- Petco: DEAD in Apr/May. When the weather heats up, the ball jumps better. You can hit it out to CF if it's to straightaway CF. Wind will knock it down in the gaps. RF - that's ridiculous.

- He likes Khalil Greene - called him one of the smartest ballplayers he's ever worked with.

- Didn't have much good to say about the current state of the Padres. They are a bad team (99 losses last year, that's no secret) with a bare farm system. He wouldn't be surprised to see the Padres trade Peavy (that's the worst kept secret in the league) and Adrain Gonzalez for prospects (that's interesting, and makes sense).

- Being a good hitter is all about timing, not so much mechanics. Getting ready at a good pace.

- Tony Gwynn thought the extra weight he put on gave him better balance at the plate.

- He had a lot of interesting things to say about hitting. Don't hack, have a plan. Look for a certain pitch at a certain speed in an area. When you get it, hit it. Count doesn't matter so much. He stated that lefties were high-ball hitters and righties low-ball hitters, but that's shifted 180 degrees the last 20 years.

- Greene can't hit a breaking ball. He had positive things to say about Hal McRae, and that Greene needed a change of scenery, but he still can't hit a breaking ball.

- You hit a breaking ball with your eyes. If you see a guy swinging at a breaking ball while looking at the centerfield camera he's got no shot.

- He things the big clubs draft too many players, because there aren't enough teams for them all to play on (this was interesting also. Too many guys splitting time at positions to get into games, so no one gets enough at bats or reps to really improve. He believes you get better by playing the game regularly, and I agree).

- Not a fan of players taking a lot of BP from coaches, because it doesn't simulate a game.

- MLB players suck at running the bases. Quote: ".220 hitters aren't on base enough to work on it."

All in all, a great 45 minutes. Did nothing to assuage my misgivings about Greene, though.

A new blog of note

My thanks to USS Mariner for mentioning this item and providing the original link.

You may remember from reading this blog that Paul DePodesta, former GM of the LA Dodgers, is now a consultant for the San Diego Padres. He spoke to the local SD SABR chapter; a synopsis of that presentation can be found here, and here, and here.

Paul has started his own blog, to provide 'some unfiltered access to [the Padres'] internal conversations and feelings.' If the blog approaches the quality of Mr. DePodesta's presentation to SABR, it should be well worth the read.

There's a permanent link to his site in the margin.