Background
SABR, which is pronounced "saber" and whose acronym led to the creation of the word sabermetrics, the usage of mathematical tools to analyze baseball, is about much more than statistics. Members include not only "sabermetricians" Bill James, perhaps the best known SABR member to the general public, and Rob Neyer, but also other people active in the baseball world such as Keith Olbermann, Craig R. Wright, Roland Hemond, and Bob Costas. Jeff Bajenaru was believed to have been (until 2006) the only active Major League Baseball player with a SABR membership; Elden Auker, Larry Dierker, and Andy Seminick also have been involved.
Some of the more prominent members of SABR include:
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Only a minority of members pursue "number crunching" research. Rather, SABR offers a community of fans organized in two ways. Research Committees study a particular issue. Regional Chapters are for members in geographic proximity. They are frequently named after baseball personalities relevant to the 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. The organization also sponsors a baseball analytics conference in Phoenix and an annual Negro Leagues conference, held in a different location each year.
Read more about this topic: Society For American Baseball Research
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