SABR Convention For The Baseball-Obsessed Visits Washington

By Matt Eddy
August 5, 2009

WASHINGTON—Thirty-three baseball seasons elapsed between the second-generation Senators' final game in Washington and the Nationals' first. But back in 1971, when the Society for American Baseball Research convened for the first time in Cooperstown, the Senators had one foot in our nation's capital and one in Arlington, Texas.

So despite the Society twice hosting its convention in Washington—in 1972 and 1987—and despite the Senators being a fixture of the American League for most of the 20th century, the city never hosted one of SABR's annual events while a big league team took up residence in D.C.

That changed this summer when the District of Columbia hosted SABR 39. Each year, the event treats convention-goers to all manner of research presentations, both historical and statistical, as well as guest speakers, celebrity panels, the toughest baseball trivia around and the most knowledgeable throng of baseball fans assembled in one place. This year's congregants made the trip from Boston and New York, from Des Moines and Seattle, from Milwaukee and Montreal.

"Our chapter is the largest and most active in the country," said Bruce Brown, president of Washington's Bob Davids chapter. "We hold two meetings per month with about three big meetings a year—and that's with a whole generation here growing up without a team."

The convention often features an excursion to watch the hometown nine, but this year, because the Nationals were out of town, the assemblage bused north to Baltimore to watch the Orioles take on the visiting Red Sox. The O's lost 6-5, but that wasn't the worst part of the trip. Because the two buses got stuck in beltway traffic, the 45-mile ride there lasted three hours.

And why was the convention scheduled while the Nats were out of town, you ask? Reservations for the downtown J.W. Marriott were made so far in advance that MLB had not yet released its 2009 schedule. The event planners lost the coin flip.

Minor league road trips (fittingly) included bus rides to Woodbridge, Va., for a Carolina League featuring the Potomac Nationals and to Waldorf, Md., for an independent Atlantic League contest featuring the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs.

Something For Everyone

Those who arrived on Wednesday, July 29, had the option of scoping out 2-year-old Nationals Park as part of a guided tour, which began with a stroll past motion-blur statues of Walter Johnson, Frank Howard and Josh Gibson and ended with cordoned-off glance at the home team's luxurious, red-tinged clubhouse. In between, fans toured the park's Mount Olympus press box (highest in the majors!), which overlooks a field sunken below street level so as not to make the Capitol Building envious.

After the tour, fans had the option of listening in on a presentation by Phil Wood, local baseball historian, who detailed the maneuverings that resulted in D.C. losing not one, but two major league franchises. Owner Bob Short, for example, first tried to move the team to Arlington during the 1971 all-star break. No wonder the Orioles began invading Washington turf the next season, posting billboards all over downtown.

While big league baseball was the subject of most convention events, SABR 39 offered plenty for the fan of the minor leagues or of player development. Foremost, the society's scouts research committee presented the Roland Hemond award to Dallas Green, a former general manager of the Phillies and Cubs as well as a farm director and field manager. It's essentially a lifetime achievement award for long-term contributions to scouting and player development. Famously the GM for the White Sox and Orioles, Hemond himself was on hand to present.

"You've got to have scouts to recommend players to acquire in trades, because as GM you don't see a lot of these guys yourself," Hemond said during the presentation. "You need scouts with diligence and courage, people who will put their jobs on the line. Because I know that if it wasn't for my scouts, I wouldn't be where I am today."

In accepting his award, Green observed that with the money involved in today's game, organizations need farm system depth to make trades, if nothing else. His goal as farm director, he said, was to produce one big league-ready player per season as well as another one waiting in the wings at Triple-A.

"The backbone of any organization is scouting," said Green, who still looks every bit the 6-foot-5 at which he was listed when he pitched. "Players have to come from somewhere, and somebody has to sign them. I was taught that I would never make a mistake if I stopped to break a player down. Can he hit? Can he run? Can he field? Throw? Hit for power?"

In addition to the scouts group, other specialized research committees met first thing each morning—groups like Latino baseball, collegiate baseball, minor leagues, Asian baseball, statistical analysis, Negro leagues and many more.

"It's said that each generation stands on the shoulders of its ancestors," Latino committee chair Anthony Salazar said. "We want to make sure their contributions and their tradition lives on."

All About The Research

In many ways, the daily 30-minute research presentations remain the backbone of the convention. Held in one of the hotel lobby's four small auditoriums, a presentation attracted a turnout of anywhere from a handful to a packed house. It pays to plan ahead, because often presentations were held simultaneously.

Some authors presented findings on new research they've generated; others built on an existing study or metric. Still others detailed a very specific and often obscure point in baseball history. All presentations were followed by a five- to 10-minute question and answer session.

One example: Steve Treder, an author with The Hardball Times, charted the historical productivity (measured in win shares) of each organization's farm system, tracing players from World War II to the present. Clear trends emerged, such as the Expos' perpetual harvest that produced talent right from their inception . . . and up until the club moved to Washington.

The SABR 39 planning committee did well in compiling its roster of guest speakers:

• Former Senators outfielder Frank Howard and former Orioles catcher Rick Dempsey took part in a spirited player panel, which was expertly moderated by George Michael. Since Michael knew both men during their playing days, the event had a fun, informal feel.

"I've sat in the same room with brilliant baseball people who focused on what their players can't do," Howard said. "I liked to look at it like: A, B, C, D—these things the player can do. Now, E, F, G . . . he's a little shaky with that, but can we help him?"

• Sports Weekly columnist Paul White discussed the impact of trades made at or near the July 31 trade deadline, touching on some of the thought processes behind the moves.

"The first rule of being a GM is knowing what you're not good at," he said. "So if you're a money guy, then surround yourself with scouting people, and vice versa."

• A panel of four former Negro League players discussed the significance of their accomplishments and whether they thought they got a fair shake at a big league job. The group included Sam Allen, Pedro Sierra, Mamie Johnson and Hank Mason, a righthander who pitched for the Phillies in 1958 and 1960 and who was a former teammate of Green's.

• Baseball Prospectus author Christina Kahrl quoted scientist E.O. Wilson at least thrice in a talk that challenged listeners to continue to ask the right questions, without regard so much for the right answers.

• Josh Alkin, a lawyer who acts as liaison between the commissioner's office and the clubs and also between MLB and Congress, illustrated the ways in which politics intersect with baseball's decision-making process, and how the fight to retain the game's antitrust exemption is an ongoing one. Alkin pinch-hit for Nationals team president Stan Kasten, who had a scheduling conflict.