SABR Completes 52nd Convention On A High Note

By Dan Schlossberg

Seldom have so few done so much for so many.

If it weren’t for the devoted members of the Society for American Baseball Research, Walter Johnson would have fewer wins, Hack Wilson’s single-season RBI record would be one short, and Ty Cobb would have two more hits.

Now SABR is telling Major League Baseball that it left out eight more leagues that should have qualified for the marriage of Negro League and MLB statistics.

This was among the poster presentations at SABR 52 in Minneapolis. Credit: Dan SchlossbergPhoto byDan Schlossberg

Founded by 16 rabid fans in the summer of 1971, the group has grown to 7,000-plus, with numerous baseball professionals included. Writers, broadcasters, front-office officials, and even uniformed personnel have joined the ranks as the relationship between the group and Official Baseball evolved over the years.

More than 600 baseball diehards attended the group’s just-completed convention in Minneapolis, where they talked baseball, saw dozens of power-point presentations, perused a half-dozen posters created for the conference, competed in trivia contests, attended games of both the Minnesota Twins and the Triple-A team in nearby St. Paul, and rubbed elbows with Hall of Famers Tony Oliva, Rod Carew, Jim Kaat, and Bert Blyleven, all of whom started with and starred for the Twins.

Tom Zocco, a Dodgers fan from Connecticut, has attended all but three of SABR’s 52 conventions.Photo byDan Schlossberg

Many came with empty suitcases they filled with books, cards, and other memorabilia they purchased in an exhibitors room that had scheduled author signings.

They ranged from Tom Zocco, a retired Connecticut resident who has been to all but three of the 52 SABR conventions, to Maxwell Kates, a 46-year-old CPA from Toronto who switched his allegiance from the Montreal Expos to the Detroit Tigers after the expansion team moved to Washington.

Like many SABR members, Kates is a big-time collector. “I have cards, autographs, yearbooks, pictures, and postcards,” he said. “I also collected books signed by Hall of Famers.”

Tom Zocco’s enormous collection includes bound copies of The Sporting News.Photo byTom Zocco

Zocco, 76, holds unofficial records for most conventions attended and most memorabilia collected. The owner of 1900 hardcover books, plus binders of such publications as The Sporting News and USA TODAY Sports Weekly, he built extra bookshelves in his house and eventually moved his sleeping quarters downstairs because his books pushed him out.

Cleveland fan Vince Guerrieri is a member of the Cleveland chapter and the owner of a chair from Cleveland Municipal Stadium, former home of the Indians-turned-Guardians. He too is a collector — even attending The National Sports Collectors Convention close to his Elyria, Ohio home earlier this summer. He also went to Guardians FanFest.

“I have an abundance of cards, bobbleheads, and some other memorabilia, including a few lineup cards,” he said, “and a fairly decent autograph collection.”

Guardians fan Vince Guerrieri is a journalist from suburban Cleveland who describes himself as a lifelong fan of the team —and of collectingPhoto byDan Schlossberg

Now a fan of Cleveland All-Star Steven Kwan, he’s also met such Indians legends as Bob Feller and Rocky Colavito.

Guerrieri, who turns 47 this month, attended the Baseball Card Committee meeting in Minneapolis.

“SABR has a lot of divergent research interests,” he said. “We have people researching Negro Leagues, minor leagues, women in baseball, and sports memorabilia.”

Author David Krell, chairman of Northern New Jersey’s Elysian Fields chapter since 2017, is a former attorney and TV producer who regarded his trip to SABR as a learning experience.

“You always learn something going to a panel or speaker presentation,” said Krell, 57. “I’m here to be with friends, go to a few games, and speak to publishers.”

The four books under his byline include this year’s The Fenway Effect, published by the University of Nebraska. He also edited two anthologies and is working on two more books, including a Bo Belinsky biography, for 2025 publication.

Both Rowman & Littlefield and Nebraska had extensive book displays in the vendors room staffed by friendly editors who said they were not only selling recent baseball books but also looking for prospective future authors. The former has been coming to SABR conferences for 12 straight years.

Dan Schlossberg (left) and Maxwell Kates pose for a selfie in the vendors room at the SABR convention in Minneapolis.

Scott Bush, SABR’s CEO since 2018, said the group’s board of directors is determined to expand and diversify membership — goals that seemed to be sprouting fruit with the attendance this year of many more females and younger baseball enthusiasts.

“We spent a lot of time discussing how we can bring additional research resources online and use that as a leading edge to recruit new members,” he said, “and how to make investments in programming that will grow new membership as well.”

Though most SABR members are rabid fans of the game, not all are researchers. Many are interested in history rather than analytics or statistics, while others are heavily engaged in collecting memorabilia.

“We have a really great Baseball Cards committee,” said Bush, 41, who spent years as a minor-league executive before coming to SABR. “They’re interested in all aspects of cards, from artists and designers to writers and photographers. Many are collectors themselves.

“Within SABR, we have members who are connected to collecting whether it’s memorabilia or as researchers. Some of our people collect items connected to their research domain.”

Next year’s SABR convention is scheduled for the Westin DFW Airport Hotel in Irving, TX from June 25-29.

Former AP sportswriter Dan Schlossberg of Fair Lawn, NJ has been a SABR member since 1981 and is the current vice chairman of the Elysian Fields chapter. The author of 40 books serves as a national baseball writer for forbes.com and contributor to USA TODAY Sports Weekly, Memories & Dreams, and Sports Collectors Digest as well as weekend editor of Here’s The Pitch. Dan’s email is ballauthor@gmail.com.