the 2013 SABR National Convention in Philadelphia, July 31 - August 4

I kinda hate the town, but it's a bus ride away and I should be healthy enough.

Vintage 1860s-style base ball game included, and a visit to Connie Mack's home. Sit w/ Morbs at a Philths-Braves game and laugh at Ryan Howard.

http://sabr.org/convention

and here are a bunch of news/ first-hand links re this month's Analytics Conference in Phoenix:

http://sabr.org/analytics

I have registered for Philly btw,

ALSO

Tickets are now on sale for two amazing events in Boston on August 17 - 18, sponsored by Baseball Prospectus:

* The third annual Sabermetrics, Scouting, and the Science of Baseball conference, which features presentations from an incredible lineup of speakers including Brian Bannister, Vince Gennaro, Keith Woolner, Tom Tippett, Alan Nathan, and BP Staff including Harry Pavlidis, Doug Thorburn, Ben Lindbergh, and Dan Brooks



and



* The first annual Saberseminar After Party, hosted at Game On! in Boston on Saturday evening



100% of the conference ticket proceeds will be donated to the Jimmy Fund, a Boston-based Cancer Research Charity.



Come join us for what promises to be an incredible weekend of baseball, learning, and good times with good friends!



Tickets are available at: http://www.saberseminar.com/tickets;



For a full list of participants, see http://saberseminar.com/the-participants-the-program/

Sure to be a highlight:

Scorecard Advertisements as Social History

David W. Smith and Amy Tetlow Smith

Depending on one’s perspective, the traditional ballpark scorecard can have several different purposes. For most fans, the scorecard has always been a convenient place to record the events of the game they are watching and these cards are often saved for many years as they are keepsakes of happy days. However, the ball clubs and their advertisers saw an excellent opportunity to promote their products by targeting a very defined audience, with a degree of homogeneity rarely available to marketers. The Smiths discuss their systematic analysis of the advertisements they catalogued while analyzing thousands of scorecards from the 19th century to the present and how the changing product lines reflected wider societal changes across the country.

http://sabr.org/convention/sabr43-presentations

I am really tempted to go to this. I need to get out of the house for a mental health break sometime this summer, and these dates fall on a less busy time for me workwise.

well, you'd be the first to join me, save for NTBT at the Toronto ballgame.

player panel: Gary Matthews, Dickie Noles

http://sabr.org/latest/sabr-43-phillies-player-panel

Just confirmed! Two-time All-Star closer Brad Lidge has been added to the SABR 43 Phillies Player Panel on Thursday.

Well, definitely the youngest ex-player they've had on a panel. Wonder if the Pujols HR will be mentioned.

First 2 people I recognized here were two semi-demented New Yorkers... not going near them.

Dickie Noles on the player panel, describing his long-relief outing in the 1980 World Series: he told Hal McRae, Willie Mays Aikens and George Brett, "I'm going to hit you in the fucking head." Brad Lidge expressed his envy for such pure times, and Sarge Matthews was himself, valuing "heart" over "stats."

I went to the front of the room afterward, cuz I wanted to check out that ass on Lidge.

Also attended a Women in Baseball roundtable (umpire, contemporary amateur player, All American Girls player, Phils front-office exec) and sat behind Dorothy Seymour Mills, maybe the greatest female baseball scholar-author ever.

Got 25/40 in the prelim trivia, unprecedentedly good for me.

so the big theme in the panels and presentations this year was BIG DATA. Extrapolating from video is the future apparently... way beyond Field f/x, maybe.

btw Brian Kenny showed up to emcee the Stat Analysis panel and someone asked if Harold Reynolds is really that obtuse. BK just smiled and said "We're not acting."

Hoping to attend some of this.

http://sabr.org/latest/save-date-2014-jerry-malloy-negro-league-conference-august-14-16-detroit

I'm almost certainly unable to attend this year, so not making a new thread. I'll regret missing Jimmy Wynn, Bill Virdon and Larry Dierker.

They are going to have a historical walking tour. In Houston. On July 30.

http://sabr.org/convention