The Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the study and research of baseball. Founded in 1971, SABR has become a leading resource for researchers, historians, and enthusiasts interested in the game of baseball. The organization publishes a wide range of research papers, journals, and books, covering topics such as player performance, team strategy, and the history of the game.

 

In addition to its research activities, SABR also hosts a number of events and conferences throughout the year, including the annual SABR Analytics convention. This convention takes place at the beginning of March, corresponding with the beginning of spring training. These events provide a valuable opportunity for industry professionals, researchers, and enthusiasts to come together, share their work, and engage in lively discussions about the game of baseball. This is arguably the holy grain of baseball conventions and provides research and presentations that cannot be found anywhere else.

 

SABR is also host to the SABR Analytics Certification program. This program is currently a two part course, the first section, named Conversational Analytics and Critical Thinking in Baseball, is “[a]n introductory exploration of baseball data and analytics, including historical eras of analytics, descriptive vs. predictive data, metrics vs. statistics, key hitting, pitching, and fielding terms and practical applications of each, and player comparisons.” It is geared towards anyone who is interested in gaining a solid understanding of baseball analytics. This section is instructed by Jake Stone, the  Director of Operations & Player Development at Penn State University.

 

The second section, named Advanced Analytics in Baseball, is “[a] deeper study of the key concepts in baseball analytics – hitting, pitching, fielding, and base running metrics, park and league adjustments, replacement levels and WAR, as well as projections and economics – helping to develop critical thinking.” It aims to provide the users with an in-depth understanding of the theory behind the concepts learned in the first section. It is hosted by Ben Jedlovec, the Senior Director of Baseball Data Platform Product at Major League Baseball.