SABR Day Celebration: Baltimore Babe Ruth Chapter

SABR Day is a way for all baseball fans to come together, regardless of where they live, and talk about the game we all love. Regional chapters are also encouraged to plan their own SABR Day events (virtually or in person) throughout the months of January or February to celebrate the start of a new baseball season.

PRESENTERS 

Tyrone Brooks – SABR Member and Senior Director of Major League Baseball’s Front Office & Field Staff Diversity Pipeline Program.  Tyrone will start us off with a presentation recognizing Martin Luther King, Jr., his friendship with Jackie Robinson and his work with MLB’s Pipeline Program designed to increase the pool of minority and female candidates for on-field and baseball operations positions.  Tyrone previously worked for the Pirates, Braves, and Guardians.

Rich Dubroff – SABR Member and Lead Orioles Writer at BaltimoreBaseball.com.  Rich will discuss the Orioles off-season moves with predictions for the coming year.  BaltimoreBaseball.com was founded in early 2016 to provide insight and analysis on the Orioles, their minor league affiliates, and the Baltimore-area high school and college baseball scene.

Benjamin Weingarten – Canopy Team Project Manager will discuss “The Design of the American Ballpark:  A study on the evolution of ballpark design and architectural trends through baseball history.  To explore the relationships between a city and venue and impact of design on fan behavior and revenue opportunities.” At Canopy, Ben manages the design and implementation of projects at sports venues   He has worked for 3 years with the Pirates on enhancements at PNC Park, the National Baseball Hall of Fame on a new retail store, the creation of Polar Park in Worcester and improvements at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea FC’s home in London.

Jane Leavy – Award-winning former sportswriter and feature writer for The Washington Post, known for diving into a subject and emerging with work that is both meticulously researched and narratively rich. Jane is the author of the national bestsellers The Big Fella: Babe Ruth and the World He Created, The Last Boy Book: Mickey Mantle and the End of America’s Childhood, Sandy Koufax: A Lefty’s Legacy, and the comic novel, Squeeze Play, called “the best novel ever written about baseball” by Entertainment Weekly. She lives in Washington, D.C. and Truro, Massachusetts.  Jane will discuss her newest bestselling book Make Me Commissioner: I Know What’s Wrong with Baseball and How to Fix It.

Don Rovak – Baltimore Orioles Chief Revenue Officer – Dan focuses on revenue generation through ticket and corporate sales in both Baltimore and Sarasota, Fla., and creating local economic impact for the city, state, and surrounding area. Don will discuss ongoing construction and upgrades coming to Camden Yards.

Sig Mejdal — Baltimore Orioles Vice President and Assistant General Manager for Analytics.

Tom Hanrahan – SABR Member – Tom will discuss this year’s World Series and how it ended on a very rare play: Alejandro Kirk grounding into a double play to give the Dodgers the trophy.  But had Kirk successfully connected with a hit – thereby scoring two to three runs, Kirk would have given the Blue Jays the trophy. And so, therein was the chance that the championship could have been won or lost based on that one plate appearance.  Tom will discuss the other (few) times where this occurred in a World Series – Game 7, home team up in the 9th or later, losing but with the potential winning run already on base, yet never scoring.

COST – $49 – includes a hot lunch from Hampden’s Blue Pit BBQ and drinks (Peabody Heights Beer including Old Oriole Park Bohemian will be on tap for purchase). 

TO REGISTER – CONTACT BBRC Treasurer Bob Brown via email at bacbrown@gmail.com – make checks payable to “BBRC of SABR” or pay via Venmo at @sabrbaberuth.

SWAP MEET – On hand will be lots of donated baseball books, memorabilia, souvenirs, apparel etc., available thru the BBRC swap meet (cash donations also welcome).

Peabody Heights is located on the former site of Terrapin Park, home of the Federal League Baltimore Terrapins, and Oriole Park V, home of the International League Orioles.