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The Society for American Baseball Research was established in Cooperstown, New York, in August of 1971. The Society's mission is to foster the research and dissemination of the history and record of baseball, while generating interest in the game.

SABR, which is pronounced "saber" and whose acronym led to the creation of the word sabermetrics (the usage of mathematical tools to analyze baseball), is about much more than statistics. Members include not only "sabermetricians" Bill James (perhaps the best known SABR member to the general public) and Rob Neyer, but also other people active in the baseball world such as Keith Olbermann, Roland Hemond, and Bob Costas. Jeff Bajenaru is believed to be the only active player with a SABR membership; Elden Auker, Larry Dierker, and Andy Seminick also have been involved. Some of the more prominent members include SABR Founder Bob Davids (deceased), Bob McConnell (researcher deluxe), Cliff Kachline (historian). Pete Palmer (encyclopedist), Art Schott (historian), Dave Smith (retrosheet), Dave Vincent (home run log), Dick Clark (Negro Leagues), Ron Liebman (historical stats), Bill Carle (Biographical Committee), Frank Phelps (bibliographical committee) and Lyle Spatz (Records Committee), and David Nemec (prolific author). John Zajc is currently Executive Director.

Only a minority of members pursue "number crunching" research. Rather, SABR offers a community of fans organized in two ways. Research Committees study a particular issue. Regional Chapters are for members in geographic proximity. They are frequently named after baseball personalities relevant to the region.

SABR members also keep in touch through online directories and listservs set up through the central SABR office, which is based in Cleveland, Ohio. The central office also maintains a number of research tools on its website, including a lending library, home run and triple play logs, and course syllabi related to the game.

SABR offers an annual convention to its members at a different site each year. The conference generally includes panel discussions, research presentations, city-specific tourism, a ballgame, and an awards banquet. It also sponsors a literary conference in Cleveland and a Negro Leagues conference, held in a different location each year.

The 2006 convention was held in Seattle, Washington, from June 28th through July 2nd, with former Major League Baseball pitcher and author Jim Bouton as the keynote speaker. The 2007 convention was held in St. Louis, Missouri, featured Joe Garagiola as the keynote speaker and set the attendance record with 726 registered attendees out of approximately 7,000 SABR members. [1]

• Baseball statistics
• Retrosheet

• Society for American Baseball Research Official Site
  • SABR's BioProject committee, whose goal is to write in-depth biographies of every MLB player