Introducing SABR’s Baseball Games Project

One of the benefits of a membership in the Society for American Baseball Research is not just learning about the game, but also the satisfaction of sharing what you know with others.  The organization is offering its members yet another such opportunity with the SABR Baseball Games Project.

This project is a spinoff of the highly successful Baseball Biography Project, which to date has collected more than 2,600 biographies of players, managers, umpires, executives, and others who have played a role in the game’s history.  Rather than focusing on individuals, the Games Project will center on (you guessed it) games.

The articles eventually will be posted to their own section of the SABR website and also will be linked by Retrosheet. These narratives will complement the Retrosheet box scores and play-by-play accounts by providing the very important context in which each game was played.  You might say these are intended to be the stories behind the box scores.

Over the years, we have heard from some SABR members who are eager to take a crack at writing but who feel intimidated by the perceived demands of the Bio Project.  If you fit that description, the Games Project is an excellent chance for you to try your hand.  These articles, at between 500 and 1,500 words, will be much shorter than those for the Biography Project and should require much less time to research.  It doesn’t matter whether you are Rob Neyer or someone who hasn’t done any formal writing since you were in school; we just want you to leap in and get involved.

They should be third-person accounts.  In other words, if you want to write about the first game you attended as a kid, go for it.  However, the focus of your article should be the game itself, not the fact that you were there (although we will allow a brief “Author’s Note” at the end of the article if you want to mention any personal connection that you have with the game).

Furthermore, these should not be mere play-by-play accounts — that information usually is already easily accessible online.  Yes, writers certainly will have to focus on the big plays, but we also want more.  Why was the game important?  What did those involved have to say about it?   In hindsight, was the game relevant in a way that might not have been fully appreciated at the time?  In other words, tell us something we would not learn from reading the box score.

Authors can take many different angles.  The May 17, 1979 game between the Cubs and Phillies, which the Phillies won 23-22, might demand more emphasis on what happened on the field.  However, the April 17, 1955 game between the Dodgers and Pirates (Roberto Clemente’s debut) could warrant focusing a brighter spotlight on Clemente in particular, how people were talking about him that spring, and what he did in the game.

Please note that from the perspective of this project, all games are created equal.  A September game featuring two teams 20 games out of first place is just as worthy of an article as Game 7 of the 1960 World Series.  This is the same philosophy that has guided the Biography Project, which tells the stories of not only the stars, but also of the utility infielders and third-string catchers whose names have grown obscure but who nonetheless contributed to the history of the game simply by wearing a uniform.

This is a great chance for you to make a lasting contribution to baseball’s historical record.  We have posted three sample articles here, here and here .  For information on how to get involved, research tips, and other details, please check out the Games Project guidelines.