A Retraction and an Apology
Today's Newsletter
The issue of Here’s the Pitch that was published today, April 7, featured an article titled “SABR's 2023 CHICAGO CONFERENCE DATES ARE A REAL HEAD-SCRATCHER.” This article does not reflect the views of the IBWAA or Here’s the Pitch. We would like to retract it and we apologize to the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR).
The article states, “The conference starts July 5, overlapping family vacation plans for many members, and ends July 9, two days after All-Star weekend begins in Seattle. As the author of a brand-new book this year… I would have loved to sit, sell, and chat in the Vendors Room… Unfortunately, that’s not going to happen. In fact, I worry that quite a few prospective attendees — especially those of us in the media… will have the same reaction.” The issues detailed here are hyperspecific to a small handful of people who are willing and able to attend both the SABR Conference and MLB All-Star Weekend. There are thousands of SABR members and there’s no possible way to align the calendars of everyone who may want to attend. Furthermore, everyone in life has scheduling conflicts with multiple events they would like to attend for personal or professional reasons. This is not newsworthy and should not have been published.
SABR and the IBWAA are like-minded, complementary organizations and the IBWAA deeply values our partnership. SABR is an outstanding organization that is responsible for an immensity of baseball research and knowledge over its 51-year history. They go to great lengths to plan events and initiatives that foster collaboration, exploration, and connection between people who love the game. The IBWAA is grateful for the outstanding work of SABR members, staff, and leaders in service to the baseball community.
The IBWAA is proud to represent more than 800 baseball writers and content creators. Any of our members are welcome to write for Here’s the Pitch, our daily newsletter. We believe this is a strength of both the association and the newsletter itself. Here’s the Pitch readers love seeing content from different writers each day covering a subgenre of baseball they may not have previously explored. At the same time, many of our members love using Here’s the Pitch to reach new audiences. Naturally, with so many different contributors, there will be varying opinions and ideas which may oppose each other from time to time. We do our best to give voice to all of these opinions as long as they are cogent, thought through, and reflective of or relevant to a subset of readers and fans. Today’s article did not meet all of those criteria. We apologize to SABR and our readers.
-Daniel R. Epstein
Co-Director
Internet Baseball Writers Association of America
I'm a SABR member, and today's piece seemed like fair comment to me, even if I disagree with it. I accept that perhaps you'd want to make it clear that the views were those of the author, not IBWAA, but a "retraction and apology" seems like an over-reaction. Just my opinion.