Posted By:
Rich Klein I've been a SABR member for 20 years now and understand that just in like any group there are good people and bad people. In addition, just because a few people (not everyone on the committee and not everyone in SABR) who are members of SABR made decisions for the HOF which some people construe as bad because a couple of great spokesmen for baseball were not elected (Buck and Minnie) that does not mean one should condemn the entire organization.
This was a serious post encouraging those collectors who happen to live near Hot Springs, (which at one point many teams and individual players used for spring training) Arkansas to see why players came there, take one of the famous baths, and connect with baseball historians who are specialists in the era of which many posters and lurkers collect very heavily.
Personally, I have made some long term friends and contacts by attending the first two conventions and you'd be amazed as to the collecting passion of some of the attendees as well.
Now, this is not as well written as the beautifully constructed post by one of the founding 16, but I hope you all understand that SABR is far more than a group of stat heads trying to play GM in today's baseball.
Regards
Rich Klein
SABR member since 1985 and damned proud of it