Early Sabermetrics Archive – Bill James, Project Scoresheet, Sabermetric Review

[MallardRoad]

Hi all,

I’m a new member and just joined because I ended up getting a few folders of very early Bill James, Sabermetrics and Project Scoresheet papers — all were included in a purchase I made of some books, basically as a throw in, and I was wondering if anyone might tell me if what I have here is significant or not, not sure what I’ll do with it but I would like to look over in coming weeks. Anyway, all told, it’s 17 issues of Bill James Baseball Abstract Newsletter (Vol. 1 and 2, incl. special editions); 13 issues of Sabermetric Review (1986–1987); and about 60 documents from Project Scoresheet: handwritten scoresheets, typed forms, internal memos, scorer instructions, election statements, and signed letters from Gillette, Tippett, and others … I am going to upload a few photos too. I’m a casual fan raised rooting for the 70s and 80s Phils but not a huge collector or anything, so any light you can shed on it is appreciated. Thank you!.

[thetahat]

Wow that’s great stuff! South Jerseyan here also raised on 70s-80s Phillies and I really miss The Vet. Also currently a statistics professor who grew up reading the annual Bill James Baseball Abstract, it combined my loves of baseball and math. I don’t know how much value this has as a collectible but it’s super cool.

[MallardRoad]

Oh wow that’s interesting and, yes, I miss the big old lunk too — and what I’ll remember most about the Vet were the awful years, how my dad who hated to pay for parking would have us walk around south Philly and the meatpacking plants so we could save a few bucks, then in those lean years watching with disgust as Mets fans flooded the park. He was a pilot and one year we flew to Clearwater for spring training where I saw this overpowering pitcher for the AAA Braves team, and for years as a kid I followed him through the Sporting News I’d buy each week at the mall and then one day, years later, he was traded by the White Sox to the Phils and he lasted all of four or five games and never played again. He is the answer to a very obscure trivia question: which pitcher’s last ever win was a no hitter? None other than Joe Cowley.

[thetahat]

Originally Posted by MallardRoad

Oh wow that’s interesting and, yes, I miss the big old lunk too — and what I’ll remember most about the Vet were the awful years, how my dad who hated to pay for parking would have us walk around south Philly and the meatpacking plants so we could save a few bucks, then in those lean years watching with disgust as Mets fans flooded the park. He was a pilot and one year we flew to Clearwater for spring training where I saw this overpowering pitcher for the AAA Braves team, and for years as a kid I followed him through the Sporting News I’d buy each week at the mall and then one day, years later, he was traded by the White Sox to the Phils and he lasted all of four or five games and never played again. He is the answer to a very obscure trivia question: which pitcher’s last ever win was a no hitter? None other than Joe Cowley.

Whoa … me too. My father didn’t want to pay to park, either. We always parked near the Abbotts warehouse. Short walk!

Joe Cowley just completely lost the strike zone … I remember that too well …