I’ll start with the local stuff – our local group has three meetings a year, one in late January/early February, one in late April/early May, and one in October. We also usually get together to take in a couple of minor league games together each summer. Our winter meeting (upcoming) is typically our largest. It’s in the media room in the basement of Progressive Field, and this year takes place on Saturday, February 9 from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. with a break for lunch. That’s the typical format for our meetings, but there are some people that just come for a small part of the day rather than the whole thing. The schedule differs from meeting to meeting, but we usually have a mix of research or statistical presentations and special guests. Some of our past special guests include Assistant GM Mike Chernoff, and Sean Gibson, great-grandson of Negro League legend Josh Gibson (just as an example).

I’m currently working to finalize the Feb. 9 schedule and will probably post something on here once everything is settled. It’s open to the public, you don’t have to be a member. It’s only $2 to attend, and that money just goes to buy pop and snacks for everyone. I always suggest to people that if you want to know more about the organization, yet are uncertain it’s for you, etc. to try out a local meeting and see what you think.

As for the national group, there’s a membership discount if you’re under 30 (I think it’s $20 cheaper…regular membership is $65 a year). With that, there are several publications we get throughout the year, online access to back issues of the Sporting News, and you can also join many of SABR’s various sub-groups. There are a lot of them (there’s a full list here: http://sabr.org/node/27) but the idea is that you join things geared toward your interests. For example, I belong to the Negro League group, the women in baseball group, and the ballparks group, to name a few. Some are more active than others; many have very active online communities and message boards. I’ve also seen somewhere that we’re going to have access to a number of free ebooks this year; I know they recently had a free download of a book on the 1984 Tigers.

There’s also a big SABR Convention each year (2013 is in Philly, it was in Cleveland in 2008). It moves to a new city each year, but it’s usually pretty cool. You can attend even if you’re not a member, but I think you get a discount as a member. Some of the subgroups have their own conferences; for example, I know the Negro League committee has one (like I mentioned) and I believe the 19th century committee also has one.

Hopefully this helps some. If you (or anyone else reading) has any other questions, don’t hesitate to ask!