You may have heard this phrase before in conjunction with Hank Greenberg, Roger Maris, Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa and Barry Bonds, but SABR 39 is on pace to smash the all-time single-season SABR convention record of 726, set in St. Louis in 2007. This is according to SABR executive director John Zajc in comments he made during an informal "State of SABR" address January 24 during the  Bob Davids (Baltimore-Washington) Chapter's annual meeting, held in Columbia, Maryland, just about in the middle of the chapter's two main cities.

There are already 391 registrations six months before the convention is to begin. That's 53.9 percent to the St. Louis convention's levels. And, as of January 19, 830 room nights had been reserved by SABR members at the J.W. Marriott Hotel in downtown Washington -- the convention headquarters --  61.5 percent toward the convention goal of 1,350.

Zajc came to Washington with SABR knowledge management director Peter Garver to meet with SABR members at the chapter meeting and to conduct a walk-through with chapter leaders of the hotel to determine the best possible placement for events and other convention necessities.

Keep in mind that March 15 is the deadline to submit abstracts for research presentations at the convention, to be held July 30-August 2.

If you want take a longer view... If you'd like to sit in on a SABR board meeting during the convention, then mark Wednesday, July 29, on your calendar. The meeting is scheduled to start at 10 a.m. inside the J.W. Marriott Hotel.

And, for just a slight bit longer. SABR has already purchased 1,000 tickets for the Baltimore Orioles-Boston Red Sox game to be played Friday, July 31, at Camden Yards in Baltimore. The Red Sox are a tough ticket to get in Baltimore, and we believe we've acquired enough tickets to satisfy demand for you and any family members or friends who want to take in the game. While you could drive or take a commuter train from Washington to Baltimore, SABR is reserving buses to enable you to make the trip comfortably and in style.

It's just like we've been saying: SABR 39 -- a monumental convention!

How long does it take to plan a SABR convention? Ask anyone who's been involved: The wheels start turning as soon as the convention site is named, and go into motion with each succeeding convention to track what the new host committee likes and doesn't like,.

It's no different with the Bob Davids Chapter, the Baltimore-Washington SABR chapter. There are a multitude of details to get right, given the high advance numbers already pre-registered for the convention, to be held July 30-August 2 at the J.W. Marriott Hotel in downtown Washington, D.C.

The chapter is conducting its annual meeting January 24 in nearby Columbia, Maryland. Coming in from SABR headquarters in Cleveland is SABR President John Zajc and Peter Garver, SABR's new knowledge coordinator.

John and Peter will get together with the chapter's convention planning team following the chapter meeting to go over details that have been firmed up and identify what needs firming up. Even though we're still more than a half-year from the convention, there are things that can't be left to chance.

However, because there are still six months left before the convention, SABR members should have an opportunity to inquire about different aspects of the convention. If you have questions, concerns or general comments e-mail them now to John Zajc at jzajc@sabr.org. He will bring your comments with him and we'll address as many as we can while we're all in the convention city -- so that when you get there, you'll be faced with a minimum number of questions and concerns yourself.

Here's the first of what could be several "did you know" reports about SABR 39. This report will focus on the early registration numbers.

• Did you know ... that 389 SABR members have registered early for SABR 39?
• Did you know ... that the above figures does NOT include four members under age 18 who have also registered?
• Did you know ... that these numbers exceed SABR's own projections by nearly 24 percent?
• Did you know ... that among the 389 + 4, a whopping 68 of them will be attending their first SABR convention? That's 17.4 percent of the total. For the sake of comparison, in Cleveland last year, there were 130 first-time attendees (20.57 percent); in St. Louis in 2007, there were 157 first-timers (21.45 percent); and in Seattle in 2006, there were 141 rookies (26.16 percent).
• Did you know ... that our biggest early-registration numbers come from the great states of New York (41) Virginia (40), Maryland (38), Ohio (31) and California (29)? (People in Congress tend to refer to their colleagues as coming from "the great state of" someplace or other before they verbally twist a knife in their back.)
• Did you know ... that on a percentage basis, we've gotten the most early registrations from Oregon (15.7 percent of all SABR members in the state), Maryland (15.4 percent), Virginia (14.2 percent) and Delaware (9.7 percent)?
• Did you know ... that 11 of our early registrants hail from outside the United States?
• Did you know ... that rooms on some nights at the J.W. Marriott, the official convention hotel, are already limited? Early attendees should not that SABR's block of room is already sold out for Monday, July 27, three days before the official convention kickoff, and that there are only seven rooms available for Tuesday, July 28. (Most people register the day before the official convention start date and settle in inside their hotel room or take part in a variety of pre-convention activities.)
• Did you know... that 156 rooms have already been reserved for the night of Friday, July 31? They'll come in handy after SABRites and their families and friends make it back from Baltimore after having taken in the opener in a series against the Boston Red Sox.
• Did you know ... that SABR 39, July 30-August 2 in Washington, D.C., will be a monumental experience? What, you didn't? Well, you know it now!

 How can you get to Washington, D.C., for SABR 39? Let us count the ways.

There's airplane. Washington is served by three airports.

• Washington Ronald Reagan National Airport ("National" in popular parlance) is the closest airport to the J.W. Marriott Hotel in downtown Washington. In fact, it's even possible to take the Metro subway system from the airport to downtown. It's not uncommon to see travelers schlepping their luggage on the subway going to or from National. The National Airport station is on both Metro's Yellow and Blue lines. In this case, you'd be better off taking the Blue Line in the direction of Morgan Road and get off at Metro Center, and walk a few blocks to 1400 Pennsylvania Ave. (Airport code: DCA)
• Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport ("BWI") in popular parlance is not as close, but may offer your flight times and prices that you prefer over other airports. From BWI, you can take a bus that gets you to the Metro system, or you can get on a commuter train called the MARC, which runs to Union Station, D.C., train station. As with National, Union Station has a Metro stop. Get on the Red Line in the direction of Shady Grove and get off at Metro Center. The Super Shuttle will also take you straight to the hotel. (Airport code: BWI)
• Dulles International Airport (we like to call it "Dulles") is a hub for United Airlines, and may work out better than National or BWI for some travelers. The Washington Flyer has a shuttle van service that takes you to the Orange Line of the Metro, and from there you can take the Orange Line to Metro Center and walk to the hotel. (Airport code: IAD)
  

There's also the train. Because Washington is smack dab in the middle of the East Coast corridor, train service is reliable and may prove cost-effective (save your money for the vendors' tables!). Amtrak runs the Acela high-speed service along the East Coast, but other trains which make more stops along the route can also be had at a better price. They stop at Union Station, and from there you can follow the Metro directions to the hotel.

Taxis are available at all three airports and at Union Station. But BWI and Dulles are a good 30 miles from downtown D.C., so that meter could start running faster than Forrest Gump if you're not careful. But if you're coming with your family or other SABR members, you can amortize the cost.

And you can always drive. Parking can be pricey in the nation's capital -- maybe upward of $20 a day. But it gives you the best chance at mobility during the convention, which is nothing to sniff at.

But getting there's only half the fun. The other half will be July 30-August 2, when SABR 39 is in full swing in Washington.