Although we are still seven months away from SABR 39, the Bob Davids Chapter and SABR staff are already making plans and getting ready, and this year you can keep up with all the news on this web site. We will be posting updates about convention planning, articles about Washington, D.C., and other news to help you prepare as we get closer to the convention, so you will want to be sure to keep up to date with what's here.

But you actually don't even need to visit the website to keep up - this is the first official SABR site to have an RSS feed. If you're already familiar with feeds, you can find the link on the right side of the page. But if you're not, let me explain, because you will be seeing more of these on SABR's pages in the future.

To put it simply, feeds are a way of finding out when websites you like are updated without having to visit the sites over and over again. You can get one program (or one website) to look at all of them for you and tell you when something changes. If you'd like a more detailed explanation than that, here is a good article on feeds. If you have a Google or Yahoo account, you already have access to a good feed reader, since both sites allow you to put feeds on your home page; click on the Google or Yahoo icon on the right, and it will take you directly to a page where you can add the SABR 39 feed to your page. Many other web sites and some programs allow you to do the same thing, but you may need to copy the "RSS 2.0" link and paste it into the page.

A feed reader isn't that useful with only one feed, though, so here are links to two more: The Sporting News's Baseball News feed and The Baseball Reference Bullpen's Today in Baseball History

If you have any questions about feeds in general or the feed from this site, send me an email - my address is pgarver@sabr.org. Otherwise, subscribe today and keep up! (And don't forget to register – there are only 8 days left to register for $85!)

The short answer to the question: “What’s close to our hotel?” is “A whole lot.”  The J.W. Marriott Hotel (the flagship hotel of the entire Marriott chain) is located on Pennsylvania Avenue in downtown Washington, DC, a short two-block walk from the White House. This fantastic venue is within walking distance of the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, the Jefferson Memorial, the National Archives, 32 museums of the Smithsonian Institution, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, Ford’s Theater, and FBI headquarters. For those who don’t mind a longer walk, the J.W. Marriott is less than a mile from the World War II Memorial and the National Gallery and less than 2 miles from the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and the Capitol Building. If that’s too far, the hotel is just a short walk away from a Metro Station with access to the Blue/Orange/Red lines.

The Library of Congress, a healthy walk or a short cab ride away, boasts unparalleled research opportunities. We are working to arrange private tours for convention attendees. Convention program chairman David Vincent, who is also the Washington Nationals’ official scorer, promises an outstanding lineup. The rich baseball heritage of the National Capitol area will be explored at the convention, including the major- and minor-league Baltimore Orioles, Homestead Grays, Baltimore Elite Giants, and two incarnations of the Washington Senators, not to mention the Nats.

The convention is also within easy driving distance of 16 minor-league parks and two major league venues: Camden Yards in Baltimore and Nationals Park in Washington. This is truly a convention locale that the entire family will enjoy.

For the convention, SABR has negotiated a rate of $179/night plus tax (currently 14.5%) at the JW Marriott. The SABR rate will be in effect between July 26 and August 5 in case you would like to stay a few extra days for sight-seeing.

To make reservations by phone, call 800-266-9432 or 506-474-2009. Tell them that you are making your reservations at the JW Marriott Pennsylvania Avenue for the Society for American Baseball Research -- SABR 2009 Annual convention. All reservations must be accompanied by a first night room deposit or guaranteed with a major credit card. Deadline for reservations by attendees is Monday, June 29, 2009.

You can also make reservations online at: https://resweb.passkey.com/go/sabr2009

View Larger Map

The J.W. Marriott, SABR 39's official hotel, has played a unique role in DC history.

The following comes from "On This Spot: Pinpointing History in Washington, D.C." by Douglas E. Evelyn and SABR member Paul Dickson.

"Now occupied by the J.W. Marriott Hotel, this corner [the northeast corner of Pennsylvania Avenue and 14th Street NW] once served as the intersection of `Newspaper Row' and `Rum Row.' Along 14th Street were the offices of the New York Herald, The New York Times, New York World, Philadelphia Public Ledger, Boston Transcript and Cincinnati Gazette.

"After the Civil War, the Western Union telegraph office was located around the corner on what was then called E Street. In the 1890s, and also serving newspapermen of the day, was Rum Row, a string of watering holes along Pennsylvania Avenue that began at 14th Street and ran eastward. It included Tim Sullivan's popular bar and the Lawrence Hotel, which sported a beer garden and Washington's first cabaret. George Rothwell Brown recounted that colonel Joseph Rickey, a St. Louis lobbyist and drinkmeister at nearby Shoomaker's Tavern, was the originator of the `Whiskey Rickey,' composed of whiskey, Apollinarium (mineral water) and lime juice, later made with gin and called the `Gin Rickey' [editor's note: no apparent relation to Hall of Fame executive and confirmed teetotaler Branch Rickey].

"For must of the 20th century the building at the intersection of Pennsylvania and 14th, taking in Newspaper Row and part of Rum Row, was occupied by Bassin's Restaurant, a downtown magnet for those in search of an economical meal, including tourists, office workers and reporters from the adjacent National Press Building. Bassin's opened the city's first sidewalk cafe her in 1961, winning the city's approval despite predictions of dire consequences, including the attraction of ladies of the night. None of the forecasts came to pass.

"In the late 1970s and early 1980s Bassin's and the Washington Post building on E Street were razed as part of the Pennsylvania Avenue redevelopment. Today Newspaper Row and rum row are occupied by the J.W. Marriott Hotel, the National Theatre and The Shops at National Place."

For a far more recent indicator of the J.W. Marriott Hotel being at the core of what's happening in Washington, click to read an article that appeared on the front page of Dec. 4's Washington Post, in which a Virginia businessman paid the hotel's $1 million asking price -- and planned to spend another $600,000 -- to assemble a "build-you-own-ball" package so that the disadvantaged could attend presidential inauguration ceremonies: The Benefactor of the Ball.

SABR 39 in Washington: It's going to be monumental.

SABR 39 Logo

The Bob Davids Chapter, SABR’s most tenured chapter, is proud to host the 2009 annual SABR convention July 29-August 2 at the J.W. Marriott Hotel (the flagship hotel of the entire Marriott chain) on Pennsylvania Avenue in downtown Washington, DC, a short two-block walk from the White House. The rooms there are currently being renovated but will all be ready in time—and at 2007 rates!

This fantastic venue is within walking distance of numerous tourist attractions including the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, the Jefferson Memorial, the National Archives, the 32 museums of the Smithsonian Institution, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, the Supreme Court, the Capitol, Ford’s Theater and FBI headquarters.

The Library of Congress, also just a brief walk away, boasts unparalleled research opportunities. Private tours will also be available to convention attendees.

Convention program chairman David Vincent, who is also the Washington Nationals' official scorer, promises an outstanding lineup.

The rich baseball heritage of the National Capitol area will be explored at the convention covering the major- and minor-league Baltimore Orioles, Homestead Grays, Baltimore Elite Giants and two incarnations of the Washington Senators, not to mention the Nats.

The convention is also within easy driving distance of 16 minor-league parks and two major league venues: Camden Yards in Baltimore and Nationals Park in Washington. At least one member of the SABR Board has predicted that attendance at SABR 39 will shatter previous records.

Come and bring your family—all of them! It will be an experience you will all remember for a lifetime.