The Society for American Baseball Research (or SABR for short), which is the world’s leading organization for historical baseball research, has recently accepted Project Cobb (the Project for the Chronicling of British Baseball) under its umbrella as a Chartered Community. This important step for Project Cobb not only enhances its reputation as a group of research collaborators, but also helps to extend its reach.

The Chartered Community concept is a very new one, being established at the end of 2009. Baseball Think Factory members Chris Dial, Mike McCullough, and Paul Brewer made the excellent suggestion – at SABR’s 2009 national convention in Washington, DC -  for the organization to accept virtual chapters to “recognize the impact of the Internet and other technologies on the way in which SABR members interact,” as described in this press release. Baseball Think Factory was the inaugural Chartered Community, while Project Cobb becomes the fifth group to attain this status and the first that has a primary focus away from the game in North America.

I am very glad to welcome Josh Chetwynd alongside me as co-chair of the Project Cobb Chartered Community. While he is sorely missed from our TV screens, we can take solace in his persisting passion for British baseball.

How this development fits in with SABR UK
Project Cobb is the second UK-based research body linked to SABR, the first being the Bobby Thomson chapter, the UK’s regional chapter of SABR (also known as “SABR UK”). This group has conducted and published research both on American baseball played on British soil and on earlier bat and ball games native to our island. The work of the Bobby Thomson chapter has focused on the latter in recent years, most notably through the input of members into Base Ball Discovered. In contrast, Project Cobb adds impetus to the former area of research. Project Cobb and SABR UK are separate entities but reinforce each other’s research efforts through their partial overlap in scope (and membership).

What this means for contributors to Project Cobb who are not SABR members
To join the SABR Chartered Community for Project Cobb you will need to be a member of SABR, but this does not mean that you need to be a member of SABR to contribute to Project Cobb. So if you are a current contributor to Project Cobb but are not a paid-up member of SABR, and do not wish to become one, you do not need to worry about this. You can continue to contribute in exactly the way you did previously. The Chartered Community is, in essence, an extra arm for Project Cobb, rather than a new focus.

That said, if you have an interest in historical baseball research, then joining SABR – if not already a member – is something to which you should give serious consideration. It opens up a world of resources, research ideas, and potential collaborators.

More about SABR
SABR was formed in August 1971 in Cooperstown, NY. It now consists of more than 6700 members worldwide – including many prominent writers, officials, and former players. The purpose of SABR is to foster the research, preservation, and dissemination of the history and record of baseball. There is no test a person must pass to become active: all that’s asked of members is that they have an interest in baseball research, statistics, or history. For more information on joining SABR, click here.