The National Pastime

The National Pastime is a publication of the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR). It was originally an annual magazine geared to publishing articles on baseball with a cultural and historical bent, while its sister publication, The Baseball Research Journal focused on more hard-core research; however, over the years, the lines between the two became blurred and in 2008, SABR announced that it would merge the two publications, under the Journal's name, with a bi-annual publication schedule. The name The National Pastime is now used for the Society's publication related to its annual convention; it gathers articles around a geographic theme related to the convention's host city.

The National Pastime had acquired a reputation as a key vehicle for the publication of original research related to baseball, alongside its sister publication The Baseball Research Journal. Under its new format, it continues to be a must-read publication, as the most recent convention journals have included a wealth of information on local baseball history. Examples are the 2006 Convention journal entitled Rain Check: Baseball in the Pacific Northwest, and the 2008 journal Batting Four Thousand: Baseball in the Western Reserve.

The National Pastime is distributed free to SABR members as part of their annual membership dues. Additional copies and back issues can be purchased by anyone via the University of Nebraska Press.

List of Thematic Issues

• 2006: Rain Check: Baseball in the Pacific Northwest, Mark Armour, editor.
• 2008: Batting Four Thousand: Baseball in the Western Reserve, Brad Sullivan, editor.
• 2009: Monumental Baseball: The National Pastime in the National Capital Region, Bob Brown, editor.
• 2010: Baseball in the Peach State, Ken Fenster and Wynn Montgomery, editors.
• 2011: Endless Seasons: Baseball in Southern California, Jean Hastings Ardell and Andy McCue, editors.
• 2012: Short but Wondrous Summers: Baseball in the North Star State, Daniel R. Levitt, editor.
• 2013: From Swampoodle to South Philly: Baseball in Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley, Morris Levin, editor.
• 2014: Baseball in the Space Age: Houston Since 1961, Cecilia Tan, editor.
• 2015: North Side, South Side, All Around the Town: Baseball in Chicago, Stuart Shea, editor.
• 2016: Baseball in the Sunshine State, Cecilia Tan, editor.
• 2017: New York, New York: Baseball in the Big Apple, Cecilia Tan, editor.
• 2018: Steel City Stories, Cecilia Tan, editor.
• 2019: Pacific Ghosts, Cecilia M. Tan, editor.
• 2020: A Bird's-Eye View of Baltimore, Cecilia M. Tan, editor.
• 2021: The Future According to Baseball, Marty Resnick and Cecilia M. Tan, editors.
• 2022: Major Research on the Minor Leagues, Cecilia M. Tan, editor.
• 2023: Heart of the Midwest Tour, Cecilia M. Tan, editor.
• 2024: Baseball in the Land of 10,000 Lakes, Michael J. Haupert, editor.

Related Sites

• The SABR publications website