Video Transcript
Hannah Beam: Across Arizona, players are back on the field for spring training, getting in reps and preparing for the long season ahead. For fans, it’s one of the first signs that baseball is back.
Beam: Out here in Tempe, Arizona at Diablo Stadium, players are preparing for the season through reps on the field. But across town this week, scholars are studying baseball in a different way, through research, history, and storytelling at the annual NINE Spring Training Conference.
Daniel Levitt: Just about the presentations is that they’re very different. There’s history, there’s culture, there’s sociology, there’s stuff going back a long way, there’s how things are affecting the modern world. So it’s a very diverse group of presentations that come as well.
Beam: The conference brings together historians, writers, and researchers from across the country to share work and learn from one another.
Levitt: I think just the breadth of the topics that happen are very educational and interesting and help people think about how the world works. And of course, personally, I think the benefit is I get to see my friends once a year, like a high school reunion or something.
Beam: The conference also gives students the chance to present their own research alongside longtime scholars.
Brynn Wisniewski: The first night, people were cracking jokes, very welcoming, very introducing themselves and saying hi. And after the first couple of presentations, I could tell that it was a good group of people. And I gave my presentation this morning on the last day, and getting all the positive feedback and connections have been super amazing.
Beam: Wisniewski says listening to other presenters helped her see how the sport connects to much more than just what happens on the field.
Wisniewski: I think it definitely shows the business side and the academic side of the sport. It’s not just a game where you can go. I mean, obviously, you can sit out in the sun, watch the game, watch the players, get the food, do all the things. But it adds so much to the sport and how it impacts the world, the country, and all the things that impact.
Beam: As the baseball season approaches, the work happening at conferences like this helps preserve the sport’s history while shaping how people understand the game today. Reporting in Tempe, Arizona, Hannah Beam, NCC News
TEMPE, A.Z. (NCC News) — As Major League Baseball teams prepare for the upcoming season during spring training in Arizona, researchers are also preparing by presenting new studies on the sport’s history, culture and influence.
The annual NINE Spring Training Conference brings together scholars, historians, writers and fans from around the country to share research on baseball from a wide range of disciplines. Presentations this year explored topics such as stadium development, baseball history, and the sport’s social impact.
Syracuse University students were among the presenters, including first-time attendee Brynn Wisniewski. Her research examined how stadium development influences the identity and culture of surrounding communities, focusing on Busch Stadium in St. Louis.
Wisniewski said the idea grew out of previous coursework where she studied the economic and social effects of major sporting events.
“My research focused on stadium development and the impact that communities have, specifically looking at Busch Stadium in St. Louis,” Wisniewski said.
Although it was her first time presenting at the conference, Wisniewski said the welcoming environment helped ease the nerves that often come with presenting research in front of experienced scholars.
“I was definitely nervous going into it, but it was so nice,” Wisniewski said. “People were cracking jokes, introducing themselves, and after the first couple of presentations, I could tell it was a really good group of people.”
The conference also attracts veteran researchers who return each year to present new work and reconnect with colleagues.
Daniel Levitt, a baseball historian who presented research on a failed attempt to form a rival league called the American Association in 1899 and 1900, said the collaborative atmosphere is part of what keeps attendees coming back.
“It’s really fun. A lot of it is social,” Levitt said. “After a while, you meet people and become friends with them.”
Levitt first attended the conference in 2006 and said the event has become an opportunity to exchange ideas and learn about the many ways baseball intersects with broader cultural and historical issues.
“It’s a great learning experience,” Levitt said. “The breadth of topics are educational and interesting and help people think about how the world works.”
Sessions throughout the conference highlighted how baseball research extends far beyond the field, touching areas such as business, sociology, and urban development. Wisniewski said those perspectives helped demonstrate the sport’s influence beyond game day.
“It’s not just a game you sit and watch,” Wisniewski said. “It adds so much to the sport and how it impacts the world.”
While players take the field across Arizona’s Cactus League stadiums to prepare for the upcoming season, conference researchers continue examining baseball’s past and present, offering new insights into how the sport shapes communities and culture.