Fagerstrom, Rowley, Kimes win 2017 SABR Analytics Conference Research Awards
August Fagerstrom, Meg Rowley, and Mina Kimes were announced as the winners of 2017 SABR Analytics Conference Research Awards on Saturday, March 11 at the sixth annual SABR Analytics Conference in Phoenix, Arizona.
Fagerstrom was voted as the winner of the Contemporary Baseball Analysis Award for his article “The Game Plan: How the Indians Almost Won It All,” which was published by FanGraphs on November 4, 2016. Fagerstrom is a former staff writer for FanGraphs who also covered the Cleveland Indians for MLB.com and Ohio.com. He is an alumnus of Kent State University. This was his final article for FanGraphs before taking a job in a major-league front office.
Rowley was voted as the winner of the Contemporary Baseball Commentary Award for her article “Let Ballparks Get Old,” published by Baseball Prospectus on May 26, 2016. Rowley writes weekly columns for Baseball Prospectus. She serves as the Washington Engagement Officer with The Trust for Public Land nonprofit in Seattle and holds a master’s degree in political science from the University of Wisconsin.
Kimes was voted as the winner of the Historical Baseball Analysis/Commentary Award for her article “The Art of Letting Go,” published by ESPN The Magazine on October 4, 2016. Kimes joined ESPN The Magazine as a columnist and senior writer in 2014. This article focused on the history and evolution of “bat flipping” among baseball players in South Korea. Previously, she worked for Bloomberg News and Fortune Magazine, where she penned pieces on topics from arms exports to tainted drugs.
The SABR Analytics Conference Research Awards recognize baseball researchers who have completed the best work of original analysis or commentary during the preceding calendar year.
Voting for the winners was conducted online from January 27-February 13, 2017, at SABR.org, BaseballProspectus.com, FanGraphs.com, HardballTimes.com, and BeyondtheBoxScore.com, with results weighted equally at 20%.
Originally published: March 11, 2017. Last Updated: July 27, 2020.