This Week in SABR: December 5, 2025
Welcome to “This Week in SABR” on Friday, December 5, 2025.
Click here to view this newsletter on the web.
Let’s Bring it Home in 2025 and power SABR’s future together
Fall 2025 Baseball Research Journal is coming soon
2 weeks left to apply for SABR Analytics Conference scholarships
Call for papers: 2026 The National Pastime
Applications now open for Local Grants in 2026
 |
 |
 |
Let’s Bring it Home in 2025 and power SABR’s future together
SABR has made tremendous strides toward becoming the essential community for the baseball world, but our work isn’t finished. With your support, we can continue to invest in mission-driven initiatives that will ensure SABR’s growth and sustainability for years to come. Your contributions will help us expand our research resources, forge meaningful partnerships inside and outside the game, and create more opportunities for participation in our baseball community. Gifts from members like you help SABR BRING IT HOME, securing success in 2025 and beyond.
You can support SABR’s annual Bring it Home Campaign by making a donation of $150 or more by December 31, 2025. We will use your best gift of $150, $300, $500, or $1,000 to boost SABR’s general operations. Contributions from generous donors like you are critical in supporting SABR as we add to our research resources, develop collaborative partnerships that add value for our members, and expand opportunities to participate in the wonderful baseball community we’ve built together.
Visit SABR.org/donate/2025 to learn more.
Fall 2025 Baseball Research Journal is coming soon
With an original cover illustration of Lou Gehrig designed by SABR member Gary Cieradkowski, we hope you enjoy the e-book edition of the Fall 2025 Baseball Research Journal! The e-book edition will be sent to all SABR members next week. Anyone who has subscribed to the print edition should receive their copy in the mail in the next 2-4 weeks.
- Click here to order a copy of the print edition of the Fall 2025 Baseball Research Journal from Amazon.com.
- Click here to read articles online from the Baseball Research Journal archives in the SABR Research Collection.
We hope you enjoy reading the Fall 2025 Baseball Research Journal!
Early registration now open for 2026 SABR Analytics Conference
Early registration is now open for the SABR Analytics Conference, which will be held in person from February 27-March 1, 2026, at the Beus Center for Law and Society on Arizona State University’s Downtown Phoenix Campus in Phoenix, Arizona.
We’ll bring together the top minds in the baseball analytics community to discuss, debate, and share insightful ways to analyze and examine the great game of baseball. Register today to join us!
- Registration: Click here to register for the 2026 SABR Analytics Conference. Early-bird registration is $395 for SABR members, $495 for non-members, and $150 for currently enrolled high school or college students. Student-only virtual registration is $50. Students should email Scott Carter with a photo of their student ID to receive the discounted registration link.
- Student Registration: Students should email Scott Carter with a photo of their student ID to receive a special link to register at a discounted rate. Students have the option of choosing virtual ($50) or in-person ($150) registration. Both include access to General Session panels and presentations on Friday, February 27 through Sunday, March 1, and a student-only virtual session on Thursday, February 26. All student registrations also include a one-year SABR membership ($25 value) and a complimentary Rapsodo Certified Course ($395 value). SABR membership will be fulfilled after event sign-up and access to Rapsodo course will be delivered after the conference.
- Diamond Dollars Case Competition: Click here to register your team for the 2026 Diamond Dollars Case Competition. Registration is $1,750 per team, which includes admission to all SABR Analytics Conference sessions and a one-year SABR membership for each participant. Chaperones and advisors looking to attend the conference should register themselves separately here.
- Yoseloff Scholarship: Students, apply now for a Yoseloff Scholarship to attend the 2026 SABR Analytics Conference. Deadline: December 19, 2025.
- Research Awards: We’re seeking nominations for the 2026 SABR Analytics Conference Research Awards. Deadline: December 19, 2025.
- Certification Courses: The first three courses in the online, on-demand SABR Analytics Certification program, including the newest offering Level Three – Introduction to Baseball Programming, are available now. Click here to learn more or to sign up.
2 weeks left to apply for SABR Analytics Conference scholarships
With generous funding from The Nanar and Anthony Yoseloff Foundation, Inc., SABR will award up to four Yoseloff Scholarships to high school and college students who wish to attend the 2026 SABR Analytics Conference in Phoenix, Arizona. This scholarship will pay for all registration fees and expenses associated with the conference.
Awarded annually to four recipients, the Sarah Langs Women in Baseball Analytics Scholarship will provide meaningful professional development and networking opportunities for female students or young professionals pursuing a career in baseball analytics and data science. This scholarship will pay for all registration fees and expenses associated with the 2026 SABR Analytics Conference in Phoenix, Arizona; plus registration for all courses in the online SABR Analytics Certification program.
All applications must be postmarked or emailed to scarter@sabr.org by December 19, 2025.
Click here to learn more about SABR Scholarships.
Call for papers: 2026 The National Pastime
The next SABR national convention will be held on July 29-August 2, 2026, in Cleveland, Ohio. The 2026 issue of our annual convention journal, The National Pastime, will focus on “Baseball on Lake Erie.” Stories about Cleveland baseball — amateur, major league, minor league and Negro Leagues — will be welcomed, as will stories about baseball from other locales around Lake Erie, including Toledo, Buffalo and Southern Ontario.
- All SABR members are welcome to submit an article for TNP; abstracts will be accepted through December 15, 2025.
This issue of The National Pastime will be co-edited by Elizabeth Roscher and Vince Guerrieri. To submit an article idea or abstract please fill out this form by December 15.
Click here to read the full announcement at SABR.org.
Read SABR biographies of 2026 Baseball Hall of Fame candidates
The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum announced the eight-player ballot that will be considered by its Contemporary Baseball Era Committee for Hall of Fame election for the Class of 2026. The Contemporary Baseball Era ballot includes Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Carlos Delgado, Jeff Kent, Don Mattingly, Dale Murphy, Gary Sheffield, and Fernando Valenzuela. Click on a link above to read SABR biographies for these figures.
The 16-person voting committee includes SABR members Steve Hirdt, Tyler Kepner and Jayson Stark. The Historical Overview Committee that devised the final ballot included Hirdt and SABR members Adrian Burgos Jr. and Bob Elliott. The results of the Contemporary Baseball Era Committee vote will be announced live on MLB Network’s “MLB Tonight” at 7:30 p.m. Eastern on Sunday, December 7.
Click here to read the full announcement at SABR.org.
Apply for a SABR Local Grant in 2026
The SABR Local Grants program provides an opportunity for chapters, research committees, and chartered communities to apply for funding for their projects under SABR’s Four Pillars: Research, Scholarship, Preservation, and Future of the Game. Applications are now open for a 2026 SABR Local Grant at SABR.org/local-grants. Submissions will be accepted until February 20, 2026.
All SABR chapters, chartered communities, and research committees are eligible to apply. Individual SABR members and non-SABR groups are not eligible, so if you have an individual idea for a program grant, please follow up with your local chapter leadership or appropriate research committee to discuss an application.
Click here to read the full announcement at SABR.org.
Save the date! SABR Day is January 31, 2026
Please mark your calendars for Saturday, January 31, 2026, when we will hold our annual SABR Day celebration! SABR Day is a way for all baseball fans to come together, regardless of where they live, and talk about the game we all love.
Regional chapters are also encouraged to plan their own SABR Day events (virtually or in person) throughout the months of January or February to celebrate the start of a new baseball season.
Chapter leaders, please email Jacob Pomrenke as you finalize your SABR Day plans so we can update our comprehensive schedule of events, which will be posted online soon at SABR.org/sabrday.
Member Benefit Spotlight: Renewing Your Membership
As a SABR member, you have vast resources and benefits at your disposal. With so much information at your fingertips, we realize it can be overwhelming to absorb it all! To highlight key benefits, read on for a SABR Member Benefit Spotlight, an email series that identifies and explains some of the most valuable features of your membership. We hope this allows you to take full advantage of all SABR has to offer.
This month’s issue shows you how to renew your membership.
Click here to read the full article at SABR.org.
Writing opportunities for SABR members
SABR’s Editorial Board recently approved three new book projects, which are open to all SABR members for contributions. We’re seeking authors and editors to help write articles, essays, recaps of memorable games, or profiles of interesting players and figures, for the following projects:
- Lou Gehrig (editors: Glen Sparks and Bill Nowlin)
- 1928 St. Louis Stars (editors: Thomas Kern and Clem Hamilton)
- 2002 Anaheim Angels (editor: Paul Hensler)
Please contact one of the editors if you would like to get involved or to learn more about these projects. Click here to learn more about other current and ongoing SABR research projects.
Retrosheet announces Fall 2025 updates
Retrosheet is pleased to announce its semi-annual update for Fall 2025 at Retrosheet.org.
Event files for the 2025, 1910, and 1898 AL/NL seasons, and the 1935 Negro League season, are now available. Thanks to MLB for providing the 2025 data and thanks to Ted Turocy for doing the heavy lifting in converting it to Retrosheet’s event-file format. Event and box-score files are available for download for all 2025 regular-season and postseason games as well as the 2025 All-Star game.
Click here to read the full announcement at SABR.org.
Be aware of holiday email phishing scams
SABR has been alerted of an email phishing scam sent to some members in recent weeks. These emails may appear to be from your chapter leader or a SABR staff or board member, asking for assistance, personal information, or to complete an “urgent” financial transaction. Indications of scam emails include a bogus “from” address instead of a sender address you know and trust, and grammatically incorrect sentences and/or phrases.
If you receive a suspicious message, please exercise email security best practices by not clicking on any links or opening any attachments, and closely scrutinizing the address of the questionable email sender. Please delete any scam emails immediately.
Find new updates to the SABR Research Collection below, including the Baseball Biography Project, Games Project, and Oral History Collection.
4 new stories published at SABR Biography Project
- Buddy Biancalana, by Jake Bell
- John Fitzgerald, by Bill Lamb
- Tom Gillen, by Bill Lamb
- Joe Linsalata, by Kurt Blumenau
Visit SABR.org/bioproject to learn more about the SABR BioProject or to get involved.
5 new stories published at SABR Games Project
- August 3, 1909: Ladies’ day doubleheader draws record crowd in Boston, by Meghan Fuller Hanna (first-time author)
- September 2, 1960: Like father, like son: Ted Williams homers off both Thornton Lee and Don Lee, by Bill Nowlin
- September 29, 1967: Fergie Jenkins wins 20th game of season for the first time, by Gregory H. Wolf
- May 4, 1969: Astros tie major-league record with seven double plays in win over Giants, by Larry DeFillipo
- September 2, 1981: Eddie Miller steals win for Braves, spoiling Ryne Sandberg’s major-league debut, by Steve Ginader
Visit SABR.org/gamesproject to learn more about the SABR Games Project or to get involved.
Native American Major Leaguers
Edited by Rob Daugherty and Bill Nowlin
Visit SABR.org to download the free e-book edition or save 50% off the paperback edition of all Digital Library books.
All SABR members are encouraged to submit nominations for our annual research awards, for works published or completed in 2025. The deadline to nominate for most awards is around December 31:
- Seymour Medal (history/biography books)
- SABR Analytics Conference Research Awards (baseball analytics research)
- Larry Ritter Book Award (Deadball Era books)
- Russell Gabay Award (New Jersey baseball)
- SABR Baseball Research Award (outstanding research articles/projects)
- McFarland-SABR Baseball Research Award (best history/biography articles)
Please note: Only ONE entry per nomination will be considered (do not submit multiple nominations for the same award). Self-nominations are welcome. For more information on SABR Awards, click here.
Here are some SABR headlines from recent weeks that we don’t want you to miss:
- Save the date! SABR 54 will be in Cleveland in 2026
- Gary, Vicki Gillette make gift to support Jerry Malloy Negro League Conference through 2030
- Dan Levitt appointed as President of Board of Directors
- SABR welcomes new Town Ball research committee
- Fernando Tatis Jr., Bobby Witt Jr. win 2025 Rawlings Gold Glove Platinum Awards
- Learn more about new SABR Institutional Memberships
- Read articles from early SABR Convention Journals
- Negro Leagues statistics added to SABR Lahman Baseball Database
- Read SABR biographies of 2026 Baseball Hall of Fame candidates
- The SABR Bookshelf: Fall 2025
- Check out highlights, stories, and photos from SABR 53 in Texas
- Watch highlights from 2025 SABR/IWBC Women in Baseball Conference
- View a collection of nearly 100,000 player surveys in the new Weiss Baseball Questionnaires collection
- SABR Digital Library: Stan Musial
- Hundreds of ProQuest US newspapers added to SABR Research Resources
- Find complete collection of SABR-Rucker Archive baseball images online
- Get a gift for baseball fan in your life with the SABR Store @ CafePress
Please give a warm welcome to all new SABR members who joined this week! View more Members-Only resources at members.sabr.org or click here to download the Membership Handbook. Find contact information for any SABR member in the online Membership Directory.
| NAME | HOMETOWN | NAME | HOMETOWN | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Patrick Boyer | Phoenix, AZ | Andrew Lassman | West Chicago, IL | ||
| Will Clemens | Phoenix, AZ | Jim Menendez | Baltimore, MD | ||
| Noah Dengler | Westfield, NJ | Bruce Miller | Greensburg, PA | ||
| Amar Douidi | Manchester, NH | Michael Olkin | Springfield, MA | ||
| Katherine Emley | Minneapolis, MN | Owen Riley | Indianapolis, IN | ||
| Eli Hancock | Stockton, CA | Bret Robertson | Decatur, IL | ||
| Rob Harris | Chicago, IL | Miles Rybak | Toronto, ON | ||
| Mark Johlke | Boerne, TX | Robby Senser | Littleton, CO | ||
| Frank Kaczmarczyk | Indian Land, SC | Greg Shamblen | Lincoln, NE | ||
| Bob Kenward | Brockton, MA | Jim Stovall | Maryville, TN | ||
| Matthew Labounty | Plattsburgh, NY | Ben Weaver | Mechanicsburg, PA | ||
| Scott Landis | Lititz, PA |
Here is a list of SABR supporters for the month of November 2025.
| NAME | NAME | |
|---|---|---|
| John Alcamo | Jeremy Levitt | |
| David Alvarez | Henry Levy | |
| Kirk Arnott | Timothy Liljeberg | |
| Robert Axelrod | Daniel Linnenberg | |
| John Azevedo | Don LoCrasto | |
| Lawrence Baldassaro | Walter Long | |
| Sandy Barlow | Jason Lundquist | |
| Keith Barnes | William Macht | |
| Ben Baschinsky | Peter Mancuso | |
| John Bauer | Jeff Mann | |
| Jake Bell | Peter Marcus | |
| Harvey Berger | Kenneth Mayer | |
| David Bohmer | Bruce McClure | |
| D. Bruce Brown | Rodger McKelvey | |
| Diane Bryan | Linda McLeland | |
| Bruce Bumbalough | Ron Meyer | |
| Scott Bush | Jeremy Mills | |
| Ralph Caola | Alan Morris | |
| Kip Carlson | Jim Myers | |
| Ken Carrano | Linda Nichols | |
| Bo Carter | Gregory Norris | |
| Ralph Christian | Andrew North | |
| Ken Clawson | Bill Nowlin | |
| Vincent Comparato | Ralph Olliges Jr. | |
| Peter Craig | Tim Otto | |
| Tom Crisp | David Pearson | |
| William Cummings | Mark Pollak | |
| Chris Dial | John Rall | |
| Tom DiGiandomenico | Alan Raylesberg | |
| Bob Dorrill | Al Riess | |
| Mark Drucker | Michael Rosenwasser | |
| Mark Dugo | Charles Roussel | |
| Thomas Dwyer | Bob Russon | |
| Stanley Dziurgot | Robert Ruzzo | |
| Ed Edmonds | Henry Sakai | |
| Lisa Edmondson | Jason Scheller | |
| Helen Edwards | William Schlegel | |
| Mike Eisenbath | Douglas Schoppert | |
| Bernard Enright | Mary Shea | |
| Daniel Evans | Rob Sheinkopf | |
| David Firstman | John Shorey | |
| Robert Fitts | James Sivacek | |
| Adam Foldes | Linda Skory | |
| Eugene M Lang Foundation | Dave Sloan | |
| Edward Gardner | Hal Smith Jr. | |
| Michael Gibbons | Mark Speicher | |
| Barry Gray | Karen Stephens | |
| Stephen Greyser | Thomas Stone | |
| Philip Grone | Wesley Story | |
| Frank Hart | Joseph Thompson | |
| Leslie Heaphy | Don Thompson | |
| Timothy Herlich | Thomas Tomsick | |
| David Hilton | Neal Traven | |
| Rockwell Hoffman | Hayden Trubitt | |
| David Hughes | Vincent Vaillancourt | |
| Kevin Hurd | Marlene Vogelsang | |
| Rob Janes | Renee Watters | |
| Martin Jatlow | Steve West | |
| Parker Jayasundera | J. R. Wildridge | |
| Donald Jensen | Beach Wires | |
| Dave Jerome | Jeffrey Wood | |
| Harry Keller | Mark Yecies | |
| Robert Komoroski | Don Zminda | |
| Leonard Levin | Larry Zorn | |
| Allison Levin | David Zweifel |
Want to become a Friend of SABR? Click here to make a recurring monthly contribution or click here to learn more about our Giving Circles to make a one-time contribution.
- Events Calendar: Find details of all upcoming SABR events.
- Video Replays: This week, we heard from Milwaukee Brewers broadcaster Tim Dillard; authors Louis Schiff and Ed Edmonds (Attorneys in the Baseball Hall of Fame); Jeffrey Orens (Selling Baseball); Jane Leavy (Make Me Commissioner); David Krell (Bo Belinsky); Marshall Garvey (Interstate ’85); Donna Muscarella (“Hinchliffe Stadium: A Symbol of the American Dream”); and the 19th Century Book Club (How Baseball Happened). Click here to view video replays of virtual SABR events.
Upcoming Virtual Meetings
- December 6: Bob Davids Chapter Talkin’ Baseball: Louis Schiff (9:00 a.m. EST)
- December 6: Women in Baseball Diamond Stories: Katie Woods (10:00 a.m. EST)
- December 8: Clyde Sukeforth (NH/ME) Chapter meeting with John Nogowski (7:00 p.m. EST)
- December 9: 19th Century Speaker Series: Peter Goldstein (8:00 p.m. EST)
- December 9: Games and Simulations meeting with Steven LeShay (8:00 p.m. EST)
- December 10: Baseball Cards/Elysian Fields Chapter meeting with Nathan Cook, Jason Schwartz, Susan Lulgjaraj (7:00 p.m. EST)
- December 10: New SABR Member Experience Meeting (8:00 p.m. EST)
- December 11: Baseball Cards Committee meeting with Phil Rosenzweig (8:00 p.m. EST)
Upcoming In-Person Meetings
- December 6: Halsey Hall Chapter book club meeting (Roseville, MN)
- December 9: Rob Fitts book launch party (New York, NY)
- December 9: Rocky Mountain Chapter holiday party (Denver, CO)
- December 12: Southwest Florida Chapter holiday party (Fort Myers, FL)
- December 13: Roush-Lopez Tampa Bay Chapter meeting (St. Petersburg, FL)
- December 13: Connecticut Smoky Joe Wood Chapter holiday party (Berlin, CT)
- December 13: Baltimore Babe Ruth Chapter meeting (Baltimore, MD)
- December 13: Emil Rothe Chicago Chapter lunch meeting (Summit, IL)
- December 14: Rogers Hornsby Chapter lunch meeting (Austin, TX)
To add your SABR event to our calendar listings, please contact Jacob Pomrenke.
- Origins/Protoball: November 2025 newsletter
- Town Ball: Click here to learn more or sign up for email announcements from SABR’s newest research committee, focusing on amateur/semipro baseball in local communities.
Sign up for SABR research committee announcements at SABR.org/research/committees.
- Halsey Hall Chapter: December 2025 newsletter (Minneapolis, MN)
- Lajoie-Start Southern New England Chapter: November 29 meeting recap (Greenville, RI)
- Quebec Chapter: November 22 meeting recap (Montreal, QC)
Sign up for SABR chapter announcements at SABR.org/chapters.
Click here to learn more about SABR chartered communities.
Here are some recent articles published by and about SABR members:
- D. Sean Rowley: Baseball historian Rob Daugherty releases new book on Native Americans (Cherokee Phoenix)
- Jayson Stark: The gapper is dead: Who killed the double and triple — and what can MLB do about it? (The Athletic)
- R.J. Anderson: What MLB’s salary cap history can tell us about the upcoming CBA negotiations (CBS Sports)
- Rob Mains: Hal Steinbrenner Didn’t Lie in Entirety (Baseball Prospectus)
- Ken Rosenthal/Evan Drellich: The Pirates and Marlins have a sudden willingness to spend. Here’s what could be behind it. (The Athletic)
- Bradford William Davis: Tanking Is Hurting Pro Sports More Than Gambling Ever Could (Front Office Sports)
- Jacob Rudner: Why More College Baseball Coaches Are Jumping To MLB (Baseball America)
- Mark Simon: Who were MLB’s most overachieving hitters in 2025? (Sports Info Solutions)
- Stephanie Apstein: Phillies’ Eating Habits Prove There’s More Than One Way to Fuel a Winning Club (Sports Illustrated)
- Eno Sarris/Chandler Rome: How MLB teams evaluate makeup — from prospects to top free agents like Framber Valdez (The Athletic)
- J.J. Cooper: How Often Do MLB Rule 5 Draft Picks Stick With Their New Teams? (Baseball America)
- Jay Jaffe: JAWS and the 2026 Hall of Fame Ballot: Félix Hernández (FanGraphs)
- Michael Clair: Eight years after winning the MLB Cup, A’s prospect Shotaro Morii returns with MLB dreams (MLB.com)
- Timothy Jackson: The Kings of the Kill Pitch (Baseball Prospectus)
- Gary Ashwill: Two Triple Plays in One Negro Leagues Game—Or Was It Three? (Agate Type)
- Ben Clemens: The Pre-Arb Bonus Pool Is A Success (FanGraphs)
- Patrick Dubuque: The Foyer of Fame (Baseball Prospectus)
- Davy Andrews: Low and Away and James Wood (FanGraphs)
- Bradley Woodrum: The Majesty and Tragedy of LIDOM (Baseball Prospectus)
- David Laurila: A Conversation With Joey Cantillo, Who Has the Best Stuff on the Cleveland Staff (FanGraphs)
- Benjamin Hochman: Austin McHenry, who died at 27, was Cardinals’ first ‘what if’ (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
- Dan Hirshberg: Dave Magadan was wired for success as a player and as a hitting instructor (Tampa Beacon)
- Tim Healey: Dave Morehead, who threw a no-hitter for the Red Sox at Fenway Park in 1965, dies at 82 (Boston Globe)
- Daniel R. Epstein: One Oh Two (Baseball Prospectus)
- Adam Korengold: The Women’s Professional Baseball League Inaugural Draft Class (Tableau)
- John Eisenberg: When Cal Ripken’s Ironman Streak Was Under Fire (Baltimore Baseball)
- Matt Ostrowski: Chronicling the 1918 Cubs: The Brilliance and Tragedy of Charlie Hollocher (North Side Baseball)
- Luke Epplin: Leon Day No-Hits on Opening Day (Good Grief)
- Charlie Bevis: Nine Black Red Sox Minor-Leaguers in the 1950s Not Named Pumpsie Green (Bevis Baseball Research)
- Mark Kolier: The 1949-1953 World Series champions had an amazing amount of Career Yankees (Almost Cooperstown)
- Jeff Cohen/Len Aberman: Baseball and BBQ interview with Robert Elias (Baseball and BBQ)
- Gary Mintz: Interview with Steve Somers on his broadcasting career (New York Giants Preservation Society)
- Glenn Evans: Crossing the Tracks: 1911 (SABR Games and Simulations)
- Tom Hawthorn: Ty Cobb’s Last Hurrah: The 1928 Japan Tour (SABR Asian Baseball)
- Carter Cromwell: A New League called Baseball United Begins Play in Dubai (SABR Asian Baseball)
Please note: Some articles may require a separate subscription to view online. SABR does not endorse, and is not responsible or liable for, any content that appears on a third-party website.
This Week in SABR is compiled by Jacob Pomrenke. If you would like us to include an upcoming event, article, or any other information in “This Week in SABR,” e-mail jpomrenke@sabr.org. To find past editions of TWIS, click here.
Are you receiving our e-mails? “This Week in SABR” goes out by e-mail to all members on Friday afternoons. If they’re not showing up, try adding “sabr.notes@sabr.org” to your contact list to ensure they show up in your inbox.
Originally published: December 5, 2025. Last Updated: December 5, 2025.