Announcing finalists for 2026 SABR Analytics Conference Research Awards
We’re pleased to announce the finalists for the 2026 SABR Analytics Conference Research Awards, which will recognize baseball researchers who have completed the best work of original analysis or commentary during the preceding calendar year.
Nominations were solicited by representatives from SABR, Baseball Prospectus, FanGraphs, the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America, and Sports Info Solutions. Here are the finalists for the 2026 SABR Analytics Conference Research Awards:
Contemporary Analysis
- Ryan Blake, “The Batter’s Eye at T-Mobile Park: A New Perspective,” Lookout Landing, May 8, 2025
- Hannah Keyser, “How Fast Should Your 12-Year-Old Throw?” New York Times, August 21, 2025
- Maddie Landis, “Baseball’s Gatekept Pitching Metric: Inside Vertical Approach Angle,” Talk Sox, September 7, 2025
- Michael Rosen, “How Much Do Trail Runners Matter? An Investigation,” FanGraphs, September 8, 2025
- Stephen Sutton-Brown, “Understanding Swing Processes Through Bat and Pitch Tracking,” Baseball Prospectus, September 22, 2025
Contemporary Commentary
- Davy Andrews, “Unfuzzing the Strike Zone,” FanGraphs, January 3, 2025
- Michael Baumann, “Jhoan Duran and the One True Split-Finger Fastball,” FanGraphs, September 17, 2025
- Ben Lindbergh, ”If Pitches Are Fixed, Baseball Is Broken,” The Ringer, November 10, 2025
- RJ McDaniel, “Wearing the Hat,” Baseball Prospectus, September 17, 2025
- Richard Staff, “The Secret Brotherhood of the Phantom Ballplayers,” Defector, July 21, 2025
Historical Analysis/Commentary
- Benjamin Alter, “Josh Gibson’s Place in History: A Statistical Analysis,” SABR Baseball Research Journal, Spring 2025
- R.J. Anderson, “What MLB’s salary cap history can tell us about the upcoming CBA negotiations,” CBS Sports, December 1, 2025
- Steven Goldman, “Every Day They Burn the Book,” Baseball Prospectus, April 3, 2025
- Jay Jaffe, “Never is a Long, Long Time: Permanent Ineligibility and the Hall of Fame,” FanGraphs, March 10, 2025
- David Roth, “Octavio Dotel Made a Life in Baseball,” Defector, April 10, 2025
John Dewan Defensive Analysis
- Zach Crizer, “Evolution in the Outfield: Is Center Field Morphing Into a Defensive Specialist Position?” Opta Analyst, March 24, 2025
- Daniel R. Epstein, “Stand in the Place Where You Are,” Baseball Prospectus, May 5, 2025
- Dan M. Kahan, “Fielding Before and After Baseball’s Great Transformation,” Journal of Sports Analytics, Volume 11, 2025
Details and criteria for each category can be found here. Only one work per author was considered as a finalist.
Voting for the winners will be conducted online beginning next week at SABR.org, BaseballProspectus.com, FanGraphs.com, and IBWAA.com, with results weighted equally at 25%.
Results will be announced and presented at the SABR Analytics Conference, February 27-March 1, 2026, in Phoenix, Arizona. Learn more or register for the conference at SABR.org/analytics.
Originally published: January 23, 2026. Last Updated: January 20, 2026.