This Week in SABR: July 17, 2026
Welcome to “This Week in SABR” on Friday, July 17, 2026.
Click here to view this newsletter on the web.
SABR Defensive Index first-half rankings released
Check out the full schedule for SABR 54 in Cleveland
Seeking presentation judges and timekeepers at SABR 54
Korean students win Lee Allen History of Baseball Award
Analytics Certification courses now available in Spanish
Call for papers: 2027 19th Century Base Ball Conference
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SABR Defensive Index rankings released through July 12
New York Yankees left fielder Cody Bellinger and San Francisco Giants third baseman Matt Chapman lead their respective leagues in the updated SABR Defensive Index™ rankings through Major League Baseball games of Sunday, July 12.
The SABR Defensive Index is used to help select the winners of the Rawlings Gold Glove Award® and Rawlings Platinum Glove Award™, presented by SABR.
Click here to read the full announcement at SABR.org.
Check out the full schedule for SABR 54 in Cleveland
SABR’s 54th annual convention is scheduled for July 29–August 2, 2026, in Cleveland, Ohio. All baseball fans are welcome to attend. Full registration or single-day registration for SABR 54 can be purchased online in advance or on-site during convention registration hours beginning on Wednesday, July 29 at the Hilton Cleveland Downtown hotel. Click here for complete details on SABR 54 registration rates.
Our Major League-sized lineup of featured speakers includes Cleveland Guardians President of Baseball Operations Chris Antonetti; former Cleveland greats Sandy Alomar Jr., Carlos Baerga, Mike Hargrove, Kenny Lofton, and Charles Nagy; Negro Leagues Baseball Museum president Bob Kendrick; BBWAA Career Excellence Award recipient Paul Hoynes; Major League writer and director David S. Ward; Guardians broadcaster and Ford C. Frick Award recipient Tom Hamilton; Guardians executives Sky Andrecheck, Keith Woolner, and Kyle Burris, and more.
Please note: All speakers are subject to change depending on availability.
Whether you’re attending your first SABR convention or returning as a longtime regular, this is a great year to be part of the experience. Newcomers will find plenty of opportunities to connect and build baseball friendships, while veteran attendees can look forward to a richly layered event. It promises to be an unforgettable week of baseball fellowship in “The Land,” and we hope you’ll join us!
- Schedule: Click here for the full convention schedule.
- Featured Speakers: Click here to learn more about speakers and panelists.
- Research Presentations: Click here for the full list of research presentations.
- Poster Presentations: Click here for the full list of poster presentations.
- Committee Meetings: Click here for the schedule of research committee meetings.
- Transportation Tips/Area Attractions: Click here to learn more about getting to and around Cleveland.
Visit SABR.org/convention to learn more or to register today!
Seeking research presentation judges and timekeepers at SABR 54
At SABR 54 in Cleveland, we are seeking on-site judges of oral and poster presentations and also room timekeepers to keep the schedule on track.
Winners of the Doug Pappas Award for oral presentations and the Best Poster Award will be determined based on the judges’ evaluations. Judges will submit scores for whichever presentations you choose to attend/view, using forms that will be provided. (If you’re presenting a poster, you can still judge oral presentations and vice versa.) After evaluations for all presentations have been completed, a judges’ meeting will review the outcomes and make the final decisions.
Room timekeepers sit near the podium during a 2-hour block of presentations, and signal to each presenter how much time is left in their session. To volunteer to be a presentation judge or room timekeeper at SABR 54, please contact Neal Traven.
Korean students win 2026 Lee Allen History of Baseball Award
SABR is pleased to announce the winners of the Lee Allen History of Baseball Award for 2026. Charlie Park, Elena Lee, Kevin Ahn, and Minjae Seo of the Daegu International School in South Korea won the Lee Allen History of Baseball Award for their group website, “Sabermetrics: A Revolutionary Change in America’s National Pastime.” Click here to view their winning project.
Since 1996, SABR has honored the best baseball research project at the National History Day competition, an annual event in which students compete on a regional basis, followed by state competition, and then national finals at the University of Maryland.
Click here to read the full announcement at SABR.org.
SABR Analytics Certification courses now available in Spanish
SABR is pleased to announce that the first three courses in the SABR Analytics Certification Program are now available in Spanish, expanding access to its online, on-demand curriculum for Spanish-speaking students, coaches, scouts, front-office professionals, and fans around the world.
SABR se complace en anunciar que los primeros tres cursos del Programa de Certificación en Analítica de SABR ya están disponibles en español, ampliando el acceso a su plan de estudios en línea y bajo demanda para estudiantes, entrenadores, cazatalentos, profesionales de oficinas centrales y aficionados de habla hispana en todo el mundo.
The newly translated courses include:
- Level One: Conversational Analytics and Critical Thinking in Baseball
- Level Two: Advanced Analytics in Baseball
- Level Three: Introduction to Baseball Programming
Since its launch, the SABR Analytics Certification Program has helped learners develop practical skills in baseball analytics through expert-led instruction, real-world applications, and portfolio building exercises. By offering these courses in Spanish, SABR is taking an important step toward making high-quality analytics education more accessible to the global baseball community. Translation services were provided by LingoPal AI and José Hernández Lagunes.
Click here to read the full announcement at SABR.org.
Get your SABR merch at our new online shop
SABR is excited to announce the launch of the new SABR Shop, an online store featuring SABR-branded apparel, home goods, prints, and more for baseball fans.
Among the featured items are exclusive prints showcasing cover art from the Baseball Research Journal, along with a growing collection of SABR merchandise celebrating the organization’s worldwide community. Baseball Research Journal posters feature every edition including the artwork of acclaimed artist and SABR member Gary Cieradkowski, with iconic depictions of Babe Ruth and Satchel Paige amongst other legends of the game. Apparel options include hats, shirts, sweatshirts, and pullovers in men’s, women’s, and unisex selections. New merchandise and designs will continue to be added in the coming months, offering fresh options for the SABR fan in your life.
Visit the SABR Shop today at sabr.shop.
Call for papers: 2027 SABR Frederick Ivor-Campbell 19th Century Base Ball Conference
All SABR members are invited and encouraged to submit a Research Presentation Proposal Abstract on any topic of 19th-century baseball for the 2027 Frederick Ivor-Campbell 19th Century Base Ball Conference at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. The 18th annual Ivor-Campbell Conference is scheduled for April 16-17, 2027.
The deadline for proposal Abstracts is October 31, 2026. Your abstract must be between 250-500 words for a 20- to 25-minute presentation focused primarily on events taking place prior to 1901. Please include name, title, and contact information and send your proposal as a Microsoft Word or PDF attachment to Peter Mancuso.
Click here to read the full announcement at SABR.org.
Register now for 2026 SABR Northern New Jersey 19th Century Baseball Interdisciplinary Symposium
SABR’s Nineteenth Century Research Committee will host the Northern New Jersey 19th Century Interdisciplinary Symposium as a special virtual event on Saturday, November 14, 2026. The focus of this symposium will be on the rich early baseball and related history of the region, which extends from the New York state border south through Monmouth and Mercer counties.
- Registration for all SABR members is now open; click here to sign up. The cost is $15 per person. The one-day Zoom event will run from approximately 12:00 PM to 5:30 PM Eastern Time on November 14.
The symposium will be highlighted by a keynote address from Jonathan Mercantini, Associate Provost for Special Projects and Professor of History at Kean University. He is an appointed member of the New Jersey Historical Commission and a Trustee of the New Jersey Council for the Humanities. The welcome address will be given by John Thorn, the Official Historian of Major League Baseball and the co-founder of SABR’s Nineteenth Century Committee.
Click here to read the full announcement at SABR.org.
Call for papers: Turnstyle: The SABR Journal of Baseball Arts
With the recent release of Volume 5 of Turnstyle: The SABR Journal of the Baseball Arts, SABR’s Baseball and the Arts Committee now turns its sights to submissions for Volume 6.
All SABR members are encouraged to send along your submission, or your questions, to editors Joanne Hulbert or Jay Hurd before September 15, 2026. We are looking for poetry, memoir, artwork, humor, short fiction, historical fiction, science fiction, and parody.
Click here to read the full announcement at SABR.org.
Find new updates to the SABR Research Collection below, including the Baseball Biography Project, Games Project, and Oral History Collection.
New research resource: Sources for Baseball From the Newspaper Accounts (1882-1891)
In 2021, SABR’s Nineteenth Century Committee republished an invaluable research resource from historian Preston D. Orem, titled Baseball From the Newspaper Accounts (1882-1891), ten original volumes of exhaustive research from contemporary newspapers covering professional baseball for each season from 1882 to 1891. The 714-page volume is available as a free PDF download to all members in the SABR Research Resources portal.
This week, the committee released a detailed supplement file with all known citations to the original newspapers included in Orem’s work.
- Click here to download the Orem Citations supplement (122 pages, PDF)
Special thanks to Bob LeMoine, chair of the citations project, along with John Thorn, Bob Bailey, Peter Mancuso, Jonathan Popovich, Jack Bales, Cliff Blau, Maury Bouchard, Samuel Gazdziak, Stephen Katz, Andrew Milner, Trenton Morton, Tim Newby, Tom Shieber, and Bob Tholkes.
Click here to read the full announcement at SABR.org.
4 new stories published at SABR Biography Project
- Danny Jackson, by Heath Santo
- Jim Korwan, by Bill Lamb
- Dustin Moseley, by Madison McEntire
- Jake Weimer, by Stephen V. Rice
Visit SABR.org/bioproject to learn more about the SABR BioProject or to get involved.
3 new stories published at SABR Games Project
- May 19, 1917: Gavy Cravath’s throw cuts down Larry Doyle, saves Phillies, and goes into the record books, by Phil Williams
- July 17, 1956: Ted Williams hits 400th home run to win second game of Red Sox’s double shutout, by Bill Nowlin
- September 14, 1962: Kinston beats Durham for Carolina League playoff title in final Class B game, by Kurt Blumenau
Visit SABR.org/gamesproject to learn more about the SABR Games Project or to get involved.
The Negro Leagues’ 1931 Homestead Grays: The Color of Greatness
Edited by Thomas Kern 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.
Here are some SABR headlines from recent weeks that we don’t want you to miss:
- Photos, highlights from Jerry Malloy Negro League Conference in Memphis
- Field of Dreams Iowa Chapter dedicates historical marker for Council Bluffs ballpark
- 2026 Henry Chadwick Award recipients announced
- Save the date: Join us for SABR Analytics Conference on March 12–14, 2027
- Read articles from the Spring 2026 Baseball Research Journal
- New Research Resources portal and member login launched
- Learn more about recipients of SABR Research Grants in 2026
- Fourth course in SABR Analytics Certification program is now available
- Learn more about new SABR Institutional Memberships
- Negro Leagues statistics added to SABR Lahman Baseball Database
- View a collection of nearly 100,000 player surveys in the Weiss Baseball Questionnaires collection
- Hundreds of ProQuest US newspapers added to SABR Research Resources
- Find complete collection of SABR-Rucker Archive baseball images online
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 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Neil Aeschliman | Philadelphia, PA | Will Latham | Virginia Beach, VA | ||
| Yasoob Ahmed | Schaumburg, IL | Terry Lemons | Bristow, VA | ||
| Timothy Ashburn | St. Marys, GA | Daniel Logan | Cambridge, MA | ||
| Alion Baxhellari | Albany, NY | Hunter Menzies | Bryant, AR | ||
| Jeff Blankenburg | Westerville, OH | Mattias Olshausen | Mountlake Terrace, WA | ||
| Jim Bulley | Seoul, KOR | Shalom Raskas | St. Louis, MO | ||
| Ryan Fleming | Calgary, AB | Benjamin Richards | The Woodlands, TX | ||
| Chris Gallagher | Germantown, MD | Mark Tillema | Munster, IN | ||
| Rasmi Gamble | Aledo, TX | Shane Tucker | Temple, TX | ||
| Jeff Groff | Oreland, PA | James Vannoy | Baltimore, MD | ||
| Katherine Kinast | Brooklyn, NY | John Wahl | MIssoua, MT | ||
| Arthur Kinney | Cleveland, OH | Dan Wilcox | Wilsonville, OR | ||
| Joshua Kotzin | Cincinnati, OH | Mark Wilson | Olean, NY |
- Events Calendar: Find details of all upcoming SABR events.
- Video Replays: This week, we heard from Jeff Cohen and Len Aberman (Baseball and BBQ); Marty Payne (Baseball on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, 1866-1950); and Scott Reich (One Day in September). Click here to view video replays of virtual SABR events.
Upcoming Virtual Meetings
- July 20: Halsey Hall (MN) Chapter research committee meeting (7:00 PM CDT)
- July 23: Bob Davids (DC) Chapter Analytics Club meeting with Ed Baranoski (7:00 PM EDT)
- July 25: Schott-Pelican (LA) Chapter meeting (10:00 AM CDT)
- July 25: Oklahoma Chapter meeting with Paul Bohannon and Jesse Asbury (2:00 PM CDT)
- July 26: Baltimore Babe Ruth (MD) Chapter meeting with Mark Langill (7:00 PM EDT)
- July 27: Rocky Mountain Chapter meeting with Jerrod Cotosman and Brandon Smith (7:00 PM MDT)
Upcoming In-Person Meetings
- July 18: Babe ‘n’ Bob Chapter Breakfast (Edgewater, MD)
- July 18: Dayton Chapter meeting (Dayton, OH)
- July 18: Halsey Hall Chapter Hot Stove Saturday Morning (Fridley, MN)
- July 18: Bob Davids Chapter ballgame/meet-up (Alexandria, VA)
- July 21: Bob Davids Chapter Hot Stove Dinner (Silver Spring, MD)
- July 26: Clyde Sukeforth Chapter ballgame/meet-up (Manchester, NH)
- July 26: Cliff Kachline Chapter Induction Day meeting (Cooperstown, NY)
- July 26: Rogers Hornsby Chapter ballgame/meet-up (San Antonio, TX)
- July 29–August 2: SABR 54 convention (Cleveland, OH)
To add your SABR event to our calendar listings, please contact Jacob Pomrenke.
- Biographical Research: June 2026 newsletter
Sign up for SABR research committee announcements at SABR.org/research/committees.
- Baltimore Babe Ruth Chapter: Summer 2026 newsletter (Baltimore, MD)
- Bob Broeg St. Louis Chapter: Summer 2026 newsletter (St. Louis, MO)
- Lajoie-Start Chapter: June 20 meeting recap (North Attleboro, MA)
- Pee Wee Reese Chapter: Summer 2026 newsletter (Louisville, KY)
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:
- Celebrating Negro Leagues in Harrisburg with local SABR chapter (ABC27.com)
- Nick Kariuki: Nation’s first organized baseball team gets celebrated during All-Star weekend in Philly (BillyPenn.com)
- Tyler Kepner: All-Star spangled celebration was the final wish for the Phillies’ biggest fan (The Athletic)
- John Thorn: Base Ball: The Philadelphia Story (Our Game)
- Matt Monagan: How voting rights pioneer Octavius Catto orchestrated one of the first interracial baseball games (MLB.com)
- Jayson Stark: Why this All-Star Game pitching performance was the most dominant in history (The Athletic)
- Sarah Langs: Key stats and facts from the 2026 All-Star Game (MLB.com)
- Rob Mains: A Silent Spring (and Summer)? The Loss of Score Bug Biodiversity (Baseball Prospectus)
- Davy Andrews: Luis Arraez’s Launch Angle Revolution (FanGraphs)
- Steven Goldman: Rained Out at the All-Star Game (Baseball Prospectus)
- Karen Dooley: Study finds high school track experience gives baseball players an edge MLB teams overlook (University of Florida)
- Eno Sarris: MLB cracks down on using AI via dugout iPads to help shape in-game decisions (The Athletic)
- David Laurila: Athletics Southpaw Gage Jump Addresses His Studious, Low-Angle Approach (FanGraphs)
- Maddie Landis: Reid-ing Between the Lines (Baseball Prospectus)
- Mark Simon: Lance Brozdowski’s baseball newsletter is proving smaller audiences are good business (Poynter.org)
- Jarrett Seidler: Why Doesn’t MLB Treat Its Future Better? (Baseball Prospectus)
- Ryan Blake: Jordan Walker’s Breakout Continues With Home Run Derby Title (FanGraphs)
- Derrick Goold: Is Cardinals’ rebuild ahead of schedule? They are on the brink of a pivotal choice (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
- Jimmy Parker: The Most Famous Ted Williams Photo of All-Time (Beauty of a Game)
- Craig Brown: Jackets required: Rare photos of first baseball team in Syracuse, circa 1859 (Threads of Our Game)
- Steve Nesbitt/Stephanie Orellana: How weather can impact baseball, from summer heat to cold winters (Illinois Public Media)
- Bill Traughber: Sulphur Dell, a short porch and a Tennessee landmark (MLB.com)
- Amanda Lane Cumming: The 1996 Seattle Mariners (NW Baseball History)
- Alessandra Schade: How a Second-Grade Teacher Revived Beloved ‘Backyard Baseball’ Game (New York Times)
- Jeff Cohen/Len Aberman: Baseball and BBQ interview with manager Terry Collins (Baseball and BBQ)
- Sam Gazdziak: Obituary: Al Holland (1952-2026) (RIP Baseball)
- Christopher Chavis: July 13, 1999: As All-Star Game Arrives in Boston, Fenway Park Prepares to Say Goodbye (Baseball and Us)
- Mark Kolier: 500 career stolen bases are underrated (Almost Cooperstown)
- Scott Melesky: MLB’s Historic Opening Day Series: New York Mets vs. Chicago Cubs, 2000 (SABR Asian Baseball)
- Tae-in Chun: Beyond Korea, Japan, and the United States: All the Way to Australia and China, the Path Built by Dae-sung Koo (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.
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Originally published: July 17, 2026. Last Updated: July 17, 2026.