This Week in SABR: October 23, 2026
Welcome to “This Week in SABR” on Friday, October 23, 2026.
Click here to view this newsletter on the web.
SABR’s All-Time Modern Era Team announced
Last call: Free Rapsodo course with SABR Analytics Certification purchase
Double your donation’s impact alongside Baseball-Reference.com founder Sean Forman
Early registration now open for 2027 SABR Analytics Conference
Watch video highlights of SABR/IWBC Women in Baseball Conference
 |
 |
 |
SABR All-Time Eras Team announced for Modern Era (2001–2025)
Throughout the 2026 season, SABR members had a chance to vote on SABR’s All-Time Eras Teams as we celebrate the 150 years of baseball and American history since the founding of the National League in 1876.
On Wednesday, October 21, SABR revealed the Modern Era team in a special Zoom webinar, covering players and teams from 2001 to 2025, with Tim Kurkjian of ESPN. Nearly 1,000 SABR members cast a vote on this ballot.
- Click here to view the Modern Era Team (2001-2025)
- Voting results: Click here to view full voting results for the All-Time Eras Teams project
- Fun facts: Click here for fun facts and figures about the players selected for the All-Time Eras Teams
Ballots for each era were chosen by a SABR committee that included: Mark Armour, Mike Bates, James Brunson III, Adam Darowski, Emily Hawks, Leslie Heaphy, Ted Knorr, Cassidy Lent, Dan Levitt, Rob Neyer, Anthony Salazar, Mark Simon, Mike Webber, and Joe Williams. Thanks to all SABR members who participated and voted in this project!
Visit SABR.org/all-time-eras-teams to learn more about the project, including the players selected to the 19th Century Era, Deadball Era, Segregation Era, Integration Era, and Free Agency Era teams.
Early registration now open for 2027 SABR Analytics Conference
Early registration is now open for the SABR Analytics Conference, which will be held in person from March 12–14, 2027, 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 2027 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, March 12 through Sunday, March 14, and a student-only virtual session on Thursday, March 11. 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.
- Research Presentations: Present your baseball research at the 2027 SABR Analytics Conference. Deadline to submit an abstract: November 25, 2026.
- Diamond Dollars Case Competition: Click here to register your team for the 2027 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 2027 SABR Analytics Conference. Deadline: December 18, 2026.
- Sarah Langs Women in Baseball Scholarship: Students and young professionals, apply now for a Sarah Langs Scholarship to attend the 2027 SABR Analytics Conference. Deadline: December 18, 2026.
- Research Awards: We’re seeking nominations for the 2027 SABR Analytics Conference Research Awards. Deadline: December 18, 2026.
- Certification Courses: Check out all four courses in the online, on-demand SABR Analytics Certification program, including the newest offering Level Four – Applied Statistics for Baseball. Click here to learn more or to sign up. Purchase any SABR Analytics Certification course through October 29, 2026, and get access to a complimentary Rapsodo Certified course.
Visit SABR.org/analytics to learn more or to register.
Submit your presentation abstract for 2027 SABR Analytics Conference
SABR is excited to announce the call for research presentations, presented by Teamworks Intelligence, for the SABR Analytics Conference, which will be held on March 12–14, 2027, in Phoenix, Arizona. Abstracts of proposed research presentations should be no more than 500 words in length, and must include the abstract’s title, review of previous work on the subject, a summary of the research methodology and preliminary and/or final results, and the expected contribution to the field of baseball analytics offered by this work.
Please send all abstracts to this e-mail address: analytics-presentations@sabr.org. The submission deadline for all 2027 SABR Analytics Conference presentation abstracts is 11:59 p.m. MST on Wednesday, November 25, 2026.
Click here to read the full announcement at SABR.org.
Last call: Free Rapsodo course with SABR Analytics Certification purchase
It’s time to take your skills to the next level with two of the most trusted names in baseball analytics! SABR is excited to partner with Rapsodo, a leading innovator in baseball technology and data analysis, on a special limited time offer:
That’s $395 in added value with the purchase of any SABR Analytics Certification course.
Online and video based, SABR Analytics Certification and Rapsodo courses combine to help learners elevate their baseball data knowledge alongside skills relating to the technical tools used in player development operations.
Click here to read the full announcement at SABR.org.
Double your donation’s impact alongside Baseball-Reference.com founder Sean Forman
SABR continues toward our vision of becoming the essential community for the world of baseball, and it is gifts from members like you who help us expand research resources, deliver engaging programming, and build a stronger community around the game we love. As 2026 comes to a close, we need your support to Bring It Home and ensure this vision turns into a reality.
Thanks to the generosity of fellow SABR member Sean Forman, you now have an opportunity to DOUBLE THE IMPACT OF YOUR DONATION. The founder of Baseball-Reference.com and a recipient of SABR’s Henry Chadwick Award and the 2020 SABR Analytics Conference Lifetime Achievement Award, Sean is helping us finish the year strong. His company will match the first $7,500 in contributions made in response to this matching offer, bringing us closer to our $150,000 Bring it Home campaign goal.
Visit sabr.org/donate/2026-campaign to learn more.
Watch video highlights from SABR/IWBC Women in Baseball Conference
The eighth annual SABR/IWBC Women in Baseball Conference was held on October 9–11, 2026. This year’s conference — co-sponsored by SABR and the International Women’s Baseball Center and hosted by Rockford University — was a virtual Zoom event.
- Video highlights: Click here to watch highlights from the 2026 SABR/IWBC Women in Baseball Conference
The conference featured a Women’s Professional Baseball League players panel with Paloma Benach, Beth Greenwood, and Brittany Apgar; a special presentation by Gabrielle Augustine, Curator at the National Baseball Hall of Fame; a Past, Present, and Future panel with Shae Sloan, Emma Charlesworth-Seiler, Sarah Camarillo, and C.J. Silas; a Celebration of Women’s Baseball in 2026 with Becky Brouse Davis of This is Women’s Baseball; research presentations; pylon unveiling; and the presentation of the Dorothy Seymour Mills Lifetime Achievement Award to Janet Marie Smith.
SABR Member Benefit Spotlight: Institutional Memberships
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. Today’s issue highlights our newest membership type, the Institutional Membership.
SABR’s newest membership type, the Institutional Membership, is a great way to extend the organization’s valuable resources to your department, organization, or institution! This membership provides external organizations an opportunity to partner with SABR and extend the benefits of SABR membership to their affiliates. Ideal candidates for an Institutional Membership are libraries, historical societies, museums, higher education departments, sports analytics programs, and more.
Click here to read the full announcement at SABR.org.
Colt Stadium historical marker dedication ceremony takes place in Houston
SABR’s Larry Dierker Houston Chapter celebrated a dedication ceremony on Tuesday, October 20 for a new historical marker recognizing Colt Stadium, the first home of the Houston Astros. Partial funding for this project came from the SABR Local Grants program. The historical marker is located at the west end of Reliant Center, just north of the Astrodome.
Featured speakers included former Houston Astros star pitcher, manager, and broadcaster Larry Dierker; former Astros executive Tal Smith; Dinn Mann, grandson of Astros executive Judge Roy Hofheinz; Mason Hunt III, great-grandson of Astros executive Robert Everett “Bob” Smith; Debra Sloan of the Harris County Historical Commission; James Dixon, board chair of the Harris County Sports and Convention Corporation; Karl Pendleton, grandson of former Negro Leagues and Houston Colt .45s player Jim Pendleton; Gene Dias, Vice President of Communications for the Houston Astros; and SABR member Mike Vance, who researched and wrote the marker narrative and inscription.
Click here to read the full announcement at SABR.org.
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.
Deadline to submit new project proposals to SABR Editorial Board is November 1
SABR’s Editorial Board welcomes new project proposals from members to be considered for publication through the Digital Library, SABR.org, or any other multimedia formats. We strongly encourage new proposals that involve collaboration between SABR research committees and/or chapters, and web-based Featured Spotlight projects with an eye toward enhanced multimedia presentation.
- Click here to submit a SABR project proposal
Next deadline: November 1, 2026 (for publication in 2028 or 2029)
SABR seeks to publish 2-4 Featured Spotlight multimedia projects and 6-8 Digital Library books per year. Book projects should be of a scope that can fit in a single volume, typically between 100,000 and 200,000 total words.
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.
2 new stories published at SABR Biography Project
- Kevin Mench, by Michael Trzinski
- Joe Oliver, by Heath Santo
Visit SABR.org/bioproject to learn more about the SABR Biography Project or to get involved.
3 new stories published at SABR Games Project
- September 24, 1950: Dodgers’ Erv Palica adds grand slam to two-hit shutout over Phillies, by Steven C. Weiner
- April 20, 1976: Phillies’ Jim Kaat zips through ‘Lumber Company’ Pirates for first National League win, by John Fredland
- April 29, 1977: Disordered Mets bat out of turn, still prevail over Padres, by Craig Garretson
Visit SABR.org/gamesproject to learn more about the SABR Games Project or to get involved.
How We Played the Game: Baseball at Manzanar, 1942-1945
Edited by Russ Speiller and James Forr
Visit SABR.org to download the free e-book edition or save 50% off the paperback edition of all Digital Library books.
- Skip Nipper, 76, a Nashville baseball historian and founder of SABR’s Rice-Russell Nashville Chapter, died on Wednesday, October 21 after a battle with cancer. In addition to leading SABR’s Nashville chapter from 2007 to 2024, he also served on the board of the Nashville Old Timers Baseball Association. He was a contributor to 10 SABR books and the author of Baseball in Nashville, published in 2007. He worked closely with the Nashville Sounds to correctly identify images and descriptions placed throughout First Horizon Park. He was a historical adviser for the initiative to bring major-league baseball to Nashville. A 1972 graduate of Memphis State University, Skip was a sales representative for 40 years for New Era Cap Co. Skip and his wife, Sheila, resided in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee. Together, they had seven children and 17 grandchildren, and along with their dogs, Sully Dell and Baseball Annie, they all loved baseball. Funeral arrangements are pending.
Here are some SABR headlines from recent weeks that we don’t want you to miss:
- 2026 Rawlings Gold Glove Award finalists announced
- Janet Marie Smith selected as 2026 SABR Dorothy Seymour Mills Lifetime Achievement Award winner
- Get your SABR merch at our new online shop
- Join the new SABR Professional Researchers Group
- Find stories, photos, and highlights from SABR 54 in Cleveland
- Save the date! SABR 55 will be in Birmingham in 2027
- SABR Lahman Baseball Database to modernize, add data categories
- SABR Analytics Certification courses now available in Spanish
- 2026 executives, college baseball staffs added to SABR MLB Team Employee Database
- New Research Resources portal and member login launched
- Learn more about new SABR Institutional Memberships
- 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 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anthony Adams | Fort Pierce, FL | Mason Glavine | Jamaica Plain, MA | ||
| Patrick Auger | Round Rock, TX | Ron Greenman | Westminster, MD | ||
| Carson Boyd | Toronto, ON | Dawson Haag | Eyota, MN | ||
| Brad Buvinger | Portland, OR | David Heit | Pittsburgh, PA | ||
| Jose Castillo | Mexico City, MEX | Daniel Hernandez | Artesia, CA | ||
| Katie Conyers | Garner, NC | Nick Huntington | Newton, MA | ||
| Ariah Cookingham | Sherwood, OR | Philippe Jardillier | Abbeville, FRA | ||
| Chad Cushing | Houston, TX | William Lakey | Canyon Lake, TX | ||
| Benjamin De Grandpre | Saint-Simon, QC | David Lubera | Grosse Pointe Woods, MI | ||
| David Dickson | Peterborough, ON | Eric Magnuson | Seattle, WA | ||
| Joseph Eakin | Hamilton, NY | Guy Mangialardi | Spring Hill, FL | ||
| Samuel Essery | Long Island City, NY | JC Mooney | Minneapolis, MN | ||
| Suzy Evans | Elgin, IL | Kaveh Naini | Santa Monica, CA | ||
| Kevin Finn | Redondo Beach, CA | Scott Swadner | Lexington, KY |
- Events Calendar: Find details of all upcoming SABR events.
- Video Replays: This week, we heard from ESPN’s Tim Kurkjian, along with Steve Rennie (Boomtown Baseball), Tim Christ (How Boerne Made History and Played on their Field of Dreams),
Marty Lurie (Baseball Mensch); Armand Peterson (“Town Ball in Minnesota”); Brian Engelhardt (“Baseballtown’s Time of Troubles in Reading, Pennsylvania”); and the SABR Board of Directors Virtual Town Hall.
Click here to view video replays of virtual SABR events.
Upcoming Virtual Meetings
- October 24: Schott-Pelican (LA) Chapter meeting with Ted Giannoulas (10:00 AM CDT)
- October 25: Baltimore Babe Ruth Chapter meeting with Christopher Dale (7:00 PM EDT)
- October 26: Clyde Sukeforth (NH/ME) Chapter meeting with Mitchell Nathanson (7:30 PM EDT)
- October 29: SABR Board of Directors conference call (1:00 PM EDT)
- October 29: SABR Baseball Memories meeting (7:00 PM EDT)
- October 29: Boston Chapter meeting with Taylor Smith and Dan Meyer (7:00 PM EDT)
- October 29: Quarterly Chapter Leaders Meeting (8:00 PM EDT)
Upcoming In-Person Meetings
- October 23: Luke Easter Chapter World Series watch party (Rochester, NY)
- October 24: Rogers Hornsby Chapter World Series watch party (Austin, TX)
- October 26: Rickwood Field Chapter meeting (Birmingham, AL)
- October 27: Hank Gowdy Columbus Chapter World Series watch party (Columbus, OH)
- October 28: Pee Wee Reese Chapter World Series watch party (Louisville, KY)
- October 29: Bob Davids Chapter Hot Stove Lunch (Silver Spring, MD)
- October 31: Dayton Chapter meeting (Dayton, OH)
To add your SABR event to our calendar listings, please contact Jacob Pomrenke.
- Jewish Baseball: Sign up for announcements from SABR’s newest research committee, focusing on Jewish contributions to the game of baseball
- Minor Leagues: Fall 2026 newsletter
Sign up for SABR research committee announcements at SABR.org/research/committees.
- Halsey Hall Chapter: November 2026 newsletter (Minneapolis, MN)
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:
- 2026 Fielding Bible Award winners announced (Sports Info Solutions)
- Mike Petriello: In the first World Series with ABS, will any hitters challenge? (MLB.com)
- Tyler Kepner: The Brewers and Rays took opponents to school — and college baseball fans are loving it (The Athletic)
- Sarah Langs: Three wild facts for a World Series filled with fresh faces (MLB.com)
- Ben Lindbergh: Five Trends That Define the 2026 MLB Playoffs (The Ringer)
- Hannah Keyser: Prediction markets are partnering with top athletes and sports teams. Why it’s taking the magic away for many fans. (CNN)
- Dayn Perry: How the Brewers could join elite company with World Series title after dominant regular season (CBS Sports)
- Mark Simon: Who’s the Best Center Fielder in Baseball? (Baseball Prospectus)
- Ben Clemens: Mathemadage: The Inevitable Reliever Blowup Theory (FanGraphs)
- Jayson Stark: As the Brewers and Rays are proving, maybe, just maybe, baseball isn’t broken (The Athletic)
- Howard Bryant: Does Baseball Even Want to Be Happy? (Substack)
- Jay Jaffe: Short Work: A Look at This Year’s Postseason Starting Pitching (FanGraphs)
- Adam Berry/Adam McCalvy: Meet the true X-factors in this World Series: The roofs (MLB.com)
- Ryan Fagan: Brewers vs. Rays is a World Series Built From Wins Both On, Off the Field (Opta Analyst)
- Paul Lukas: A Look at Teams That Changed Their Uniforms for the World Series (Uni Watch)
- Rob Mains: Has The Zombie Runner Ruined the Pythagorean Winning Percentage? (Baseball Prospectus)
- Davy Andrews: Chandler Simpson Could Be the King of Competitive Runs (FanGraphs)
- Zack Meisel: Cleveland Guardians end-of-season takeaways: ‘This group, it felt different’ (The Athletic)
- Derrick Goold: ‘It’s like watching the ’85 Cardinals play’: How Rays, Brewers stole the World Series stage (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
- Manny Randhawa: The wild story of the Brewers’ first season — in Seattle (MLB.com)
- Kevin Glew: Catching up with Barry Cort, the first Canadian Milwaukee Brewer (Cooperstowners in Canada)
- Cody Stavenhagen: Harvey Kuenn led Brewers to World Series. His famed prosthetic leg leaves a larger legacy. (The Athletic)
- Adam Sodders: Sean Forman: From Small Town Iowa to the Sports Data Big Leagues (Grinnell.edu)
- David Laurila: Yankees Prospect Dax Kilby is Debuting New Mechanics in the Desert (FanGraphs)
- Steven Goldman: Does Aaron Boone Deserve Tenure? (Baseball Prospectus)
- Zachary Kranc: The discovery of a Jewish Negro League star forces a rewrite of Jewish baseball history (JTA.org)
- Thomas Young: What makes a ballpark unforgettable? Janet Marie Smith on ballpark history and preservation (Ballpark Blueprints)
- Johnny Flores Jr.: How a quest to track down Carlton Fisk ticket stubs helped create a baseball community (The Athletic)
- Roy Carlson: Topps Busted Out Plastic Players in Rare 1968 Baseball Set (Sports Collectors Daily)
- Eric Vickrey: The Milwaukee Brewers and the Case of the Missing (Rollie) Fingers (EricVickrey.com)
- Thomas Gilbert: How James Creighton Really Died (Baseball Time Machine)
- Dan Wallach: My Baseball History interview with Mark Armour (ShoelessPodcast.com)
- Al Doyle: J.C. Boscan, 17 Major-League Games (in a 19-Year Career) (RIP Baseball)
- Mark Kolier: The Mad Hungarian, Wild Thing, and the Flying Met: Baseball’s Eccentric Left-Handed Relievers (Almost Cooperstown)
- Aaron Powell: African American Football Trailblazers (SABR Baseball Cards)
- Jason Schwartz: Peace, Love, Pinch Hits, Rainbows, and Unicorns (SABR Baseball Cards)
- Rob Fitts: DeNA BayStars owner Tomiko Namba Explains the Secrets Behind the Team’s Success (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: October 23, 2026. Last Updated: October 23, 2026.