In 2017, SABR’s Women in Baseball Committee established the Dorothy Seymour Mills Lifetime Achievement Award — “The Dorothy” — named in honor of Dorothy Seymour Mills and her lifetime of contributions to promoting women’s baseball.

Eligible candidates include any person with a sustained involvement in women’s baseball or any woman with a longtime involvement in baseball in any fashion — player, umpire, writer, executive, team owner, scout, etc. Candidates do not have to be living; it can be awarded posthumously. Self-nominations are accepted.

To learn more about the legendary baseball historian Dorothy Seymour Mills, click here.

2027 nominations

To submit a nomination for The Dorothy in 2027, please submit a letter of nomination (self or external); supporting letters; list of accomplishments with supporting documentation (including articles written by/about the candidate; book reviews for books written; links to organizations/tournaments/others that the candidate participated in or helped organize); awards received; or other achievements to Dr. Leslie Heaphy by e-mail at lheaphy@kent.edu or by mail at Dr. Leslie Heaphy, KSU at Stark, 6000 Frank Ave., North Canton, OH 44720.

Award winners

• 2026: Janet Marie Smith
• 2025: Jean Hastings Ardell
• 2024: Barbara Gregorich
• 2023: Maybelle Blair
• 2022: Justine Siegal
• 2021: Claire Smith
• 2020: Effa Manley
• 2019: Rachel Robinson 
• 2018: Perry Barber

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 in the following categories:

• Contemporary Baseball Analysis: Honoring the best analysis focusing on a subject related to the modern game(s), team(s) or player(s).
• Contemporary Baseball Commentary: Honoring the best commentary focusing on a subject related to the modern game(s), team(s) or player(s). 
• Historical Baseball Analysis/Commentary: Honoring the best original analysis or commentary focusing on a subject related to a game(s), team(s) or player(s) throughout baseball history.
• John Dewan Defensive Analytics Award: Honoring the best defensive or fielding analysis published or presented in the last year.

Works of “Analysis” will be judged on the following criteria: thorough examination of the subject matter; originality of research; factual accuracy; significance in advancing our understanding of baseball.

Works of “Commentary” will be judged on the following criteria: distinguished writing; profound insight; factual accuracy; significance in advancing our understanding of baseball.

A work can be in any format except books, including but not limited to articles, columns, blog posts, television, film, websites, spreadsheets or databases, but it must have been first published in the preceding calendar year. Individual articles published as part of a book or journal compilation are eligible. No unpublished work will be considered. No work published, in part or in whole, prior to the preceding calendar year will be considered.

No work will be considered in more than one category. Multiple nominations can be submitted, but only one work per author will be considered as a finalist.

Nominations are solicited by representatives from SABR, Baseball Prospectus, FanGraphs, the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America, and Sports Info Solutions, and sent to Jacob Pomrenke at the SABR office. SABR chooses the final 3-5 nominees in each category, from the list submitted by each group. Voting for the winners is conducted online at SABR.org, BaseballProspectus.com, FanGraphs.com, and IBWAA.com, with results weighted equally at 25%.

Results are announced and presented at the annual SABR Analytics Conference. Learn more at SABR.org/analytics.

2027 nominations

What are the best baseball analytics articles you’ve read in 2026? Please send all nominations via e-mail to analytics-awards@sabr.org no later than December 18, 2026. Include author, title, date of publication and a URL link (if applicable). Self-nominations are encouraged.

Past winners

2026

• Contemporary Baseball Analysis: Michael Rosen, “How Much Do Trail Runners Matter? An Investigation,” FanGraphs, September 8, 2025.
• Contemporary Baseball Commentary: Richard Staff, “The Secret Brotherhood of the Phantom Ballplayers,” Defector, July 21, 2025.
• Historical Baseball Analysis/Commentary: R.J. Anderson, “What MLB’s salary cap history can tell us about the upcoming CBA negotiations,” CBS Sports, December 1, 2025.
• John Dewan Defensive Analytics: Daniel R. Epstein, “Stand in the Place Where You Are,” Baseball Prospectus, May 5, 2025.

  To view the finalists for the 2026 awards, click here

2025

• Contemporary Baseball Analysis: Hannah Keyser, “The DH Is Universal, But Good DHs Are Rare,” The Ringer, March 29, 2024.
• Contemporary Baseball Commentary: Richard Staff, “The Minor League Shrink And The Growing Gap Between Triple-A And The Bigs,” Defector, August 27, 2024.
• Historical Baseball Analysis/Commentary: Justin Klugh, “Every Streak Is A Part Of History,” Baseball Prospectus, July 11, 2024.
• John Dewan Defensive Analytics: Patrick Dubuque, “Does Catcher Framing Bounce Back?”, Baseball Prospectus, June 14, 2024.

  To view the finalists for the 2025 awards, click here

2024

• Contemporary Baseball Analysis: Robert Orr, “Quantifying the Corey Seager Approach,” Baseball Prospectus, November 8, 2023.
• Contemporary Baseball Commentary: Ginny Searle, “The Wrong Lessons Learned,” Baseball Prospectus, June 16, 2023.
• Historical Baseball Analysis/Commentary: Patrick Dubuque, “The Other Aging Curve,” Baseball Prospectus, January 31, 2023.
• John Dewan Defensive Analytics: Rob Mains, “Fielding, It Turns Out, Does Slump,” Baseball Prospectus, August 29, 2023.

  To view the finalists for the 2024 awards, click here

2023

• Contemporary Baseball Analysis: Ben Clemens, “How Good Are Those Probabilities on the Apple TV+ Broadcasts?” FanGraphs, May 26, 2022.
• Contemporary Baseball Commentary: Michael Baumann, “The Playoffs Aren’t Too Big. The League Is Way Too Small,” FanGraphs, October 4, 2022.
• Historical Analysis/Commentary: Mike Petriello, “How many games would Springfield’s ringers win?” MLB.com, February 19, 2022.
• John Dewan Defensive Analytics: Russell A. Carleton, “So You’ve Decided to Ban the Shift,” Baseball Prospectus, March 9, 2022.

  To view the finalists for the 2023 awards, click here

2022

• Contemporary Baseball Analysis: Eno Sarris, “What is ‘seam-shifted wake’ and which pitchers benefit most from it?,” The Athletic.
• Contemporary Baseball Commentary: Brittany Ghiroli, “Cockroaches, car camping, poverty wages: Why are minor-leaguers living in squalor?,” The Athletic.
• Historical Analysis/Commentary: Emma Baccellieri, “Deadening the Baseball? MLB’s Done It Before,” Sports Illustrated.

  To view the finalists for the 2022 awards, click here

2021

• Contemporary Baseball Analysis: Tony Adams, for his research and analysis at SignStealingScandal.com.
• Contemporary Baseball Commentary: Bradford William Davis, “Baseball Let Unity Stand in the Way of Protest,” New York Daily News.
• Historical Analysis/Commentary: Shakeia Taylor, “Effa Manley’s Hidden Life,” SB Nation.

  To view the finalists for the 2021 awards, click here

2020

• Contemporary Baseball Analysis: Meredith Wills, “Yes, the Baseball is Different — Again. An Astrophysicist Examines This Year’s Baseballs and Breaks Down the Changes,” The Athletic.
  
• Contemporary Baseball Commentary: Emily Waldon, “I Can’t Afford to Play This Game: Minor Leaguers Open Up About the Realities of Their Pay and the Impact on Their Lives,” The Athletic.
• Historical Analysis/Commentary: RJ McDaniel, “The Meaning of Ichiro,” FanGraphs.

  To view the finalists for the 2020 awards, click here

2019

• Contemporary Baseball Analysis: Wayne Boyle, Sean O’Rourke, Jeff Long, and Harry Pavlidis, “Robo Strike Zone: It’s Not as Simple as You Think,” Baseball Prospectus. 
• Contemporary Baseball Commentary: Sheryl Ring, “The Human Side of the Cubs’ Addison Russell Decision,” FanGraphs.
• Historical Analysis/Commentary: Ben Lindbergh, “The Sabermetric Movement’s Forgotten Foremother,” The Ringer.

  To view the finalists for the 2019 awards, click here

2018

• Contemporary Baseball Analysis: Stephanie Springer, “Get a Grip,” The Hardball Times. 
• Contemporary Baseball Commentary: Emma Baccellieri, “Major League Baseball’s Statcast Can Break Sabermetrics,” Deadspin.
• Historical Analysis/Commentary: Grant Brisbee, “Why Baseball Games Are So Damned Long,” SB Nation.

  To view the finalists for the 2018 awards, click here

2017

• Contemporary Baseball Analysis: August Fagerstrom, “The Game Plan: How the Indians Almost Won It All,” FanGraphs. 
• Contemporary Baseball Commentary: Meg Rowley, “Let Ballparks Get Old,” Baseball Prospectus. 
• Historical Analysis/Commentary: Mina Kimes, “The Art of Letting Go,” ESPN The Magazine.

  To view the finalists for the 2017 awards, click here

2016

• Contemporary Baseball Analysis: Benjamin S. Baumer, Shane T. Jensen, Gregory J. Matthews, “OpenWAR: An Open Source System for Evaluating Overall Player Performance in Major League Baseball,” Journal of Quantitative Analysis.
• Contemporary Baseball Commentary: Alexis Brudnicki, “I’m Different. I’m the Same.” The Hardball Times.
• Historical Analysis/Commentary: John McMurray, “Examining Stolen Base Trends by Decade from the Deadball Era through the 1970s,” SABR Baseball Research Journal.

  To view the finalists for the 2016 awards, click here

2015

• Contemporary Analysis: Jeff Sullivan, “Alex Gordon Barely Had a Chance,” FanGraphs.
• Contemporary Commentary: Grant Brisbee, “Rumors, Rumors, Every Where, Nor Any Drop to Drink,” SB Nation.
• Historical Analysis/Commentary: Sam Miller, “Baseball’s Seven Wonders: Kerry Wood’s 20-K Game,” Baseball Prospectus.

  To view the finalists for the 2015 awards, click here

2014

• Contemporary Analysis: James Santelli, “Pirates Defensive Shifts: The Hidden Secret Behind Baseball’s Best Team,” PiratesProspects.com.
• Contemporary Commentary: Jonah Keri, “Grand Theft Baseball,” Grantland.com.
• Historical Analysis/Commentary: Max Marchi, “Catcher Framing Before PITCHf/x,” Baseball Prospectus.

  To view the finalists for the 2014 awards, click here

2013

• Contemporary Analysis: Bill Petti and Jeff Zimmerman, “Pitcher Aging Curves: An Introduction,” FanGraphs.
• Contemporary Commentary: Lewie Pollis, “Did Hall of Fame’s Founders Want Voters to Judge With Their Eyes?” Beyond the Box Score.
• Historical Analysis/Commentary: Dave Studeman, “The Most Critical At-Bat of All Time,” The Hardball Times.

  To view the finalists for the 2013 awards, click here

Ron Gabriel (1941-2009), a native of Brooklyn, New York, and longtime resident of Bethesda, Maryland, was a former Vice President of SABR and instrumental in establishing the Bob Davids Chapter, which serves the Washington-Baltimore region. He was founder and president of the Brooklyn Dodger Fan Club, and a charter elected member of the Brooklyn Dodger Hall of Fame. Gabriel, who earned his Ph.D. in Human Resource Management from American University, was a retired U.S. Government executive, having served with the Postal Service Management Institute, the Department of Defense and the General Services Administration.

Award nominations

The Ron Gabriel Award Committee is looking for new committee members and accepting nominations for future awards. If you want to join the team or submit a nomination for a work completed or published in 2026, please contact Gary Sarnoff before December 31, 2026.

Previous winners

2026

• Stephen W. Dittmore, Jim Gilliam: The Forgotten Dodger (August Publications)

2025

• Kevin Baker, The New York Game: Baseball and the Rise of a New City (Knopf)

2024

• Gregory H. Wolf, ed., Ebbets Field: Great, Historic, and Memorable Games From Brooklyn’s Lost Ballpark (SABR)
  

2022

• Dan Joseph, Baseball’s Greatest What If: The Story and Tragedy of Pistol Pete Reiser (Sunbury Press)
  

2021

• Joe Niese, Zack Wheat: The Life of the Brooklyn Dodgers Hall of Famer (McFarland & Co.)

2020

• Noel Hynd, The Final Game at Ebbets Field (Red Cat Tales) 

2019

• John G. Zinn, Charles Ebbets: The Man Behind the Dodgers and Brooklyn’s Beloved Ballpark (McFarland & Co.)

2018

• Kevin Cook, Electric October: Seven World Series Games, Six Lives, Five Minutes of Fame That Lasted Forever (Henry Holt & Co.)

2017

• Bill Sullivan, Prologue in Long Before the Miracle: The Making of the New York Mets (CreateSpace)

2016

• Mort Zachter, Gil Hodges: A Hall of Fame Life (University of Nebraska Press)
  

2015

• Andy McCue, Mover & Shaker: Walter O’Malley, the Dodgers, and Baseball’s Westward Expansion (University of Nebraska Press) 

2014

• John G. Zinn, Paul G. Zinn, eds., Ebbets Field: Essays and Memories of Brooklyn’s Historic Ballpark, 1913-1960 (McFarland & Co.) 

2013

• Lyle Spatz, ed., The Team that Forever Changed Baseball and America: The 1947 Brooklyn Dodgers (University of Nebraska Press)

2012

• Lyle Spatz, Dixie Walker: A Life in Baseball (McFarland & Co.)

The SABR Founders’ Day Award, established in 2024, recognizes a SABR member who has contributed significant or enduring service as a leader of a regional chapter or research committee. 

It is awarded in conjunction with the annual Founders’ Day celebration held to honor the organization’s first meeting on August 10, 1971, at the National Baseball Hall of Fame Library in Cooperstown, New York.

Tom Hufford (above), one of the 16 founding members of SABR, was honored with the first award.

Nominations

Click here to submit a nomination for the SABR Founders’ Day Award. Anyone can submit a nomination; nominees must be active SABR members in order to be eligible to receive the award.

Past recipients

• 2026: Marlene Vogelsang
• 2025: Allen Tait
• 2024: Tom Hufford

SABR’s highest honor, the Bob Davids Award was established by the Board of Directors in 1985, and is awarded each year at the annual convention. Learn more about Bob Davids at the SABR BioProject or on our SABR Founders page.

Below is a list of previous award winners.

Award Winners

• 2026: Anthony Salazar
• 2025: Tom Hufford
• 2024: D. Bruce Brown
• 2023: Neal Traven
• 2022: F.X. Flinn
• 2021: Vince Gennaro
• 2020: Peter Mancuso
• 2019: Bill Lamb
• 2018: Larry McCray
• 2017: Larry Lester
• 2016: Stew Thornley
• 2015: Dan Levitt
• 2014: Leslie Heaphy
• 2013: Dick Beverage
• 2012: Jan Finkel
• 2011: Bill Nowlin
• 2010: Mark Rucker
• 2009: Tom Ruane
• 2008: Mark Armour
• 2007: Andy McCue
• 2006: John Thorn
• 2005: David W. Smith
• 2004: Dick Thompson
• 2003: Frederick Ivor-Campbell
• 2002: Evelyn Begley
• 2001: Larry Gerlach
• 2000: Lyle Spatz
• 1999: David Vincent
• 1998: John Pardon
• 1997: Len Levin
• 1996: Jack Kavanagh
• 1995: Cliff Kachline
• 1994: A.D. Suehsdorf
• 1993: Bill Carle
• 1992: Robert Tiemann
• 1991: Frank Phelps
• 1990: John Holway
• 1989: Pete Palmer
• 1988: E. Vern Luse
• 1987: Robert Hoie
• 1986: Joseph Simenic
• 1985: Robert McConnell

The award was established in 2002. From 2004 to 2016, the award was known as the USA Today Sports Weekly Award.

Previous winners

2026

• Chuck Hildebrandt, “Nepo Babies: Father-Son Duos Throughout Major League History.”

2025

• Ebenezer Olubayode, “Real-Time Biomechanical Feedback for Injury Prevention in Baseball Pitching” 

2024

• Bailey Hall, “Leadoff Walk vs. Leadoff Single: Which is Actually Worse?”

2023

• Chuck Hildebrandt, “Long-Tenured Teammates on Big League Teams”

2022

• Bill Marston, “I’ll Do It Myself – The Stories Behind Unassisted Triple Plays”

2019

• Zachary Rewolinski, “An Analysis of the Relationship Between Pitcher Size and UCL Tears”

2018

• David Firstman, “From Usenet Joke to Baseball Flashpoint: The Growth of “Three True Outcomes”

2017

• Richard Macaluso, “The Evolution of Baseball’s Catcher’s Mitt, 1888-2015”

2016

• Francis Kinlaw, “The Line Drive that Changed Baseball’s History!”

2015

• Brandon Grilc, “Stealing Home: How American Society Preserves Major League Baseball Stadiums, Ballpark, & Fields”

2014

• Jimmy Sanderson and Matthew Crownover, “Building From Within or Acquiring from Without: An Analysis of Roster Construction for Post-Season MLB Teams from 2009-2013”
  

2013

• Brendan Bingham, “The Uncertain Relationship Between Stolen Bases And Runs Scored”

2012

• Andy Andres and James Tetler, “Release Point and Ulnar Collateral Ligament Injuries”

2011

• Patrick Kilgo, Jeff Switchenko, Hillary Superak, Paul Weiss, Lisa Elon, Brian Schmotzer, and Lance Waller, “Pitch F/X as a Scouting Tool: Using Advanced Graphical Methods to Scout Hitters”

2010

• J-P Caillault, “The Best vs. the Best: W-L Records of Hall of Fame Pitchers against Each Other”

2009

• Susan Ballentine, “Rethinking Bill James’ Pythagorean Expectation”

2008

• David R. Zavagno, Avrami Grader, and Philip M. Halleck, “Maple Bats Changed the Game”

2007

• Patrick Kilgo, “Historically Atypical Performance: Quantifying the Unusualness of Players’ Seasons”

2006

• Allison Binns, “The Short-Term Effect of Salary Arbitration on Performance”

2005

• Larry Lester, “The East-West All-Star Classic, 1933-1953”

2004

• Cecilia Tan, “The Women’s Baseball Marathon”

2003

• John Jarvis, “Trends, Exceptions and Results in IBB Usage”

2002

• Michael Schell, “Identifying the Best Home Run Parks in Baseball History”

The award for the best oral research presentation was first presented at the 1990 SABR convention in Cleveland as the John W. Cox Award, in honor of the late SABR member from Carrollton, Texas. In 1992, the USA Today Sports Weekly Award was established as a continuation of the Cox Award.

In 2002, a companion award for the best poster presentation was established. From 2004 to 2016, it was known as the USA Today Sports Weekly Award. Click here to learn more about the winners for the SABR Convention Poster Presentation Award.

Previous Winners

2026

• Levon Nazarian, “Stress Ultrasound of the Ulnar Collateral Ligament of the Elbow: Can We Predict Who Will Need Tommy John Surgery?”

2025

• Jason A. Schwartz, “The ‘Savior’ Does Not Answer Letters: Dave Hoskins and the Uneven, Unheralded, and Unfinished Integration of the Texas League”

2024

• David W. Smith, “Where Did the 24 Minutes Go?”

2023

• David Firstman, “Dan Uggla: History’s Most Unlikely Hitting Streak?”

2022

• John Asel, “Meta Pitch Tracking: How The Changes In Pitch Tracking Technologies Should Change How We Look At The Data They Collect”

2019

• Mark Pankin, “Baseball’s Most Confounding Rule”

2018

• Callie Batts Maddox, ” ‘Ty Cobb has Nothing on Her’: Early Twentieth Century Women’s Collegiate Baseball in Ohio”

2017

• Chuck Hildebrandt, “Does Changing Leagues Affect Player Performance, and How?”

2016

• David W. Smith, “The Myth of the Closer”
  

2015

• Chuck Hildebrandt, “‘Little League Home Runs’ in MLB History”

2014

• Michael Haupert, “William Hulbert and the Birth of the Business of Professional Baseball”
  

2013

• Vince Gennaro, “Analyzing Batter Performance Against Pitcher Clusters”

2012

• Rob Fitts, “Murderers, Spies, and Ballplayers: The Untold Story of the 1934 All American Tour of Asia”

2011

• Ross Davies, “Toolson’s Secrets: A Close Call for the Baseball Antitrust Exemption”

2010

• Ross Davies, “Chinese-US Baseball Diplomacy before the Great War”

2009

• Tim Herlich, “21”

2008

• Vince Gennaro, “What Factors Influence Free Agent Salaries?”

2007

• Cait Murphy, “Cover-up: Gambling, Corruption, and the Wild Finish of the 1908 Season”

2006

• Sean Forman, “Blocking Pitches: Assessing a Catcher’s Ability to Save Runs with Bruises”

2005

• Peter Morris, “Origin of the Pitching Rotation”

2004

• Andy McCue, “Rickey v. O’Malley and the Mysterious Buyout Clause”

2003

• Peter Morris, “The Origin of the Word ‘Fan’ “

2002

• Tom Tippett, “Using Lineup-dependent Expected Runs Analysis to Evaluate Strategies”

2001

• David W. Smith, “Play by Play Analysis of the 1951 National League Pennant Race”

2000

• Doug Pappas, “111 Years of Major League Ejections”

1999

• Jean Ardell, “Left-hander Ila Borders: Crossing Baseball’s Gender Line from Little League to the Northern League”

1998

• Stew Thornley, “The Polo Grounds — A Tale of Four Stadiums”

1997

• Norman Macht, “Baseball’s Traditional Values: What Are They?”

1996

• John Pastier, “A Dozen New Ballparks, 1989-2000”

1995

• Dennis & Jeanne DeValeria, “Honus Wagner’s Tricks of the Trade: At the Plate in the Field, On the Bases”

1994

• Tom Shieber, “The Evolution of the Pitcher’s Mound”

1993

• Barry Mednick, “The Giants Stay Put: For Now”

1992

• Jack Carlson, “Baseball Patents”

1991

• William Chambers, “Larry Doyle”

1990

• Bob Buege, “The Milwaukee Braves: A Baseball Eulogy”

The award is named after Roland Hemond, a longtime SABR member and three-time The Sporting News MLB Executive of the Year (1972, 1983, 1989), who helped build winning franchises with the Braves, Angels, White Sox, Orioles, and Diamondbacks. Hemond served as president of the Association of Professional Baseball Players of America and helped organize the Arizona Fall League. He was a co-founder of the Professional Baseball Scouts Foundation and served on the board of the Scout of the Year Foundation. The SABR Scouts Committee award was first given to Hemond in 2001 and subsequently named after him. In 2011, the National Baseball Hall of Fame honored Hemond as the second recipient of the Buck O’Neil Lifetime Achievement Award.

It is presented annually at the SABR national convention.

Award Winners

• 2026: Jim Folk and Bob DiBiasio
• 2025: Bruce Bochy
• 2024: Bill Smith
• 2023: Marco Paddy
• 2017: Jax Robertson
• 2016: Michael Hill
• 2015: Bill Bryk
• 2014: Tal Smith
• 2013: Terry Ryan
• 2012: Bob Gebhard
• 2011: Dennis Gilbert
• 2010: John Schuerholz
• 2009: Dallas Green
• 2008: Mike Veeck and Tyler Tumminia
• 2007: Bill Clark
• 2006: Bob Fontaine Jr.
• 2005: Paul Beeston
• 2004: Paul Snyder
• 2003: Pat Gillick
• 2002: Bob Howsam
• 2001: Roland Hemond

Lee Allen was historian at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum from 1959 until his death in May 1969.

Previous Winners of the Lee Allen Award

2026

• “Sabermetrics: A Revolutionary Change in America’s National Pastime,” by Charlie Park, Elena Lee, Kevin Ahn, and Minjae Seo of Daegu, South Korea

2025

• “A Game Changer: Maria Pepe and the Revolution of Girls in Baseball,” by Kristyn Castaneda, of Paterson, New Jersey

2024

• “Design Fun-Dations: The Rebranding Revolution That Revitalized Minor League Baseball,” by Jack McGuinn and Quinn Roberts of Baltimore, Maryland

2023

• “Much More than a Box Score: Larry Doby’s Integration of the American League and the Destruction of Black Baseball,” by Amy Snively of Cary, North Carolina

2022

• “Stranded at First Base: Sixty Years of Hardball Debate and Baseball Diplomacy and Their Impact on the Game in Cuba and the United States,” by Dominick Pizzelanti and Lilia Pizzelanti of Kutztown, Pennsylvania
• “Baltimore’s Ballpark Debates and Their Legacy: The Orioles’ Relocation from Memorial Stadium to Camden Yards,” by Marshall Civin of Baltimore, Maryland
  

2021

• “Writing Race: Sam Lacy Chronicles the Crossing of the Color Line in Sports Journalism,” by Dominick Pizzelanti and Grayson Ebner of Kutztown, Pennsylvania

2020

• “A Forgotten Hero: Larry Doby’s Fight to Integrate American League Baseball,” by Gianna Santangelo, Rebecca Catlos, and Tory Bobosky of New Middletown, Ohio

2019

• “Jackie Robinson: ​Stealing Bases and Gaining Equality Among the Races,” by Frederic Ward and William Ward of Norfolk, Virginia

2018

• “To Enrich the Future, Not to Avenge the Past: How Jackie Robinson’s Compromise With Branch Rickey in Major League Baseball Led to Robinson Joining the Conflict of the Civil Rights Movement,” by Connor Albert of North Yarmouth, Maine

2017

• “Branch Rickey’s Stand: The Integration of Baseball,” by Evan Nelson of Clovis, California

2016

• “The Path to the Sugar Mill or the Path to Millions: The MLB Baseball Academy’s Effect on the Dominican Republic,” by Thomas McKenna of Lovettsville, Virginia

2015

• “Restoring Public Faith in the National Pastime: Baseball’s First Commissioner,” by Ji-Ho Lee of Columbia, Missouri

2014

• “The Curt Flood Case: Free Agency for Athletes,” by Harrison O’Brien of South Hamilton, Massachusetts

2013

• “The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League,” by Grace Olson of La Crosse, Wisconsin
  

2012

• “The Baseball Diamond: The Only Jewel Wrapped in Chains,” by Jacob Hurwitz of Portage, Michigan, and Andrew Beck and Eli Cartier of Kalamazoo, Michigan

2011

• “Play Ball! Jackie Robinson: Breaking the Color Barrier,” by Russell Aspinwall and Garrett Fragala of South Haven, Michigan
  

2010

• “Branch Rickey’s Surreptitious Civil Rights Strategy,” by Cody Driver and Andrew Kanei of Mililani, Hawaii

2009

• “Jackie Robinson,” by Marissa Haarmann of Phoenix, Arizona

2008

• “Jackie Robinson Keeps His Cool,” by Zach Frampton of Laie, Hawai

2007

• “Play Ball! A Triumph For Women Begins Amidst the Tragedy of World War II,” by Alana Klco of Whitehall, Michigan

2006

• “End The Unjust Monopoly: Curt Flood’s Stand Against Baseball’s Reserve Clause,” by Colin Bender of Edmond, Oklahoma

2005

• “Jackie Robinson and Larry Doby Break the Color Barrier,” by Fleetwood Fleming of Mount Pleasant, South Carolina.

2004

• “Girls of Summer: Paving the Way for Women in All Seasons,” by Corissa Westergard, Shelby Johnson and Mackenzie Heyl of Davenport, Iowa

2003

• “Jackie Robinson: The Man Responsible for the Integration of Baseball,” by Alexander Hearn of Indianapolis, Indiana

2002

• “Free Agency Revolutionizes the Business of Baseball,” by Steve Mason and Kevin Rowe of Grand Rapids, Michigan

2001

• “Exhibit of Jackie Robinson Integrates Baseball,” by Philip Beck of Rothschild, Wisconsin

2000

• “Turning Points in Baseball History: Branch Rickey Hires Jackie Robinson,” by James McMahon of Windsor, Connecticut

1999

• No award given

1998

• “Baseball’s Migration to Latin America,” by Nicholas Condon of Stamford, Connecticut

1997

• “Baseball’s Hidden Half,” by Carl Leivers and Marcus Kret of Colorado Springs, Colorado

1996

• “Curt Flood: Man Against the System,” by Alex Giannini, Ethan Schwart, Lane DeSimone and Brian Krost from Stanford, Connecticut

The award is named in honor of late SABR member Lawrence S. Ritter, author of The Glory of Their Times, the work that revived interest in the Deadball Era and often cited as the greatest baseball book ever written.

To learn more about the origins and history of the Larry Ritter Award, click here.

The task of reviewing this year’s nominees is assigned to an awards committee chaired by Doug Skipper, with John McMurray, Mark Dugo, David Fleitz, Craig Lammers, Mark Pattison, and Ben Klein as the other judges. The nominees’ list will be pared down to four finalists in early March, with the Larry Ritter Award to be publicly announced the following month.

2027 nominations

Submit nominations for the 2027 Larry Ritter Book Award, honoring books published in the 2026 calendar year, to Doug Skipper at theskippers1@hotmail.com by December 31, 2026.

Larry Ritter Award winners

2026

• One Splendid Season: Baseball and America in 1912, Told with the Words and Images of the Hassan Triplefolder Set, by Phil Rosenzweig (Cragmont Books)

2025

• Mike Donlin: A Rough and Rowdy Life from New York Baseball Idol to Stage and Screen, by Steve Steinberg and Lyle Spatz (University of Nebraska Press)

2024

• Baseball Photography of the Deadball Era: Rediscovering the Early Lensmen and Their Indelible Images That Brought the Game from the Field to the Fans, by Jim Chapman (self-published)

2023

• Charlie Murphy: The Iconoclastic Showman Behind the Chicago Cubs, by Jason Cannon (University of Nebraska Press)

2022

• Gettysburg Eddie Plank: A Pitcher’s Journey to the Hall of Fame, by Dave Heller (McFarland & Co.)

2021

• War Fever: Boston, Baseball, and America in the Shadow of the Great War, by Randy Roberts and Johnny Smith (Basic Books)

2020

• James T. Farrell and Baseball: Dreams and Realism on Chicago’s South Side, by Charles DeMotte (University of Nebraska Press)
• Oscar Charleston; The Life and Legend of Baseball’s Greatest Forgotten Player, by Jeremy Beer (University of Nebraska Press)

2019

• September 1918: War, Plague, and the World Series, by Skip Desjardin (Regnery History)

2018

• From the Dugouts to the Trenches: Baseball During the Great War, by Jim Leeke (University of Nebraska Press)

2017

• The Selling of the Babe: The Deal That Changed Baseball and Created a Legend, by Glenn Stout (Thomas Dunne Books, St. Martin’s Press)

2016

• Ty Cobb: A Terrible Beauty, by Charles Leerhsen (Simon & Schuster)

2015

• Baseball on Trial: The Origin of Baseball’s Antitrust Exemption, by Nathaniel Grow (University of Illinois Press)
• The Days of Wee Willie, Old Cy and Baseball War: Scenes from the Dawn of the Deadball Era, 1900-1903, by Chuck Kimberly (McFarland & Co.)

2014

• Spitballing: The Baseball Days of Long Bob Ewing, by Mike Lackey (Orange Frazer Press)

2013

• The Battle That Forged Modern Baseball: The Federal League Challenge and Its Legacy, by Daniel R. Levitt (Ivan R. Dee)  

 2012

• Fenway 1912: The Birth of a Ballpark, a Championship Season, and Fenway’s Remarkable First Year, by Glenn Stout (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) 

2011

• Native American Son: The Life and Sporting Legend of Jim Thorpe, by Kate Buford (Alfred A. Knopf)

2010

• The Federal League of Base Ball Clubs: The History of an Outlaw Major League, 1914-1915, by Robert Peyton Wiggins (McFarland & Co.)

2009

• Ballparks of the Deadball Era: A Comprehensive Study of Their Dimension, Configurations and Effects on Batting, 1901-1919, by Ronald M. Selter (McFarland & Co.)

2008

• Connie Mack and the Early Years of Baseball, by Norman L. Macht (University of Nebraska Press)

2007

• Burying the Black Sox: How Baseball’s Cover-Up of the 1919 World Series Fix Almost Succeeded, by Gene Carney (Potomac)

2006

• Peach: Ty Cobb in His Time and Ours, by Richard Bak (Sports Media Group)

2005

• The American Indian Integration of Baseball, by Jeffrey Powers-Beck (University of Nebraska Press)

2004

• The Tour to End All Tours: The Story of Major League Baseball’s 1913—1914 World Tour, by James E. Elfers (Bison Books)

2003

• Before They Were the Bombers: The New York Yankees’ Early Years, 1903—1915, by Jim Reisler (McFarland & Co.)

2002

• Hal Chase: The Defiant Life and Turbulent Times of Baseball’s Biggest Crook, by Martin Donell Kohout (McFarland & Co.)