Announcing finalists for 2017 SABR Analytics Conference Research Awards
We’re pleased to announce the finalists for the 2017 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 Hardball Times, and Beyond the Box Score. Here are the finalists for the 2017 SABR Analytics Conference Research Awards:
Contemporary Baseball Analysis
- August Fagerstrom, “The Game Plan: How the Indians Almost Won It All,” FanGraphs, November 4, 2016.
- Ben Lindbergh and Rob Arthur, “Are Juiced Balls the New Steroids?” FiveThirtyEight, July 20, 2016.
- Kate Morrison and Russell A. Carleton, “The Perils of MLB’s Sorting System,” Baseball Prospectus, June 20-23, 2016. Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4.
- Eno Sarris with Bill Petti, “Are Veterans Better at Slump Busting?” FanGraphs, May 25, 2016.
- Jeff Sullivan, “Pitch Framing Was Doomed From the Start,” The Hardball Times Baseball Annual 2017.
Contemporary Baseball Commentary
- R.J. Anderson, “MLB Analytics Guru Who Could Be The Next Nate Silver Has A Revolutionary New Stat,” CBS Sports, December 1, 2016.
- Henry Druschel, “There’s no such thing as a small-market team,” Beyond the Box Score, December 13, 2016.
- Rany Jazayerli, “The Curious Have Won,” The Ringer, November 3, 2016.
- Sam Miller, “Cubs win! Cubs won. Now what do we stay alive for?” ESPN.com, November 5, 2016.
- Meg Rowley, “Let Ballparks Get Old,” Baseball Prospectus, May 26, 2016.
Historical Analysis/Commentary
- Patrick Dubuque, “Byron McLaughlin Avoids the Tag,” The Hardball Times, June 22, 2016.
- Tim Healey, “The Doug Mirabelli Trade: An Oral History,” The Hardball Times, April 29, 2016.
- Wade Kapszukiewicz, “Golden Pitches: The Ultimate Last-at-Bat, Game Seven Scenario,” SABR Baseball Research Journal, Spring 2016.
- Mina Kimes, “The Art of Letting Go,” ESPN The Magazine, October 4, 2016.
- Gerald Schifman, “How Much Hope and Faith Is in Major League Baseball?” The Hardball Times Baseball Annual 2017.
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, HardballTimes.com, and BeyondtheBoxScore.com, with results weighted equally at 20%.
Results will be announced and presented at the sixth annual SABR Analytics Conference, March 9-11, 2017, at the Hyatt Regency Phoenix in Phoenix, Arizona. Learn more or register for the conference at SABR.org/analytics.
Originally published: January 20, 2017. Last Updated: January 20, 2017.