Announcing finalists for 2024 SABR Analytics Conference Research Awards
We’re pleased to announce the finalists for the 2024 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 2024 SABR Analytics Conference Research Awards:
Contemporary Baseball Analysis
- R.J. Anderson, “Why Baseball’s Next Unionization Effort Could Come From MLB Front Offices,” CBS Sports, May 1, 2023
- David J. Gordon, “Balancing Starter and Bullpen Workloads in a Seven-Game Postseason Series,” SABR Baseball Research Journal, Fall 2023
- Hannah Keyser and Zach Crizer, “How the Not-So-Subtle Art of Chucking it Right Down the Middle is Helping MLB Pitchers Get Ahead,” Yahoo! Sports, April 4, 2023
- Eric Longenhagen, “Let’s Get Small: Hundreds of Minor Leaguers Have Shrunk,” FanGraphs, September 29, 2023
- Robert Orr, “Quantifying the Corey Seager Approach,” Baseball Prospectus, November 8, 2023
Contemporary Baseball Commentary
- Michael Baumann, “I Was Supposed to Write About Elly De La Cruz Today,” FanGraphs, June 16, 2023
- Michael Clair, “In the Mountains of the World’s Most Remote Country, Baseball Takes Hold,” MLB.com, August 3, 2023
- Evan Drellich, “MLB’s Billionaire Owners Leaning on Public for Wave of New Ballparks,” The Athletic, September 12, 2023
- Esteban Rivera, “Shohei Ohtani’s Deal With New Balance Has Immense Potential,” FanGraphs, March 13, 2023
- Ginny Searle, “The Wrong Lessons Learned,” Baseball Prospectus, June 16, 2023
Historical Baseball Analysis/Commentary
- Russell A. Carleton, “Is WAR Still Stuck in the 20th Century?” Baseball Prospectus, February 8, 2023
- Stephen Dame, “Softball and Swastikas: The Riot at Toronto’s Christie Pits,” SABR Baseball Research Journal, Fall 2023
- Patrick Dubuque, “The Other Aging Curve,” Baseball Prospectus, January 31, 2023
- Sam Miller, “Based On A True Story: The Game’s Most Preposterous Fun Fact,” Pebble Hunting, June 6, 2023
- Dayn Perry, “Old Yankee Stadium’s Rise And Fall: Complete Story of ‘The House That Ruth Built’ 100 Years After Its Opening,” CBS Sports, April 18, 2023
John Dewan Defensive Analytics Award
- Robert Arthur, “The End of the Shift Helped Left-Handed Line Drive Hitters the Most,” Baseball Prospectus, November 7, 2023
- Alex Eisert, “Breaking Down the Kansas Kids’ Gold Glove Snub,” FanGraphs, October 31, 2023
- Jonathan Judge, “Introducing RDA,” Baseball Prospectus, February 8, 2023
- Rob Mains, “Fielding, It Turns Out, Does Slump,” Baseball Prospectus, August 29, 2023
- Mark Simon, “What Has 20 Years of Defensive Runs Saved Data Meant to Baseball?” Sports Info Solutions, February 7, 2023
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, March 8-10, 2024, in Phoenix, Arizona. Learn more or register for the conference at SABR.org/analytics.
Originally published: January 26, 2024. Last Updated: February 29, 2024.