SABR’s Lahman Baseball Database to modernize, add data categories
SEPTEMBER 28, 2026 — SABR’s Lahman Baseball Database is undergoing a significant modernization intended to make the data easier to use and easier to maintain. These changes will be implemented for the next update which will include statistics from the 2026 season. The updated Lahman Database will be available for download in early 2027 at SABR.org/lahman-database.
The update will simplify the schema, reduce legacy and redundant tables, improve support for Negro League and historical data, and add several categories of data that the current structure does not represent well or at all.
Because many researchers, applications, and teaching materials rely on the existing structure, we anticipate creating a legacy version that retains the old schema, built from the newer version.
Lahman Database 2026 Modernization Changes
- Standardize field names across the database.
- Use franchID on child/statistical tables.
- Consolidate regular-season, postseason, and All-Star statistics into common Batting, Pitching, and Fielding structures.
- Add complete All-Star Game performance data.
- Consolidate outfield fielding data into the main Fielding table, eliminating the separate FieldingOF and FieldingOFsplit structures.
- Expand pitching statistics to include doubles and triples allowed (and potentially other non-derived stats).
- Consolidate Awards and Award Voting tables, eliminating separate player and manager.
- Eliminate the separate half-season tables and incorporate split-season information into the primary Teams and Managers.
- Add ties to Teams and Managers records.
- Expand the schema to accommodate Negro League team season data, such as different categories of team records, multiple home parks, and other historically necessary fields.
- Expand external identifier support for People, Teams, Franchises, Parks, making it easier to connect Lahman records with Retrosheet, Baseball-Reference, Chadwick, Seamheads, SABR databases, and other major sources.
- Add searchable non-diacritic versions of names while preserving the correct names with diacritics.
- Standardize country and state/province/subdivision codes using ISO 3166.
- Remove obsolete or redundant numeric identifier fields.
The Lahman Baseball Database, created by SABR member Sean Lahman and now maintained by Bryan Walko, contains complete batting and pitching statistics back to 1871, plus fielding statistics, standings, team stats, managerial records, postseason data, and more — now including the Negro Leagues!
Visit SABR.org/lahman-database to learn more. Or click here to watch Bryan Walko’s presentation, “An Introduction to Baseball Databases,” for an overview of these files.
If you are a developer with questions about the upcoming changes, please contact lahmandb@sabr.org with any questions or corrections.
Originally published: September 28, 2026. Last Updated: September 22, 2026.