This Week in SABR: December 12, 2025
Welcome to “This Week in SABR” on Friday, December 12, 2025.
Click here to view this newsletter on the web.
Let’s Bring it Home in 2025 and power SABR’s future together
Fall 2025 Baseball Research Journal is on its way
1 week left to apply for SABR Analytics Conference scholarships
Last call for papers: 2026 The National Pastime
Applications now open for Local Grants in 2026
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Let’s Bring it Home in 2025 and power SABR’s future together
SABR has made tremendous strides toward becoming the essential community for the baseball world, but our work isn’t finished. With your support, we can continue to invest in mission-driven initiatives that will ensure SABR’s growth and sustainability for years to come. Your contributions will help us expand our research resources, forge meaningful partnerships inside and outside the game, and create more opportunities for participation in our baseball community. Gifts from members like you help SABR BRING IT HOME, securing success in 2025 and beyond.
You can support SABR’s annual Bring it Home Campaign by making a donation of $150 or more by December 31, 2025. We will use your best gift of $150, $300, $500, or $1,000 to boost SABR’s general operations. Contributions from generous donors like you are critical in supporting SABR as we add to our research resources, develop collaborative partnerships that add value for our members, and expand opportunities to participate in the wonderful baseball community we’ve built together.
Visit SABR.org/donate/2025 to learn more.
Fall 2025 Baseball Research Journal is on its way
With an original cover illustration of Lou Gehrig designed by SABR member Gary Cieradkowski, we hope you enjoy the e-book edition of the Fall 2025 Baseball Research Journal! The e-book edition was sent to all SABR members on Monday, December 8. Anyone who has subscribed to the print edition should receive their copy in the mail in the next 2-4 weeks.
- Click here to order a copy of the print edition of the Fall 2025 Baseball Research Journal from Amazon.com.
- Articles from the Fall 2025 Baseball Research Journal will be available to read online soon in the SABR Research Collection.
We hope you enjoy reading the Fall 2025 Baseball Research Journal!
Early registration now open for 2026 SABR Analytics Conference
Early registration is now open for the SABR Analytics Conference, which will be held in person from February 27-March 1, 2026, 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 2026 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, February 27 through Sunday, March 1, and a student-only virtual session on Thursday, February 26. 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.
- Diamond Dollars Case Competition: Click here to register your team for the 2026 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 2026 SABR Analytics Conference. Deadline: December 19, 2025.
- Research Awards: We’re seeking nominations for the 2026 SABR Analytics Conference Research Awards. Deadline: December 19, 2025.
- Certification Courses: The first three courses in the online, on-demand SABR Analytics Certification program, including the newest offering Level Three – Introduction to Baseball Programming, are available now. Click here to learn more or to sign up.
1 week left to apply for SABR Analytics Conference scholarships
With generous funding from The Nanar and Anthony Yoseloff Foundation, Inc., SABR will award up to four Yoseloff Scholarships to high school and college students who wish to attend the 2026 SABR Analytics Conference in Phoenix, Arizona. This scholarship will pay for all registration fees and expenses associated with the conference.
Awarded annually to four recipients, the Sarah Langs Women in Baseball Analytics Scholarship will provide meaningful professional development and networking opportunities for female students or young professionals pursuing a career in baseball analytics and data science. This scholarship will pay for all registration fees and expenses associated with the 2026 SABR Analytics Conference in Phoenix, Arizona; plus registration for all courses in the online SABR Analytics Certification program.
All applications must be postmarked or emailed to scarter@sabr.org by December 19, 2025.
Click here to learn more about SABR Scholarships.
Last call for papers: 2026 The National Pastime
The next SABR national convention will be held on July 29-August 2, 2026, in Cleveland, Ohio. The 2026 issue of our annual convention journal, The National Pastime, will focus on “Baseball on Lake Erie.” Stories about Cleveland baseball — amateur, major league, minor league and Negro Leagues — will be welcomed, as will stories about baseball from other locales around Lake Erie, including Toledo, Buffalo and Southern Ontario.
- All SABR members are welcome to submit an article for TNP; abstracts will be accepted through December 15, 2025.
This issue of The National Pastime will be co-edited by Elizabeth Roscher and Vince Guerrieri. To submit an article idea or abstract please fill out this form by December 15.
Click here to read the full announcement at SABR.org.
Member Benefit Spotlight: Gift Memberships
This holiday season, it’s easy to share that passion for the game with friends and family. If you’re looking for a great gift for the baseball fan in your life, how about a SABR Gift Membership? All baseball fans are welcome to join SABR.
Click here to learn more about how to sign up a family member or friend with a SABR Gift Membership.
Visit SABR.org/gift-membership to learn more.
Jeff Kent elected to Baseball Hall of Fame by Contemporary Era Committee
Jeff Kent, a former National League MVP who hit more home runs than any second baseman in baseball history, earned election to the National Baseball Hall of Fame on Sunday via the Contemporary Baseball Era Committee. The Contemporary Baseball Era Committee Ballot was considered by a 16-member committee — including SABR members Steve Hirdt, Tyler Kepner, and Jayson Stark — that held meetings in Orlando, Florida.
Kent finished a 17-year career with the San Francisco Giants, New York Mets, and four other teams with 377 home runs, 1,518 RBIs, five All-Star Game appearances, four Silver Slugger Awards, and the 2000 NL MVP Award. Click here to read Kent’s biography at the SABR BioProject, written by J.P. Garrett.
Click here to read the full announcement at SABR.org.
Apply for a SABR Local Grant in 2026
The SABR Local Grants program provides an opportunity for chapters, research committees, and chartered communities to apply for funding for their projects under SABR’s Four Pillars: Research, Scholarship, Preservation, and Future of the Game. Applications are now open for a 2026 SABR Local Grant at SABR.org/local-grants. Submissions will be accepted until February 20, 2026.
All SABR chapters, chartered communities, and research committees are eligible to apply. Individual SABR members and non-SABR groups are not eligible, so if you have an individual idea for a program grant, please follow up with your local chapter leadership or appropriate research committee to discuss an application.
Click here to read the full announcement at SABR.org.
Save the date! SABR Day is January 31, 2026
Please mark your calendars for Saturday, January 31, 2026, when we will hold our annual SABR Day celebration! SABR Day is a way for all baseball fans to come together, regardless of where they live, and talk about the game we all love.
Regional chapters are also encouraged to plan their own SABR Day events (virtually or in person) throughout the months of January or February to celebrate the start of a new baseball season.
Chapter leaders, please email Jacob Pomrenke as you finalize your SABR Day plans so we can update our comprehensive schedule of events, which will be posted online soon at SABR.org/sabrday.
Be aware of holiday email phishing scams
SABR has been alerted of an email phishing scam sent to some members in recent weeks. These emails may appear to be from your chapter leader or a SABR staff or board member, asking for assistance, personal information, or to complete an “urgent” financial transaction. Indications of scam emails include a bogus “from” address instead of a sender address you know and trust, and grammatically incorrect sentences and/or phrases.
If you receive a suspicious message, please exercise email security best practices by not clicking on any links or opening any attachments, and closely scrutinizing the address of the questionable email sender. Please delete any scam emails immediately.
Find new updates to the SABR Research Collection below, including the Baseball Biography Project, Games Project, and Oral History Collection.
6 new stories published at SABR Games Project
- March 30, 1915: Holy Cross defeats St. John’s College in only meeting between the two schools, by Patrick Brown
- September 2, 1942: Hank Borowy’s no-hit bid ends early for Yankees, but no one knows, by Craig Garretson
- August 19, 1953: A few thousand Little Leaguers get to see a Ted Williams home run in Boston, by Bill Nowlin
- October 14, 1975: Armbrister’s controversial bunt leads to Reds’ walk-off win in Game 3, by Matthew Silverman
- July 11, 1997: Brewers’ Ben McDonald leaves no-hitter with shoulder pain, by Jake Bell
- October 28, 2009: Cliff Lee, Chase Utley dominate Yankees in Game 1 of World Series, by Jeffrey Moore
Visit SABR.org/gamesproject to learn more about the SABR Games Project or to get involved.
Native American Major Leaguers
Edited by Rob Daugherty and Bill Nowlin
Visit SABR.org to download the free e-book edition or save 50% off the paperback edition of all Digital Library books.
All SABR members are encouraged to submit nominations for our annual research awards, for works published or completed in 2025. The deadline to nominate for most awards is around December 31:
- Seymour Medal (history/biography books)
- SABR Analytics Conference Research Awards (baseball analytics research)
- Larry Ritter Book Award (Deadball Era books)
- Russell Gabay Award (New Jersey baseball)
- SABR Baseball Research Award (outstanding research articles/projects)
- McFarland-SABR Baseball Research Award (best history/biography articles)
Please note: Only ONE entry per nomination will be considered (do not submit multiple nominations for the same award). Self-nominations are welcome. For more information on SABR Awards, click here.
Here are some SABR headlines from recent weeks that we don’t want you to miss:
- Save the date! SABR 54 will be in Cleveland in 2026
- Gary, Vicki Gillette make gift to support Jerry Malloy Negro League Conference through 2030
- Dan Levitt appointed as President of Board of Directors
- SABR welcomes new Town Ball research committee
- Fernando Tatis Jr., Bobby Witt Jr. win 2025 Rawlings Gold Glove Platinum Awards
- Learn more about new SABR Institutional Memberships
- Read articles from early SABR Convention Journals
- Negro Leagues statistics added to SABR Lahman Baseball Database
- Read SABR biographies of 2026 Baseball Hall of Fame candidates
- The SABR Bookshelf: Fall 2025
- Check out highlights, stories, and photos from SABR 53 in Texas
- Watch highlights from 2025 SABR/IWBC Women in Baseball Conference
- View a collection of nearly 100,000 player surveys in the new Weiss Baseball Questionnaires collection
- SABR Digital Library: Stan Musial
- Hundreds of ProQuest US newspapers added to SABR Research Resources
- Find complete collection of SABR-Rucker Archive baseball images online
- Get a gift for baseball fan in your life with the SABR Store @ CafePress
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 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Caroline Burum | Houston, TX | Joshua Greene | Rome, ITA | ||
| Ryan Cannnon | Manasquan, NJ | Joshua Levin | Redwood City, CA | ||
| John Carter | Wilmington, NC | Thomas Mills | Stilton, WI | ||
| Jaime Castillo | Monterrey, MEX | Gavin Murphy | Franklin, TN | ||
| Hunhee Cho | Seoul, KOR | Zohayb Naithy | Fremont, CA | ||
| Brendan Cole | Sturbridge, MA | Danny Onorato | Pittsburgh, PA | ||
| Ricardo de la Peña | Jiutepec, MEX | Ben Schiraldi | Guilford, CT | ||
| Joseph DiGiovanni | Pasadena, CA | Ned Wanda | Libertyville, IL | ||
| Brendan Everson | Palm Beach Gardens, FL | Kyle Woods | Rye, NY | ||
| Daniel Green | Harrisburg, PA |
- Events Calendar: Find details of all upcoming SABR events.
- Video Replays: This week, we heard from Phil Rosenzweig (One Splendid Season); Bob Bailey (“Pass the Cups: Baseball Trophies of the 1890s”); Steven LeShay (SherCo Grand Slam Baseball Game); and Jason Schwartz, Susan Lulgjaraj, and Nathan Cook (“Hall of Fame Baseball Card Collections”). Click here to view video replays of virtual SABR events.
Upcoming Virtual Meetings
- December 15: Clyde Sukeforth (NH/ME) Chapter meeting with Jem Jebbia (7:00 p.m. EST)
- December 15: Larry Dierker (TX) Chapter meeting with Scott Barzilla (7:00 p.m. CST)
- December 22: Clyde Sukeforth (NH/ME) Chapter meeting with Chris Betsch (7:00 p.m. EST)
- December 29: Clyde Sukeforth (NH/ME) Chapter meeting with Chris Boucher (7:00 p.m. EST)
Upcoming In-Person Meetings
- December 12: Southwest Florida Chapter holiday party (Fort Myers, FL)
- December 13: Roush-Lopez Tampa Bay Chapter meeting (St. Petersburg, FL)
- December 13: Connecticut Smoky Joe Wood Chapter holiday party (Berlin, CT)
- December 13: Baltimore Babe Ruth Chapter meeting (Baltimore, MD)
- December 13: Emil Rothe Chicago Chapter lunch meeting (Summit, IL)
- December 13: Dusty Baker-Sacramento Chapter baseball cemetery tour (Sacramento, CA)
- December 14: Rogers Hornsby Chapter lunch meeting (Austin, TX)
- December 15: Bob Broeg St. Louis Chapter Meeting (St. Louis, MO)
- December 16: Bob Davids Chapter Hot Stove Dinner (Silver Spring, MD)
- December 18: Magnolia Chapter “Third Thursday” meeting (Sandy Springs, GA)
- December 20: Babe ‘n’ Bob Chapter Breakfast (Edgewater, MD)
- December 20: Hank Gowdy Columbus Chapter book club meeting (Columbus, OH)
- December 20: NY Giants Preservation Society holiday party (New York, NY)
- December 30: Elysian Fields Chapter lunch meeting (Livingston, NJ)
To add your SABR event to our calendar listings, please contact Jacob Pomrenke.
- Official Scoring: Winter 2025 newsletter
- Town Ball: Click here to learn more or sign up for email announcements from SABR’s newest research committee, focusing on amateur/semipro baseball in local communities.
Sign up for SABR research committee announcements at SABR.org/research/committees.
- Hanlan’s Point Chapter: December 2025 newsletter (Toronto, ON)
- Ken Keltner Badger State Chapter: December 2025 newsletter (Milwaukee, WI)
- Rickwood Field Chapter: December 2025 newsletter (Birmingham, AL)
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:
- Joe Buck Named 2026 Ford C. Frick Award Winner for Broadcasting Excellence (Baseball Hall of Fame)
- Paul Hoynes of Cleveland Plain Dealer wins BBWAA Career Excellence Award (Baseball Hall of Fame)
- Jay Jaffe: Contemporary Baseball Committee Tabs Kent While Moving Towards Burying Bonds, Clemens, and Sheffield (FanGraphs)
- Jayson Stark/Tyler Kepner: Is baseball ready for Pete Rose in the Hall of Fame? Surveying people in the game (The Athletic)
- Michael S. Rosenwald: George Altman, Slugger in Negro Leagues, MLB, and Japan, Dies at 92 (New York Times)
- Robert Whiting: Remembering George Altman, a historic figure (Substack)
- Ryan D’Agostino: Sports Journalist Jerry Izenberg on Muhammad Ali, the Civil Rights Movement, and Legacy (Esquire)
- Mark Simon: Who Were MLB’s Most Overachieving Pitchers in 2025? (Sports Info Solutions)
- David Laurila: Giants Prospect Maui Ahuna Has an Intriguing Profile and a Healthy Approach (FanGraphs)
- Zack Meisel: From Disney World to dive boats: The wildest places MLB execs have made a trade or signing (The Athletic)
- Steven Goldman: Pete Alonso: Goodbye to All That (Baseball Prospectus)
- Michael Baumann: Maybe the Pirates Can Unlock Gregory Soto (FanGraphs)
- Daniel R. Epstein: Junior Caminero is Not Going to Hit 763 Home Runs (Baseball Prospectus)
- Stephen J. Nesbitt: At MLB’s Winter Meetings, the Pirates are in a space they rarely occupy: in the mix (The Athletic)
- Matt Monagan: Tony Freitas came out of jail to pitch complete game (MLB.com)
- Gary Ashwill: Cannonball Jim Willis: A Mystery Solved (Agate Type)
- Luke Epplin: The First Fine Careless Rapture (Good Grief)
- Chad Osborne: Cooler Than You Think: The Marion Mets (Visit Smyth County)
- Mark Kolier: Breaking baseball’s PED Rules has its own asterisk (Almost Cooperstown)
- Jeff Cohen/Len Aberman: Baseball and BBQ interview with David Krell (Baseball and BBQ)
- Mike Eisenbath: Why I Sell Baseball Cards (SABR Baseball Cards)
- Dennis Snelling: Herb Hunter’s Dream Tour: A Rabbit, Two Leftys, and an Iron Horse Visit a Dangerous Japan in 1931 (SABR Asian Baseball)
- Taein Chun: The School in Korea That Has Produced the Most MLB Players: The History of Gwangju Ilgo (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.
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Originally published: December 12, 2025. Last Updated: December 12, 2025.