This Week in SABR: January 2, 2026

January 2, 2026/in This Week in SABR /by wpadmin

Welcome to “This Week in SABR” on Friday, January 2, 2026.
Click here to view this newsletter on the web.

Register now to join us for SABR Analytics Conference
Subscribe to the Baseball Research Journal in 2026
Early registration now open for 19th Century Conference in Cooperstown
Call for papers: 2026 SABR Jerry Malloy Negro League Conference
Apply for a SABR Local Grant in 2026
Lahman Database files with 2025 stats now available for download

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.
Research Presentations, presented by Teamworks Intelligence: Stay tuned for more details on the 2026 schedule of research presentations.
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.

Subscribe to the Baseball Research Journal in 2026

In 2026, all SABR members exclusively receive the Baseball Research Journal electronically twice a year. The Spring 2026 issue will be sent out in April. However, if you are interested in a paperback copy of BRJ for your personal library, we have rolled out a subscription option at a significantly discounted rate: $7 per issue for members, compared to $19.95 at retail.

To subscribe and receive a printed edition of BRJ, visit SABR.org/subscribe
(If you have any questions about your subscription, please email brjsubscribe@sabr.org.)

Click here for a short video on how to subscribe to printed copies of BRJ.

Registration now open for 2026 Ivor-Campbell 19th Century Conference

Registration is now open for the 17th annual SABR Frederick Ivor-Campbell 19th Century Base Ball Conference, which will be held on April 24-25, 2026, at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. All baseball fans are welcome to register for this special event.

Registration: Click here to register online.
Schedule: Click here to view the complete schedule for the 2026 Ivor-Campbell Conference.
Research Presentations: Click here for research presentation abstracts.

The 2026 conference will be highlighted by a keynote address from author Bruce Allardice, along with a panel discussion on the evolution of early playing fields with Irwin Chusid, Thomas Gilbert, Jonathan Popovich, and moderator Bill Ryczek; a 19th-century artifact session with Robert Mayer, Gary Passamonte, and Jonathan Popovich; a Member Spotlight interview of Herm Krabbenhoft by Dave Newman; plus research presentations.

Visit SABR.org/ivor-campbell19c for more information.

Call for papers: 2026 SABR Jerry Malloy Negro League Conference

SABR’s Negro Leagues Research Committee will host the 26th annual Jerry Malloy Negro League Conference on June 18-21, 2026, in Memphis, Tennessee. In addition to two days of research presentations and player/author panels, attendees will also enjoy special presentations connected to our theme of “Black Baseball in the Land of the Delta Blues” and the city of Memphis.

This interdisciplinary conference welcomes proposals for oral and poster presentations from all research fields. Previous presenters have included college faculty, public school teachers, graduate students, and independent scholars. Presentations may focus on any topic related to the theme, or other Black baseball topics.

Please email your proposal as a Word attachment to Dr. Leslie Heaphy before March 2, 2026.

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 is now posted online at SABR.org/sabrday.

Lahman Database files with 2025 stats now available for download

The Lahman Baseball Database, created by SABR member Sean Lahman, 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!

The updated Lahman Database (released January 2, 2026) is now available for download at SABR.org/lahman-database.

Thanks to Bryan Walko for his efforts to produce this annual update. Lahman’s database allows baseball researchers to perform complex queries across the entire history of the game. This database contains complete batting and pitching statistics from 1871 to 2025, plus fielding statistics, standings, team stats, managerial records, postseason data, and more.

Visit SABR.org/lahman-database to learn more. Or click here to watch Sean Lahman’s presentation, “An Introduction to Baseball Databases,” for an overview of these files.

Writing Opportunities: 2002 Angels book project

A new SABR book project about the 2002 Anaheim Angels, scheduled for publication in 2027 for the 25th anniversary of their World Series championship, seeks authors for a few articles, including game stories, essays about the season, and more than a dozen player and broadcaster biographies.

If you are interested in contributing, or want to learn more, please contact Bill Nowlin.

Find new updates to the SABR Research Collection below, including the Baseball Biography Project, Games Project, and Oral History Collection.

4 new stories published at SABR BioProject

Bill McKinley, by Kurt Blumenau
Tim O’Rourke, by Bill Lamb
Jeff Randazzo, by Barrett Snyder
Brian Roberts, by Diane MacLennan

Visit SABR.org/bioproject to learn more about the SABR Biography Project or to get involved.

3 new stories published at SABR Games Project

June 25, 1968: Bobby Bonds belts a grand slam in major-league debut as Giants shut out Dodgers, by Jake Rinloan
June 24, 1978: Jesse Orosco’s first pro game kicks off record-setting career, by Kurt Blumenau
April 6, 2005: Brad Wilkerson’s second career cycle is first in modern Nationals franchise history, by Mike Huber

Visit SABR.org/gamesproject to learn more about the SABR Games Project or to get involved.

Here Comes the Pizzer: The Found Poetry of Baseball Broadcasts
Edited by Eric Poulin

Here Comes the Pizzer was honored recently as the Best Baseball Poetry Book of 2025 by The Twin Bill journal. Visit SABR.org to download the free e-book edition or save 50% off the paperback edition of all Digital Library books.

Here are some SABR headlines from recent weeks that we don’t want you to miss:

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
Marc Adlam	Carlsbad, CA	Edward Kasputis	Rocky River, OH
Jay Bendfeldt	St. Paul, MN	Phil Koss	Elkhorn, WI
Jack Berrien	Easthampton, MA	George Kugler	Evanston, IL
Ryan Borkowsky	New York, NY	Sophia Liberman	University Heights, OH
Ian Bouchard	Norwood, MA	Phil Lucas	Mt. Vernon, IA
Andy Brown	Piney Creek, NC	Bert Luken	Erlanger, KY
James Buchanan	Vienna, VA	Dylan Meisner	Biloxi, MS
Steve Burnett	Dallas, TX	Theo Milosevic	Toronto, ON
Andrew Chong	Kennett Square, PA	Shaun Montana	Medway, MA
Ryan Christoff	Louisville, CO	Gavin Mosley	Meridian, MS
Stubby Clapp	Savannah, TN	Michael Nardozzi	Pittsburgh, PA
Ralph Cola	Providence, RI	Chad Nelson	Arlington, WA
James Connell	Summersville, WV	Ryan O’Keefe	Chicago, IL
Tim DelVecchio	Blandon, PA	JP OHagan	Cleveland, OH
Mack Delvecchio	Leesport, PA	Jeff Perro	Bradenton, FL
Hawkins DuBois	Los Angeles, CA	Jeff Price	Milton, ON
Chris Garber	Powell, OH	Ryan Quinn	Pittsburgh, PA
Matt Gorevin	Durham, NC	Curtis Smith	Kingston, ON
Marisa Graudins	Everett, WA	Dan Twohig	Newton, MA
Kristin Grosshans	Boston, MA	Matthew Van Wormer	Elyria, OH
Anthony Jablonski	Evanston, IL	Steffen White	Northbrook, IL
Victor Joseph	Wylie, TX	Tyler Wilson	Farmington, AR
Jason Kaminski	Elyria, OH

Here is a list of SABR supporters for the month of December 2025.

NAME		NAME
Jim Albert		Joseph Luchok
Rich Arpi		Jake Ludington
Jack Bales		Robert Mains
Perry Barber		Peter Mancuso
Ben Baschinsky		Peter Marcus
James Beck		Bill Marston
Jake Bell		Daniel Massey
Kurt Blumenau		Bruce McClure
Phillip Bolda		Andy McCue
Maurice Bouchard		Dennis McDonald
John Boucher		Rodger McKelvey
Jeffrey Bower		Barry Mednick
Ryan Brecker		Thomas Merrick
Bob Brown		Tony Milito
D. Bruce Brown		Sheldon Miller
Edward Brown		Stephen Milman
Patrick Brown		Matthew Mullin
Karen Brown		Thomas Nester
Ron Brown		Roberta Newman
Bruce Bumbalough		Rob Neyer
John Burbridge, Jr.		Linda Nichols
Ralph Caola		Andrew North
Ken Carrano		Bill Nowlin
Angel Castillo		Laura Peebles
William Christensen		Michael Pointer
Dan Cichalski		David Polich
Jonathan Clemente		John Rall
Robert Cole		C. Paul Rogers III
Vincent Comparato		Greg Rosenbaum
E. Stephen Cunerd		Michael Rosenwasser
Dennis Degenhardt		Charles Roussel
Chris Dial		Bob Russon
Peter Donhauser		Robert Sawyer
Mark Drucker		Jason Scheller
Mark Dugo		Gerard Schoenacher
Helen Edwards		Douglas Schoppert
Jonathan Epstein		John Schwarz
Daniel Evans		Anthony Segreti
John Fain		Andrew Sharp
Charles Fedak		Mary Shea
Rebecca Fields		Rob Sheinkopf
Jeff Findley		Blake Sherry
David Firstman		Lynda Singer
Kenneth Fischer		Joel Sternberg
Scott Fischthal		Joseph Stockmann
Randy Fisher		Thomas Stone
Adam Foldes		Wesley Story
Roy Gedat		David Studenmund
Steven Glassman		Richard Subrizio
John Gottko		Henry Summer
Frederick Grandchamp		Larry Taylor
Mike Grisz		Joseph Thompson
Roger Hammond		Robert Tiemann
John Hancock		Richard B Tourangeau
Mike Haupert		Wayne Towers
Leslie Heaphy		Neal Traven
Timothy Herlich		Sam Treynor
John Hill		Hayden Trubitt
Rockwell Hoffman		Ralph Turner
Thomas Hufford		Dennis VanLangen
David Hughes		Paul Vastola
Rick Huhn		Marlene Vogelsang
Rob Janes		M J Volkovitsch
Donald Jensen		Ronald Weaver
Lloyd Kepple		John Wells
Thomas Kern		Steve West
Michael Klitsch		John Wickline
Russ Lake		Tyler Wilson
Thomas Larwin		Beach Wires
Lewis Levey		Jeffrey Wood
Daniel Levitt		Tony Yoseloff
Henry Levy		Don Zminda
Annie Lindsay		Paul Zwirecki
Thomas Love

Want to become a Friend of SABR? Click here to make a recurring monthly contribution or click here to learn more about our Giving Circles to make a one-time contribution.

Events Calendar: Find details of all upcoming SABR events.
Video Replays: This week, we heard from Chris Betsch (“How the 1910 Athletics Got Babe Ruth Suspended (Sort Of)”). Click here to view video replays of virtual SABR events.

Upcoming Virtual Meetings

January 3: Women in Baseball Diamond Stories: Chelsey Falzone (10:00 a.m. EST)
January 5: Clyde Sukeforth (NH/ME) Chapter meeting with R.J. Lesch (7:00 p.m. EST)
January 6: Deadball Era Author Talk: Bob Luke (8:00 p.m. EST)
January 7: Baltimore Babe Ruth Chapter meeting with Marshall Garvey (7:00 p.m. EST)
January 7: Casey Stengel (NYC) Chapter SABR Day meeting with Jay Horwitz (7:00 p.m. EST)
January 8: Baseball Cards Committee meeting with Jeff Katz (8:00 p.m. EST)
January 10: Bob Davids (DC) Chapter Talkin’ Baseball with Jay Jaffe (10:00 a.m. EST)
January 10: Wahoo Sam Crawford (NE) Chapter meeting with Karl Green (8:00 p.m. EST)

Upcoming In-Person Meetings

January 2: Bob Davids Chapter Hot Stove Lunch (Silver Spring, MD)
January 7: Bob Broeg St. Louis Chapter fellowship meeting (St. Louis, MO)
January 7: Buck O’Neil/North Florida Chapter meeting (Tallahassee, FL)
January 10: Halsey Hall Chapter Hot Stove Saturday Morning (Minneapolis, MN)
January 10: Rogers Hornsby Chapter SABR Day meeting (San Marcos, TX)
January 10: Baltimore Babe Ruth Chapter meeting (Baltimore, MD)
January 10: Ken Keltner Badger State Chapter holiday gathering (Milwaukee, WI)

To add your SABR event to our calendar listings, please contact Jacob Pomrenke.

Baseball Records: Winter 2025 newsletter
Black Sox Scandal: December 2025 newsletter
Business of Baseball: Fall 2025 newsletter
Nineteenth Century: Winter 2026 newsletter

Sign up for SABR research committee announcements at SABR.org/research/committees.

Elysian Fields Chapter: Winter 2026 newsletter (Northern New Jersey)
Halsey Hall Chapter: January 2026 newsletter (Minneapolis, MN)

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:

Jayson Stark: MLB’s Strange But True 2025: Wildest hitting and pitching feats of the year (The Athletic)
Ronald Blum: It’s been 50 years since a lawyer’s decision unlocked free agency in MLB and changed sports forever (Associated Press)
Marc Normandin: MLB Owners Agree to Share Their Minor-League Data (Baseball Prospectus)
Hannah Keyser: Philip Rivers and Lindsey Vonn’s middle-age comebacks are defying age. One of baseball’s modern marvels details what it takes. (CNN)
Alex Coffey: Why Harry Kalas’ rendition of ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas’ still resonates: ‘It was like he was reading to his grandkids’ (Philadelphia Inquirer)
Alex Speier: Just call him Trader Craig: Breslow has become an eager dealmaker as head of Red Sox baseball ops (Boston Globe)
Jay Jaffe: My 2026 Hall of Fame Ballot (FanGraphs)
Daniel R. Epstein: Catcher’s Interferences: A Year in Pictures (Baseball Prospectus)
David Laurila: Development Remains, but Cam Collier Is Getting Closer to Cincinnati (FanGraphs)
Ken Belson: As Youth Sports Professionalize, Kids are Burning Out Fast (New York Times)
Davy Andrews: And the 2025 Kit Keller Award Goes To … (FanGraphs)
Mark Simon: Why We’re Glad To See Alex Gordon On The Hall of Fame Ballot (Sports Info Solutions)
Gary Ashwill: The First Grand Slam in the Negro Leagues (Agate Type)
Jamie Bradburn: How the Intercounty Baseball League became ‘the best’ in Canada — and what comes next (TVO Today)
Doug Nadvornick: The greatest Spokane Indians’ baseball team? (Spokane Public Radio)
Clayton Trutor: The Story of UConn’s First College World Series (Storrs Central)
Jeff Cohen/Len Aberman: Baseball and BBQ interview with with Dom Scala and Mike Pagliarulo (Baseball and BBQ)
Mark Kolier: 50 years of MLB closers (Almost Cooperstown)
Mike Ficher: How Major League Baseball Has Changed (Koppett Kat)
Andrew Sharp: Getting cards autographed (SABR Baseball Cards)
Keith Spalding Robbins: The 1935 Wheaties All-Americans: A Boxful of Global Ambition (SABR Asian Baseball)
Jerry Chen: Is Taiwan Arming Youth Ballplayers with AI? (SABR Asian Baseball)
Zac Petrillo: Women’s Baseball in Korea (SABR Asian Baseball)
Dennis Snelling: The Greatest Piece of Diplomacy Ever: The 1949 Tour of Lefty O’Doul and the San Francisco Seals (SABR Asian Baseball)
Glenn Evans: Crossing the Tracks: 1913 (SABR Games and Simulations)

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.

Are you receiving our e-mails? “This Week in SABR” goes out by e-mail to all members on Friday afternoons. If they’re not showing up, try adding “sabr.notes@sabr.org” to your contact list to ensure they show up in your inbox.

Originally published: January 2, 2026. Last Updated: January 2, 2026.

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