This Week in SABR: October 31, 2025
Welcome to “This Week in SABR” on Friday, October 31, 2025.
Click here to view this newsletter on the web.
Negro Leagues statistics added to Lahman Database
Submit your presentation abstract for 2026 SABR Analytics Conference
Let’s Bring it Home in 2025 and power SABR’s future together
Submit new project proposals to SABR Editorial Board by November 1
Watch: 2025 Rawlings Gold Glove Award ceremony on Sunday
New Oral History interview: Ben McDonald
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Negro Leagues statistics added to SABR Lahman Baseball Database
For the first time, players, teams, and statistics from the Negro Leagues are now available in SABR’s Lahman Baseball Database.
- Download the files: The updated Lahman Database with Negro Leagues stats (released October 30, 2025) is now available for download at SABR.org/lahman-database.
The Negro Leagues data, licensed from Seamheads.com, includes major leagues and teams from the late 19th century through the 1948 Negro American and National League seasons. The players and teams included in the database follow recommendations established by SABR’s Negro Leagues Task Force (2021) and Negro Leagues and Teams Special Committee (2024), for seasons where full statistics are available from Seamheads.
Thanks to SABR’s database consultant, Bryan Walko, for his efforts to produce this update. The Lahman Database, created by SABR member Sean Lahman, allows baseball researchers to perform complex queries across the entire history of the game.
Click here to read the full announcement at SABR.org.
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.
- Research Presentations, presented by Teamworks Intelligence: Present your baseball research at the 2026 SABR Analytics Conference. Deadline to submit an abstract: November 21, 2025.
- 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.
Submit your presentation abstract for 2026 SABR Analytics Conference
SABR is excited to announce the call for presentations, presented by Teamworks Intelligence, for the SABR Analytics Conference, which will be held on February 27-March 1, 2026, in Phoenix, Arizona.
Abstracts of proposed research presentations should be no more than 500 words in length, and must include the abstract’s title, review of previous work on the subject, a summary of the research methodology and preliminary and/or final results, and the expected contribution to the field of baseball analytics offered by this work. Please send all abstracts to this e-mail address: analytics-presentations@sabr.org. Please clearly indicate whether you are submitting for the general track or for the student track of presentations. The submission deadline for all 2026 SABR Analytics Conference presentation abstracts is 11:59 p.m. MST on November 21, 2025.
Click here to read the full announcement at SABR.org.
Apply now for the 2026 Sarah Langs Women in Baseball Analytics Scholarship
SABR welcomes new applications for the Sarah Langs Women in Baseball Analytics Scholarship in 2026. Awarded annually to four recipients, the scholarship will provide meaningful professional development and networking opportunities for female students or young professionals pursuing a career in baseball analytics and data science.
Recipients will receive: registration for the SABR Analytics Conference, including hotel accommodations and travel stipend; registration for all courses in the SABR Analytics Certification program; one-year SABR membership, which includes access to quarterly SABR Scholar Session virtual networking events.
All applications must be postmarked or emailed to scarter@sabr.org by December 19, 2025.
Click here to read the full announcement at SABR.org.
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.
Submit new project proposals to SABR Editorial Board by November 1
SABR’s Editorial Board welcomes new project proposals from members to be considered for publication through the Digital Library, SABR.org, or any other multimedia formats. We strongly encourage new proposals that involve collaboration between SABR research committees and/or chapters, and web-based projects with an eye toward enhanced multimedia presentation.
- Click here to submit a SABR project proposal
Next deadline: November 1, 2025 (for publication in early 2027 or 2028)
SABR seeks to publish 2-4 web-based multimedia projects and 6-8 books per year. Book projects should be of a scope that can fit in a single volume, typically between 100,000 and 200,000 total words.
Click here to read the full announcement at SABR.org.
Watch: 2025 Rawlings Gold Glove Award ceremony on Sunday night
The SABR Defensive Index (SDI) will be used to help select the winners of the Rawlings Gold Glove Award® and Rawlings Platinum Glove Award™, presented by SABR. The 2025 winners will be unveiled during a one-hour, special-edition ESPN Baseball Tonight broadcast at 8:30 p.m. Eastern on Sunday, November 2.
Following the show, voting will begin online for the Rawlings Platinum Glove Award, presented by SABR. A combination of the SABR Defensive Index and the national fan vote will determine who takes home the honor in each league. The final SABR Defensive Index rankings will be released at SABR.org/SDI on November 2, immediately following the ESPN broadcast. The Rawlings Platinum Glove Award winners will be unveiled at the Rawlings Gold Glove Award Ceremony on Friday, November 7 in New York.
Click here to read the full announcement at SABR.org.
Member Benefit Spotlight: Renewing Your Membership
As a SABR member, you have vast resources and benefits at your disposal. With so much information at your fingertips, we realize it can be overwhelming to absorb it all! To highlight key benefits, read on for a SABR Member Benefit Spotlight, an email series that identifies and explains some of the most valuable features of your membership. We hope this allows you to take full advantage of all SABR has to offer.
This month’s issue shows you how to renew your membership.
Click here to read the full article at SABR.org.
Learn more about new SABR Institutional Memberships
A SABR Institutional Membership is the perfect way to connect your group with baseball’s rich history. Whether you are supporting historical or analytical researchers or engaging with baseball fans in your community, SABR provides the network, tools, and expertise to enhance your offerings.
A SABR Institutional Membership is ideal for libraries, museums, and historical societies; high schools; and higher education departments, especially History, American Studies, and Sports Analytics programs.
Institutional Members receive unlimited access to SABR’s extensive collection of digital publications; exclusive research resources, including access to historical newspaper databases; engagement opportunities with SABR experts and a network of baseball historians and analysts.
To learn more, contact Paul J. Zwirecki for details on membership options and enrollment.
Find new updates to the SABR Research Collection below, including the Baseball Biography Project, Games Project, and Oral History Collection.
New Oral History interview: Ben McDonald
- Ben McDonald, No. 1 draft pick, Olympic gold medalist, and Baltimore Orioles TV analyst
Recorded July 28, 2025, by Jake Bell
Visit SABR.org/oralhistory to find more interviews from the SABR Oral History Collection.
8 new stories published at SABR BioProject
- William Barbeau, by Dave Perrin
- Ted Davidson, by Heath Santo
- Ben McDonald, by Jake Bell
- Yellowhorse Morris, by Matthew Jacob
- Dwayne Murphy, by Dan Schoenholz
- Fritz Peterson, by Alice Andre-Clark (first-time author)
- Harold Reynolds, by Joseph Wancho
- Johnny Ryan, by Bill Lamb
Visit SABR.org/bioproject to learn more about the SABR Biography Project or to get involved.
6 new stories published at SABR Games Project
- August 17, 1868: Atlantics nip Mutuals in opening battle for coveted Gold Ball, by Larry DeFillipo
- October 4, 1962: Whitey Ford wins record 10th World Series game as Yankees down Giants in opener, by Tim Otto
- August 5, 1966: Ron Santo’s bat provides all the offense in Cubs’ victory over Giants, by Steve Dunn
- September 12, 1969: Yankees’ win over Red Sox lost in New York sports shuffle, by Gary Sarnoff
- August 7, 1971: Matty Alou’s heads-up baserunning wins game for Cardinals, by Steve Ginader
- October 28, 2012: Giants sweep Tigers for second World Series title in three years, by Jake Rinloan
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.
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
- SABR welcomes new chapter in China
- Check out highlights, stories, and photos from SABR 53 in Texas
- Negro Leagues plays added to SABR Triple Plays Database
- Check out highlights, photos from Jerry Malloy Negro League Conference in Louisville
- Watch highlights from 2025 SABR/IWBC Women in Baseball Conference
- Tom Hufford selected as 2025 Bob Davids Award winner
- Read articles from The National Pastime: Baseball in Texas and Beyond
- View a collection of nearly 100,000 player surveys in the new Weiss Baseball Questionnaires collection
- SABR Digital Library: Stan Musial
- Learn more about recipients of SABR Local Grants in 2025
- Hundreds of ProQuest US newspapers added to SABR Research Resources
- Find complete collection of SABR-Rucker Archive baseball images online
- Historical Black Newspapers Collection added to SABR Research Resources
- 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 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Evan Bland | La Crosse, WI | Matthew Matyasovsky | Morgantown, WV | ||
| Xavier Bramham | London, ON | Alexander Norris | Seattle, WA | ||
| Joseph Ford | Beaver Falls, PA | Yasuaki Okawa | Tokyo, JPN | ||
| Jonathan Frankel | Commerce Charter Twp, MI | Michael Travis | Lawrence, KS | ||
| Michael Girsch | Webster Groves, MO | Bryan Viggiani | Albany, NY | ||
| Jackson Gottfreid | Chicago, IL | Wyatt Walker | La Grange, TX | ||
| Mason King | Ofallon, MO |
- Events Calendar: Find details of all upcoming SABR events.
- Video Replays: This week, we heard from Robert Elias (Dangerous Danny Gardella); Mark A. Stein (A League of His Own); Louis Schiff (Attorneys in the Baseball Hall of Fame); Steve Lane (“Mickey Mantle memorabilia”); Matthew Rejmaniak (“Houston Astros 1968 Home Opener”); Maxwell Kates (“Baseball in Wayne and Shuster”); and the AL Central Chapters 2025 season recap. Click here to view video replays of virtual SABR events.
Upcoming Virtual Meetings
- November 1: Women in Baseball Diamond Stories: Naomi Ryan (10:00 a.m. EDT)
- November 2: Oklahoma Chapter meeting (2:00 p.m. CST)
- November 3: SABR Board of Directors conference call (7:00 p.m. EST)
- November 4: Clyde Sukeforth (NH/ME) Chapter meeting with John Racanelli (7:00 p.m. EST)
- November 4: 19th Century Baseball Book Club (8:00 p.m. EST)
- November 5: Clyde Sukeforth (NH/ME) Chapter meeting with Rob Fitts (7:00 p.m. EST)
- November 5: Baltimore Babe Ruth (MD) Chapter meeting with Nancy Finley (7:00 p.m. EST)
- November 5: Elysian Fields (NJ) Chapter meeting with Jane Leavy (7:00 p.m. EST)
- November 6: Magnolia (GA) Chapter meeting with Adam Darowski and Emily Anderson (7:30 p.m. EST)
- November 8: Bob Davids (DC) Chapter Talkin’ Baseball: Jim Leeke (9:00 a.m. EST)
Upcoming In-Person Meetings
- November 1: Halsey Hall Chapter meeting (Apple Valley, MN)
- November 5: Buck O’Neil/North Florida Chapter meeting (Tallahassee, FL)
- November 5: Bob Broeg St. Louis Chapter fellowship meeting (St. Louis, MO)
- November 8: Forbes Field Chapter meeting (Pittsburgh, PA)
- November 8: Halsey Hall Chapter Hot Stove Saturday Morning (Fridley, MN)
- November 8: Baltimore Babe Ruth Chapter meeting (Baltimore, MD)
- November 8: Allan Roth Chapter meeting (Laguna Niguel, CA)
- November 8: Pacific Northwest Chapter meeting (Seattle, WA)
- November 9: Hanlan’s Point Chapter meeting (Toronto, ON)
To add your SABR event to our calendar listings, please contact Jacob Pomrenke.
- Minor Leagues: Fall 2025 newsletter
Sign up for SABR research committee announcements at SABR.org/research/committees.
- Bob Davids Chapter: October 2025 newsletter (Washington, DC)
- Boston Chapter: October 25 meeting recap (Boston, MA)
- Lajoie-Start Chapter: October 2025 newsletter (Providence, RI)
- Larry Dierker Chapter: October 23 meeting recap (Houston, TX)
- Rogers Hornsby Chapter: October 25 meeting recap (Austin, TX)
- Schott-Pelican Chapter: October 2025 newsletter (New Orleans, LA)
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:
- Tyler Kepner: After dominant Game 5, the Blue Jays head home for a moment 32 years in the making (The Athletic)
- Michael Clair: Behind-the-scenes look at how Dodgers became a hotbed for Japanese talent (MLB.com)
- Trey Yesavage Achieved Incredibly Rare World Series Feat: A Pitcher’s Cycle (Fox Sports)
- Jayson Stark: Trey Yesavage’s Game 5 gem cements his place among playoff greats — but he’s one of a kind (The Athletic)
- Sarah Langs: Astounding facts from Trey Yesavage’s historic World Series performance (MLB.com)
- Matt Monagan: The Blue Jays bar at the end of the world (MLB.com)
- Jay Jaffe: Bo Bichette’s Second Chapter Has Been a Hit So Far (FanGraphs)
- Patrick Dubuque: Pity the Understudies (Baseball Prospectus)
- David Laurila: Dodgers Outlast Blue Jays in 18 Innings To Win Epic World Series Game 3 (FanGraphs)
- James Johnson: Brighton native Ernie Clement could make Gold Glove history (Rochester Democrat and Chronicle)
- Eno Sarris: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and the Blue Jays are swinging harder — and hitting better (The Athletic)
- Alex Coffey: Darren Daulton’s legacy lives on in the World Series with Blue Jays’ Daulton Varsho (Philadelphia Inquirer)
- Davy Andrews: When You Are Engulfed in Mud (FanGraphs)
- Alex Speier: One of the most competitive and dramatic baseball postseasons in recent memory goes on and on, and we love it (Boston Globe)
- Derrick Goold: Max Scherzer joins a former Cardinals champion in rare World Series feat (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
- Steven Goldman: The Managers Just Can’t Help It (Baseball Prospectus)
- Sarah Hamilton: The Intern Journal: SABR (Siena Scoop)
- Rob Mains: 2025 in Advertising Patches (Baseball Prospectus)
- Steve Rennie: A Summer Fling: The Ephemeral Eastern International League of 1888 (Journal of Canadian Baseball)
- Diona Macalinga: How the St. Catharines Blue Jays were ‘start of a dream’ for Carlos Delgado and other MLB stars (CBC News)
- Tyson Alger: How a dead arm, Ty Cobb’s fury and one pitch to Babe Ruth ended an Oregon pitcher’s big-league dream (Eugene-Springfield Lookout)
- Jeff Cohen/Len Aberman: Baseball and BBQ interview with Lene Reloux (Baseball and BBQ)
- Mike Ficher: The 50 Home Run Club: A Year for the Ages (The Koppett Kat)
- Christopher Kamka: Henry Aaron in Wisconsin – but not Milwaukee (SABR Landmarks)
- Adam Berenbak: The Diamond Stage: Herb Hunter’s 1922 Tour of Japan (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: October 31, 2025. Last Updated: October 31, 2025.