The Jack Kavanagh Memorial Youth Baseball Research Award was established in 1999 by the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) in recognition of Kavanagh’s writing and research achievements and his contributions to SABR. The Award was presented for the first time at the SABR National Convention in West Palm Beach, Florida in June 2000.
The Kavanagh Award may be presented each year for either a research presentation given at the SABR National Convention (papers must accompany any oral presentation), or for a research paper that is submitted to the awards committee between the end of one SABR Convention and no later that June 1 of the following year by a researcher in grades 6-8 (middle school category), grades 9-12 (high school category), or undergraduates 22 and under (College Category).
The awards committee will consist of members appointed each year by the education committee chair. The winner will receive a plaque honoring their achievement and the following, according to his/her category:
College ($200 prize and one-year membership)
High School ($200 prize and one-year membership)
Middle School ($100 prize and two-year membership)
Additionally, the winning entry shall be published on the SABR Web site (see Downloads at right) and may be published in either The National Pastime or the Baseball Research Journal. All Finalists (3) shall receive one-year SABR memberships.
Previous Winners
(click on links for winning entry)
2009
College Division:
No award was given
High School Division (tie):
Daniel Cooney, "The Effect of Bat Composition on Swing Speed and Ball Exit Speed," Grade 11, Mamaroneck High School (NY)
Adam J. Kirsch, "Resolve, Risk, and Reward: Latin America's Role in Developing Ballplayers," Grade 10, Bergen Tech High School (NJ)
Middle School Division:
No award was given
2008
College Division:
Trent McCotter, “Hitting Streaks Don’t Obey Your Rules”, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill NC
High School:
Victor Wang, “How Much is a Top Prospect Worth?”, Gr. 12, Thomas Jefferson High School, Bloomington MN:
Middle School:
Kyle Taylor, “Jackie Robinson,” Gr. 9, Lancaster Middle School, Lancaster, NY
2007
College Division:
Trent McCotter, Babe Ruth’s Game Log & Splits, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill NC
High School (tie):
Victor Wang, The OPS Dilemma, Bloomington MN:
High School (tie):
Scott Powers, Evaluating the Effectiveness of Bill James’ Win Shares, LaGrange, IL
Middle School:
Max Robbins, Determined Win – Percentage; A New Tool for Evaluating Pitcher Performance, Short Hills NJ:
2006
College Division:
Trent McCotter, Ty Cobb’s Splits, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill NC
High School:
Scott Powers, The Rise of Baseball in Japan, Illinois Mathematics & Science Academy, LaGrange IL
High School 2nd:
Alex Edelman, Billy Rohr, Maimonides School, Brookline MA
Middle School:
Alex Paolo, Jackie Roosevelt Robinson, Lasalle Academy, Hope RI
2005
College Division:
Nathan Hicks, Ramona, California.
Ted Williams, the Last .400 Hitter . . . Ever?
High School Division:
Scott Powers, LaGrange, Illinois.
The St Louis Cardinals of the Sixties and Their Effect on Black/White Relations in St Louis Trent McCotter, Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
The .400 Club
Middle School Division:
None
2004
None
2003
Wesley Gapp, Clinton, New York
Hank Greenberg and his 1938 season
2002
Aaron Feldman, East Brunswick, New Jersey
Baseball's Transition to Professionalism
2001
Christopher Devine, Norwalk, Connecticut
Harry Wright: Was He the Most Important Baseball Figure of the Nineteenth Century? and
The Hall of Fame Induction Speech Harry Wright Never Gave
2000
Barrie Ribbet, Flossmoor, Illinois.
The Baseball War, 1900-1915: The Cubs, White Sox and their Fight for Survival and Supremacy
Awards Committee
Contact Education Committee Chairman:
Richard D. Hunt, Principal
Clinton High School
75 Chenango Ave.
Clinton, NY 13323
rthunt@ccs.edu
315-557-2225
Deadline
All papers must be received by the Education Committee Chairman by no later than June 1 of the year in which the award will be presented. Proof of age (driver’s license, birth certificate, etc.) must accompany all submissions. The entrant must not have reached their 22nd birthday by July 1 in the year the award is presented in order to compete. Multiple submissions from the same person are permissible.
Guidelines
Papers submitted for the college and high school categories should be of magazine article length (approximately 3,500 words or less). Papers submitted for the middle school category should be 1,000 words or less. Sources may be cited in endnote or bibliographic form. Any topic involving baseball research is appropriate. This includes but is not limited to biographic, oral history and statistical analysis. Researchers are expected to do their own work, however they may, and are encouraged to enlist the help of a mentor, perhaps a SABR member of member committee or a parent or other adult.
Format
The paper must be submitted in hard copy, double spaced typed in 12-pt font on 8.5x11 plain white paper. Your name should be on each page as a header or footer. If possible, the paper should also be submitted on a 3.5 disk in either Word or Word Perfect format.
Cover Page
Include Name; Address; Phone Number; E-mail; School Grade
Research Assistance
Students doing historical research on baseball should feel free to contact the library at the Baseball Hall of Fame.
The e-mail address is research@baseballhalloffame.org; and the phone number is 607-547-0330.
Students should state their name, postal mailing address, age and grade level, in addition to describing their project in appropriate detail.
If students are competing in National History Day, Night of the Notables Jack Kavanagh award, they should state that. If the research is for a class project, please explain the scope of the assignment.
Students should contact the library as early as possible. The library receives a large number of requests, and sometimes the turnaround time can be several weeks.
Students are welcome to visit the library in person to do their research. The library is open Monday-Friday from 9-5 and an advance appointment is required. An appointment can be made by calling or e-mailing as listed above.
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