Issue:
July 2023
The Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) is an organization dedicated to the study and research of baseball. It was founded in 1971 and has grown to become one of the most prominent and respected organizations in the world of sport.
It comprises fans, scholars, writers, statisticians and former players who share a common interest in exploring the rich history and statistical analysis of baseball. Its mission is to foster the understanding and appreciation of the game through research, analysis, and dissemination of historical information.
Each year it bestows the Henry Chadwick Award [https://sabr.org/journal/article/henry-chadwick-award-robert-whiting/] on individuals for their contributions to the study of baseball and to making baseball the game that links America’s present with its past. It is named after a 19th century sports writer and statistician who is often referred to as the “Father of Baseball”.
The awardees’ work must have had public impact as demonstrated by publication of research in any of a variety of formats: books, magazine articles, websites, etc.
Past winners of the Chadwick Award include Sporting News founder J.G. Taylor Spink, legendary sportswriter Leonard Koppett, and statistical innovator Bill James.
“It is my honor to be one of the recipients this year,” Robert Whiting said. “I am extremely gratified the awards panel has recognized the value of study of the game in Japan and its role in developing cross cultural understanding."
"Whiting has been a writer and journalist for many decades, with a primary focus on Japanese culture,” SABR said in a press release. "He has written three books on Japanese baseball: The Chrysanthemum and the Bat: The Game Japanese Play (1977), You Gotta Have Wa: When Two Cultures Collide on the Baseball Diamond (1989), and The Meaning of Ichiro: The New Wave from Japan and the Transformation of Our National Pastime (2004) – each groundbreaking in the field.”
