If you read this site, then you probably read James Santelli’s fantastic article over the summer: Pirates Defensive Shifts: The Hidden Secret Behind Baseball’s Best Team. The article was by far one of the most popular articles in site history, and for good reason. The insight and the breakdown of how the defensive shifts have been employed were fantastic, at a time when people were just starting to realize that the Pirates were using such a plan to improve their defensive results.
James’ article has gotten bigger recognition than being just one of the most popular articles in site history. He has also been nominated for a SABR Research Award. His article is nominated in the “Contemporary Baseball Analysis” category, going up against articles from Beyond the Box Score, FanGraphs, Baseball America, and The Washington Post.
Personally, I’m just happy to see Pirates Prospects listed with all of those outstanding outlets. It means that all of the bad jokes on Twitter, and the Simpsons references, and the not-that-much-money I paid James was well worth it. But the awards are also decided based on a vote. And I’d be even happier if James won, beating those other fantastic writers at their big market outlets. So I’m going to ask you to vote.
You can vote at five different places. Each place counts for 20% of the overall vote, so you can vote at all five places. I just did, and it only took a few minutes. If you don’t want to take a few minutes to vote, then you’re basically letting the big markets win, and you’re pretty much admitting to being a Yankees fan. You’re not a Yankees fan, are you? Well, you’re not if you vote for James.
Here are the links to vote. Why don’t you…shift…on over to those sites and place your vote now.
