Dr. Mike Marshall Baseball Biomechanics Research Award
In alignment with our key pillar to INNOVATE, supporting data-driven, scientific research, we are proud to announce a multi-year partnership with the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) and the creation of the Dr. Mike Marshall Baseball Biomechanics Research Award.
About the Dr. Mike Marshall Baseball Biomechanics Research Award
Named in honor of the maverick former big-league pitcher, this award encourages the study of baseball biomechanics and its application in understanding pitching—with emphasis on the risks, causes, and prevention of pitching injury. The award is open exclusively to student researchers, reflecting Dr. Marshall’s lifelong commitment to education and his belief in empowering the next generation of thinkers.
Dr. Marshall’s intellectual curiosity was evident throughout his career. He discovered that forearm pronation could be used to throw a screwball and pioneered the use of weighted balls in training. He embodied the goals of any baseball researcher: to learn more about the problem and contribute new knowledge to the field.
SABR’s mission is to foster the study, discussion, and understanding of all aspects of baseball, and few baseball players have shown more intellectual curiosity about the game than Dr. Mike Marshall.
2026 Award Presentation & Remarks
Kristen M. Stewart - 2026 Award Recipient
Kristen M. Stewart is a PhD candidate in mechanical engineering at the University of Texas at Austin, specializing in neuromuscular and pitching biomechanics. Her winning research, “Individual Muscle Capacity to Generate Elbow Vargus Moment during a Fastball Pitch,” used musculoskeletal modeling and simulation to examine how individual elbow muscles contribute to protective varus torque during the pitching motion.
Her findings align closely with several of Dr. Mike Marshall’s long‑standing teachings about pitching biomechanics, particularly the protective role of the wrist flexors and pronator teres — the same muscle groups he emphasized through his early advocacy of wrist-weight training and pronation-based pitching mechanics. By focusing on how active muscle force can help offload the UCL, her project reflects the injury‑prevention principles at the core of Dr. Marshall’s scientific approach.
Kristen’s planned future research includes expanding to larger samples and comparing pitch types — an iterative, mechanics‑driven approach that reflects the spirit of this award. Click HERE to watch her full presentation.
2025 Inaugural Award Presentation
Deborah Marshall, Dr. Mike Marshall’s Pitching Academia owner, remarking on her father’s legacy.
Watch the inaugural Dr. Mike Marshall Baseball Biomechanics Research Award ceremony at the 2025 SABR Analytics Conference.
From left: SABR CEO Scott Bush, Conner Pelletier, Jack Lambert, Deborah Marshall
Supporting the Award
Help us honor Dr. Marshall’s legacy and advance his mission to eliminate pitching injuries through biomechanics research.
SABR is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization. All donations are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law. Their secure online donation form is SSL encrypted.
Founded in 1971, SABR fosters the study, discussion, and understanding of all aspects of baseball. Its worldwide community includes over 7,500 members—players, executives, historians, media, and fans. Learn more or join the SABR community at sabr.org.
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Share Your Story
We invite you to share a tribute, memory, or testimonial…
Whether it’s a personal story, a moment of inspiration, or a note of appreciation, your reflections help preserve his legacy and connect generations of baseball thinkers.
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To explore Dr. Marshall’s original pitching mechanics and biomechanics research, learn more here.