Scoring Baseball

The Scorecard

Red Barber once stated, "I doubt if there are any two people, fans, writers or broadcasters, who keep score with identical symbols and systems. I do know that any fan who acquires the habit of scoring his own ball games will find that it adds much to his enjoyment of the pastime."

With that stated you may begin to think that there are no set rules or methods; however, there are some set basics that you need to understand before you can begin devising your own "symbols and systems" that Red Barber spoke of.

Baseball Almanac Top Quote

"No thirty-six inch bat ever made as many hits as the scorer's little pencil." - Men Magazine's Richard McAnn

The form appears complex but once examined makes perfect sense. Innings run across the top. Spaces for the player name along the side. There are extra spaces for pinch hitters and extra spaces for an extra inning game. Each grid, where the inning and player name meet, has a small diamond that represents the actual playing field. Spaces on the right side of the sheet are used for tracking the players final statistics at the end of the game. You begin by filling in the players name using the team line-up. Use a second page to place the visiting team's line-up on a card. When each player comes to bat in an inning you fill in the small diamond with the appropriate code and actions taken.

There may be many different methods of scoring and many different types of scorecards but there is only one player numbering system. You have probably heard the play-by-play announcer on television or radio call a play "6 to 4 to 3" then mention what a great infield and double play combination your favorite team has. He is using the following chart to describe the play and you should memorize this chart and be able to recall it as easy as you can recall your favorite players vitals.

Field Image With Numbers
Abbreviation Definitions
1B Single
2B Double
3B Triple
BB Base on Balls
BK Balk
CS Caught Stealing
DP Double Play
DH Designated Hitter
E Error
FC Fielder's Choice
FO Force-Out
HBP Hit By Pitch
HR Home Run
I Interference
IW Intentional Walk
K Strikeout
PB Passed Ball
SB Stolen Base
SF Sacrifice Fly
SH Sacrifice Hit
WP Wild Pitch
baseball almanac flat baseball

baseball almanac fast facts

Every ballpark in the league has a basic set of instructions in their scorecards and everyone of them does it a little different!

There are more than fifty different scorecard designs being used today!

The player numbers pictured above first appeared in 1890 and was designed by Harry Wright!