Still Americas Pastime

We’re almost done with this series of posts on scoring.  Now we need to discuss what do in situations where there are runners on base.

The first one that comes to mind is the stolen base.  When a runner steals a base, fill in the part of the diamond he just advanced to and write “SB” somewhere.  I prefer to do it right above the line to the base the runner stole, so I know later which base it was he swiped.

Of course, not every player that takes off on the pitch makes it safely.  If they are caught stealing a base, you need to write “CS” somewhere in the box.  I also draw half of the line to the base he was trying to steal and end it a perpendicular line (it looks something like this |— only it would be a diagonal), with the “CS” over top of it.  Just a preference thing, as long as you know the runner was caught stealing it doesn’t really matter.

Sometimes the pitcher doesn’t give the runner a chance either way and picks him off.  Record that one “PO”.

Of course, double and triple plays require there to be people on base.  Like a regular play, you just need to record all the players who touch the ball.  You can add “DP” or “TP” in front of it if you want (I do) so you know later that it was a double play and not the ball just bouncing off one player and another player picking it up and making a play.

Again, I draw the lines toward the base where the runner(s) were put out.

The fielder’s choice is pretty easy.  “FC” + the usual notation (i.e. FC 4-3).

Although there are three categories of bunts (bunting for a hit, sacrifice bunt, and squeeze), you only need to pay attention to the result.

If the both the batter and runner is out, it’s a double play and recorded as such. 

If the batter is out and the runner does not advance, it’s just a simple ground out or pop out. 

If the batter is out and the runner does advance, it’s recorded as a sacrifice bunt (SAC).  Make sure to note the runner’s advance.

If the batter is safe and the runner is out, it’s a fielder’s choice.

If everyone is safe, it’s treated as a hit.

Well, there’s only one post left.  Then you’ll be ready to confidently score any baseball game you come across.

Scoring a base hit is really simple.  Singles (1B), doubles (2B), and triples (3B) all are formatted the same way.  A home run is recorded “HR”.  Tough huh?

There are three ways to reach base (while they are empty) that I haven’t discussed yet: walking, getting hit by a pitch, and reaching on an error.  These are all pretty simple as well.  If the batter gets hit by a pitch, write down “HBP”.  If the batter reaches on an error, it’s noted as an “E” followed by the position number of the player committing the error (for example, if the second baseman throws the ball away, write “E4″). 

Walks are a little tricky because the notation is derived from the technical term.  When a pitcher throws four balls to a batter, the batter is awarded a “base on balls”.  Hence you record a walk as “BB”.  Some people might want to right a “W”, but that is used as the stat abbreviation for wins.

You may recall in my first post on scoring, I said I preferred scorecards with an empty box instead of one with a diamond already there.  Now I’m going to tell you what that space is for.  You keep track of players on base by drawing the baseball diamond as he advances.  If he gets a single, draw a line from where home plate to first would be.  If he hits a home run, draw the whole diamond.

There are two more things to do when a player hits a home run (aside from either cheering or groaning).  Shade in the diamond.  Do this anytime someone scores.  It makes it a lot easier to see how many runs have scored.  Also, put a tally or dot to the left of the diamond.  This denotes how many RBIs the player has earned in the at-bat.

Next time, we’re going to see what happens when runners are on base.

Now it’s time for the game to start.  This section will deal with how to record results when the bases are empty and the batter makes an out.

Let’s be honest.  Even the best ballplayers make outs more often then they reach base. 

Perhaps the most embarrassing way to get out is to strike out.  Or at least people used to be embarrassed by striking out, but that’s best saved for another post.  There are actually a number of ways that you record a strikeout, and which one you use is dependent upon how the person strikes out.

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