Baseball Scorekeeping Dilemma Suggestions Needed

Keeping score at a baseball game is insanely easy, much easier than keeping running totals at football or basketball.

The guy should be able to pick it up after an inning or two.

 

Here's a thought I have which is a little different for this week.

If he doesn't know how to keep score, trying now might throw him off.

I would make an index card for each player. List the number, position, and other facts. He probably has to do some prep work anyway, so that can be on the card.

On the index card, he can list what the player does..

2nd inning... hit into a double play, second to short to first.
4th inning... singled to lead off the inning, came around to score on Harry Lipp's double.
5th inning... struck out on a payoff pitch with runner on third...
7th inning... hit a ground rule double to drive in runners from 2nd and 3rd to give his team a 7-5 lead. moved to third on an infield out and stole home on 2nd pitch.

No question a scorebook is easier, but this might help your friend get thru this week.

and let this be an example to the people who laughed at me for keeping score at home

 

To be fair, I had never kept score before my first job when I was 23. I bought a scorebook on my way to my first game. No problems.

It's not rocket science. There are directions inside the cover.

 

Thanks everybody. I appreciate the help. It looks like he's gonna go with the "IJAG Plan". Buy a scorebook and RTFD.

Which reminds me of a story from my little league coaching days. At the first practice of the season, I asked if any of the parents knew how to keep score as we had to provide a scorekeeper when we were the home team. One of the moms jumped up and said "I know how to keep score, all I need are really sharp pencils". I put it out of my mind until after the first game. When I looked in the book, she had written what had happened for each play, in english, inside the tiny box for each batter. So, one box might read, "grounded to 3rd thrown out at first, runner on first to 2nd.." in very tiny letters. I admired the effort, even though, when a lot of stuff happened on a play, we had no idea what had actually happened.

My wife and I sat down with her and showed her how to do it right. She said "oh, this is easier, isn't it?"


Indeed

 

If you kept from laughing when you saw it, congrats.

I'd have been rolling.

 

I disagree. Pitch counts are quite useful to a broadcaster who may want to note if a guy throws 30 pitches in an inning or if he's nearing his limit and the manager may want to think about pinch hitting for him or something like that.

They're also insanely easy to keep track of. The scorebooks I use have little boxes for balls and strikes. Just put a tick in each box for each pitch, at the end of every inning total them up. At the bottom of the column for each inning, divide a square in half and put the inning total in the top half and the game total in the bottom half.

I actually list each pitch as 1, 2, 3 etc., in the boxes for balls and strikes so I know if a guy is getting ahead of hitters, throwing a lot of first-pitch strikes, etc. That stuff doesn't always come in handy, but sometimes it does and it's not difficult.