Baseball Scorekeeping

Baseball Scorekeeping This page is about the timeless art of baseball scorekeeping. Experts and novices alike are welcome!

I will be visiting Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City for the first time today. So after today, this will be my list. In to...
08/31/2025

I will be visiting Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City for the first time today. So after today, this will be my list. In total, I have visited 21 teams’ home field (9 left) and 25 total stadiums (10 left). What are your MLB stadium stats? BTW, the MLB Ballpark app is a fun way to track them.

Arizona D’backs - Chase Field ✅
Atlanta Braves - Truist Park ✅
Atlanta Braves - Turner Field ✅ Baltimore Orioles - Camden Yards ✅
Boston Red Sox - Fenway Park ✅
Cincinnati Reds - Great American ✅
Cincinnati Reds- Riverfront ✅ Chicago Cubs - Wrigley Field ✅
Chicago White Sox - Rate Field ✅
Cleveland Indians - Progressive Field ✅
Colorado Rockies - Coors Field ✅
Detroit Tigers - Comerica Park
Houston Astros - Daikin Park
Kansas City Royals - Kauffman Stadium ✅
Los Angeles Dodgers - Dodger Stadium
Los Angeles Angels - Angel Stadium
Miami Marlins - LoanDepot Park
Milwaukee Brewers - American Family Field ✅
Minnesota Twins - Target Field ✅
New York Yankees - New Yankees Stadium ✅
New York Yankees - Old Yankee Stadium ✅
New York Mets - Shea Stadium ✅
New York Mets - Citi Field
Oakland A’s - Oakland Coliseum ✅
Philadelphia Phillies - Citizens Bank Park ✅
Pittsburgh Pirates - PNC Park ✅
San Diego Padres - Petco Park
San Francisco Giants - Oracle Park
Seattle Mariners - T-Mobile Park ✅
St. Louis - New Busch ✅
St. Louis - Old Busch ✅
Tampa Bay - Tropicana Field ✅
Texas Rangers - Globe Life Field
Toronto Blue Jays - Rogers Centre
Washington Nationals - Nationals Park ✅

08/28/2025

IBM presents “You make the call!” (Yes, I am GenX!! 😁)

Runner on 3rd, no outs. Batter hits a deep fly ball that should be an easy sac fly to CF. CF is camped under the ball but drops it. Runner on 3rd scores, and would have very easily scored had it been caught.

Sac fly or error or…?

08/22/2025

What is the definition of a “hit”for the purposes of scoring? It’s one of those questions that seems simple for someone who has watched baseball for a long time, but as a scorer, it’s important to know what the true definition is. Below is the definition according to MLB rules. Not quite so simple…

MLB Rule 10.05 — Base Hits:
A base hit is a statistic credited to a batter when such batter reaches base safely, as set forth in this Rule 10.05.
(a) The official scorer shall credit a batter with a base hit when:
1. The batter reaches first base (or any succeeding base) safely on a fair ball that settles on the ground, that touches a fence before being touched by a fielder, or that clears a fence;
2. The batter reaches first base safely on a fair ball hit with such force, or so slowly, that any fielder attempting to make a play with the ball has no opportunity to do so.
• Comment: The official scorer shall credit a hit if the fielder attempting to handle the ball cannot make a play, even if such fielder deflects the ball from or cuts off another fielder who could have put out a runner;
3. The batter reaches first base safely on a fair ball that takes an unnatural bounce so that a fielder cannot handle it with ordinary effort, or that touches the pitcher’s plate or any base (including home plate) before being touched by a fielder and bounces so that a fielder cannot handle the ball with ordinary effort;
4. The batter reaches first base safely on a fair ball that has not been touched by a fielder and that is in fair territory when the ball reaches the outfield, unless in the scorer’s judgment the ball could have been handled with ordinary effort;
5. A fair ball that has not been touched by a fielder touches a runner or an umpire, unless a runner is called out for having been touched by an Infield Fly, in which case the official scorer shall not score a hit;
6. A fielder unsuccessfully attempts to put out a preceding runner and, in the scorer’s judgment, the batter-runner would not have been put out at first base by ordinary effort.
(b) The official scorer shall NOT credit a base hit when:
1. Any runner is forced out by a batted ball, or would have been forced out except for a fielding error;
2. The batter-runner reaches first base as a result of a fielder’s choice;
3. The pitcher, catcher, or any infielder handles a batted ball and puts out a preceding runner who is attempting to advance one base or return to his original base, or would have put out such runner with ordinary effort except for a fielding error;
4. A fielder fails in an attempt to put out a preceding runner, and, in the scorer’s judgment, the batter-runner could have been put out at first base;
5. A runner is called out for interference with a fielder attempting to field a batted ball, unless, in the scorer’s judgment, the batter-runner would have been safe had the interference not occurred.
These rules clarify when a batter should or should not be credited with a base hit in official scoring.

Can you name all 7 ways to reach first base before watching the video?
08/21/2025

Can you name all 7 ways to reach first base before watching the video?

What a game! 2 runs scored in the first 6 innings and then 11 runs in the 7th.
08/21/2025

What a game! 2 runs scored in the first 6 innings and then 11 runs in the 7th.

08/21/2025

Did you know that a foul ball and a foul tip are not the same thing? This is one of the most common misconceptions in baseball. For scorers, we can rely on the umpire to tell us when a pitch results in a foul ball and it’s easy to score. Theoretically, a batter can have an inifinite number of foul balls without being called out.
However, a foul tip with less than two strikes is simply a swinging strike. A foul tip with two strikes is scored as a strikeout swinging. On a foul tip, runners can advance as on any normal swing and miss pitch.

08/13/2025

Did you know?
The shortstop is assigned position 6 scoring in baseball due to historical reasons that date back to the early days of the sport. Originally, the shortstop was not part of the infield at all—it began as a kind of fourth outfielder, or "short fielder," who played a shallow outfield spot to act as a cut-off for throws from the heavier, less aerodynamic balls used at the time.

As the game evolved and the balls improved, the shortstop migrated to the infield, taking on the critical role we see today—positioned between second and third base. By then, the scoring and position numbering system had already assigned numbers to the main infielders: first base (3), second base (4), third base (5). Rather than renumber everyone, the shortstop kept the number 6 it had acquired when it was still an outfielder, resulting in the numbering sequence we use for scorekeeping today.

Crazy play here, but there is a piece of this play that isn't explicitly addressed in the video. No, I didn't scour the ...
08/11/2025

Crazy play here, but there is a piece of this play that isn't explicitly addressed in the video. No, I didn't scour the web for the full context. It is clear that the pitcher re-engaged with the pitcher's plate, putting the ball back in play, and then steps off. Does this negate the ability for the defensive team to appeal the play?
Regardless, how would you score this play?

08/05/2025

Good morning, scorer! What is the most difficult thing about scoring youth baseball games? Let’s define youth as 15U and under.

07/25/2025

What scoring mistake do you see most often nowadays? I’ll start in the comments…

02/08/2025

Good morning, scorers! I will begin to provide some content on this page in the next week as we lead up to the start of high school baseball season.

08/28/2024

Welcome! This page is devoted to the art of baseball scorekeeping! Stats aren't everything, but baseball is a stats-driven game and properly scoring games is important to the coaches and players. I hope this page can assist those of you who score baseball games for a youth or high school team or just for recreation.
I encourage anyone who has a question to post it here. I don't promise to have all of the answers, but all answers will be as based on baseball rules to the extent possible. But some scoring is subjective and I look forward to having lively, respectful discussions about those.
Let's have some fun talking baseball!

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