#8 - Why You Should Learn to Keep Score at Every Baseball Game
To celebrate the start of the 2022 season of Major League Baseball, here's a story about how to reconnect with America's pastime.
Baseball is the only professional sport I actively follow. I grew up just minutes away from the home stadium of a minor league affiliate of the San Diego Padres—the Lake Elsinore Storm. I have fond memories of attending countless minor league baseball games, rolling down the grassy hill near right field as a youngster, meeting the Lake Elsinore Storm’s mascot, Hamlet. (Get it? It’s a Shakespeare reference, Hamlet, Elsinore … sigh). I even learned to drive stick shift off-season in the stadium parking lot.
My family was fortunate enough to have relatively consistent access to Los Angeles Angels tickets as well. I can still vividly recall my first major league baseball game that I was old enough to remember1. It was an interleague game between the Angels and the New York Mets. We didn’t have enough tickets for my whole family to go together, so my mom took me to this Angels/Mets game and my dad took my brother Sam to his own game another time.
I remember being so captivated by all the new sights and sounds of a major league game. Everything just seemed deluxe compared to the Storm games I knew; the parking lot was a maze (and I’m pretty sure we got lost trying to find the car), the hot dogs seemed tastier, the crowd more raucous (especially when the Dodgers or Red Sox were in town), the Rally Monkey popping up on the scoreboard to rile up fans. I was so overstimulated, but in the best way!
Time for a quick humble-brag story time. I was lucky enough to witness Jered Weaver’s 2012 no-hitter live at Angel Stadium. It was complete coincidence that I ended up there; my ticket for that game was part of a promotional giveaway for participants in an Angels 5K race that year. On paper, it was supposed to be an uninteresting, run-of-the-mill, low-attendance weeknight baseball game between two bottom-tier teams.
The Angels were slated to face the Minnesota Twins (who finished last in the 2012 American League Central with a paltry 66-96, .407 record), so it wasn’t supposed to be a very excited matchup. I had school and work early the following morning, so if it wasn’t for my friend Daniel insisting that I tag along, I likely would have missed out on witnessing a no-hitter in-person just out of sheer apathy!
Game vs. Experience
Given my extensive history and engagement with baseball since the earliest moments of my life, I would consider myself a solid, lifelong fan of the sport. However, as I reflect on baseball’s impact on me, I realize that almost all of my positive baseball experiences growing up—with maybe the exception of the no-hitter— had very little to do with the actual game of baseball and more to do with the experience surrounding baseball.
If I’m being honest, in Little League I wasn’t terribly concerned about my strike percentage as a pitcher or mastering baseball fundamentals; I was mostly terrified of getting hit by a pitch while counting the seconds until I could get my orange slices and play arcade games at the pizza parlor afterward with my teammates.
Even my memories and excitement of the no-hitter admittedly had less to do with the sterling performance of the Angels pitching and defense and more to do with the collective energy of the crowd as they slowly became aware of what was unfolding before us and the jubilation that followed the game.
If that was my feeling growing up as a fan that enjoys the sport, I can imagine that people with less sentimental attachment must feel even more apathetic about the baseball enterprise. I fear this derives from a lack of understanding and appreciation for the mechanics and inner workings of the sport. When people don’t understand something, a natural response would be to tune out.
Pundits and journalists have sounded the alarm for years that baseball, America’s pastime, is declining in popularity among Americans. Major League Baseball recently faced a “lockout” that jeopardized the 2022 season, but many causal observers I asked had no idea it was even happening. Let’s face it; there are more entertainment options vying for our eyeballs than ever before, and baseball is sadly losing the fight for relevancy.
However, this can be fixed! It’s time to shake things up by finding a way for attendees to get involved in the action and focus on the roots of the actual game of baseball.
My solution: Encouraging fans at home and away to participate in scorekeeping provides a productive mechanism to connect with baseball’s rich history and may even help lapsed or bored fans derive more enjoyment and appreciation for it.
How do you keep score? Isn’t it hard?
“What exactly is scorekeeping? Don’t they pay someone to do that? Why would I want to spend my time doing this at the ball park?” All are perfectly valid questions.
Keeping score is so much more than simply logging the number of runs on each team, though. When kept up thoroughly, a scorebook offers a complete picture of exactly what transpired from start to finish, include the outcome of every at-bat; the individual stats of each batter, pitcher, and fielder; and even tracking the movement of runners on the base paths throughout the game. It’s a snapshot in time of the entire game on one (or two) pages.
While keeping score is possible for anyone, there is a bit of a learning curve. This isn’t the place for a comprehensive instruction manual on how to keep score as I’m sure there are others who have done that better elsewhere. As I’ll get to later, everyone keeps score a little differently, but here’s a quick idea of the process.
First, there are nine defensive positions numbered 1-9 accordingly: 1 = Pitcher, 2 = Catcher, 3 = First Baseman, 4 = Second Baseman, 5 = Third Baseman, 6 = Shortstop, 7 = Left Fielder, 8 = Center Fielder, and 9 = Right Fielder.
The offense decides on its starting lineup listing the batting order for its nine players. Each time a player comes up to bat against the opposing team’s pitcher, it’s called an “at-bat,” and the situation can resolve in a variety of outcomes. There are “hits,” where the batter makes contact with the ball and is able to reach base safely, or the play can instead result in an “out.” There are many different kinds of outs, such as the strikeout (as in “three strikes, you’re out), a fly out (the ball is caught in midair by a defensive fielder), and a ground out (the ball is hit in play but fielded to a baseman before the runner).
At its core, keeping score is simply logging the outcome of each at-bat in a given baseball game. To do this, scorekeepers have devised a clever system of shorthand and symbols. For instance, to track a swinging strikeout, you use the letter “K,” but a batter striking out looking earns a backwards “K.”
My father-in-law was instrumental in teaching me the secret code for scorekeeping. He taught me that when a batter reaches base, you essentially imagine a baseball diamond in the box on your scorecard and trace the runner’s path along the infield. If he hit a single, I draw one slash along the path. Two slashes means a double, three slashes a triple, and a complete diamond with four slashes in the middle means a home run.
For pop outs and fly outs, I write the corresponding number of the fielder who caught the ball. And for ground outs and other more complex plays, I track possession of the ball among all defensive players involved. For instance, a common play is a ground ball retrieved by the shortstop (6) and relayed to the first baseman (3) for the out, so I would denote that as “6-3” on my scorecard.
Let’s walk through an example inning from my scorebook when the San Diego Padres were in D.C. facing the Washington Nationals on July 17, 20212.
Okay, at the top of the first inning, San Diego’s left fielder, Tommy Pham, came to bat first and was issued a leadoff walk (designated with the sign “BB”) by Washington pitcher Patrick Corbin, so I drew a line from home plate to first base, filled in a dot to indicate he stopped at first, and wrote BB to reflect the walk.
Next, Padres star shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. hit a single, so I drew a path in Tatis Jr.’s’ square from home to first with a slash on the line to reflect the single. But, I had to now go back to Tommy Pham’s square to reflect the fact that he advanced to second base and I wrote a “2” to indicate the number 2 batter, Tatis Jr., was responsible.
There were still zero outs when first baseman Jake Cronenworth came to the plate and whacked another single. So for Cronenworth’s square, I drew his line with one slash from home to first as usual, but Tatis Jr. was able to make it to third base on the play (he’s quite speedy), so I advanced him across the diamond to third base and listed “3” to give Cronenworth credit. Tommy Pham was able to score, so I finished my diamond and wrote “3” at home plate as well. Back on Cronenworth’s square, I also included a prominent dot in the bottom left corner of the square to reflect an RBI (or run batted in, a key metric used to track a batter’s offensive production).
So wow, Patrick Corbin was really struggling here for Washington. The score was 1-0 Padres at the top of the first inning with no outs. Third baseman Manny Machado hit a pop fly that was caught by the shortstop (6), so I logged the pop out as “P6” on my scorecard. However, Tatis Jr. was able to score on what is called a “sacrifice fly,” so I also wrote “sac fly” in Machado’s box, gave Machado an RBI, completed Tatis Jr.’s trip around the bases, and advanced Cronenworth to second base. One out, but the Padres were up 2-0.
Batting fifth, Corbin issued his second walk of the inning to Padres right fielder Wil Myers, denoted with another BB.
Finally, center fielder Trent Grisham hit a ground ball directly at the second baseman, resulting in a 4-6-3 double play. I also wrote “GIDP,” or ground into double play, to describe that it was a routine double play ball and not the result of any unusual shenanigans.
And that was the end of the first inning! I hope this small window into my scorebook demonstrates just how granular scorekeeping information can be and how much insight you can derive from a few markings on a page.
The case for keeping score on your next baseball outing
Baseball sets itself apart from the other major professional sports, but I maintain that America’s pastime too often gets an undeserved bad rap. While some label the sport as boring and antiquated, I think baseball’s complex quirks, intricacies, and strategies are exactly what make it special, worth preserving, and deserving of your attention in the first place.
Baseball isn’t like basketball, football, hockey, or soccer. There is no clock; there are only nine innings and twenty-seven outs. Players can’t phone it in and run out the clock when they have a lead. As long as there is at least one out remaining, there’s always a chance for a crazy, bottom of the ninth inning comeback.
Here’s why I believe learning to keep score can help unlock the magic of America’s pastime in today’s culture of instant gratification.
1. Keeping score makes you look at the game differently. It transforms you from a passive observer into an active participant in the game.
Even though I considered myself a baseball fan and spent a sizeable proportion of my childhood in stadium seats, I spent very little of that time watching the game unfolding on the field. Sometimes I would even bring a book or my Nintendo DS to the stadium to keep me entertained.
I find this sad in retrospect, but understandable given the situation. As a kid and young adult, I was approaching baseball as a passive activity, expecting the game to do all the work to earn my attention. I didn’t have a way to meaningfully engage with the content; therefore, as a child, I was bored and would much rather roll down the grassy hill or catch Pokémon on my DS.
However, keeping score encourages you to dial into the game like never before. In order to accurately transcribe the lineup cards for each team and track pitchers and hitters as they enter and exit the game, you have to pay close attention to announcements delivered on the PA and on screen. To keep track of the runners on the base paths, you’ll have no choice but to — you guessed it — actually pay attention to the action on the field instead of mindlessly scrolling through Twitter.
Once I started keeping score, I suddenly noticed so many small details about the game of baseball that never occurred me in the old days. Having a definitive log of the game’s events at your fingertips (even faster than a phone) allows you to quickly reference earlier at-bats, calculate pitching stats, and monitor special events like a defensive substitution or pinch runner.
Your scorebook makes you an expert (at least for the game in question), which allows you to appreciate the subtle intricacies that your neighbor in Section 216 completely missed while playing Candy Crush.
As a bonus, scorekeeping is a great way to teach yourself how to focus on a given task for an extended period of time, something our short-circuited attention spans could certainly use more of these days.
2. Keeping score encourages communication among fans, learning from your elders, and passing down traditions.
I bought the official Bob Carpenter scorebook at the Nationals Park Team Store in 2021 without a clue on how to use it. I was familiar enough with the basic rules of baseball, but the blank black and white grid intimidated me from even getting started at first.
Bob includes a brief tutorial at the beginning of his books outlining some of the basics, but I was still overwhelmed. Fortunately, I had my father-in-law, Scott, at my side to show me his approach. He told me stories from when he first learned to keep score and how he taught my wife when she was growing up as well. He guided me through the first game and I made good use of the eraser on my mechanical pencil to correct my mistakes, but we kept at it and I wouldn’t trade the bonding experience for anything. I am honored to have the tradition of baseball scorekeeping passed down to me and I’m excited to return the favor and keep the tradition alive one day!
I’ve found that scorekeeping also encourages positive communication with fellow baseball goers. I now occasionally spot other fans in my section keeping score and am not afraid to ask for help if I happen to miss the outcome of a play while eating my nachos. Bob mentions in his tutorial that “We all have our own ways of keeping score,” and it can be fascinating to see how other scorekeepers record the same information as you in their own shorthand.
In Bob’s example, in addition to tracking the movement of baserunners on a hit, he also tracks the trajectory of the ball with its own line, giving you even more information about the play after the fact. Some record all the balls and strikes in a given at-bat, which is completely optional but adds even more context to the record. No matter how much information you decide to log in your scorebook, there is no “correct” way to score and I continue to iterate on my personal style the more I absorb from others who have been scoring for years.
3. Keeping score allows you to hone a new skill and constantly improve your technique in a risk-free environment.
A key component to making learning stick is to practice, practice, practice. While keeping score at a baseball game admittedly may not be high stakes for most, it can still be a productive exercise to practice the art of practicing.
When I first started keeping score, I was having such a hard time keeping up with the pace of play, memorizing all the abbreviations, and even figuring out how to properly add up hits, runs, and RBIs without double counting. One thing to remember is that you aren’t being graded on your scoring; the world won’t end if you get up from your seat mid-inning to use the bathroom or visit the souvenir stand. But if you, like me, are somewhat of a perfectionist, you can always refer to official rulings from game coverage on MLB.com or the MLB app so you can pick up where you left off.
And if you can’t attend major league games in person, I find it excellent practice to try and score a TV game from the comfort of your couch. The commentators often provide thorough explanations for complicated plays and announce definitive replay review rulings that can be hard to follow when attending in person.
I’m still nowhere near bold enough to start recording my games in pen, but my scoring is better than a year ago and I’m raring to go for the 2022 season!
4. Keeping score allows you to document memories of the games you attended.
Finally, I have many fond memories of baseball games growing up, but wouldn’t it be great if any of those memories had to do with what actually happened on the field? My Bob Carpenter scorebook has a small box in the upper right corner of the home team page that’s perfect for jotting down fun facts, one-of-a-kind moments, or odd quirks about the game you attended that are lost in MLB’s official scorekeeping.
For instance, I wrote that on one September evening at Nationals Park, “Bugs started dive bombing us in Bot. 3rd. Horrible.” But, I also noted that the Miami Marlins carried a no-hitter through the 7th inning and the Nationals’ Ryan Zimmerman delivered a pinch hit single in what ended up being the last time I saw him play live. Much of this context is lost when reading the pure box score online many months or years later.
Before relegating baseball to the dustbin of history as an outmoded American institution, I welcome you to give scorekeeping a try. I trust it will teach you to appreciate the nuance of this historic sport and if your experience is anything like mine, it might even make the fan experience even more fun than it was before. Thanks for reading.
Resources
MLB.com - “Baseball Basics: How to Keep Score”
LittleLeague.org - “What’s the Score? The Basics of Scorekeeping”
YouTube - “Baseball: Explained for People Who Don’t Baseball”
There’s a chance it could have also been this game. After reminiscing with my dad about this story, he thinks it would have been more likely that my mom would have taken me to the Sunday day game instead of a Friday night game, but in my head I specifically remember it being a night game. All I know for sure is the Mets won, so it couldn’t have been the Saturday game where the Angels defeated the Mets 13-3. That night, for some reason I declared myself a Mets fan! (I am now a reformed Angels and Washington Nationals fan).
If this Padres-Nationals game sounds familiar to anyone, my wife and I were unlucky enough to be present for this horrifying incident: https://www.kpbs.org/news/public-safety/2021/07/19/padres-nationals-game-interrupted-shooting-resumed
I'm glad to help pass down the tradition of scorekeeping. Great job, Jake.
New subscriber. My favorite scoring story is the Phil Rizzuto WW = Wasn't Watching. Thanks Jake