How to Keep Score in Baseball

If you're "scoring at home" or at the ballpark and the play "6-4-3" doesn't ring a bell, then follow these steps to enjoy America's national pastime even more.

Difficulty:

Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Pencils
• Baseball Bats
• Baseball Batting Gloves
• Baseball Cleats
• Baseball Equipment Bags
• Baseball Fielding Gloves
• Baseball First Baseman Mitts
• Baseball Glove Conditioner Creams
• Baseball Helmets
• Baseball Scoresheets
• Baseballs

1. Buy a score book (a book containing preprinted blank score sheets) or buy a program/scorecard at a professional baseball game or sporting goods store. Almost all of the books have diagrams explaining the official instructions for scoring a game.

2. Write the date, time and the teams playing on the top of the scorecard before the game begins.

3. Use the abbreviations "K" for strikeout and "BB" (base on balls) for walk. For hits, "1B" is a single (1-base hit), "2B" is a double (2-base hit), "3B" is a triple (3-base hit) and "HR" is a home run.

4. Understand that each position on the field follows an official numeric system in order to mark defensive putouts and assists. Pitchers are 1, catchers are 2, first basemen are 3, second basemen are 4, third basemen are 5, shortstops are 6, left fielders are 7, center fielders are 8, and right fielders are 9.

5. Keep it simple by marking the number of the player successfully executing a putout for balls hit in the air. For example, mark "7" for a fly out to left field.

6. Score ground outs by marking the numbers of the players making the assist and the putout. For example, mark "6-3" for a ground out that the shortstop throws to first base, or "6-4" if the shortstop throws to second base for a force out.

7. Mark the numbers of all the fielders involved in a double play. For example, mark "6-4-3" to note a double play started by the shortstop.

8. Use an even more abridged method of scoring if you're using statistics for a board game or computer game. Unless you wish to keep defensive statistics, mark an "X" for all outs other than strikeouts.

Tips & Warnings

• Modern score sheets include printed grids and diagrams. Numbers on the top of a common grid are the innings. The spaces on the left side of the grid are for players' names, positions and uniform numbers. The bottom spaces indicate the totals of each player's hits and runs scored.

• To keep score for souvenir purposes, you can make your own abridged scoring system by using a scorecard, a sheet of graph paper, or even a piece of lined notebook paper.