How to Note a Base runner on a Scorecard

Video Transcript

"If you're on offense, you're going to want to pay attention to what is going on here because we are going to take a look at what happens when a batter becomes a runner. That means he has hit the ball and has reached base safely or sometimes you can reach base without the virtue of a hit, which we will go into detail about those as well. Let's take a look at the scorecard here. Now what can happen, a variety of things once the ball is pitched and you've made contact? The batter can get a single and then to denote a single your scorecard. What you are going to do is you are going to draw a thick line from home plate to first base just like that, and then you are going to cross out the little section that says ONE-B, that is a one badger or a single. So, if you are looking at your scorecard and you see it denoted this way, this means that your batter in this particular inning and this particular at bat got a single. Now what you also have here is a way of keeping a pitch count. Let's say that he hit the third pitch of the at bat. The first one was a strike, the second was a ball. Okay, so there we go. He has a one ball, one strike count. He got a single during this at bat. Now, you can also get a bunt single. Normally you use a bunt to sacrifice but sometimes you can bunt and reach base. So what you do if that happens, it is still denoted as a single, you're going to draw your line from home to first base and you are going to cross out the one-bagger, the one-b on your thing. But then you are going to write b-t, that means bunt single. That is how you denote a bunt hit. If the batted ball hits a runner, he still gets to advance, it's still counts as a single, denoted by your dark line from home plate to first base, and crossing out the first base marker, you write B-H-R, ball hits runner, okay? That is exactly what that means. Now if you get a double that means you get to advance two bases. So what you are going to want to do is take your pen and draw a dark line from home to first and then you advance the line from first to second. And you do a double just like that. Okay, mark the two-b. The second thing is a triple that means you advance three bases. You draw your dark line from home to first, from first to second, and from second to third, and you cross out the three-B. That means you got a triple. Now, if you hit a home run this is going to be very important on here because it is going to have an extra notation on here. All right this one we are going to look at a two run home run. So, that means you advance all four bases and you had a runner on base. So, what you do is, you are going to draw a line from home plate to first base, from first to second, from second to third, from third to home and then you're going to write how many runs were scored, in this case, two. That means the runner on base and the hitter scored a run. That's how you notate a home run. Now lets look at what can happen when a batter reaches base without getting a hit. Okay, you still have to make the notations, however, it is a little bit different. Let's say you have a wild pitch. What you are going to do is you are going to show that the runner went from home to first and you are going to write W-P over your scorecard right there that means wild pitch. A passed ball is similar to a wild pitch where as the wild pitch is the fault of the pitcher throwing the ball wildly, the passed ball means that the catcher missed it. Now you are still going to draw your line from home to first showing where the runner went, but you write P-B for passed ball, also you have to note that as an E-2, that is an error on the catcher and the catcher is number 2. Now if you reach on an error say the shortstop made an error in this case, what you are going to do is you write your line from home plate to first base and note it with an E-6, that is an error on the shortstop. Fielders choice is another way you can reach base without being counted as a hit, that means you are drawing your line from home to first and you are writing F-C. What happens in a fielder?s choice is you have a runner on first or a runner on second and the ball is hit to where you can actually get out but the fielder chooses to throw it to the other base. You can get on by hit by pitch, meaning that the ball strikes you. You will still draw your line but you write HBP. Those are all the things that can happen when the batter becomes a runner, and that is how you fill out your scorecard."