Meanderings

* As sabermetrics has matured, many of us have come to recognize to a greater extent that information asymmetry hinders our analysis of transactions and other team decisions. Teams certainly operate with much greater information about their own players than their opponents do, and much, much greater information than we could have hope to possess as outsiders. This is a positive step for sabermetrics, one that I certainly needed to heed more in my earlier days pretending to be more of a know-it-all than I do now.

However, one can go too far, and use information asymmetry as an excuse for questionable decision-making. For the 2012 MLB season, I would make the Reds usage of Aroldis Chapman Exhibit A. Chapman was groomed throughout the winter and the spring as a starter, and seemed to be handling it well. There was really no reason to believe that he wouldn’t, since he had previously started both in Cuba and in Louisville in 2010. Then the Reds suffered injuries to Nick Masset, Bill Bray, and Ryan Madson, and Chapman was moved to the bullpen.

It’s possible, of course, that the Reds always had grave reservations about utilizing Chapman as a starter, and that the bullpen injuries tipped the scale in a direction it was already beginning to go. But given the timing, it seems very unlikely.

Now the Reds have made a second decision, to use Chapman as the closer, for which there is again no evidence that it was prompted by inside information. Instead, the cause is pretty straightforward--continuing poor performance in that role by Sean Marshall, capped by a game in which he had to be rescued by Jose Arredondo.


* With I’ll Have Another set to make a bid for the Triple Crown, there will be two opposing yet equally silly points of view on display among the lesser lights of sportswriting.

The first is that I’ll Have Another cannot be beaten. They will point out the perceived weak Belmont field that does not include Bodemeister, talk about the horse’s “will to win”, and say that they just can’t imagine how he gets beat. Of course, the fact that similar things were written about Smarty Jones and Big Brown will be completely ignored, as sportswriters of this class are incapable of learning. The obvious fact of the matter that if Northern Dancer, Majestic Prince, Spectacular Bid, Alysheba, and Sunday Silence can all fail to win the Belmont, then any horse could as well (not to mention losses in other races, like Native Dancer and Point Given in the Kentucky Derby) will also be ignored.

The second is that I’ll Have Another can’t win because he is running against 34 years of failure and the ten horses in that period that have won the Derby and the Preakness before losing the Belmont. This is also silly; one need only to look at the margin by which Victory Gallop denied Real Quiet to know that the Triple Crown is winnable, not to mention trying to explain who would have beaten Sunday Silence if not for another all-time great in Easy Goer, and many other similar arguments.

Then there is the matter of what it would mean if I’ll Have Another wins the Belmont. Where would that rank him historically? For those that know nothing about horse racing other than the Triple Crown (which is a large share of the general public), it would obviously put him in an elite group of twelve. For those of us that have a broader knowledge about the sport, it wouldn’t really mean a whole lot for his historical standing. It would certainly make him the most famous American horse of recent memory, but he would have to achieve more in his career to be noted as particularly remarkable.

That is not my attempt to downplay the Triple Crown--there's no professional sports outcome I’d rather see other than the Indians winning the World Series and the Browns winning the Super Bowl. But the Triple Crown is three races run over a month and a half in the middle portion of a horse’s three-year old campaign. It is but a small portion of what makes an all-time great race horse. Many all-time greats didn’t contest the Triple Crown, but went on to achieve great things later in their three-year old seasons (see Buckpasser for an example, or Tiznow in more recent history). Many more were non-factors at three, but achieved great things later in their careers (listing examples here would be silly as there are so many).

Of course, evaluating a horse from a historical perspective must include consideration of context. Today’s thoroughbreds race much shorter schedules and are less likely to return to run at age four and later if they are stars at three. Still, even from the perspective of three-year old stars of the last fifteen years, even a Triple Crown will not raise I’ll Have Another above the very best. Point Given may have lost the Kentucky Derby, but he came back in the summer to win the Travers at the same distance, and ran one of the best Belmonts of recent memory. That his “Triple Crown” runs Preakness-Belmont-Travers doesn’t make it much less of an achievement. Curlin may have lost the Derby and the Belmont, but he came back in the fall to win the Jockey Club Gold Cup and the Breeders’ Cup Classic against the best older horses in the country.

On the other hand, the same can be written about some of the other horses that have won the Triple Crown. It is easy to believe that the eleven Triple Crown winners represent the greatest American thoroughbreds, but it really isn’t the case. Certainly all eleven are well-regarded historically and are in the Hall of Fame, but in a couple of cases, that is mostly the result of winning the Triple Crown and not anything else they did.

- Sir Barton won the Triple Crown before anyone talked about such a thing (that would start with the second winner, Gallant Fox). For his career he won 13 of 31 starts. He was Horse of the Year in 1919, and was ranked by Blood-Horse as the #49 American thoroughbred of the Twentieth Century.

- Omaha was sired by the 1930 Triple Crown winner Gallant Fox, but he wasn’t even named Horse of the Year in 1935. He won 9 of 22 career starts and was ranked #61 by Blood-Horse.

It’s not a knock on I’ll Have Another to say that he’d be more Omaha than Count Fleet should he win the Belmont. And if the horse can stay in training and win the Breeder’s Cup Classic or another key race against older horses, I’d be inclined to change my opinion. But that’s a hard task for a three-year old, and the horses that can do it are the ones that distinguish themselves as the best, Triple Crown or no.

* Speaking of horse racing and circling back to baseball, with the season roughly 25% complete I have heard multiple announcers referring to the “quarter pole”. I find this extremely aggravating (which is admittedly a bit of an overreaction). Unless there is some non-horse racing definition of the term “quarter pole” of which I am unaware, using the term in this manner is completely wrong. The quarter pole does not have anything to do with one quarter of the race--it is the pole marking a quarter mile to the finish line. And as you can see from that description, it is oriented to the end rather than the beginning of the race. There is no use for miles in baseball, so I suppose the most appropriate use of the term would be after 120 or so games had been played--a quarter of the season remaining.

I realize that I am complaining extensively about a very silly thing, but when a term from one of my favorite sports gets twisted by people I am predisposed to complain about anyway, I can’t help myself. Off the top of my head, I can’t think of a similar example of a baseball term used in other contexts that so completely misses the point (which isn’t to say one doesn’t exist). The closest I can come up with is “balanced scorecard”, which has been turned into some sort of silly business jargon, kind of how statisticians must bristle when they hear about “Six Sigma”.

Scoring Self-Indulgence, pt. 9

Finally, it’s over. No more boring you with detailed explanations of a fairly conventional scoring system as if it is unique and deserving of great attention. I will close with a pitch-by-pitch translation of a scoresheet into text. Truly fascinating, I know.

This game was played on July 24, 2010 between Los Angeles and Texas. The lineups were as follows:

Umpires
H--Holbrook
1--Gibson
2--Knight
3--Davis

Los Angeles
1. 6 Aybar
2. 4 Izturis
3. 9 Abreu
4. 8 Hunter
5. D Matsui
6. 5 Callaspo
7. 3 Napoli
8. 2 Mathis
9. 7 Willits
P: Santana

Texas
1. 6 Andrus
2. 5 Young
3. 4 Kinsler
4. D Guerrero
5. 7 Hamilton
6. 9 Cruz
7. 2 Molina
8. 3 Davis
9. 8 Borbon
P: Feldman



LAA First
Aybar: Called strike, foul, ball, ball, ball; flied to left (along line)
Izturis: Called strike, ball, foul, ball, foul; foul to third
Abreu: Ball, called strike; lined to right
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 0 left on base, 15 pitches

TEX First
Andrus: Ball, called strike, called strike, ball; grounded to first (pitcher covering)
Young: Called strike, called strike, ball; lined to right
Kinsler: Called strike, swinging strike, foul; struck out swinging
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 0 left on base, 13 pitches

LAA Second
Hunter: Ball, foul, swinging strike, foul, ball; flied to right
Matsui: Lined to right
Callaspo: Ball, called strike, ball, grounded to first (pitcher covering)
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 0 left on base, 11 pitches (26 for game)

TEX Second
Guerrero: Ball; grounded to short
Hamilton: Ball, ball; grounded to first
Cruz: Flied to center
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 0 left on base, 6 pitches (19 for game)

LAA Third
Napoli: Called strike; flied to center
Mathis: Called strike, swinging strike, foul, ball; flied to center in center-right
Willits: Called strike; flied to left
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 0 left on base, 9 pitches (35 for game)

TEX Third
Molina: Called strike, ball, called strike; struck out swinging
Davis: Ball, called strike, ball, ball; doubled to right-center very deep on line drive
Borbon: Ball, called strike, foul, ball, ball; flied to center
Andrus: Ball, called strike, foul, ball; grounded to short
0 runs, 1 hit, 0 walks, 1 left on base, 20 pitches (39 for game)

LAA Fourth
Aybar: Bunt foul; singled to left along line, thrown out stretching to second (left to second)
Izturis: Called strike showing bunt, ball; flied to left
Abreu: Called strike, ball, ball, ball; walk
Hunter: Ball; singled to right on flyball, advanced to second on fielding error by right fielder, Abreu to third
Matsui: Called strike, ball; popped to shortstop in shallow left
0 runs, 2 hits, 1 walk, 2 left on base, 15 pitches (50 for game)

TEX Fourth
Young: Grounded to second
Kinsler: Ball, ball, called strike, ball; walk
Guerrero: Grounded into double play, third to second to first, Kinsler retired at second
0 runs, 0 hits, 1 walk, 0 left on base, 7 pitches (46 for game)

LAA Fifth
Callaspo: Ball; grounded to pitcher
Napoli: Ball, called strike, foul, ball; grounded to third
Mathis: Called strike showing bunt, ball, ball, ball; homered to left on flyball, RBI
Willits: Called strike; singled to right on flyball
Aybar: Ball, ball; tripled to right along line on line drive, Willits scored, RBI
Izturis: Ball, foul, foul; flied to right in right-center
2 runs, 3 hits, 0 walks, 1 left on base, 21 pitches (71 for game)

TEX Fifth
Hamilton: Foul; flied to center
Cruz: Foul, swinging strike, ball; struck out swinging
Molina: Foul; singled to center on groundball
Davis: Called strike, foul; struck out swinging
0 runs, 1 hit, 0 walks, 1 left on base, 11 pitches (57 for game)

LAA Sixth
Abreu: Grounded to second
Hunter: Foul, ball, singled to center on groundball
Matusi: Ball, Ball, called strike, foul; singled to right-center, Hunter to third
Ogando relieved Feldman (9 pitches in inning, 80 for game)
Callaspo: Called strike, singled to shallow center on flyball, Hunter scored, Matsui to second, RBI
Napoli: Swinging strike, ball, swinging strike, foul, ball, ball, foul, foul, foul, foul, foul; struck out looking
Mathis: Ball, swinging strike, foul; grounded into fielder’s choice at third, Callaspo retired at second (third to second)
1 run, 3 hits, 0 walks, 2 left on base

TEX Sixth
Borbon: Ball, called strike showing bunt, swinging strike, ball; struck out swinging
Andrus: Ball, ball; flied to right along line
Young: Called strike, ball, ball; homered to left-center on flyball, RBI
Kinsler: Ball, swinging strike, foul, ball, ball; walk
Guerrero: Ball (Young stole second); grounded to third
1 run, 1 hit, 1 walk, 1 left on base, 20 pitches (77 for game)

LAA Seventh
Oliver relieved Ogando
Willits: Ball, called strike, ball; singled to center on flyball
Aybar: Bunt foul, bunt foul; singled to right on groundball, Willits to third
Izturis: Called strike, ball; singled to right on groundball, Willits scored, Aybar to second, RBI
Abreu: Bunt foul; doubled down the right field line on a groundball, Aybar scored, Izturis to third, RBI
Hunter: Intentional ball, intentional ball, intentional ball; intentional walk
Matsui: Foul, ball; grounded into fielder’s choice at first, Izturis retired at home (first to catcher), Abreu to third, Hunter to second
Callaspo: Foul, ball, called strike; flied to center in center-right, Abreu scored, sacrifice fly, RBI
O’Day relieved Ogando
Napoli: Ball, ball, ball, called strike; grounded into fielder’s choice at shortstop, Matsui retired at second (shortstop to second)
3 runs, 4 hits, 1 walk, 2 left on base

TEX Seventh
Hamilton: Flied to center in deep center-left
Cruz: Ball, called strike; homered to left on flyball, RBI
Molina: Flied to deep right
Borbon: Ball, called strike, swinging strike; struck out swinging
1 run, 1 hit, 0 walks, 0 left on base, 9 pitches (86 for game)

LAA Eighth
Harrison relieved O’Day
Mathis: Ball, called strike; singled to left on flyball
Willits: Foul bunt; bunted into fielder’s choice at catcher, Mathis retired at second (catcher to shortstop)
Aybar: Swinging strike, ball, ball, swinging strike (Willits caught stealing catcher to second), ball, foul; walk
Izturis: Ball, called strike; popped to second in shallow right
0 runs, 1 hit, 1 walk, 1 left on base

TEX Eighth
Borbon: Called strike; singled to shallow left along line on flyball
Andrus: Ball, called strike, called strike, foul; struck out swinging
Young: Ball, ball, called strike, ball, called strike, foul; struck out looking
Kinsler: Called strike, swinging strike; popped to first
0 runs, 1 hit, 0 walk, 1 left on base, 17 pitches (103 for game)

LAA Ninth
Mathis relieved Harrison
Abreu: Ball, ball, called strike, ball; walk
Hunter: Ball; reached on fielding error by second baseman, Abreu to second
Matsui: Ball, foul, ball, ball; grounded to second, Abreu to third, Hunter to second
Callaspo: Popped to short
Napoli: Ball, ball, ball, called strike, foul, foul; looped to second
0 runs, 0 hits, 1 walk, 2 left on base

TEX Ninth
Rodney relieved Santana
Guerrero: Ball, ball, ball, called strike, called strike; struck out looking
Hamilton: Ball, called strike, swinging strike, foul, ball; doubled to center-right on flyball
Cruz: Called strike, foul, foul, ball, ball; struck out swinging
Molina: Called strike, foul, ball, ball, ball, foul, foul; struck out looking
0 runs, 1 hit, 0 walks, 1 left on base
LAA 6, TEX 2

Great Moments in Yahoo! Box Scores

This is from the same game I posted earlier.  Yahoo! has corrected the score, but remain confused with respect to the participants in the game.

Great Moments in Yahoo! Box Scores

The score was 12-1.

Great Moments in Yahoo! Box Scores

Scoring Self-Indulgence, pt. 8: Substitutions and Miscellany

I’ve covered most of the on-field events that I record on my scoresheet; the only major area of keeping a scoresheet remaining is how to record substitutions.

Focusing first on position players, the four types of substitution/switches that can occur are:
1. pinch-hitting
2. pinch-running
3. defensive replacement
4. defensive position switch

The first principle of my system for tracking these is that all substitutions are assumed to occur at the start of the inning unless otherwise noted, except for pinch-runners. They are assumed to enter the game as soon as the player they replace reached base unless otherwise noted. If a player enters the game while his team is batting, he is assumed to be a pinch-hitter unless otherwise noted.

The point at which the substitute enters the game is noted pretty simply, by writing his name below the starter’s name in the appropriate box followed by a notation like “v7” (bottom of the seventh) or “^4” (top of the fourth). In the past, I would have rendered those as “B7” and “T4” respectively, but I started using carrots a couple years ago when I moved to have less letters and more symbols on my sheets. Either way, the meaning is easy to decipher.

If the replacement is a pinch-runner (and he comes into the game as soon as the original player reached base), then the prefix “PR” is used; “PR Jones ^8” means, obviously, that Jones pinch-ran in
the top of the eighth.

For defensive replacements, there is no position recorded for the new player if it is the same as the old one. If the starter was “6 Peralta” (that is, shortstop Peralta) and he is replaced by defensive replacement McDonald in the bottom of the seventh, I’d simply write “McDonald v7”. If the replacement is at a different position than the man he replaced, then the position is written in front, i.e. “4 McDonald v7” if McDonald is playing second base.

With respect to defensive position switches, suppose that Gerut begins the game in center field and then moves to left in the top of the sixth. The initial lineup would read “8 Gerut” of course; the switch will be noted by simply writing “7 ^6” wherever it will fit, preferably next to the original position/name but if not then on the next line below.

Mid-inning switches are fairly straightforward, although a little trickier. For pinch runners, suppose that in the top of the ninth, the #4 batter reaches base, then moves to third on the actions of the #5 hitter, and then is removed for a pinch-runner as the #6 batter comes to the plate. The notation I would use is “PR Jones 6-9”. In this case, 6 is the lineup slot at the plate at the time the substitution is made and 9 indicates the inning. It is not necessary to indicate whether it is the top or bottom of the inning, as the pinch-runner notation makes it clear that it must be his team’s batting half. Of course, this applies to the original PR notation as well, for which I do note the inning-half, but I drop that detail here because the extra number and dash will already be cluttering things up.

The use of the “lineup slot-inning” format may seem a little backwards since the inning is the more important distinguishing factor of when the substitution takes place, but it is derived from the orientation of the scoresheet and considering it as I would a spreadsheet. The lineup slots represent the rows down the vertical of the page, while the innings represent the columns along the horizontal. It is natural for me to put the vertical first, I guess.

For a mid-inning defensive replacement, it is necessary to record the half of the inning, because otherwise it could be confused with a pinch-hitter. For example, if Branson comes in to play third in the bottom of the third with the #8 hitter at the plate, directly replacing the previous third baseman in the batting order, I’d writer “Branson 8v3”.
The exception would come if the substitute went into a different lineup slot, replacing a player at a different position. In that case, I could just write “5 Branson 8-3”, with the notation of the new position demonstrating that this is a defensive replacement and not a pinch-hitting situation. The same rule applies to any defensive pitching switches.

If a substitution occurs between pitches of a plate appearance, then a little more finesse is required. The notation takes the form “Ax”, where x is the last pitch thrown before the substitution is made. If there is a pinch-hitter after the second pitch to the #8 batter in the top of the ninth, the replacement could be recorded as “Harris 8v9 (AB)”. Similar notation is used for pinch-runners and defensive replacements; again, it’s unnecessary to record which half of the inning it is for pinch-runners or defensive position switches.

If a player is ejected, I write “EJ 3^7” or something similar; this would indicate that the player was ejected, with the first PA he was not eligible for being that of the #3 hitter in the top of the seventh. If he was ejected at the end of an inning/between innings, the notation could just be “EJ v7”.

Pitcher substitutions are recorded in the box for pitchers similarly to how position player substitutions are recorded. The exception is that a pitcher brought on to start an inning is noted simply with the inning number; there’s no need to distinguish between top and bottom. Any changes in the batting order status of the pitcher are recorded in the appropriate box, not in the pitcher section of the scoresheet.

So if Huff starts the game, is relieved by Sipp to start the seventh, then by Herrmann to face the #8 batter in the seventh, the pitchers box would read: “Huff, Sipp 7, Herrmann 8-7”.

If the game goes into extra innings and I have to move onto another scoresheet, I recopy the lineup as it is when the game goes to extra innings. This can include some odd-looking notations, like players at positions they don’t actually play if they pinch-hit or pinch-ran, but doing it this way allows for one to see that the defense was reshuffled at that point. That way the change that occurs for the tenth inning can be marked on the new extra-inning scoresheet rather than on the sheet used for innings 1-9. If the pitcher that finished the ninth stays in for the tenth, I put his name in brackets just to avoid any confusion with the starting pitcher, who is also not listed with any entry point (ex. [Wilson]).

Some other assorted miscellany in no particular order:

* If a team bats around, I just move over to the next column. From then on, instead of using the lineup slot to refer the reader of the sheet back to the appropriate scorebox, I add an “A” at the end. So if a team bats around and the tenth batter is the #7 hitter, his box is now referred to as “7A”. If for some reason the inning keeps going, the scorebox for his third PA of the inning would be “7B”.

* If a batter’s PA ends prematurely due to an out on base or the end of the game (with a run scoring on a not in-play event), I write “IE” for inning ended across the box, and make the inning ending slash so that it will be clear that the next inning beings with his PA:



* At the end of each inning I record a basic line score for the inning in the inning header. This takes the form R-H-W-LOB. Above it, I record the number of pitches thrown in the inning by the starting pitcher and his running pitch count for the game. When he exits, I stop recording pitch counts. So, if a team scores a run on a hit with no walks and no one left on in the second inning, with the pitcher making 17 pitches after making 8 in the first inning, the inning header would look like this:



When the pitcher is finished, the last updated cumulative pitch count is indicated by a dash between the final inning pitch count and the game total.

Scoring Self-Indulgence, pt. 7: Field Locations and Ball Trajectories

When the ball is put into play, I track its location using a set of field location codes. What I use is not nearly as intricate as the system developed by Project Scoresheet and used or altered by STATS and subsequent data compilers. The entire exercise is inherently subject to error, and it is next to impossible to make accurate determinations about whether balls are hit within the borders of zones when it close. And one’s perspective can certainly skew judgment even in cases where the location or trajectory appear to be clear. Still, I find it a useful thing to record, recognizing the biases inherent and the particular fallibility of my judgment.

For the infield, I do not break the zones up at all. Everything on the infield is 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6, corresponding to the fielder closest to the play (although often in practice this winds up being the fielder that makes or attempts to make the play, regardless of where the ball was actually hit). I do use combinations for balls that are truly in between--64 would be a ball right up the middle, perhaps a bit to the left of second base, while 46 would be just to the right of second base; 13, 15, 23 and 25 (or the reverse) are often helpful for bunts that are in between the area of responsibility for the two positions. Other than that, the location codes stay simple.

If the ball is hit where you’d expect it to be hit given the outcome of the play as seen on the scoresheet, I make no redundant location note. A “63” does not need a note explaining that the ball was hit in the vicinity of the shortstop unless something out of the ordinary happened. If there is something that needs to be noted, I tack the location on as a subscript.

Suppose for instance that there is a popup on the pitcher’s mound; generally, the pitcher will move out of the way and let a real infielder take it. If it is the third baseman, the scoring would look like this:



In the outfield, I use divide things up more extensively. In terms of depth, there is “S” for shallow, “D” for deep and “W” for warning track/wall. Medium depth is the default if none of the other options is listed, but could be indicated by “M” if one was so inclined.

From left to right, I have 7l (left field line; written with a cursive “l”, which makes it much easier to distinguish on the scoresheet), 7 (left), 78 (left-center), 87 (center-left), 8 (center), 89 (center-right), 98 (right-center), 9 (right), and 9l (right field line, again with the cursive). This diagram is poorly drawn, but should give you the gist of it:



The difference between center-right(left) and right-center is razor thin to begin with, and I’m positive that I’m biased by the identity of the fielder who makes the play. That is, I’m much more likely to record the location of a ball as “89” if the center fielder makes the play; if the right fielder makes the play, it’s more likely to go down as “98”.

Let me offer a few examples of flyouts scored using this system, which hopefully will be sufficient for anyone who actually cares (and I know full well that no one does) to understand. A flyball caught by the centerfielder in medium deep center would simply be “8”. But suppose he made the play in shallow center:



A catch made by the right fielder on the warning track along the right field line would be:



A catch made in deep center-left by the left fielder:



A foul fly caught by the left fielder in deep left:



Hopefully, those examples are sufficient to allow one to figure out the many possible combinations themselves. The other element that needs to be added before completing the scoring of hits is the ball trajectory. The biases here are even worse than those for hit location, but as long as you remember it’s just one observation from a particular vantage point, I don’t see what the harm is in taking a stab at this on your scoresheet.

For hits, I combine the location code with a trajectory code. The basic trajectory categories are: bunt (seen earlier with outs), chop (seen earlier, and only used on infield hits), flyball, groundball, and line drive. An infield hit is always assumed to be a groundball unless otherwise noted; an outfield hit is always assumed to be a flyball unless otherwise noted. Using default trajectory types helps to remove some of the clutter that otherwise would be present on the sheet.

The trajectory for a hit is generally noted above or below the field location of the hit. The symbol for a bunt is a squiggly line below; for a chop, a “v” shape below; for a flyball, an arch above; for a groundball, a straight line below; and for a line drive, a straight line above. This is best shown through some examples. First, examples of infield hits, where a groundball is assumed unless otherwise noted. Thus, the following play is a groundball single to the first baseman:



The next example is single on a ball chopped to third base. I use the chop symbol sparingly; if a ball is a tweener between a chop and a grounder, I go with the latter description:



This is a bunt single right in front of the plate to the catcher:



This is a line drive hit to the pitcher; picture the pitcher knocking the ball down but having no play (it’s better than picturing Herb Score or Willie Blair):



A flyball infield hit (remember, I do not distinguish between a flyball and a popup) can happen when the ball drops between fielders and no error is assigned; this one drops on the pitchers’ mound:



Scoring outfield hits is a little more involved because there is a wider variety of locations and a greater diversity of trajectories. Again, if there is no trajectory included for an outfield hit, it is assumed to be a flyball, so this is a flyball single to medium left, along/near the line:



Here is a flyball single to shallow center-right:



There is no need to use any depth modifiers for groundball hits to the outfield. This one is a classic grounder right up the middle:



A line drive single to left-center:



A flyball double to the warning track or wall down the left field line:



A line drive double to deep center:



A flyball triple to deep right-center:



I usually don’t use any trajectory codes on home runs--they are generally considered to be flyballs, but some real laser beams get a line drive tag. This one is hit down the right field line:



Of course, inside-the-park home runs provide more fodder for location codes. A flyball off the wall in deep center-left that ends up a homer:

Scoring Self-Indulgence, pt. 6: Outs on Base

I previously demonstrated how I score batting outs, but did not touch on outs that occur once there is a runner on base. Again, the examples will assume that the runner reached first by being hit by a pitch. I will begin by looking at plays in which the runner is thrown out in his attempt to advance before the ball is put into play, then look at those that occur after the ball has been put in play (which often are forces for which the runner is not culpable).

Caught stealing is given the obvious code “CS”. The most common is the catcher-to-shortstop putout, although there are obviously many possible combinations. This runner was nailed on the last pitch of a PA (indicating that the PA must have ended with a strikeout; otherwise the runner would have been free to advance on a free pass event or the ball would have been in play) taken by the #3 hitter:



The CS symbol can pop up when an out is not actually recorded; for example, "2CSRE6" is a play in which the catcher gets an assist and the runner is charged with a caught stealing, but is safe due to a receiving error by the shortstop.

I divide pickoffs into three different classes: those that are pure pickoffs (PO), those that are caught stealing/pickoffs on which the play is made at the subsequent base (CP), and those that are caught stealing/pickoffs on which the play is made at the original base (PC). The first is the most straightforward--the runner is picked off when not attempting to advance, in this case on the fourth pitch to the #7 hitter, with the play going 13:



Caught stealing/pickoffs are common when the runner starts for the next base before the pitcher starts his motion, then he steps off and throws. This example is a 136 putout made on the first pitch to the #9 hitter:



I score it as a pickoff/caught stealing when the runner is charged with a caught stealing because he was leaning, but the play is made at the base from which he started. This should be pretty easy to visualize--the runner gets just a touch too far away from the bag, the pitcher whirls to throw, he dives back...and gets tagged out. On the 7th pitch to the #5 hitter:



One extra note I sometimes include, which can be applicable to a number of different outs on base, is the use of the symbols OVS and OVR. OVS is for overslide, and OVR for overrun. This just gives the reader of the scoresheet a better idea of what actually happened on the play. If a runner is caught stealing, but it’s because he popped off the base after initially being sage, you can include the OVS symbol:



The most common ways of getting retired once the ball is put into play are on fielder’s choices and double plays. I do not score any play that technically is considered a fielder’s choice as such; I only use “FC” for a forceout. I’ll show an example of those cases in a minute; first, a standard fielder’s choice. This one goes pitcher to shortstop and forces the runner at second. There is no need to record which batter was responsible, because it will be evident from an examination of the scoresheet:



If the runner is retired as part of a double play when forced (or when doubled off his base on a flyout), I use “DP”. In the latter case, it is necessary to note which batter was the catalyst for the play in question, as I’ll demonstrate in a moment. In the first example, the runner is forced at second third baseman to second baseman as part of a double play:



Of course, there is always the possibility of a triple play, but those are so rare I won’t bother with an example, and the scoring is conceptually similar to that of a double play. I use the obvious symbol “TP” in those cases.

This example is a double play in which the runner is double off first, right fielder to first baseman, after a flyout hit by the #8 hitter:



When a runner chooses to advance of his own volition, I record it as a fielder’s choice provided that the batter does not receive credit for a hit on the play, or it is not an error or flyout. Suppose that a runner at second is thrown out at third by the shortstop when he attempts to advance, unforced, on a groundball. Since the batter will not be credited with a hit, I record the runner’s out as “FC65”. In the corresponding batter’s scorebox, the play will be scored as “FC6”:



If the runner is thrown out attempting to take an extra base on a hit (or on an error), then I scored it as an out advancing. It is not necessary to note which batter’s PA the out occurred on as long as there is some other evidence of it in the runner’s scorebox. In this example, the runner advanced on some play initiated by the #1 hitter, but then tried to an extra base and was throw out at third, center fielder to third baseman. Since the advancement to second is already noted as having occurred during the PA of the leadoff hitter, it is assumed that the out on third also occurred on that play.



If the advancement occurred on a play in which the runner did not take another base noted on the scoresheet, then there would have to be some note of it. In this case, the runner at third was thrown out at the plate by the left fielder while trying to advance on a flyball hit by the ninth hitter:



When a batter is thrown out attempting to take an extra base after reaching safely on a hit or an error, I score it as “OS” (Out Stretching). In this example, the batter singled to right, then was gunned out right fielder to shortstop attempting to take second:



One unusual way in which a runner can be wiped out is when he is hit by a batted ball. For the batter, this automatically becomes a single. Let’s suppose that a runner on first is hit by a ground ball hit by the batter in the vicinity of the second baseman. First, the scoring for the batter: he gets credit for a groundball infield single to second base, with the fact that his ball hit a runner noted with the use of the code “HBB” (Hit by Ball):



For the runner, the out is noted as HBBx, where x is the position number of the fielder that gets credit for the putout (so, in this case, HBB4). There is no need to note which batter hit the ball because it will be clear from examining the other scoreboxes:



Another modifier along the lines of OVR/OVS is the use of OBL for “Out of Baseline” (not the world’s most wanted man). This code is used when the runner is ruled out for going out of the baseline. There will still be standard scoring for this play, so the notation is made parenthetically (I use brackets). Suppose the play is scored catcher to first base:



The above example was for a batter-runner, but it could also be used for runners already on base.

Other modifier codes that are rarely used but that can pop up are “LE” (left early--I use this if a runner is called out for tagging before the ball is caught, followed by the appropriate credit for the putout and a circled indication of which batter initiated the play) and “MB” (missed base, used when a runner is called out for failing to touch one of the bases, and again followed by the putout credit and indication of which batter was at the plate if necessary).