Baseball Scorekeeping for Beginners-Part 1

Fans can enjoy a baseball game at the ballpark or on TV more by keeping score of the game. It's quite simple to do. First, obtain a scorecard. You can buy a scorecard at the ballpark or print them on your computer at home. Baseballscorecard.com is highly recommended for your scorecard needs, although Section216.com also has scorecards I highly recommend you download and print. You will need one sheet for each team. If you're attending in person, most parks will have the lineups posted in a prominent location. If you'll be watching on TV, go to MLB.com Gameday about 30 minutes to an hour before first pitch and copy the lineups to the respective scoresheets. It is also a good idea to print active rosters for all 30 Major League Baseball teams so that you can refer to them. The lineup column will invariably have spaces for each player's name and position, although some also include space for uniform numbers and inning when that player entered the game. One constant about scorekeeping is the numbering system for the players' positions:

1- Pitcher
2- Catcher
3- 1st Baseman
4- 2nd Baseman
5- 3rd Baseman
6- Shortstop
7- Left Fielder
8- Center Fielder
9- Right Fielder
DH- Designated Hitter (Games played in AL parks only)

Most scorecards will also have a separate column for pitchers involved in the game. When filling out a scorecard for one team, enter the name of the opposing team's pitcher in the pitching column. This will assist you in tabulating pitchers' statistics. Once you have filled out your scorecard, you're ready to keep a record of the game. My next entry will explain common scorekeeping symbols.