Baseball Scorekeeping for Beginners-Part 2-Abbreviations and Symbols

Here is a summary of abbreviations and symbols used by scorers. Feel free to improvise as you see fit.

A... (1) Assist. (2) Attendance at the game, as often appears in newspaper box scores.

AB... At Bat, or times a player has been At Bat.

AVG... Average stands for postgame batting average in box scores.

BB... Base on Balls. Some people prefer to use W for walk. Used to record a walk by a batter, the number of walks conceded by a pitcher, or the number of walks earned by a team in game summaries and box scores.

BI... [Runs] Batted In. Used mainly in box scores.

BK/Bk...Balk.

BS... Blown Save opportunity

BT/Bt... Bunt

CG... Complete Game. Increasingly rare.

CI... Catcher's Interference.

CS... Caught Stealing. Some people prefer OS for "Out Stealing"

D... Double.

DH... (1) Designated Hitter. (2) Doubleheader.

DI... Defensive Indifference. Used when the defense makes no attempt to retire a runner.

DL... Disabled List

DP... Double Play

E... (1) Reached base on an Error. In scoring, ET, or ETh can be used to denote a throwing error. (2) Used to record the number of errors committed by a team in box scores.

EB... Extra Bases made on hits by a player while at bat, computed as one for a double, two for a triple, and three for a home run.

EIG... Extra Inning Game.

ej... Ejected from game.

ER... Earned Runs allowed; used to record the number of earned runs conceded by a pitcher in pitching summaries.

ERA... Earned Run Average.

F... (1) Foul. (2) Fly. (3) Fly caught in fair territory to distinguish it from a flyout caught in foul territory.

FC... Fielder's Choice.

fF/f... Caught foul fly. Rarely seen today.

fFE... Dropped Foul Fly.

fSF... Foul Sacrifice Fly.

FO... Force-out.

G... Game

GA... Games Ahead

GB... Games Behind/Games Back.

GDP/GIDP... Grounded in Double Play.

GS... Games Started.

HB... Hit Batsman (or Hit by Ball).

HBP/HP... Hit by Pitch(er).

HR... Home Run.

I/INT... Interference.

IBB/IW... Intentional Walk.

IF/IFR... Infield Fly.

IP... Innings Pitched.

K... Strikeout.

backwards K/Kc/KL... Called Strikeout.

Ks... Struck out Swinging.

L... (1) Line Drive. (2)Loss (in pitching summaries) (3) Number of losses by a pitcher, as in W/L record.

LD... Line Drive.

LO/LOB/LB... (Runners) Left On Base.

LP... Losing Pitcher.

M... Muff of a fly ball.

NP... Number of pitched thrown.

Obs... Obstruction.

OF... Outfield.

OS... (1) Out Stealing, an alternative to the more common CS (Caught Stealing). (2) Official Scorer.

PB... Passed Ball.

PH... Pinch Hit(ter).

PK/Pk... Pickoff.

PO... Putout.

PR... Pinch Runner.

R... (1) Runs Scored in a box score. (2) Runs allowed in pitching summaries.

RBI... Run(s) batted in.

RS... Runner(s) Stranded... Some people use this when a batter leaves runners in scoring position.

S/SAC/Sac... Sacrifice.

SB... Stolen Base.

SF... Sacrifice Fly.

SH... Sacrifice Hit.

SHO... Shutout.

SO... Strikeouts. Used only to record the number of strikeouts recorded by a pitcher in pitching summaries and strikeouts by a batter in the player's summary.

SV... Save.

T... (1) Triple. (2) Time of game.

TB... Total Bases recorded by a team in a game.

TP... Triple Play.

U... Unassisted putout.

W... (1) Walk. (2) Wins, specifically, the number of games won by a pitcher. (3) Win (in pitching summaries).

WP... (1) Wild Pitch. (2) Winning Pitcher.

WT... Notation used when a defensive player makes a catch at the Warning Track.

In addition, you will need a code for hits. Any of the following will work:

- Single
= Double
Three lines- Triple
Four lines- Home Run

Also common is this simple scheme:

1B Single
2B Double
3B Triple
4B/HR Home Run

Remember, there's no right or wrong way to score a game, just YOUR way.