SCOREKEEPING

Applicable Ground Rules

13. SCORING & STANDING

  1. Scorebook: Scorebooks will be supplied by WSBR at the beginning of the season and given to each team’s manager. Scorebooks are the property of WSBR and constitute each team’s official record. Each team will maintain an official scorebook, which shall be returned to the Commissioner at the end of the regular season. Both teams will complete scorebook entries for each game played. The home team shall be the official scorebook. Scorebooks shall be signed by the Umpire-in-Chief.
  2. Official Scorekeeper: The Official Scorekeeper answers only to the Umpire-in-Chief. Official Scorekeepers may sit in stands or in the vicinity of the backstop. They cannot sit in the dugout or in the area of the dugout. The home team is responsible for supplying the Official Scorekeeper. Reminder: the Official Scorekeeper is by rule an unbiased game official whose conduct is governed by that very definition.
  3. Pitching Affidavit: Each team will maintain a pitching affidavit. Affidavits shall be available for review at all scheduled games. If an affidavit is not made available, the opposing team will have the option to select which players will be eligible to pitch. Selections must be players generally regarded as capable of pitching. The opposing team may waive this option and play the game under protest if the eligibility of any player is in question. Pitching Affidavits shall be signed by the Umpire-in-Chief.
  4. Standings: Team standings will be maintained throughout the Spring season for all WSBR baseball teams by the respective division Commissioner, EXCEPT Tee Ball league teams. Standings shall be based upon entries in the official scorebooks. Opening Day exhibition games and any inter-league games shall not be considered in calculating standings. Standings shall not be kept during the training and development season (Fall).
  5. Returning the Scorebooks: Scorebooks will be the official record documenting games played by individual players as well as recording the specifics of each game. The scorebooks will be used as the basis for establishing player eligibility for post-season play. Managers are responsible for maintaining the scorebooks, making them available at any time to Babe Ruth officials and/or umpires for inspection and review and turning them into the division Commissioner at the conclusion of their season.

SCOREKEEPING BASICS

Standard Shorthand

PositionOther Standard Abbreviations

NameNumberAbbr.@NameAbbr.

Pitcher 1 PStrikeout K

Catcher 2 CWalk BB

1st Baseman 3 1BHit by Pitch HBP

2nd Baseman 4 2BStolen Base SB

3rd Baseman 5 3BSingle 1B

Shortstop 6 SSDouble 2B

Leftfielder 7 LFTriple 3B

Centerfielder 8 CFHome Run HR

Rightfielder 9 RF

Designated Hitter N/A DH*

Substitute N/A Sub#

@ - Do not use in scorebook (except for DH and Sub)-shown is case you need to “translate” another manager’s lineup card

* - Players in starting batting order, but not starting in the field (Minor league only)

# - Players present, but not listed in 9-player starting batting order (Major league only)

Majors LineupTypical

(Option 2)

No.NamePos.No.NamePos.

2Patrick Hurtt 8GreyhoundCF

9Eric Nuxol 1Eric NP

3Michael “Tony” Caldwell 4Tony2B

6Gustavo Marquez 2GusC

11Bryan Brown 6BryanSS

12Eric Johnasen 3Eric1B

5Kyle Doyle 5Doyle3B

7Kevin Verdino 7Kevin VLF

4Corey Babenzein 9KoryRF

8Anthony CamaranoSubAnthonyOut

1Nathan DubySubNathanOut

10Mark VerdinoOut

Minors/Rookies LineupJuniors Lineup

(Option 1) (Option 3)

No.NamePos.No.NamePos.

2Patrick Hurtt 82Patrick Hurtt 8

9Eric Nuxol 19Eric Nuxol 1

3Michael “Tony” Caldwell 43Michael “Tony” Caldwell 4

6Gustavo Marquez 26Gustavo Marquez 2

11Bryan Brown 611Bryan Brown 6

12Eric Johnasen 312Eric Johnasen 3

5Kyle Doyle 55Kyle Doyle 5

7Kevin Verdino 77Kevin Verdino 7

4Corey Babenzein DH4Corey Babenzein EP

8Anthony Camarano 98Anthony Camarano 9

1Nathan DubyDH

1Nathan DubyDH

10Mark VerdinoOut10Mark VerdinoOut

Game Preliminaries

1)Get Lineup from your Manager

2)Check lineup for completeness (Players’ first and last names, starting position and jersey number)

3)Get Lineup from opposing Manager/ Check for completeness

4)Fill in Scorekeeper name, Date and Team names at the head of both Scorecards (Visitor’s scorecard on the top page/Home’s scorecard on the bottom page)

5)Enter both teams’ lineups in the appropriate places in the scorecards

  1. Starting batting order on the top half of each “Player” box
  2. Put Substitutes name in “Players” box at the bottom of the page (Majors only)
  3. Put Starting pitchers name on Pitcher Affidavit

During the Game

1)Record the starting time (Home plate umpire’s time or by your own watch if he fails to give you one)

2)Keep track of balls and strikes for each batter by checking them off as they occur in the dashed boxes to the right of the field diagram (ball on top/strikes below) – if the umpire looses track of the balls/strike count he will ask you for the correct count.

3)Keep track of the outs as they occur by and who made them by placing a number (1 for 1st out, 2 for 2nd and 3 for 3rd) to the lower right of the field diagram of the player that made the out. Tip: In a Force Out play, the player that made the out was not the batter but the player who was put out (forced out) in the field.

4)Keep track of the runs as they score and who scored them by “coloring in” the diamond on the field diagram of the player who scored the run. Tip: No runner can score if a 3rd out is made on the play and it was a Force Out. If the 3rd out was not a force out, a run can score if the runner crossed the plate before the 3rd out was made.

5)Keep track of the running totals of runs by filling the runs scored each ½ inningin the “Score by Inning” rows

6)Keep track of pitching changes by:

  1. Placing a line under the box of the last opposing player the “old” pitcher pitched to
  2. Record the total number of innings pitched by the “old” pitcher on the Pitching Affidavit. Tip: Pitching one pitch in a inning constitutes a whole inning pitched – there should be no fractions of innings recorded on the Pitching Affidavit
  3. Record the name of the “new” pitcher on the Pitching Affidavit

7)Keep track of substitutions by:

  1. Placing a line on the right of the box for the last inning the “old” fielder fielded
  2. Placing the name, number and position of the Substitute in the bottom half of the “Players” box of the “old” fielder for which the Substitute was substituted. Tip: Leave space for a 2nd “Substitute” on that bottom half for reentering players other than the original starter in that slot. (Majors only)

Post Game Duties

1)Total up and fill in the Final Score in the appropriate places at the right of the “Score by Inning” rows

2)Fill in the total number of innings pitched by your last pitcher on the Pitching Affidavit

3)Track down the Home plate umpire immediately after the handshakes and get him to:

  1. Sign the scorebook
  2. Sign the Pitching Affidavit
  3. Sign the Payment slip after your manager has paid him (Majors Home team only)

4)E-mail the date, division, final score and the list of the inning that your pitchers pitch to Joe Coluccio at

E.g. 2/21/04Minors

Braves10

Cardinals 2

Braves pitchers:

Brown 3

Evans 2

Jones 1

Organizational Tips

1)Staple your team schedule to the inside front cover of the Scorebook for reference. Make sure it indicates whether you are home or visitor and who the opponent is. With this information, you can start to get things organized (which dugout you are in, partially fill out the scorecards) if you arrive before your manager.

2)Staple the Pitching Affidavit (and Umpire Payment slip for Majors) to the inside back cover of the Scorebook. When loose, these papers have a way of getting lost.

Pertinent Rules

(from Ground Rules)

9. STARTING AND ENDING THE GAME

  1. Minimum Play
  1. Each player shall have a minimum of one at bat and six (6) consecutive outs in the field.Nine (9) total outs in the field in the case of Juniors and Seniors.
  2. Batting order. All divisions will adopt one of the following batting procedures. The option will be decided by the commissioner and approved by the BoD. The managers within the division will be notified of the option selected prior to the first game of the season.
  1. Option 1. All players on the roster will bat in the order provided to the official scorekeeper.
  2. Option 2. Nine (9) players may bat in the order provided to the official scorekeeper. In this case, a starter may be reinserted back into the batting order at any position in the lineup, provided his substitute has completed both the minimum number of at bats and the minimum number of outs in the field.
  3. Option 3. (Juniors & Seniors only) Each team will bat ten players anytime ten (10) or more are present at the start of the game or before the 10th batting position is reached. If the 10th player arrives after the lineup has been turned in but before the 10th batting position has been reached, he/she will be placed at the bottom of the batting order. Otherwise, he/she will be used as a substitute. The extra player will be indicated on the lineup card as the EP and will be treated as any other starter (see Option 2 above). In order that the EP may gain the required innings played in the field, there will be free substitution defensively between the EP and any other player in the batting order.
  1. Late Players

If a player arrives after the lineup has been turned in and the game has begun, that player shall be placed at the bottom of the order if Option 1 or Option 3 is in effect or on the substitute list if Option 2 is in effect. If the player has arrived too late to meet the minimum play rules under these conditions, he/she cannot enter the game.

Pertinent Rules

(from Official Rule Booklet)

Pitching Limitations (page 9)

1. "A Cal Ripken Baseball Pitcher (Minors & Majors), regardless of age, may pitch six (6) innings per calendar week. A Babe Ruth 13-15 pitcher, regardless of age, may pitch seven (7) innings per calendar week…If a pitcher delivers one (1) pitch in an inning he shall be charged for one (1) inning pitched."

3. "A Cal Ripken Baseball pitcher must have two (2) calendar days rest between pitching assignments if he pitches in more than two innings in any one game. A Babe Ruth 13-15 pitcher must have two (2) calendar days rest between pitching assignment if he pitches in more than three innings in any one game. Each game in which a pitcher pitches is considered an assignment."

Re-entry Rule (page 10)

"Any of the nine starting players may withdraw and re-enter once, provided such player occupies the same batting position whenever he is in the line-up. A substitute who is withdrawn may not re-enter." (Applies to batting order in Option 2 and Option 3).