Baseball is BACK!! Are YOU ready?!?

...of course, it never really left!!

Ah, yes, OPENING WEEK!! As we collectively celebrate the END of the Winter that just wouldn't go away, and the BEGINNING of the "games that matter," I wanted to remind you that as a part of your preparation, be sure and have plenty of copies of my custom scoresheet on hand!

You can download it HERE - for free!!

Also, this season I will be continuing my intermediate scorekeeping series, "For Those Of You Scoring At Home" - a selection of topics beyond the "first steps" of the art of scorekeeping, aligned for use with the scoresheets I've designed.  In 2013 I started with "Counting Pitches" and very soon I'll be wrapping up that trilogy and moving on to new stuff!!

In case you missed them:
Part One (tracking balls, strikes, and pitch counts)
Part Two (tracking pitches in order)

Counting Pitches: Part Three will detail keeping track of pitchers and pitching changes!

Future entries in the series will cover movement around the bases, graphic depiction of batted ball behavior, tracking and calculating RISP, and a variety of unusual scoring decisions & rules.

If you have any ideas for topics to cover, or any other crazy questions, please let me know! I want to be YOUR source for scorekeeping insanity!!

You can leave a comment here, or you can contact me on twitter or facebook!!

4/23/2013 Gwinnett Braves 2, Louisville Bats 3

Louisville Slugger Field, Louisville, KY
Game 1 of 4

Getting back to the base, for the second time this month, I'm still buzzing about Tony Cingrani's debut at the Bats' Opening Day April 4th (and also Mike Hessman's, wow).  My friends Bill and Marty are with me this evening, and Pedro VillaERAeal is starting for Louisville.  Also, Corky Miller has been called up to Cincinnati recently, so Konrad Schmidt (who started the opener as well) is behind the dish.

Konrad Schmidt Bobblehead night in Reno on September 1, 2012, shouldn't be considered the apex of his career, but for now it's all he's got.  We jokingly call him "Kid K" but not for good reasons.  Schmidt's glory was spent as a spoke in the Arizona Diamondbacks' Minor League wheel for 4 seasons, with only 4 MLB games in his entire career.  Schmidt signed with Arizona in 2007 as an amateur free agent, so it's safe to say expectations on him were low to begin with.  However, his formidable OPS tore up the Cal League, Southern League, and Pacific Coast League respectively from 2009-2012, seeing slight regression.  The Diamondbacks placed him on waivers nearly 2 months following his Bobblehead Night, the Texas Rangers picked him up, and then summarily released him during Spring Training 2013.  His Fu Manchu and spunky attitude make him a formidable complement to Corky in the Bats lineup, so the Reds signed him and Schmidt has struck out 14 times in 35 AB, with 8 HR and 3 BB.

Could he have a night tonight?  Sure, he could...as only Konrad Schmidt himself could muster it up.

For all the grief I afford Villareal (including the nickname I use for him, that I created, yet that he EARNED...get it?) he has had a smooth start so far this season, and so has his counterpart for the Braves, Tim Corcoran.  Pedro handles himself very well, cruising through 6 innings of work with 1ER and 4K.  Corcoran mirrors his efforts with a clean 7IP, 1ER, 3K and 2BB.  Corcoran's only run was courtesy of Henry Rodriguez, who drove in Mike Hessman in the 2nd inning.  Villareal let Joe Terdoslavich get to him in the 4th with a 2-out solo HR on the first pitch he saw in the AB.

Obligatory Billy Hamilton photo!  Billy did not much of anything tonight, he reached base once on a lead-off walk to start the 1st inning, made it to 3B on a Felix Perez Single, then grounded to 1B twise and struck out swinging.  Here is his first groundout versus Corcoran in the 3rd inning.

Bats reliever Nick Christiani, in relief of Villareal, gives up a 1-out solo shot by Matt Pagnozzi in the 7th, and the Braves have a 2-1 lead over the Bats heading into the bottom of the 9th, Louisville's last chance to close this game out in their favor.

The Braves call on Australian side-armer Andrew Russell to stifle the Bats; he retires the first two batters handily on a groundout and strikeout...with one out left, Henry Rodriguez singles for the third time tonight, followed by pinch-hitter Emmanuel Burriss' first hit of the game, another single, on Russell's first pitch and the tension is electric!  2 out, 2 on, and here comes...oh gawd, here comes Konrad Schmidt.

Schmidt is 0-for-3, with a ground out, flyout, and a FIDP following a bizarre play (more on that later).  Against the side-armer, Schmidt finally finds his patience, working a full count plus one fouled back.

On the 7th pitch, he arcs a deep single to right field, scoring Rodriguez...the game tying RBI.  Right fielder Joe Terdoslavich bobbles the ball for an Error, allowing Burriss to score all the way from first base...and that, friends, is a walk-off unearned run!!  The Bats (somewhat miraculously) win this game!!

SCOREKEEPER'S NOTE:
Let's review Schmidt's FIDP a little more in depth, or rather, the events that transpired before it.  Henry Rodriguez reaches on a single (his second of the day).  Denis Phipps strikes out (foul-tip-to-mitt: FTM), one out and one on.  Schmidt enters the batter's box, and on the first pitch (a called strike), Rodriguez is heading for second, Braves catcher Matt Pagnozzi fires to second baseman Corey Wimberly and...drops the ball right as he's tagging Rodriguez!!  Rodriguez is safe, Wimberly is charged with an Error, and (here's the strange part)...Rodriguez is saddled with a "Caught Stealing, No Put Out."  Yes, it's a strange one but it happens, and it's legal.

Referring to THE RULES, specifically 10.07 (f), which states:

Ergo, Pagnozzi gets an assist, Rodriguez gets a CS, and Wimberly gets an E; this is all up to the Official Scorer.  In this case, the Error was ruled later in the game...I had ruled it so immediately following the play, perhaps the O.S. at Slugger Field had to consult his "home rules" first.

At any rate, Schmidt's high fly to shallow right field one pitch later would have only been the second out of the inning, but Rodriguez still had his wheels assembled, tagged up and headed to 3B, and was thrown out by Terdoslavich to complete the double play and end the inning.

The "fun guys," doing work in 211:

All 3 of us played the mystery rookie card game.  I was humbled by my pull; Marty accepted his gracefully, and Bill tried to give me his...which is not how the game is played, ha ha!

I sagged to my seat in erstwhile joy at the sight of this lovely 2002 Donruss Hank Blalock RC.  Maybe it's because he has actually played pro ball quite recently (2010, for the Tampa Bay Rays) but how soon do we forget his bestial baseball prowess!!

Four of his 9 MLB seasons (8 of those seasons as a solid Texas Ranger) found him with an OPS+ over 100, most notably his formidable 2004 campaign, with his second consecutive All-Star selection and 18th place finish in the AL MVP voting.  Blalock didn't fade as terribly as he did quietly, sidelined with multiple injuries for most of 2007 and 2008.

Marty pulled this 2006 Upper Deck John Gall RC.  Here's another player who folks might have been asking "where is he now?" if he weren't an 11th round pick to begin with.

Judging from Upper Deck's wherewithal to grant him a Rookie Card in 2006, based upon his 22 games played for the Cardinals in 2005 (including one AB in the NLDS), perhaps expectations were higher for the outfielder, who was actually pretty good in the Minors.  However, Gall only played 8 MLB games in 2006, and was released by the Cardinals in July of that year, finishing the season in the KBO and signing with the Florida Marlins later that year.  Gall continued his admirable Minor League performance, signed with the Houston Astros in late 2008 (where in AAA Round Rock, he was not as admirable).  After his 2009 season, the entirety of it spent in Round Rock, he was never heard from in professional baseball again.

Bill's pull was stranger yet...maybe I should have accepted it, after all!  This 2010 Topps Allen & Ginter featuring Brandon Allen, as a rookie card, was even more premature as Gall's, and perhaps more posthumous in nature.

Allen was a 5th round pick by the Chicago White Sox in 2004, but as of 2009 had barely broken his AAA cherry with the Charlotte Knights before he was traded in July to the Arizona Diamondbacks for Tony Pena. Indeed, after a month in AAA Reno, Allen made it to the Diamondbacks' MLB roster after never having a chance to do so with the White Sox for all those years.  His 116 games that year weren't really enough to pitch a tent over,  he did better in fewer games with the DBacks in 2010 but only after spending most of the season in Reno.  His service time in Arizona was cut down even more in 2011, when in July he was traded along with Jordan Norberto to the Oakland A's for Brad Ziegler (nice move, Arizona).  Waiver deals and free agency bounced him to the Tampa Bay Rays and Texas Rangers respectively (like Blalock, in reverse), in Fukuoka with the SoftBank Hawks for a few weeks, and then back to the A's, then back to the Rays through the end of 2012.  He signed with the Padres in April of 2013, where at Tucson he's hitting .270/.351/.474 and playing all over the damn field as a 27-year old.

My scoresheets, using my new pitch-counting method! Read about it HERE, download the scoresheets for free HERE!

Official Program (featuring new Bats manager Jim Riggleman) and Scorecard

Louisville is finally adding some #sparkle to their season tickets, with several players (and a mascot) featured on different dates...I believe I have one of each this season, so here's tonight's ticket with Buddy Bat (the mascot I was speaking of)

Bat Chat and Gameday Stats

If you enjoy my work, I encourage you to spread the word via Twitter

(I am @yoshiki89), and also please leave a comment!

New PROTOTYPE Scoresheet

Every year I try to review my scoresheet templates and work in a few changes...a few weeks ago I posted my current 2011 templates for your perusal (and FREE download for use!)...

I decided a few months ago to begin working on revisions in December; well, I got a head start on that.

Quite some time ago, I added my "stick figure" field boundary lines to the diamond in order to more accurately record a 'visual' representation of where the batted ball went and how it got there. After searching for a clipart diamond that better suited my purpose, I found one quite by accident and added it to my current "master" template.

Not wanting to stop there, I needed to address a few other things:

As my eyes start their pre-senile decline and as my notation becomes more elaborate, I'm finding the need to make the play boxes a little bit larger. That being said, when the boxes get larger, something has to get smaller...so, the "10th inning" column has been omitted, and the "10th batter" has been truncated to a few lines for extra pinch hitters, and a more open box for pitcher change recording (which I used to do at the top).

I'm still toying around with it, but I've begun "testing" and so far, so good. I'm pretty much at as near to a "final" version as I can get to in such a short amount of time, but I have a lot of work to do so this is still a prototype for all intents and purposes...

You can download the PROTOTYPE version here, in my Google Docs repository...feel free to download and print, and hey...any feedback is welcome, even if I might not use it, I'd still like to get some reactions to this latest design.

Here's a recently scored game with the new template; I have lots of post updates in the hopper that I'll be adding soon.

Scoresheets for YOU!

For your use and enjoyment, free of charge, here are 3 scoresheets you can print and use to score baseball games.

These are the same forms I am currently using today. There are many internet resources with scoresheets available for download that are no longer current. Some current resources want to charge money for a scoresheet template…I won’t have any of this. My mission is to share the joy of scorekeeping with everyone, sharing doesn’t mean “it’s yours at a price,” so why not distribute freely?

I designed these myself, utilizing many existing scoresheet designs and implementing some of my own criteria to build “my own” form…now, I’m sharing them with readers of this blog.

One of the reasons “why” will make itself known very soon…more on that later!

For now, feel free to download and print these templates, from my Google docs repository:

Version 1 – the MASTER
This one is my mainstay; with pitch-count boxes, outs and runs ovals, a free-floating diamond, and a supplemental ‘field boundary’ outline arc in case you want to track where balls in play land. There are enough slots for 10 batters (sure, there are only 9 in a typical baseball game, but YES you can use this for softball and also YES there are times when pinch-hitters will spill downward into this slot), and enough for 10 innings (more than 11? Use another scoresheet!). There are also columns to track pertinent in-game stats, slots for 8 pitchers, and room at the bottom to tally the game info noted, or add your own notes.

Version 2 – the MASTER LIGHT
This one is the same as the MASTER, only without pitch-count boxes and ‘field boundary’ outlines. This one is great for scoring games on the radio, as there aren't blanks for jersey numbers (lineup slots are pre-populated...they seldom call jersey numbers on the air) or any game where you don’t want to track pitches, jersey numbers, and/or don’t care where the ball lands.

Version 3 – the MASTER LIGHT PLUS
This one is the same as the MASTER LIGHT, no pitch-count boxes, lineup slots pre-populated, etc...but it does have ‘field boundary’ outlines.

So why share these now? For starters…I never really thought of it. However, there is some importance in timing. In an effort to focus more on scorekeeping as the special purpose of this blog, I’ve decided to make an offense-oriented stand in my mission to promote the Scorekeeping Revolution.

I’ve tinkered enough with deviation from my usual “game recap with scoresheet attached” (don’t worry, I’m still sticking with that) and have decided to supplement those posts with two kinds of scorekeeping education features:

A basic instructional series called “Scorekeeping 101” that will walk through the basics on scorekeeping, from how the scorecard works to how players get on base to how players make an out to how it all balances at the end of the game…and all points in between. I will present this series using my scoresheet templates and will lean more toward the way I score games…

A advanced, use-case series called ”For Those Keeping Score at Home” where on a case-by-case basis, I will present examples of actual plays, how they are scored, and why they are scored that way. Thanks to Benjamin Hill for the great title!

This way, I will be doing more in contributing to keeping the art of Scorekeeping vibrant and alive, and maybe someday be able to pass on my enthusiasm to other baseball fans worldwide. I welcome and encourage any ideas or topics you would like to see covered here, you can follow me on Twitter (I am @yoshiki89), or please leave a comment on any post!

8/14/11 Chicago Cubs 6, Atlanta Braves 5

Turner Field, Atlanta, GA
Game 3 of 3

Brandon Beachy is a GREAT pitcher!He’s also the only professional baseball player that I know of whose alma mater is the same as my own…so WORD, Brandon Beachy!!

The ‘rubber match’ of the strangest Cubs series of the season could only end on a stranger note than the way it started, so let’s recap with a quick game of “Cubs: TOAD or HERO?”

Game 1: TOAD = Carlos Zambrano
Game 2: HERO = Randy Wells
Game 3: HERO = Carlos Pena With one swing of his bat, he makes a 2-run HR difference between the Cubs winning and the Cubs losing.

Beachy strikes out 8 Cubs; the entire Braves pitching staff strikes out a whopping 18 Cubs total, my goodness. No Cubs walk, at all.

In his end-of-the-year ”Strange stuff…in 2011 regular season” article on ESPN.com, Jayson Stark lists this game as one of his “Five strangest but truest games of the year”:

”Only the Cubs could win an Aug. 14 game against Atlanta in which they struck out 18 times, drew no walks and committed four errors. How many other teams in modern history have won a game in which they did all that? None, of course. But remember, they're the Cubs!

Cubs fans are well-accustomed to this type of notoriety, and while it’s true that it’s been a long time since the Cubs were really this weird, in retrospect I’m glad that I not only watched this game, but committed it to record with my scoresheet…if neither had happened, I wouldn’t appreciate the events of this game quite as much.



Beyond the weirdness alluded to in Stark’s article, there is more!

Brandon Beachy (see above) really is amazing. In a weird way.

Dan Uggla’s hitting streak ENDS at 33 games; in his 3rd plate appearance Darwin Barney robs him of a clean base hit in a brilliant defensive play at which he had no real shot at making…thereby making him the most unpopular man in the entire state of Georgia.

The Cubs fail to successfully execute one of my favorite “rundown” plays ever: the less-than-traditional “6-5-plunk Jose Constanza in the back-6” play.

Those 4 errors in the game? All throwing errors.

Atlanta does not get any extra base hits.

The Cubs win 11 of their last 14 games, and they win their 4th consecutive series.

Last, but not least, Jose Constanza (who was discussed in my Game 2 post) is finally caught on camera licking his bat after getting a piece of a fastball.

First he gets a whiff of the wood, something many batters do…Then, there goes his tongue…YES, his tongue…as he gets a taste!A different angle…Can you believe this??

SCOREKEEPER’S NOTE: You read my dissertation in the Game 2 post regarding Chipper Jones being charged with an error, then seeing it vanish into thin air after the fact…in this game, the Official Scorer apparently learned the hard way that “you don’t charge Chipper with an error and get away with it,” as Chipper once again fails to make a routine throw to first in the top of the 9th, allowing Aramis Ramirez to reach 1B safely with 2 outs. Yes, the home field Official Scorer would rather give Ramirez credit for a base hit as well as open up the possibility for Craig Kimbrel to end up with at least 1 earned run, should anybody score in this inning, rather than go through the headache of charging Jones with an E and having to answer for it later on. Due to the game situation, I concur with the Official Scorer’s ruling this time around and don’t charge an E against Jones.

Why, you ask?




If you enjoy my work, I encourage you to spread the word via Twitter
(I am @yoshiki89), and also please leave a comment!

8/13/11 Chicago Cubs 8, Atlanta Braves 4

Turner Field, Atlanta, GA
Game 2 of 3

Hi, my name is RANDY WELLS…did you miss me?Yes, we did, buddy. It’s much too late now for you to save the Cubs in 2011, but it’s nice to know that you are “back,” even if it’s for one game…especially at a time like this!

With Game 1 behind us, this is already a series that Cub fans want to forget. Yesterday, Carlos Zambrano absolutely freaked out, in front of a packed crowd of Braves fans gathered to see Bobby Cox have his number retired. Aside from the scurried responses of Mike Quade and the rest of the Cubs, Jim Hendry had to call Braves GM John Schuerholz personally to apologize for this most outrageous Z moment of the year (and so far, of his career). Not only that, but the Cubs lost and the Braves are doing wayyy better than the Cubs, well on their way to a postseason berth.



Enter Randy Wells, who was the Cubs’ knight in shining armour in 2010 but has been inexplicably confusing in performance this year, being both hindered by a lengthy spell on the DL and by a 6.63 ERA, 1-4 W-L record from his return on May 28 through July 28, allowing at least 3 ER in each start except for his electric performance against the Houston Astros on July 23, lasting 6 innings and only allowing 1 ER. His starts in August until today were just as baffling, with a good outing in Pittsburgh on August 2 (6 IP, 2ER, 7K, 1HR) and another poor outing against Cincinnati at Wrigley on August 7 (7 IP, 6ER, 1K, 3HR).

Tonight, the Cubs couldn’t have asked for a better situation given the circumstances of last night’s atrocity exhibition. Wells cruises through 5 innings of 8-hit, 2-ER baseball with 1 K and a HR. Trouble early in the 6th after hitting Dan Uggla to lead things off gets him out of the game early, but the Cubs provided much-needed run support in the 5th, so Wells leaves as the pitcher of record and Jeff “The Shark” Samardzija retires the side to preserve the lead.

Starlin Castro and Darwin Barney are a big part of the Cubs’ run support, each batting 4-for-5 in the game; Carlos Pena’s RBI double in the 5th and Geovany Soto’s RBI fielder’s choice in the 6th (scoring Tyler Colvin, who reached base on a wild triple that popped right out of Michael Bourn’s glove). 6 Cubs drive in runs tonight, a great show of support for Wells and the team as a whole.

Dan Uggla extends his hitting streak to 33 games, the media is really starting to pick up on this.

It’s good to see Jose Constanza in a Braves uniform and seeing some action in the big leagues. Constanza spent 6 years in the Indians’ farm system, never making it to the Majors that entire time. He was signed by the Braves as a free agent at the end of the 2010 season and was called up on July 29 of this year. Constanza is on record as a switch-hitter, but has only batted from the left side of the plate since a hand injury in 2005. His big urban legend is his propensity for licking his bat, an act we don’t get to see in tonight’s game but do get it on record in Game 3 of the series.

SCOREKEEPER’S NOTE: I’ve written many times about charging errors to players, and have shared examples of instances where I have disagreed with the Official Scorer and kept my own ruling intact, regardless of whatever else happens during or after the game. Another well-known factor in charging errors rests in the tendency for “homers” as Official Scorers to sway their decisions in favor of a particular player and/or situation. We also know that team officials can protest the Official Scorer’s rulings, and often do. When you’re scoring on your own (at home or at the ball park) you run into this from time to time.

Tonight, we are exposed to an example of a ruling on a play that was changed after the fact, and since we’re in Atlanta we have to consider the influence of one Chipper Jones…who is no doubt a first-ballot Hall-of-Famer and more prone than others to exercise his option of disputing a Scorer’s ruling…even at the detriment of one of his teammates’ own record. Even if that teammate is Mr. Derek Lowe!!

Here’s a screenshot of the final linescore, complete with a Castro/Barney hug that will melt the heart of any Cub fan:You will note 2 Errors for Atlanta; this is what my final scoresheet tally resulted in as well. Jones nearly bobbled a softly hit Geovany Soto grounder (the very same play that scored Tyler Colvin, mentioned earlier) but absolutely over-gunned the throw to first. Since Jones chose the play at 1B, Geo reaches on a fielder’s choice (yes, a “fielder’s choice, no PO play,” as detailed in this post). I will agree with this, and will not argue that Jones’ best option was to hold Colvin at 3B or better yet, throw him out at home plate…however, his throw to 1B was bush league at best; for a guy with his skill and experience, that is positively an error…on the flip side, why should Lowe earn this run? There is no reason, period.

Fast forward to the next morning on MLB Gameday, where the Jones error has vanished, Lowe has now earned all 5 runs he allowed, and just like that, Jones’ bonehead throw is off of the record books for all time. I can’t verify a protest was filed, but given the circumstances, yes, you can count on it.

Why, you ask?


THAT'S WHY!

If you enjoy my work, I encourage you to spread the word via Twitter
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3/27/10 Season Ticket Holder Open House at Louisville Slugger Field

Is it BASEBALL SEASON yet?!?

After mulling it over for a couple of years, I finally took the plunge and decided to participate in a Louisville 'Season Ticket' package with several folks I work with. I signed up for 8 games this season, and as a part of the 'partnership' I was able to bring my family to this Open House at beautiful Louisville Slugger Field.

Thanks again to Barry "Shag On Sports" for getting me in on this deal, and for the hat vouchers!

Expecting merely a free lunch, discounts at the gift shop, and free romps through the Fun Zone for the kids, I got quite a bit more. The entire facility was literally 'open for business,' as we had access to just about all areas, including but not limited to areas of the field, suites, locker rooms, media and operations booths, and more. The kids had a blast and so did I.

the green, green grass of HOME!


For starters, how can you beat lunch at a ball park? It was a little cool but very sunny...the perfect setting for a hot dog & popcorn. Best lunch I've had so far this year. We headed for the field, now I can say I've felt the brick dust under my feet!! The dugouts were in typical form, ravaged fondly by years of player use and misuse...

in the dugout



The locker room, batting cages...what a blast!

sorry, this one is fuzzy


Rule 21: Learn it, Live it, Love it


After a stroll through the gift shop, we headed upstairs...the operations booth was fantastic, I met Nick up there.

Nick 'at the helm'


Of course, my first question: "where does the official scorer sit?" "right THERE..."

best seat in the house, plenty of pencils and a rulebook!!


BTW, Nick says you should check out this website, I did and it's pretty interesting (but maybe more exciting when baseball season begins, he he!): Strait Pinkie ... For real, great layout, design, content and doesn't take itself too seriously, so worth your time!

Right down the hall, there were a couple of suites open. Instead of hot dogs and popcorn, they had cheese and fruit. I kept looking around for the Miller High Life guy, he would have had a field day with this...

view from a suite!


Throughout the hallways, I was gripped by the history. It may not be well known, but the Bats started out in the area most recently as the Louisville Redbirds in 1982, a farm team for the St Louis Cardinals at the time. In 1999, the Redbirds became the RiverBats, and for one year were the affiliate for the Milwaukee Brewers. Starting in 2000, the RiverBats were affiliated with the Cincinnati Reds and still are to this day; they became the Bats in 2002. The historical artifacts located throughout the facility were from this entire era (1982-present) and even beyond that.

I'm not the best at taking pictures on the fly, but here are a couple of interesting items just 'hanging around'...

The 1954 Louisville Colonels! Remember them? Nope!


I don't know what all these guys were here for, but quite an impressive gathering, wouldn't you say?


A great late morning visit, really got my dander up for Baseball Season for sure!! PLAY BALL!! Let's GO!!!!