#42---ATL @ LA, 4/5/2006

The Dodgers jumped all over Horacio Ramirez with four in the first and one in the fifth, but Odalis Perez coughed up five himself in the top of the third, capped by Wilson Betemit’s two-run bomb. Three more in the fourth put the Braves in front, but the Dodgers matched that in the seventh. Atlanta’s run off Franquelis Osoria in the eighth, on Matt Diaz’ two out double, was the game winner

#41---CLE @ LAA, 5/10/2005

I included this game as a cautionary tale about scoring and as encouragement for any beginner who has ever been flustered. This game, which was pretty good on its own merits, a 5-4 Angels win in a matchup of CC Sabathia and Paul Byrd (who of course would become an Indian himself in 2006). But note that the game was played in LA, and the pitchers listed as home are…Indians. Oops.

#40---DET @ CLE, 3/6/2004

This early spring training game was won 10-8 by the Indians with a four run eighth inning. Ernie Young’s two-run single drove home the go-ahead runs.

What I like about this scoresheet is the appearance of Grady Sizemore as a pinch-runner for Matt Lawton in the bottom of the fifth. He would subsequently come to the plate twice and draw a walk each time, a nice way to make an impression on this observer. This sort of thing observed years later is what make scoring spring training games worth it.

It is even more fun when the player in question is one who was not a big-time prospect. While few expected that Sizemore would be the player that he is, he was certainly well-known as he had been included in the Bartolo Colon trade. If you look at an old sheet and find a sleeper prospect playing in the late innings of a blowout who winds up making good, it’s kind of cool.

#39---NYA @ CLE, 7/9/2003

In honor of CC Sabathia's (seemingly) impending move to pinstripes, here is a game he lost to the Yankees in 2003. Three walks, an infield hit, and an error enabled New York to score three in the first, and that was all they would need, as David Wells continued what seemed to be his mastery of the Indians.

Batting ninth at third base for Cleveland was Jhonny Peralta. With talk that he could move to third if the Indians acquire a middle infielder, it is interesting to be reminded that yes, he has played third base before. When he played third in a September game this season, I had no recall of his time at third in '03. But here it is, ony my own scoresheet. If I didn't trust the record books, I'd have to trust that. Memory is nice, but inadequate.

#38---LA @ STL, 7/5/2002

Here's a great scorekeeping tip for you, that will make you look really intelligent should you ever start a vanity blog of your own scoresheets: forget to write the date down on the sheet. A trip to Baseball-Reference revealed that it was July 5, 2002.

The Dodgers scored in the top of the first, but a Pujols homer put St. Louis in front in their half of the inning, and they added two in the second and another in the fifth. But LA came back and led 6-5 going into the bottom of the ninth. Eric Gagne was summoned in the ninth, but Miguel Cairo and Kerry Robinson singled to put men on second and third with nobody out. Fernando Vina was intentionally walked, and it paid off as Placido Polanco hit back to the box for a 123 double play. Gagne coaxed an Edmonds warning track fly, and the Dodgers held on.

#37---KC @ CLE, 9/20/2001

This sheet is included here as an example of how not to keep score. You can’t see it from the scan, but in the sixth inning I switched to scoring in pen. I don’t know why I did this, particularly in the middle of a game, but I did.

There are some people who swear by scoring with ink. If you can pull it off, more power to you, but for me, it’s a disaster. I am too impatient, as I want to write down everything as soon as it happens instead of taking a second to make sure the pitch was actually a ball, or to wait for the official scorer’s ruling. Raul Ibanez’ double in the seventh inning illustrates why pencil is imperative for me.

I don’t know what on earth I was thinking when I wrote down “15” for Alomar’s at bat in the first. A pitcher to third putout of a batter-runner would be worth explaining in more detail. In fact, it was a lineout to third, so it should have been “L5”. So there’s another tip if you are incompetent like me: avoid lower case letters that might be confused for numerals.

#36--OSU v. UM, 5/25/2005

It is the week of the year in which my attention is fixated on the eternal struggle between good and evil, and so here is a scoresheet of one battle in that war. This 2005 game was in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament. The Buckeyes scored two runs in the second, but a ninth inning run by UM tied the game. In the twelfth, OSU regained the lead on Matt Angle’s two-out single, but back-to-back Wolverine doubles tied the game, and Angle’s error made it a runner at third and one out. After Ohio walked the bases loaded, Rory Meister coaxed a 323 double play and the threat was averted.

In the thirteenth, Jason Zoeller drove home Jacob Howell with a double and Paul Farinacci cracked a three-run homer to make it 7-3. Rory Meister struck out the side in the bottom of the frame (albeit while allowing two singles), and the Bucks were staying in the winner’s bracket. They would go on to defeat Minnesota for the Big Ten Tournament championship, thanks in large part to this defeat of the evil maize-clad hordes.

#35--Tampa @ St. Petersburg, 6/22/2000

This was a game between the Tampa Yankees and the St. Petersburg Devil Rays that I attended in St. Pete. There were no future stars playing in the game, but some names that stood out to me were Pete LaForest, Andy Phillips, Juan Rivera, and Brandon Backe (playing shortstop at this point in his career and batting eighth).

#34---COL v. SD, 4/4/1999

This was an Opening Day game played in Mexico. Local hero Vinny Castilla had a good game, going 4-5 as the Rockies rolled 8-2. It is a very sloppy sheet; sloppy handwriting, listing two right fielders for Colorado, not recording the line score for the San Diego 9th...certainly not my best effort.

#33--CLE @ KC, 3/1/1998

The Indians defeated the Royals 6-5 in comeback fashion in this spring training meeting, which given the March 1 date was surely on the opening weekend of play. Kansas City jumped out to a 5-0 lead through five, but Cleveland countered with one in the sixth, four in the seventh (including a three-run blast by someone named Miller...I believe it was David Miller, their first round pick from 1995 . In the ninth, Russell Branyan hit a blast off of Brian Bevil for the game-winner.

#32--CLE @ OAK, 4/3/1997

This was the second game of the 1997 season for the Indians and the A's, kept on my terrible Excel scoresheet. The Indians had a 4-1 lead through four innings, but Oakland tied it with two in the fifth and one in the sixth. Geronimo Berroa's eighth inning homer off Eric Plunk provided the A's with the winning run.

Notable is Mark McGwire's fifth inning homer, the first of 58 that he would hit this season.

#31--CAL @ CLE, 6/7/1996

I kept this game on a photocopy of a Louisville Slugger-branded scoresheet. It was actually my friend's scorebook, and I was trying to teach him how to score, which is why there are two people's handwriting on the sheet. It is a scary thought that I was attempting to teach scorekeeping, as this sheet is horrible, with the runs impossible to pick out as the most basic flaw. Anyway, I can't find the flip side, but the Indians beat the Angels 4-3.

#30---NYA @ BOS, 7/26/2008 & 7/27/2008

These late July Yankees/Red Sox games were the national games of the week on Fox and ESPN, but for some reason I didn’t want to sit down and score every pitch of each game (there must have been something else on TV that I wanted to channel flip to; I might decide not to watch baseball on a particular day, but I almost never decide to devote time to watching an entire game but not score it). So these are bare-bones scoring efforts.

Since I didn’t need a lot of space, I used my “mini” scoresheet, which allows me to score two games on one side of a piece of paper (four games if double-sided).

As a concession to not having each pitch recorded, I use a notation like “WP2” to indicate that there was a wild pitch that occurred during the second batter’s PA--usually I would also note the exact pitch on which this occurred.

This is by no means my favorite way to score a game, but it is easy and it saves a tree every four games (yes, yes, I realize that you can get much more than one sheet of paper from a single tree).

#29---All-Star Game, 7/15/2008

Not only do I score spring training games, I also score the All-Star Game. It’s actually not as bad as you might think. What I do is keep another piece of paper handy so that I can write down all the substitutions there before putting them on the scoresheet itself. If you have a question about which batting order position a substitute is playing, you can just hold off putting him on the sheet until you figure it out.

Anyway, this game was recent enough that most of you will remember it and I won’t need to make any explanatory comments about the game itself. It was a classic, if any meaningless game can be considered such.

#28---CIN @ MIL, 4/10/2008

Here is a fairly mundane, early season 4-1 Reds victory that I scored off a radio broadcast (Jeff Brantley is no better than he was in 2007, I’m sorry to report) using a sheet with dots representing the four corners of the diamond. This is a way to use the diamond style of scoring without having to write over the diamonds. The dots are small and fairly light and serve as a guide for tracing the diamond out as necessary. Of course, you could always just draw the sides of the diamond yourself as the situation requires, but for some of us, this would result in the ugliest looking scoresheet in history (I have zero artistic ability, even to draw equal-sided diamonds).

Personally, I prefer just using a box and using the four corners of the box to represent the bases. The only time I use diamonds is when I attend an OSU game live (only because I wanted to use a scorebook for that rather than just loose sheets, and it’s darn hard to find a cheap scorebook that does not have diamonds), or when I have the occasion to score for a slow-pitch softball team (since no one cares about keeping the stats, the action moves fast, and there are dozens of baserunners per game, it is a lot easier to just follow runners’ progress by tracing the diamond). Some people swear by them, though, and that’s just as well.

Bonus--Scott Lewis' MLB Debut, CLE @ BAL 9/10/2008

Tonight, Scott Lewis became (at least) the 48th Buckeye to pitch in the majors. This was exciting enough for me--but then he went out and tossed eight shutout innings, scattering three hits, walking none, and fanning three while making 97 pitches in the Indians' 7-1 win.

#27---CLE @ LAA, 4/8/2008

For this game, I used a Project Scoresheet scoresheet. I did not adhere to Project Scoresheet methodology; I used my own codes for hits, baserunner advancement, and the like. Of course, there are similarities between what I did and the official Project Scoresheet system. If you’d like to know more about their system, go to the sites of David Cortesi or Alex Reisner.

One need not use the exact syntax of Project Scoresheet to get an idea of whether their system suits you or not. I suppose I should point out for those who may not know that PS was an organization started by Bill James in 1984 to collect play-by-play data for all major league games. Initially, they accepted scoresheets of all kinds from fans, but eventually the organization adopted Craig Wright’s scoring system as its standard. The organization collapsed some time in the late 80s or early 90s, but its influence can still be seen in organizations like STATS, Baseball Info Solutions, and Retrosheet.

The system was certainly innovative, and its influence can be seen today beyond the people who still score using the method. MLB gametracker inputters use Project Scoresheet notation, or at least a derivative thereof, and Alex Reisner’s situational system was based on combining Project Scoresheet and traditional scoring methods.

Cosmetically, the scoresheet does not provide space for each batter to bat in each inning. Since most boxes in a 9x9 grid go unused, this allows for a more efficient use of space, and people have applied this concept to traditional scorekeeping. The scorebox itself is divided by three horizontal lines. The top line is used to record things that happen before the conclusion of the at bat, such as a runner advancing on a wild pitch or being caught stealing. The middle line is used to record the outcome of the at bat, and the bottom line is used to record things that happen after the at bat ends or the ball is put in play (baserunner advancement, stolen base on strike three, and the like).

The sheet I used here is a copy of one from one included in the 1987 Great American Baseball Stat Book, a short-lived annual that included data culled from the efforts of Project Scoresheet. It includes boxes to record each pitch, which I did, and so let’s start there. I used dots, dashes, and other symbols to record each pitch, whereas the official PS system uses descriptive letters (B for ball, S for swinging strike, etc.). I prefer symbols since I think the use of letters clutters the sheet and draws your focus to reading them. The symbols I used are somewhat similar to those that Alex Reisner uses, but his were designed for separate ball/strike columns and thus double up usage.

I used an open circle for a ball, a square for a pitchout/intentional ball (which was not used in this game), a triangle for a hit batter, a dot for a called strike, a dash for a foul, a plus for a swinging strike, and a x for a ball hit in play. I also put “b” to indicate a bunt attempt or show of a bunt coupled with a strike. Additionally, “N” stands for no pitch, and is used as a timing device. For example, the N in Gary Matthews’ first inning at bat tells us that the throwing error occurred between the third and fourth pitches. If an event occurs on a particular pitch, then the symbol for that pitch is circled (see Sizemore’s third inning at bat--the third ball is circled indicating that it was the wild pitch).

Let me just go through the sheet and point out some events and how the PS system (or at least my variation of it) records them. I will refer to the location on the scoresheet by the box number.

* Cleveland #4--Martinez singled, but the bottom line tells us that the runner was thrown out at home (1 indicates the runner was from first, X indicates an out, H indicates that it was at home), right to first to catcher [1xH(932)].

* Cleveland #9--[SB2] indicates that second base was stolen (one could write [1-2(SB)], but it should be obvious that it was the runner from first who stole second. This is written on the bottom line of the box since it occurred on the last pitch of the at bat, and thus there is no need to circle that pitch.

* Cleveland #10--The runner moved from second to third on a wild pitch [2-3(WP)].

* Cleveland #17--Blake's single advanced the runner at first to second [1-2].

* Cleveland #20--Cabrera's single scored runners from second and third [2-H, 3-H and I box the Hs to make runs easy to spot], and the batter (Cabrera) advanced to second on the throw [B-2(T)].

* Cleveland #30--Hafner hit into a double play, 361. This is marked as 36(1)1--the (1) indicates that the runner at first was retired 36.

* Cleveland #39--Hafner's home run not only scored the runner from first [1-H], but it scored the batter as well [B-H]. The principle is that the batter’s advancement is not marked unless it is beyond what is indicated by their event outcome (as in Cabrera hitting a single but advancing to second on the throw) or the batter scores (so that runs are easy to spot).

As I see it, there are two main strengths of the PS method. The first is that it is very easy to note substitutions, since each box has its own number. There’s no need to worry about what inning it is or which lineup slot is at the plate; instead, you just jot down the appropriate box number and you’re on your way.

The other main strength is that it is that there is no recording backtracking whatsoever. However, this is also the main weakness of the system in my eyes, because it makes reading the account of the game back a real chore. Baserunners are identified by the base on which they started the PA, so if you want to know who actually scored a run, or got caught stealing, you have to work backwards through the sheet to trace that runner’s progress to his PA-initial base.

On the game, note that Francisco Rodriguez was not pitching in the ninth; he had some minor injury and missed this game at the beginning of a season in which he would make a play for Bobby Thigpen's save record.

#26---CLE @ OAK, 4/6/2008

Just for fun, I tried using a variation of L.L. Bean’s scoring system for this game. Unfortunately, I don’t have a lot of information on Bean’s system, only what was described by Paul Dickson in The Joy of Keeping Score, which does very helpfully reproduce a sample game scored by Bean.

Bean stated that his system was designed for night-scoring; I guess maybe fans in the 1950s felt that the lighting was sub-standard and their scorebooks were harder to read for the new-fangled night games. It seems like an anachronism now to need or even entertain thoughts of having a special “night scoring” system.

Bean’s system did not note individual fielders at all; that was unacceptable for me, even for one game, so I included position numbers when they were necessary. Often, they are not; the vast majority of groundouts to second go 43, so I only wrote the numbers down when it was something more unusual, like 41. I also added symbols to indicate line drives or fouls instead of just flyouts, and of course I tracked baserunner advancement and pitch sequence, neither of which were in Bean’s system.

The basic symbol for an out in the system is an “O” or a circle. The location of dots or lines around the circle indicate which fielder made the play and whether the ball was hit in the air or on the ground. Rather than spelling out all of the details, I will go through the play-by-play for this game, and you should be able to figure out the basics yourself.

TOP 1

Sizemore singled to center.

Cabrera flied to right.

Hafner grounded to second; Sizemore to second.

Garko walked.

Peralta hit into fielder’s choice at third; Garko out 54 at second.

BOT 1

Buck flied to left.

Ellis flied to left.

Barton grounded to first.

TOP 2

Dellucci grounded to first.

Michaels doubled to left, line drive.

Marte flied to center.

Shoppach grounded to second.

BOT 2

MSweeney grounded to second, deflected by pitcher.

Brown lined to right.

Crosby grounded to short.

TOP 3

Sizemore grounded to first, pitcher covering.

Cabrera flied to left.

Hafner singled to third.

Garko popped to second in the outfield.

BOT 3

Hannahan grounded to first, pitcher covering.

Suzuki singled to center, line drive.

Suzuki advanced to second on passed ball; RSweeney singled to second, Suzuki to third.

Buck flied to left, sacrifice; Suzuki scored.

Ellis flied to right.

TOP 4

Peralta singled to left, line drive.

Dellucci struck out.

Michaels flied to center.

Marte hit into fielder’s choice at third; Peralta out 54 at second.

BOT 4

Barton flied to right.

MSweeney singled off third, groundball.

Brown popped to third.

Crosby hit into a fielder’s choice at short; MSweeney out 64 at second.

TOP 5

Shoppach struck out looking.

Sizemore lined to left.

Cabrera popped to short.

BOT 5

Hannahan struck out.

Suzuki singled to second.

RSweeney struck out looking.

Buck hit into fielder’s choice at short; Suzuki out 64 at second.

TOP 6

Hafner grounded to second.

Garko flied to center.

Peralta singled to center, groundball.

Dellucci flied to left.

BOT 6

Ellis struck out looking.

Barton struck out.

MSweeney fouled to first.

TOP 7

Michaels grounded to third.

Marte singled to right.

Shoppach singled to left; Carroll to second.

Sizemore walked; Shoppach to second, Carroll to third.

Cabrera grounded to first, pitcher covering; Sizemore to second, Shoppach to third, Carroll scored.

Hafner intentionally walked.

Garko walked; Hafner to second, Sizemore to third, Shoppach scored.

Peralta struck out.

BOT 7

Brown flied to warning track in left.

Crosby walked.

Hannahan lined to second.

Suzuki flied to right.

TOP 8

Gutierrez flied to left.

Michaels struck out.

Carroll popped to second in the outfield.

BOT 8

Cust struck out looking.

Buck grounded to first, pitcher covering.

Ellis flied to center.

TOP 9

Shoppach lined to right.

Sizemore walked.

Cabrera flied to left.

Hafner grounded to short, deflected by pitcher.

BOT 9

Barton struck out.

MSweeney walked.

Brown flied to center.

Crosby hit into fielder’s choice at third, Murphy out 54 at second.

If you are more of a visual person, I suppose you might enjoy this system. I am not, and I vastly prefer traditional numbers rather than drawing 54 circles every game. I tried it because I like to at least try scoring a game by most of the systems that I come across, just to say I did and to be able to offer semi-informed opinions on the merits of each system.

This is an excellent opportunity, then, to re-emphasize that scorekeeping is all about your own personal preferences. When I critique various scoring methods or scoresheet designs here, it is always from my own perspective. I do not in any way hold it up as “right” or the one true way or the “best” or anything of the such.

This will be important to keep in mind as the next few sheets I post will be from different scoring systems than what I generally use. I will be commenting on them in the spirit of the above paragraph, and if you disagree, I celebrate that. Scorekeeping is a pursuit where individuality should be flaunted.

For a brief word on the game, the Indians were able to scrap out a couple of runs in the seventh inning to win it 2-1. With the bases loaded and one out, Asdrubal Cabrera hit a grounder to first. While the sheet does not necessarily reflect it, Daric Barton rushed in his attempt to turn an inning-ending DP, and bobbled the ball. He was left with only a flip to first to get the out there, and the game was tied. The A’s intentionally walked Travis Hafner to load the bases, and Ryan Garko worked out of a 1-2 hole to draw a walk that would account for the game-winning run.

#25---CHA @ CLE, 3/31/2008

The opening day game between the White Sox and Indians was a fun game to watch and an interesting game to score.

Jim Thome’s two two-run homers kept the ChiSox in the game despite Cleveland’s seven run outburst in the second. They chipped away at CC Sabathia and the bullpen until drawing even in the seventh. Meanwhile, Nick Masset was brilliant in relief of Mark Buerhle, shutting the Indians out over 4 1/3, fanning four and allowing just two hits.

In the top of the eighth, Crede and Uribe led off with doubles, yet Crede did not score and was held as third at third. After an intentional walk to Nick Swisher, Orlando Cabrera grounded to short. Peralta’s throw home was high, but Kelly Shoppach was able to tag Crede (or at least that’s how home plate umpire Gerry Davis saw it). Then Jim Thome grounded to second; Asdrubal Cabrera flipped to Peralta for the out, and Orlando Cabrera wiped Peralta out, but also grabbed him around the leg, leading to Thome being called out for interference.

In the bottom of the eighth, Casey Blake’s two-out, two-strike three-run double gave the Indians a 10-7 lead, and Joe Borowski was able to hold the White Sox to one in the top of the ninth for a 10-8 victory.

Re: the scoring, you can see that I’ve reduced the use of letters like “L” or “B” to modify other codes. The idea of using lines under the location for groundballs, above for line drives, and arcs for flyballs comes from Paul Dickson in The Joy of Keeping Score. The groundball line can be seen on Martinez’ second inning single, the line drive on Peralta’s single in the next plate appearance. The final play of the game, marked `5, is a foul out to third, which I previously would have marked as “f5”.

There were a couple interesting things to score. One was Cleveland batting around in the second. During Peralta’s second at bat, Victor Martinez was thrown out attempting to advance to second on a wild pitch (it is not in fact a wild pitch, since he didn’t make it (he would have had he not fallen and injured himself on the way), but I mark it as “CSWP” so that we know it wasn’t a straight steal). This meant that Peralta’s box would have to be used again when he took his turn in the third inning. So I drew lines under and adjacent to the balls and strikes listed for the first at bat, and wrote “I” in the ball column and “E” in the strike column for inning ended, which is how I would mark such an event in a normal situation. Usually, though, you just move on to the box in the next inning. Here, I kept going in the smaller space this created, since it was already in the box for the next inning.

The aforementioned interference double play was marked by a subscript “INT” after the part of the play that was actually completed. I’ve used parentheses or brackets in the past (i.e. 64[INT]3), and that works too.

#24---TOR @ CLE, 3/13/2008

I still can’t help myself when it comes to scoring spring training games. Here is a 2008 example of this.

Since the game is a run of the mill exhibition, I’ll instead discuss the changes I made to my scoring this year. I decided that I had too many letters and numbers on the sheet, so I changed the way I score hits and modify some out codes. My old method of scoring hits was a three symbol code, something like “=8L”. The “=” indicates that it is a double, the “8” is for centerfield, and the “L” is for line drive. I decided to eliminate the letter describing the trajectory of the hit.

The decision I made was to use a small horizontal line over the location to indicate a line drive (see Zaun’s first inning single), a similar line under the location to indicate a groundball (see Barfield’s first inning single), and a curved line over the location to indicate a flyball (not seen on this scoresheet). Additionally, I decided that all outfield hits would be considered flyballs by default, and so a hit with an outfield location but no symbol is assumed to be a flyball (see Hafner’s first inning single). Any infield hit (not seen here either) is assumed to be a groundball.

I also used these to modify outs, so a 7 with a line over it is a line drive caught by the left fielder, which I used to mark as “L7” (again, there are none of these in this particular game). A squiggly line underneath the location indicates a bunt, which can be used for a hit or an out. A combination of the line drive and flyball symbols indicates a looper, which is my designation for a ball that straddles those two categories (I used to mark them “LP”). A mark like this “`” to the side of a play indicates that it was made in foul territory. “1-43”, in the case of Sandoval’s fifth inning at bat, indicates a ball that was deflected by the pitcher to the second baseman, who threw to first for the out (I used to mark this d143). I will point out some of those when they come up in later scoresheets--this game didn’t have many unusual plays to record.

I also changed, ever so slightly, my method for recording when a pitcher enters the game. I used to mark something like “Parrish 3-4”, which means that the first batter John Parrish faced was the #3 hitter in the lineup, and it happened in the fourth inning. As you can see, I still do that, sometimes. But now, if a pitcher enters at the start of an inning, I omit the lineup slot portion of the code (ex. “Laffey 5” means that Laffey took over on the mound at the start of the fifth inning). This just serves to reduce a small bit of unnecessary clutter.

#22---KC @ CLE, 5/16/2006

Somehow, I managed to miss #22, so here it is, batting out of turn. I also apologize for the horrific formatting on this page, which is a product of 1) Blogger's mangling of what I copy and paste from Word and 2) my lack of motivation to go back and correct it all (and my lack of HTML skills that make it a real chore).

This game is a good opportunity to show the new pitch coding system I began using in 2006. Rather than treating all strikes the same, when I scored a game from TV or the internet, I distinguished swinging, called, and foul strikes. Called strikes received a plain letter (ex. B), while fouls got a bracket on the left (ex. [B), and swinging strikes a brace (ex. {B).

Tracking swinging strikes can be eye-opening, because you will find that major league hitters just don’t swing and miss that often. I was aware of this before, of course, but tracking it brought it more to my attention. There were 16 swinging strikes in this game on zero or one strike counts.

This game also has a “d163” notation (Sizemore’s first inning AB) for a ball deflected by the pitcher to the shortstop, who threw to first for the out. I would now mark this (1-63).

The sixth inning flyball hit by Emil Brown is marked 9 with a subscript 8. This means that the right fielder made the catch in center field. This notation is useful for shifts; for example, 5(subscript 6)3 indicates a play in which the third baseman throws out a runner at first while positioned around where the shortstop should be.

The ninth inning walk drawn by Tony Graffanino is marked “aW” for automatic; in this case, Jason Davis was called for an automatic ball for illegally going to his mouth. The ball symbols can also be marked this way, but in this case only the fourth ball was automatic.

The game pitted former Royal Paul Byrd against former (just a season ago) Indian Scott Elarton. KC touched Byrd up for three runs in the first, but the Indians matched that in the third. Matt Stairs homer to leadoff the sixth gave the Royals a 4-3 lead, and the score held as Ambiroix Burgos was summoned to close the game out. Grady Sizemore shattered that chance with a leadoff homer. After fanning Jason Michaels, Burgos lost Jhonny Peralta, and Andy Sisco was summoned to get the platoon advantage on Travis Hafner. Pronk took a ball, then slugged a homer to center to win it for the Tribe, 6-4.

#23---WAS @ ATL, 4/12/2007

On April 12, the Nationals were hurting. They were off to a dreadful start, 1-8 having already lost the first two games of their series at Turner Field. Atlanta was almost a mirror image at 7-2.

A pitching matchup of Jason Bergmann against John Smoltz did not inspire a great deal of confidence. Nonetheless, Bergmann held the Braves hitless until Andruw Jones led off the fourth with a double. In the mean time, Smoltz shutout Washington through seven. In the eighth, the Nationals put two across to take the lead.

Meanwhile, Bergmann left after six. Jesus Colome and Jon Rauch were perfect in the seventh and the eighth, respectively, and the Braves still had just one hit when Chad Cordero entered in the ninth. Chipper Jones got a one out single, and Andruw worked a walk. Cordero struck out McCann looking, then managed to walk Jeff Francoeur of all people to load the bases. It was up to the haplessly performing Scott Thorman, but he struck out on eight pitches and Washington pitchers had combined to two-hit the Braves, 2-0.

#21---CLE @ MIN, 5/31/2005

With apologies to any friends or family of Juan Gonzalez, I thought this was one of the funniest games I had ever seen, solely for an event in the top of the first inning. Gonzalez had signed with the Indians during the off-season, and on team-controlled outlets like the radio and TV broadcasts, his return was much-anticipated. An injury during spring training was a blessing in disguise for the Indians, as it allowed Grady Sizemore to make the trip north with the team, and he was a big reason why the team shot into contention.

Nonetheless, after missing nearly two months, Juan Gone was set to make his debut in the Metrodome. A two-out single by Travis Hafner allowed him to bat in the first. After working the count to one and one, he hit a feeble grounder to third and jogged down the line as Michael Cuddyer threw him out. Even this was too much, though, as he pulled him hamstring. He would never play for the Indians again, or anyone else for that matter.

Watching this on TV, I had an actual LOL moment. I felt bad for Gonzalez of course, but I wasn’t particularly concerned about the effect on the team, and after the silly hype, it was hilarious.

From that point, the game wasn’t bad either. CC Sabathia went eight efficient innings, allowing three runs. Ben Broussard and Victor Martinez went deep for the Tribe to provide three of their four runs. Ron Gardenhire was ejected for arguing balls and strikes after the third pitch of Jody Gerut’s sixth inning at bat; this is the first sheet I’ve posted which shows off my symbol for a managerial ejection.

#20---BOS @ BAL, 4/4/2004

This was a Sunday night opener (I don’t recall if it was the opening game of the MLB schedule or not, with the recent trend of opening every other year or so with an overseas series, and am too lazy to check) in which the eventual world champion Red Sox fell to the Orioles 7-2. Pedro Martinez yielded three runs in the third, but was otherwise fine, working six and fanning five. Sidney Ponson made a lot of pitches (112) for allowing one run in 5 2/3. Mike Timlin was rocked in the seventh to put the outcome of this mundane opener out of doubt.

#19---PHI @ FLA, 9/24/2003

For much of 2003 and 2004 (and for 2008-) I used an Excel version of my usual scoresheet, which is on display here. Otherwise, the scoring remains very much the same, as it will through 2005.

Much more fun is examining the game through the scoresheet. This late-season game between the Phillies and the eventual world champion Marlins had serious playoff implications (Florida held a one game lead over Philly for the wildcard), and matched two young righties: Brett Myers and Josh Beckett. Florida got the better of it, touching up Myers for five runs and leading 6-0 entering the eighth inning. Through the first seven, Beckett had a two-hitter, with two walks and seven Ks. But Philadelphia was not conceding, as the first four batters in the inning knocked out hits and knocked Beckett from the box. Michael Tejera could not stop the bleeding, and Chad Fox was summoned with runners at first and second and still nobody out. A wild pitch put the tying run in scoring position, but Fox coaxed a sac fly and got another fly before walking Jimmy Rollins. He managed to strike Chase Utley out to wriggle out of the jam with the lead intact 6-5. Ugueth Urbina had a 1-2-3 ninth and Florida moved closer to the playoff berth.

#18---South Carolina v. Texas, 6/22/2002 (College World Series championship game)

I kept a scoresheet as I watched the national title game between the Gamecocks and the Longhorns. Texas jumped out with three tallies in the first inning and went on to win 12-6. Notable names later in the professional ranks (or for being as of yet unsuccessful first round picks in three cases) include Brian Buscher, Drew Meyer, and Landon Powell for South Carolina and Omar Quintanilla and Huston Street for Texas.

#17---NYA @ BOS, 9/1/2001

New York held a seven game lead on Boston as play opened on September 1, but the Red Sox hoped that Pedro Martinez could pitch them to a much-needed win. Pedro was excellent, going six shutout innings while scattering two hits and fanning six. Orlando Hernandez yielded a leadoff homer to Trot Nixon, but pitched through the next eight innings without further damage. Meanwhile, Chuck Knoblauch’s single off the green monster tied the game off Ugueth Urbina in the eighth, and Bernie Wiliams’ leadoff homer in the ninth increased the New York edge to eight in the standings.

Scoring wise, not much had changed, but the sheet did get a minor cosmetic upgrade with the lineup section being boxed in.

#16---TEX @ CLE, 4/16/2000

My scoresheet got some much-needed cosmetic work for 2000, with solid lines to separate the scoreboxes. This early season game between two defending division champions matched up Chuck Finley and Esteban Loaiza.

Finley went the distance on the hill for Cleveland, making 125 pitches and allowing a single run in the third inning. Loaiza looked to be even better though, holding the Indians to just one hit through the first seven innings, while striking out ten, including five in succession heading into the eighth. After getting David Justice to ground out, he allowed a hit to Travis Fryman and was pulled after 110 pitches for 1999 relief sensation Jeff Zimmerman. He worked out of the inning, leaving John Wetteland a save opportunity in the ninth.

Wetteland was in his final major league season, and it was one of his worst with a 120 ERA+. After retiring Roberto Alomar, Manny Ramirez hit his payoff pitch out of the park in center field to tie the game. Jim Thome did likewise on a 2-2 pitch, and the Indians had a dramatic 2-1 victory.

#15---NYA @ ATL, 10/23/1999 (World Series Game 1)

I intend to go through at least one scoresheet from each year until I get to the present day. Then I will just start picking out sheets from my collection. So, here is the example sheet for 1999.

Any World Series game is historically relevant, but as far as they go, this was not special. The first game of the Yankees second consecutive sweep, it matched Orlando Hernandez against Greg Maddux. Chipper Jones went deep for the Braves in the fourth to give them the lead, and through seven Maddux made that one run hold up, allowing just three hits and two walks while fanning five on just 85 pitches. It all fell apart in the eighth with a single, walk, error, and single plating a run. Paul O’Neill greeted John Rocker with a single, and the Yankees would add another run. Atlanta brought the tying run to the plate with one out in the ninth, but Rivera struck out Brian Jordan and got Brian Hunter to foul out for the save.

You can see that I had now started recording the final score of the game--a long overdue piece of information. I also kept inning-by-inning pitch counts for the starters, with their total pitches recorded when pulled (for example, Maddux made 11 pitches in the eighth for a total of 96).

I have no clue why was I compelled to write down who sung the national anthem, but it was some woman named Monica, apparently.

#14---CHN @ STL, 9/8/1998

This game is included here for both its historical significance and the fact that it illustrates how my scoring system had progressed by the end of the 1998 season.

Base hits now have both a location code (done by field position numbers, 7 for left, 8 for center, and 9 for right) and a trajectory code (F for flyball, L for line drive, G for groundball, B for bunt, W for a ball off the wall). So “-7G” is a groundball single to left field. Additionally, events that occur during at bats are now much more clearly timed. For example, in the top of the fourth inning, Gary Gaetti advanced to second on a balk. The balk is marked with “7aa”, meaning that it occurred during the at bat of the #7 hitter. The first a is for after, and the second a indicates that it was the first pitch. “2e” would indicate something that occurred on the fifth pitch to the #2 hitter. “4bfp” would be before the first pitch to the #4 hitter. “6lp” would be on the last pitch to the #6 hitter (since the pitch that concludes the at bat does not get a letter).

While the final score of the game is still not recorded, each inning has a line summary. For example, the St. Louis sixth is marked “5-3-1-0”, meaning 5 runs on 3 hits, 1 walk, no one left. You can see that I had a blind spot in my definition of left on base, as seen in the line score for the Chicago third, which shows a runner left despite the fact that the only baserunner, Mark Grace, was retired on Sammy Sosa’s double play ball. For some reason, I considered DPs to be a runner left on. One of course could define a category like “baserunners who reached but did not score” and that would be appropriate, but that is not what I was going for--I wanted LOB in the traditional definition.

The Cubs lost the game 6-3, and while they were in the hunt for a playoff spot (and would eventually beat San Francisco in a one-game wildcard playoff), the historical significance was Mark McGwire’s 62nd home run, hit to left in the 4th inning, and leading to a bunch of excessive notes jotted down by me on the top of the page. Tony LaRussa was batting his pitcher eighth, as he had for a decent part of the season, so that is a curiosity. Also of interest is the major league debut of JD Drew, who pinch hit for Kent Mercker in the sixth, striking out looking. He stayed in the game to play left, then flew to center in the seventh.

#13---Home Run Derby, 7/6/1998

This is a “scoresheet” of the 1998 Home Run Derby, kept on a piece of loose-leaf notebook paper. The system is simple enough--"O” for out and “H” for home run.

I kept a Home Run Derby scoresheet in 1999 as well; I don’t believe that I have even watched it since then. It’s actually sort of embarrassing, but it does illustrate the depths of my compulsion to write things down while watching baseball competitions.

And how in the heck did Damion Easley get himself in the Home Run Derby?

#12---CLE @ TOR, 5/30/1998

Another unremarkable game (a 4-2 Blue Jay win) here because of some evolution in my system. You can see that there are now location codes for hits, “L”, “C”, or “R” for the field they were hit to. Not seen in this game was “+” as a symbol for an infield single, the regular horizontal dash for a single with a vertical dash through it.

I also began recording the specific pitch on which events such as stolen bases or wild pitches occurred, but the means of doing so was clumsy. A “x” in the bottom righthand corner of the box in which the pitch occurred indicated that there was a note. The notes are at the top of the scoresheet, separated by semicolons. This forces one to go through the entire sheet, finding the x’s in order, and then figuring out which pitches they are associated with. But it was a start.

For some reason I cannot recall, I was marking popups to infielders with a “F” prefix (i.e. “F4”, “F5”, etc.). My philosophy now is not to specifically mark things that are obvious. If the third baseman had fielded a groundball and recorded a putout, it would have had to be a fielder’s choice, part of a double play, or a runner out advancing--all of those would get their own mark. So given that it is an unassisted putout by the third baseman with no other scoring prefix to explain it, it had to have been a popout. So why write that out? For some reason, I was doing it at least for this game.

#11---CLE @ ANA, 4/5/1998

The 6-4 Cleveland win over Anaheim, less than a week after the game in #10, was not noteworthy, but is included here because my scoring system got some minor alterations very early in the season. Namely, balls and strikes were now marked with letters, making the first pitch “A”, the second pitch “B”, etc. This greatly reduced the clutter of circled numbers all over the scoresheet, and allowed me to use circled numbers to track baserunner progress and squares to mark runs scored, rather than poorly drawn triangles.

Again, the score is nowhere to be found, and the name of the home team is “California” rather than the correct “Anaheim”. This was not an oversight--I was just bizarrely stubborn and continued to refer to the team that way. Some other early 1998 scoresheets of mine list the Devil Rays as “Tampa” rather than “Tampa Bay”. I wonder if I would have referred to the Nationals as “Montreal”.

#10---CLE @ SEA, 3/31/1998

By March of the next year, I had recovered from the trauma of Game 7 and was ready for the start of another season, armed with a brand new scoresheet. The scoresheet that I began using then, and the general method used, are the same ones that I use today (of course, there have been changes along the way, but you can clearly see that they are related).

The scoresheet itself is simple: a 9x9 gird, with no columns for recording box score-like stats, and a space for recording who the pitchers were at the bottom of the page. Pitches are marked on the side of the boxes: balls on the left, strikes on the right, and two strike fouls on the top. Here, I used circled numbers, so the first pitch is (1), the second pitch is (2), etc. The lower right corner of the box represents first base, and the other bases follow in counter-clockwise order. Outs are marked with a solid dot in the box of the man put out. Runner advancement is noted by the batting order number of the responsible batter, boxed in this case. The special case is a run scored, which was enclosed in a triangle. RBI are marked with open circles.

The pitcher box lists the pitchers, with their entry in the game marked with a code like “1-5”, which means that the first batter faced was the man in the #1 position in the order in the fifth inning.

Again, the score is not recorded anywhere on the sheet, which is a serious flaw. The game was actually pretty interesting--the Indians won 10-9 with a four run eighth inning. Cleveland was so terrified of facing Randy Johnson that they held David Justice and Jim Thome out of the lineup, leaving Shawon Dunston (DHing and batting third!) and Jeff Manto in the lineup. Once Johnson was removed, Justice and Thome pinch hit. Dunston was 0-3, but Manto helped chase Johnson with a RBI single in the sixth. Jose Mesa, making his first appearance since blowing game seven, gave the Indians a perfect seventh and eighth to earn the win.

#9---CLE @ FLA, 10/26/1997 (World Series Game 7)

In 1997, I also scored some games on a ridiculous scoresheet I made, inspired by Project Scoresheet’s use of numbered scoreboxes rather than a 9x9 grid. Everything else about the system was traditional.

The scoresheet itself had a silly design. I chuckle at the “SCORESHEET” label on the top; was I afraid I would forget what it was for? The boxes were ridiculously wide, and I didn’t take advantage of that in any way. While the numbered boxes are similar to PS, each batter’s at bats are not grouped together, so you have to add nine and go hunting (the #3 hitter is in box 3, 12, 21, etc.). I did not help matters by drawing dark circles over the numbers of boxes that resulted in outs. The benefit of the system (like that of PS) is that substitutions are very easy to mark. For some reason, I felt compelled to use this sheet to score all of the playoff games that I watched.

As for the game, there’s not much I can say. I was devastated at the time, and it took me a week to have the heart to mark Renteria’s single. I never got around to labeling the Florida eleventh inning.

#8---CLE @ STL, 6/14/1997

During 1997, I also kept score of some games in a commercial scorebook. The one I used was made by What’s the Score, which quickly became my favorite commercial scorebook and still is. I use a WTS scorebook when I go to OSU baseball games to this day, although I never use it for major league games. The diamond is clean, with no outfield outline, no multiple choice quiz, and most importantly, no numbers printed willy-nilly all over the place. The drawback is that it is a 16 batting position book, which is utterly useless for baseball (they also have a model with 11, but it is not sold at my local retailer). The system I was using here was the one closest to what I use today among the scoresheets I’ve posted so far (except for the use of a diamond rather than a blank box), but I wouldn’t endorse it by any means.

The game here was more interesting than the final score of 8-3 would indicate; the Cardinals led 3-0 going into the seventh, but the Indians tied it that frame and won it with five in the eighth. It was also the first season of interleague play, and thanks to a Friday rainout, this was the first game of a doubleheader and the first ever meeting between the Tribe and Redbirds.

#7---CLE @ BAL, 5/29/1997

This was another game scored on the rudimentary Excel sheet, but it is profiled here because it was almost the most noteworthy game I ever scored. If you look at the sheet you will see why, and you won’t need this spelled out for you, but this is the play-by-play for the Indians:

1ST INNING
Mike Mussina pitching.
Grissom struck out.
Franco grounded to short.
Thome struck out.
2ND INNING
Williams struck out.
Justice grounded to short.
Ramirez grounded to short.
3RD INNING
Fernandez struck out.
Alomar struck out.
Vizquel flied to left.
4TH INNING
Grissom grounded to pitcher.
Franco struck out.
Thome grounded to pitcher.
5TH INNING
Williams struck out.
Justice grounded to third.
Ramirez grounded to second.
6TH INNING
Fernandez popped to short.
Alomar struck out.
Vizquel struck out.
7TH INNING
Grissom flied to right.
Franco grounded to second.
Thome grounded to second.
8TH INNING
Williams grounded to first.
Justice flew to center.
Ramirez flew to right.
9TH INNING
Fernandez grounded to second.
Alomar singled (NOOOO!)
Giles hit for Vizquel; struck out.
Grissom struck out.

I still have not been fortunate enough to score a no-hitter, let alone a perfect game.

#6---CLE @ OAK, 4/2/1997

It was Opening Day 1997 and I had a new scoresheet to try out. I made it myself in Excel. Unfortunately, I had no idea of how useful Excel could be as a scoresheet-making tool (now, I make all of my scoresheets in Excel). I did not take advantage of changing row heights or column widths or drawing borders; I didn’t even figure out how to make a row without any text below it print, leaving the ninth place hitter for the home team with half a scorebox. Writing out the lineup slots as "1st", "2nd", etc. seems to be overkill in retrospect.

So the sheet was very bare, and as I was scoring I had to mentally take note of where the borders of the scoreboxes should be. I do like some of what I was doing as far as actually scoring goes. Marking pitching changes with a symbol for the new pitcher in the box of the first batter was a lot better than writing his name at the bottom of the box. The boxes left enough room to comfortably record the basic details, and I was firmly entrenched in using the lineup position of the batter to record baserunner advancement. The 9-7 Cleveland victory scored here was marked by a fast Cleveland start (4 runs in the 1st), a 3 run Oakland fifth to tie it up, and homers by David Justice (along with Grissom making his Indian debut after being traded for Kenny Lofton and Alan Embree) and Jim Thome to put the Tribe ahead for good; it featured the major league debut of one of my favorite players, Steve Kline (I met him at a Canton-Akron Indians team banquet).