I Want Your Scoresheets

I realize that no one visits this site, but in case anyone is out there and reads this, I would like to appeal to you to send me one of your scoresheets. This site is currently all about my scorekeeping, and I'd like to expand its horizon a little bit to showcase other people's scoring.

Don't worry about your scoresheet not being good enough or interesting enough or unique enough or whatever other excuse you might offer to be shy. There's no such thing as a wrong way to keep score, and I'd like this site to help display the myriad of ways in which baseball fans record the game.

All I ask is that the file be around 500 KB or smaller, in GIF, BMP, or JPG format, and that you also write a little bit about it (if it's larger, I might edit it a little to make it more manageable). It can be as little as a sentence or as long as a page or two. You can write about your method of keeping score, scorekeeping in general, your memory of the game in question--anything you like. Also, if you kept the game on a commercial scoresheet, please give the name of the company/designer so that they can get a little bit of a plug (and hopefully not send me cease and desist letters). If you have your own designed sheet that you'd like to offer for others to download, I'd be happy to post it on my Tripod scoresheets site. If you have your own baseball blog or website or Twitter feed that you'd like to share, by all means, include the link.

I don't expect anyone to actually take me up on this, but I had to try. There's a dearth of scorekeeping information on the internet--the sites I link in the sidebar form a fairly comprehensive list. I'd like to make this site a place for the diversity of scoring systems and forms to be on display, and it can't be that as long as it's just my own sheets. Email me (weeklyscoresheet AT gmail dot com) if you'd like to share.

#59---DET @ CLE, 7/26/1999

I chose this scoresheet because it features Dave Burba, who is an OSU product. On this day he allowed three runs in 6 2/3 innings, striking out six and walking none, as the Indians beat the Tigers 6-3. Manny Ramirez left the game in the bottom of the third after being hit by a pitch.

#58---NYA @ MON, 6/11/1998

It has been a long time since I last posted here, thanks to my scanner deciding not to work. I don't have a lot of use for my home scanner other than this site, so I did not have the necessary motivation to figure out what was wrong until now (it turned out the be the software), nor did I have the necessary motivation to sneak some scans in at work, go to the library, or use any of the other means by which I could have scanned in some scoresheets.

Moving along, I included this sheet because it's one of the few I have that features the Montreal Expos. Unfortunately, I couldn't spell Guerrero (I haven't heard much from Guerro over the last twelve years), but he had the big hit, a two-out, three-run double in the seventh to cap a seven-run inning. He was thrown out by Paul O'Neill trying to stretch it into a triple, but Montreal went on to win 7-5 against one of the greatest teams of all-time.

#57---COL @ CLE, 3/1/2009

Here I tried a similar approach to trace the diamond--trace a square. I did this just for the sake of experiment, not out of any particular affinity for the square as a means to trace the runner’s progress. I prefer open spaces to diamond diagrams anyway, and the square eliminates the aesthetic pluses of using a diamond.

As you can see, I marked reaching first base with the bottom line of the square, and went from there. You may also notice that some of the squares are more like rectangles, and wonder what the distinction is. The answer is that there is none; my artistic skills are so non-existent that even drawing a square can be a challenge. Of course, you could make a sheet with preprinted squares or dots mapping out the four corners if you wanted to make them look nice. But for me, this was just a one-time trial to mix things up.

#56---Dominican Republic v. Venezuela, 2/5/2009 (Caribbean Series)

For this game, I decided to attempt to trace baserunner progress with diamonds, despite not having any diamonds or dots pre-printed on the sheet. A lot of people do this all the time, but I’m not much of an artist (nor do I really like the diamond trace method anyway), and so I naturally don’t usually score that way. You can see from the Venezuela runs in the bottom of the third that my completed diamonds were that in name only.

With this win, Venezuela improved to 4-0 in the Caribbean Series and eliminated the now 1-3 Dominican Republic from contention. They would go on to clinch the series the next day by defeating Mexico.

#55---Venezuela v. Dominican Republic, 2/2/2009 (Caribbean Series)

This opening day Caribbean Series matchup was the first game I had the opportunity to watch and score in 2009. Venezuela starter Brad Knox pitched 6 1/3 no-hit innings, albeit with five walks. After the fifth walk, he had made 88 pitches and was removed. His replacement Yohan Pino promptly served up a game-tying homer to Ronnie Belliard.

In the ninth, though, Venezuela recaptured the lead as Luis Maza improved his day at the plate to 4-5, and Francisco Butto struck out the Dominican side in order to close out the game.

#54---Japan v. Cuba, 3/20/2006 (World Baseball Classic final)

Japan won the first WBC title with two four-run innings; in the first they established command of the game, and in the ninth they managed to take a commanding 10-5 lead after Cuba had chipped away. Daisuke Matsuzaka started and allowed just one run in four innings while striking out five. After Frederich Cepada’s two run homer in the eighth brought Cuba back into the game, Akinori Otsuka was summoned, and while he allowed a run in the ninth, he fanned Cuba’s last two hitters (including star Yulieski Gourriel for the final out) to clinch the title.

And the rest of the semi-free world rejoiced (or at least this fan did).

#53---United States v. Korea, 3/13/2006 (World Baseball Classic)

After the US opened the second round of the WBC by scratching out a win over Japan, one could have been forgiven if they viewed the loss to Canada as just a hiccup. But this game against Korea gave American fans serious cause for concern. Starter Dontrelle Willis labored, making 58 pitches in three frames while walking four, hitting a batter, and surrendering three runs.

It was in the fourth that the Wheelers came off. With two outs, Dan Wheeler surrendered a double to second baseman Kim. At this point, Buck Martinez decided it was a good idea to walk the red-hot Seung-Yeop Lee intentionally. Korea brought up a major leaguer (Hee Seop Choi) as a pinch-hitter, and his three run blast to right essentially ended the game right then and there.

#52---Puerto Rico v. Cuba, 3/10/2006 (World Baseball Classic)

This opening round game caused a lot of people, myself included, to downplay Cuba’s chances to advance deep into the WBC. Oops.

Puerto Rico simply had their way with Cuba in front of a friendly crowd in San Juan, getting two-run shots from Bernie Williams, Alex Cintron, and Carlos Beltran. The short leash granted to the Cuban pitcher was on display as Gonzalez was pulled after walking the bases loaded with two down in the first, and three pitchers were used in the fourth inning alone. Things got a little chippy in the seventh as Jose Santiago hit Cuban batter Moreno with two outs, getting himself and manager Jose Oquendo tossed. In the end, though, Cuba would get the last laugh as they would beat Puerto Rico in the second round.

#51---United States v. South Africa, 3/10/2006 (World Baseball Classic)

After the US lost to Canada, their final first round game against South Africa was an absolute must-win. South Africa was actually competitive against Canada, but still there was little tension, and for good reason. Roger Clemens gave up just one hit (a groundball up the middle) in 4 1/3 innings of work while striking out six, and the US unleashed an offensive assault, putting up crooked numbers in the first three frames. Ken Griffey led the barrage, going 4-4 with two homers, three runs scored, and 7 RBI, while Derrek Lee chipped in at 3-4 with a homer, three runs, and 4 RBI. The mercy rule ended the game after five.