#131---BAL @ NYA, 3/2/2017

When I’m not scoring a spring training game pitch-by-pitch, using my scoresheet with field diagram is a great way to avoid the need for scrap paper to track defensive substitutes, allowing them to be penciled-in in a visually-pleasing manner. This early spring night game in Tampa featured a 1-2-3, 2 K inning from Aroldis Chapman in his return to the Yankees and a prodigious longball clubbed by Greg Bird (returning from missing all of 2016 with injury) in the fourth. Other than Caleb Joesph’s leadoff third inning homer off Adam Warren, Baltimore did not manage until Aderlin Rodriguez blooped a single to center with two outs in the ninth. New York would go on to notch a spring no-no against Detroit on St. Patrick’s Day.

#130---CIN @ CLE, 2/25/2017

This was the first spring training game I had the opportunity to watch in 2017, and a rare February scoresheet with the early start due to the World Baseball Classic. The first weekend of spring training is always a fun time to score, jumping back into the deep end of the pool by having to keep track of myriad substitutions. This task has been greatly eased with the availability of Gameday for spring training contests, but beware defensive substitutes - Gameday often does not correctly place them in the batting order. I usually keep a list of defensive substitutes on scrap paper, then write them in to the batting order as they actually come to the plate (and sort out anyone who hasn’t batted at the end).

The game featured lots of offense, but Cleveland did a much better job of converting it to runs, particularly in the seventh when Nellie Rodriguez and Guillermo Quiroz singled leading to Bradley Zimmer’s three-run homer. With Quiroz coming up to bat in the eighth, the sprinklers came on for about twenty seconds, leading to a humorous seen as Reds pitcher Ariel Hernandez hopped off the mound to avoid getting an early shower. He proceeded to walk the next two hitters and get one anyway.

#129---MIA @ CLE, 9/2/2016

Usually I keep score on a single-sided sheet; as long as I devote the whole page to scoreboxes and not stat summaries, I have plenty of room to keep score, and I like seeing the whole game without having to flip back and forth. However, sometimes it’s nice to give yourself a lot of room, and use both sides of the page. When I do so I keep the same basic design, except as a landscape to take advantage of the extra spance, and including room for pitcher’s statistics (Since pitchers face many batters and span multiple innings, while batters might only have 3-5 PA, I find it’s easy to see how a batter performed with a click glance of his row, so if I’m going to devote space to statistics, it makes a lot more sense to give it to pitchers).

The Indians jumped on Andrew Cashner early, scoring three in the first thanks largely to three walks. Abraham Almonte’s two-run double in the fifth made it 6-0. That was more than enough for Carlos Carrasco as he pitched 7.1, scattering six hits and a walk but fanning eleven. JT Realmuto’s homer off Jeff Manship made it 6-2, but Cody Allen got the Marlins 1-2-3 in the ninth to finish it off.

#128—TB @ CLE, 6/19/2015

Many people only keep score when they attend games in person. I keep score of any game I plan to watch from start to finish, but of course that includes games I attend. To remind myself, I have the “LIVE” notation in the box at the top of the sheet.

This game was unremarkable, as the Indians mustered only one run in the bottom of the first, aided by two wild pitches. The highlight of attending this game as a fan was it was just the fifth game of top prospect Francisco Lindor’s career. Lindor had two infield singles (including the bunt back to the pitcher that contributed to the first inning tally). Carlos Carrasco didn’t pitch poorly, but he would still get revenge on Tampa Bay within the span of a month.

#127---CLE @ CHA, 4/11/2014

I must have started watching this game in progress and so used a scoresheet from the back of an OSU roster card (I collected a number of these at games, as the scoresheet was printed on the back of the free roster card and naturally I used my own scoresheet to score the game). But they made for useful throwaway scorecards when not wanting to use one of my standard sheets for a pitch-by-pitch account. I believe the design is from baseballscorecard.com.

Chicago took advantage of Cleveland wildness in the fifth, drawing two walks off starter Carlos Carrasco and two off of reliever Mark Rzepczynski (keeping score of many Indians games made spelling his name as natural as spelling “Smith”). The Indians did manage three runs in five innings against Chris Sale, but it wasn’t nearly enough

#126---CLE @ DET, 6/7/2013

One of the most frustrating aspects of being an Indians fan in the last decade was the matter of Ubaldo Jimenez. Acquired at a steep prospect price in a deadline deal to prop up a team that pretty evidently was going nowhere, he was hard enough to watch given his tendency to, well Ubaldo. Consider the price and it was impossible not to be infuriated just by seeing him on the rubber.

So it certainly felt appropriate to include a typical Ubaldo game. Three walks in the third, including one to Miguel Cabrera with the bases loaded. Failing to record an out in the fourth inning, requiring lengthy work from the bullpen and needing 85 pitches to get nine outs. Wasting a decent offensive showing considering that Justin Verlander was his opposite number.

Note Rich Hill working in relief, surrendering a single to Francisco Pena but then picking him off. I’m not sure I’ve discussed my notation for this play previously--"CP” indicates a caught stealing/pickoff (e.g. one with the runner making a noticeable movement towards the next base before being picked off). I find the use of this notation (and “PC”, for a similar play in which I judge the pickoff portion to be more important than the CS, such as maybe just a twitch by the runner rather than a step in the direction of the next base) to provide more color by supplementing the standard “CS” and “PO” codes I use.

This was one of just thirteen major league appearances for Matt Langwell, all coming this season between Cleveland and Arizona. I’d completely forgotten his existence in less than four years until I picked up this scoresheet.

#125---NYA @ BOS, 9/11/2012

2012 was a lost year for the Red Sox, but the Yankees were just a game ahead of Baltimore in the AL East race when they came to Fenway to open a three-game mid-week series with a matchup of excellent starters in Hiroki Kuroda and Jon Lester. New York opened the scoring with an unholy combination of a Derek Jeter walk and a Nick Swisher double, followed by a Robinson Cano groundout. Boston would answer with two in the third, but Jeter chased Lester with a two-run ground rule double that skipped into the stands down the right field line in the sixth. Pedroia tied it with a homer over the Monster in the bottom of the frame.

In the seventh, Boston loaded the bases on an infield single, a Russell Martin muff of a sac bunt attempt, and another infield single (from Jacoby Ellsbury) off reliever Boone Logan. Joba Chamberlain was summoned into this one out mess and pinch-hitter Daniel Nava hit into a fielder’s choice at the plate and Pedroia popped out. There were no real threats until the bottom of the ninth, where Pedro Ciriaco singled with one out, Mike Aviles got an infield hit, and Jacoby Ellsbury lined one through the right side to give Boston a 4-3 walkoff win.

#124---Venezuela v. Puerto Rico, 3/16/2009 (World Baseball Classic)

This was the winner’s bracket game in the second round of the tournament, the winner punching their ticket to the semifinals with the loser having to get through the United States. Venezuela had one of their aces, Felix Hernandez, on the mound while Puerto Rico countered with Ian Snell. Snell stranded six runners, allowing a single tally in the third while fanning five. King Felix also ducked out of some trouble, leaving the game with runners at the corners, two outs and Carlos Delgado at the dish.

The score stayed 1-0 until the seventh, when Ramon Hernandez’ homer was awarded by replay. Francisco Rodriguez was summed to close with two outs, runners at first and second and a 2-1 count in the eighth, striking out Jose Lopez to end the threat. He then set down Puerto Rico 1-2-3 to clinch Venezuela’s first (and through 2017, only) berth in the WBC Final Four.

#123---Mexico v. Australia, 3/11/2009 (World Baseball Classic)

Just three days after the game in #122, Mexico and Australia were playing again, this time in a must-win game that would advance the winner to the second round and eliminate the loser. This time Mexico would return the favor and mercy Australia, first stringing together five hits for four runs in the third, then collecting another five hits including a two-run blast by Scott Hairston for seven runs in the fourth. After that, Karim Garcia made it his personal mission to end the game early, hitting a solo homer in the sixth and a three-run homer in the seventh to cap a 4-4 day with 4 runs scored and 4 RBI. Australia never really threatened offensively other than putting men at second & third with one out in the second and Rosenberg’s solo homer in the fourth, but by that point it was already 11-0.

#122---Australia v. Mexico, 3/8/2009 (World Baseball Classic)

This was the opening game of the WBC for each country, with the game being played in Mexico City. The result was fairly surprising, as Australia is on the lower end of the WBC spectrum (albeit boasting a handful of current/future major leaguers including Trent Oetljen, Chris Snelling, Damian Moss, Liam Hendriks, Justin Huber on their roster) while Mexico has more talent by any measure (the Hairston and Gonzalez brothers make up 4/9 of the starting lineup).

But they also had their ace, Oliver Perez on the mound, and to the surprise and dismay of Mets fans everywhere, that didn’t go so well. Perez surrendered back-to-back homers in the first, gave up another run in the second leaving the bases loaded, and walk and hit the first two batters in the third before being reliever. But Mexico countered with a five-run first capped by Jorge Vazquez grand slam.

Mexico led 6-4 heading to the fifth and then the wheels fell off as Australia scored 3, 3, 4, and 3 in the remaining innings before it ended on the mercy rule, touching up a handful of major league hurlers in the process and getting a second homer from Chris Snelling.

A note on the scoresheet: this is my “mini” scoresheet, which actually provides space to score two games laid out landscape style on a single 8.5x11 sheet of paper. I cut this image down to just show the one game, but it is a sheet I use sometimes when I don’t want to record pitch-by-pitch detail and thus can make due with small scoreboxes.