SCOREKEEPER S GUIDELINES 2012 (adapted from Scott Cordova)

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1 GENERAL 1) Only people who take this Scorekeeper s Class will be considered a Certified Official Scorekeeper. Only these scorekeepers are allowed in the Official Scorer s Box. This is the box right behind the back stop behind home plate. 2) You should have 2 people in the Official Scorer s Box for each game. One to do the Official Score Sheet and Official Pitch Log, and another to do Electronic Scorekeeping. Please stay focused on the job at hand and please, no kids in the box when game is going on. The minimum age to be an official scorekeeper is 16. Anyone younger than this, needs to contact the Head Scorekeeper for your division directly and will be certified on case by case basis. The home team is responsible for providing the scorekeepers. 3) The Official Score Sheets will be in the Official Scorer s Notebook. Each notebook will be marked for the appropriate division. (There will be 2 notebooks for the Minor division one for major field and one for minor field.) Each notebook will also contain a 2012 Little League Rule Book (Green Book), Torrance Little League (TLL) rules for the appropriate division, Certified Official Scorers for that division, team rosters (with jersey numbers and ages), Scorekeeper Guidelines, and supplies (i.e., pencils, erasers, highlighter pens). The notebooks will be in the snack shack. Please pick up the appropriate notebook for your game. A Game Summary Spreadsheet for that game will also be in the notebook. (See more info under End of Game) 1

2 MAIN JOB Pitch Count / Pitchers / Catchers Score Batting Count How players make outs, get on base, or move around bases FIELDING POSITIONS Know the numbers of the positions everything done in the scorebook is done by numbers when recording outs. Pitcher (1) Catcher (2) First Base (3) Second Base (4) Third Base (5) Short Stop (6) Left Field (7) Center Field (8) Right Field (9) SCORECARD PREPARATION 1) In the lower right hand corner of the scorecard, fill in the level of play, your name, sign, date, game start time, and home team. On the back of the scorecard, write in the visitor team. I also like to write at the upper left corner the home team, and also on the back it makes it easier to track. When the umpire arrives, ask for his first and last name and write it in the appropriate space. 2) Write in the starting lineups (managers should provide them at least 10 minutes prior to game time) onto the Official Score Sheet with jersey 2

3 number, name (first & last). Also, write starting pitchers (with jersey number & age) onto the Game Pitch Log for each team. You can check the official team rosters in the binders Please note any players that are absent from the game. This will need to be noted on the Game Summary Spreadsheet. The only positions that you must keep track of are pitchers and catchers. More info on this under Pitch Count. 3) When the umpire starts the game, ask him for his official start time. I write it down next to the Game Start Time. BATTING COUNT (MINOR/MAJOR) 1) The batting count is kept by marking the appropriate small box (bottom right corner) on the score sheet for the batters up that inning. There are 5 small boxes (2-column & 3-column note that for Training, it is a 4-column). The 2-column is for strikes; the 3-column (or 4-column) is for balls. Mark the appropriate column after each pitch with a dot or slash mark. DON T make a mark for the last pitch to the batter it is implied by whatever happened (e.g., ball 4 leads to a walk; a ball in play for hit or out is noted as the reached base or out). o The exception is if a runner is put out for the third out before the batter completes his at-bat (for example, runner caught stealing at second). In this case, mark the pitch; the batter will restart with a 0-0 count in the next inning. I recommend putting a small number in each box to total the number of pitches for each batter this makes for faster reconciliation and adding up. 3

4 BATTING COUNT (TRAINING) 1) There are no walks in Training. If the pitcher throws 4 balls, the coach will come out and make 3 pitches. If the batter does not hit any pitch in fair territory, the batter is out. Mark a K with the number of the out. If the batter hits the ball, circle C (for coach pitch) on the left hand side of the box and a line to first base if the batter reaches first base or put the appropriate symbols for the out. BATTING COUNT (ALL DIVISIONS) 1) If after 2 strikes a batter fouls off pitches, continue to mark dots to the left of the box. This will help you balance your score sheet with the pitch count log at the end of each inning. But don t mark the last pitch, as it is implied. 2) You will be asked by the umpire, from time to time, as to what the count is. Please pay attention to each pitch. PITCH COUNT 1) This is the most important part of the job for the scorekeepers. You will have more discussion on this part of the job than any other that you will do. Before each game, the managers and scorekeepers will be ed a Pitcher s Log Sheet. This will tell everyone who is ineligible to pitch that game. (See attached). Please print out a copy and bring to the game for reference. 1. If you see an ineligible pitcher entering the game, please inform the umpire immediately. The scorekeepers need to fill out a Game Pitch Log for each game. Fill in the pitcher s name, uniform number, and age as each pitcher enters the game. Mark the number on the sheet for each pitch, as it is delivered by 4

5 the pitcher with a X. Circle the last X of the pitcher that made the pitch when the inning comes to an end. (See attached) On the Official Score Sheet, please use a highlight pen and mark the outside of the box of the batter that the pitcher threw his last pitch to. A Pitch Counter will be provided by the league for each division (Major, Minor, and Training). The Scorekeepers pitch count is the official count. If the manager s count is different than yours, they can discuss it with you, but do not make any changes. The most pitches that a pitcher can make by age group are: a) 11/12 85, b) 9/10-75, c) 7/8 50, d) 6-20 A pitcher may go over his maximum pitch count only to finish the batter he or she is facing when they reached that limit. The Scorekeeper must let the umpire know when a pitcher reaches the age appropriate limit. 1. It is also a good idea to let the umpire know about 10 pitches prior to that pitcher s age appropriate limit. Once a pitcher has pitched 41 or more pitches, they cannot play the position of catcher the rest of the game. Also, a catcher who has caught any portion of 4 innings cannot pitch that day. The days rest for a pitcher who has pitched in a game is as follows: 1. If a player pitches 1 20 pitches in a day, no (0) calendar days rest is required (i.e., may pitch the next day). 2. If a player pitches pitches in a day, one (1) calendar days of rest must be observed. 3. If a player pitches pitches in a day, two (2) calendar days rest must be observed. 4. If a player pitches pitches in a day, three (3) calendar days rest must be observed. 5. If a player pitches 66 or more pitches in a day, four (4) calendar days rest must be observed. 5

6 This information is just FYI. The Head Scorekeeper for your division will be the person responsible for keeping track and sending out the information. MAKING OUTS 1) Some examples of outs that could occur (see attached example) All outs are recorded by the number of the out (1, 2, or 3) with a circle around it. Please mark this in the upper right hand corner of the box. A ground ball to the second baseman who throws to first baseman for an out A ground ball to the short stop who throws to second baseman for the third out at second base - Mark ---/ halfway between first and second base & then 6 4 in the box of the runner and mark FC in the box of the batter. A fly ball to the left fielder for an out - F 7 A ground ball to the second baseman who throws to the short stop to get a runner going to second, who then throws to the first baseman to get the batter running to first base - a) in the box for the runner going to second base you mark ---/ from first base to halfway to second base and write 4 6. b) in the box of the batter who hit the ball, you write A ground ball to the first baseman who steps on first base for the out. 3u A man is on second base and a ground ball is hit to the third baseman and he tags the runner coming from second base. Mark ---/ halfway between second and third base and write 5u in the box of the runner (with the out) and mark FC in the box of the batter and a line to first base (unless it s 3 outs). All strikeouts will be shown with K and the number of the out. 6

7 Dropped third strikes can result in an out or batter reaching base safely. These are recorded as Kd, under the BB and then recording the fielders involved in making the out (e.g., 2 3) At the end of an inning, put a dark line on the bottom of the box that denotes the last batter that was up in that inning. If the team bats through their entire lineup, you need to go to the next column and mark the inning accordingly. GETTING ON BASE & MOVING AROUND THE BASES & SCORE 1) There are 10 ways to get on base from a pitcher throwing a pitch Homerun (HR) Triple (3B) Double (2B) Single (1B) Error (E?) Fielder s Choice (FC) Walk (BB) Hit by Pitch (HP) Dropped 3 rd strike (Kd) Catchers Interference (CI) Runner s Interference (RI) 2) Circle the appropriate marking (bold above) on the left side of the box. For errors, hit by pitch, fielder s choice, drop 3 rd strike, catcher s interference, and runner s interference just write in the appropriate designation below BB. Errors this is very subjective. If you feel that a position player should have made the play, in your opinion, mark E and whatever position number (See number 4) had the error. (Major & Minor only) 7

8 In Training, anytime the batter hits the ball (on a pitch from the pitcher) and gets to first base, it s a hit. Mark the appropriate line from home base to where the runner ended up after the play is over. Mark the appropriate boxes for the runners that are on base when the batter hit the ball, to the base where they ended up. If the runner reaches home base before the 3 rd out, fill in the diamond to denote that a run has scored. Be sure and check with the umpire if a runner was coming home on the third out to see if the run should be counted. Fielder Choice (FC) anytime a play is made on a runner on base, on a batted ball in the infield and the batter reaches base, it is considered a FC and not a hit. (Major & Minor only) When the inning has ended, mark the number of runs in the Score Per Inning box. END OF THE GAME 1) You need to fill-out the following information on the Official Score Sheet for both home and visiting team. Mark in the final score of the game in the Final Score Box on the bottom right hand corner of the sheet. Mark in the Official Pitch Count Box with the appropriate pitcher s name, age, uniform number, pitch count per inning, and total pitches for all pitchers in that game. Fill-out the Game Summary Spreadsheet with appropriate information (final score, pitchers and their pitch count, absent players). Take it home and this information to the Head Scorekeeper for your division. Put Official Scorer s Notebook back inside the snack shack. Do not take the Official Score Sheet and Game Pitch Log home with you. Leave them in the Official Scorer s Notebook and they will be collected by the appropriate Head Scorekeeper. 8