Summary
In this article I explore the question of whether advanced baseball analysis (or “sabermetrics”) has a place in amateur baseball, such as the National Baseball League in Britain.
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Scenario: With a runner on third and no outs, the batter hits a grounder straight to the shortstop. The shortstop looks towards third to hold the runner and then makes a good throw to first but one that is just not in time to get the out. In your opinion, if the shortstop had thrown the ball immediately rather than looking towards third base, there was sufficient time to retire the batter-runner with ordinary effort.
As the official scorer, how should you score the batter-runner’s advancement to first?
A – A single.
B - Reached on fielder’s choice.
C - Reached on error.
Highlight the text below to reveal the answer:
Answer:Â A – A single.
Rule 10.05(b)(4) states:
[The official scorer shall not credit a base hit when a] fielder fails in an attempt to put out a preceding runner and, in the scorer’s judgment, the batter-runner could have been put out at first base.
But it is still a single, because Rule 10.05(b) Comment states:
Rule 10.05(b) shall not apply if the fielder merely looks toward or feints toward another base before attempting to make the putout at first base.
It will be a year ago next week that I launched the Great Britain Baseball Scorers Association website. Initially, my plans were to have a place to keep the stats that the GBBSA scorers were recording each week in the National Baseball League, and to supplement that with extra materials for scorers, such as blank scoresheets. Continue reading
Scenario: The first two batters of an inning strike out. The third hits a soft grounder that hops up into the pitcher’s glove. The pitcher has plenty of time to make the out but throws the ball wide of the fielder, allowing the batter-runner to reach first safely. The fourth batter punishes the pitcher for this error with a home run. The fifth hits a grounder straight to the second baseman, who, just like the pitcher, has plenty of time to make the out but directs the ball wide of the fielder, allowing the batter-runner to reach first safely. The sixth batter capitalizes on the second baseman’s error by hitting the team’s second home run of the inning. The seventh batter lines out to the third baseman.
As the official scorer, how many of the 4 runs do you charge as earned runs against the pitcher?
A – 0.
BÂ – 1.
CÂ – 2.
D – 3.
Highlight the text below to reveal the answer:
Answer:Â A – 0.
Rule 10.16 states:
… In determining earned runs, the official scorer shall reconstruct the inning without the errors …
Rule 10.16(e) states:
An error by a pitcher is treated exactly the same as an error by any other fielder in computing earned runs.
Treating the pitcher’s error like any other error, the inning should have finished when the third batter grounded to the pitcher, at which point 0 runs had scored.
Scenario: During a plate appearance, the batter gets injured on a swing and has to be replaced. The replacement batter inherits a full count on entering the game.
As the official scorer, you must choose whether the original batter’s statistics or the new batter’s statistics will be affected, based on what the outcome is of the plate appearance. Which of the following is true?
A - A strike-out and a walk would be assigned to the original batter.
B – A strike-out would be charged to the original batter but a walk would be credited to the new batter.
C - A strike-out would be charged to the new batter but a walk would be credited to the original batter.
D – A strike-out and a walk would be assigned to the new batter.
Highlight the text below to reveal the answer:
Answer: B – A strike-out would be charged to the original batter but a walk would be charged to the new batter.
Rule 10.15(b) states:
When a batter leaves the game with two strikes against him, and the substitute batter completes a strikeout, the official scorer shall charge the strikeout and the time at bat to the first batter. If the substitute batter completes the turn at bat in any other manner, including a base on balls, the official scorer shall score the action as having been that of the substitute batter.
Scenario: The first batter of an inning strikes out. The second hits an inside-the-park home run. The third hits a double. The pitcher receives a signal to intentionally walk the fourth batter and, reluctanly, does so. The fifth batter connects for a 2-run triple. The sixth and seventh batters are struck out, which strands the runner at third.
As the official scorer, how many of the 3 runs do you charge as earned runs against the pitcher?
A – 0.
BÂ – 1.
CÂ – 2.
D – 3.
Highlight the text below to reveal the answer:
Answer:Â D – 3.
Rule 10.16 states:
… For the purpose of determining earned runs, an intentional base on balls, regardless of the circumstances, shall be construed in exactly the same manner as any other base on balls …
Scenario: With a runner on third and no outs, the batter hits a grounder straight to the first baseman. In your opinion, the first baseman could easily have run over to the bag in time to force out the batter-runner, but, instead, the fielder throws the ball to the catcher in the hope of getting out the runner who has dashed from third towards home. The throw is perfect and the ball is fielded cleanly by the catcher, who applies the tag to the now-sliding runner. However, the runner is adjudged to have just beaten the tag and the run is awarded. The catcher looks towards first base but sees that there is no point in making the throw as the batter-runner will be safe anyway.
As the official scorer, how should you score the batter-runner’s advancement to first?
A – A single.
B - Reached on fielder’s choice.
C - Reached on error.
Highlight the text below to reveal the answer:
Answer:Â B – Reached on fielder’s choice.
Rule 10.05(b)(4) states:
[The official scorer shall not credit a base hit when a] fielder fails in an attempt to put out a preceding runner and, in the scorer’s judgment, the batter-runner could have been put out at first base.
Since no error was made on the play (there was nothing wrong with the mechanics of the fielding), it must be a fielder’s choice.
Scenario: The first two batters of an inning strike out. The third hits a home run. The fourth draws a walk. The fifth hits a pop-up to the first baseman for an easy catch in foul territory but the ball is dropped, causing the first baseman to be charged with an error. The next pitch is drilled over the fence in centre field for the second home run of the inning. The sixth batter flies out to the left fielder.
As the official scorer, how many of the 3 runs do you charge as earned runs against the pitcher?
A – 0.
BÂ – 1.
CÂ – 2.
D – 3.
Highlight the text below to reveal the answer:
Answer:Â B – 1.
Rule 10.16 states:
… In determining earned runs, the official scorer shall reconstruct the inning without the errors …
Without the error, the inning would have ended with the first baseman taking a catch in foul territory for the third out, at which point only 1 of the runs had been scored.
Scenario: While facing the first batter of game, the home team’s starting pitcher suffers a knee injury and has to be replaced. The batter has a full count when the new pitcher enters the game.
As the official scorer, you must choose whether the original pitcher’s statistics or the new pitcher’s statistics will be affected, based on what the outcome is of the plate appearance. Which of the following is true?
A - A strike-out and a walk would be assigned to the original pitcher.
B – A strike-out would be credited to the original pitcher but a walk would be charged to the new pitcher.
C - A strike-out would be credited to the new pitcher but a walk would be charged to the original pitcher.
D – A strike-out and a walk would be assigned to the new pitcher.
Highlight the text below to reveal the answer:
Answer: C – A strike-out would be charged to the new pitcher but a walk would be charged to the original pitcher.
Rule 10.16(f)(1) states:
If, when pitchers are changed, the count is
2 balls, no strike,
2 balls, 1 strike,
3 balls, no strike,
3 balls, 1 strike,
3 balls, 2 strikes,
and the batter gets a base on balls, the official scorer shall charge that batter and the base on balls to the preceding pitcher, not to the relief pitcher.
Rule 10.16(f)(2) states:
Any other action by such batter … shall cause such a batter to be charged to the relief pitcher.
Scenario: In a game that you are scoring, the visting team’s shortstop is involved in three plays during the game. In the first inning the shortstop drops an easy put-out, for which you charge an error. In the third inning, the player is involved in a standard 4-6-3 double-play. In the bottom of the ninth with two out, the player makes up for the earlier error with a spectacular diving catch to end the game.
As the official scorer, what would you calculate for the shortstop’s fielding average from the game?
A – 1/2 = .500.
BÂ – 2/3 = .667.
CÂ – 3/4 = .750.
D – 4/5 = .800.
Highlight the text below to reveal the answer:
Answer:Â C – 3/4 = .750.
Rule 10.21(d) states:
[To compute] Fielding average, divide the sum of putouts and assists by the sum of putouts, assists and errors (which shall be called chances).