{"id":6491,"date":"2010-01-15T07:01:05","date_gmt":"2010-01-15T07:01:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/baseballgb.co.uk\/?p=6491"},"modified":"2010-01-17T10:20:49","modified_gmt":"2010-01-17T10:20:49","slug":"scorecards-in-action-as-vs-red-sox-6-july-2009","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/baseballgb.co.uk\/?p=6491","title":{"rendered":"Scorecards in action: A’s vs Red Sox, 6 July 2009"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"keeping_score_200x225\"After introducing<\/a> the BaseballGB \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcIBAF Scoring Method scorecard\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 last week, we now turn to the first example of the scorecard in action.<\/p>\n

During these long autumn\/winter months, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been getting my baseball fix thanks to the archive content available on MLB.com.\u00c2\u00a0 Watching some of the most notable games from the 2009 season via MLB.TV has helped to fill the live baseball void, while also providing a great excuse to trial the new scorecard.<\/p>\n

It will surprise no one to find that one of the first games I went back to score was one of the few highlights of the Oakland\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s A\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s largely miserable season.\u00c2\u00a0 On 6 July 2009, Brett Anderson (no, not the ex-Suede singer) walked into Fenway Park as a boy and strolled out as a man.\u00c2\u00a0 The rookie left-hander pitched a complete game shutout, the first of his career, giving up just two hits while walking two batters and striking out nine as the A\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s beat the Red Sox 6-0.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

A scan of my completed scorecard can be accessed as a pdf here<\/a>.\u00c2\u00a0 <\/p>\n

Delving into the scorecard<\/h3>\n

The A\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s batting side of the scorecard is on page one, but naturally my attention is caught by the second page on which Anderson\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s masterful display is recorded.\u00c2\u00a0 The Red Sox really didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t get much going against him all night.\u00c2\u00a0 Jason Bay got into scoring position in the second inning, but Rocco Baldelli grounded into a double play to end the inning and gave me a chance to draw the IBAF \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcdouble play\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 notations on my scorecard (noting the two put-outs separately and then linking them with a line, while using the GDP abbreviation to show that Baldelli grounded into the DP).\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 Anderson took control from there, striking out five in a row at one point and navigating his way around having a base runner on third twice, bringing the game to a close by retiring the last eight batters in order.<\/p>\n

Brett Anderson wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t the only person who had a memorable game.\u00c2\u00a0 Switching back to page one and looking at Nomar Garciaparra\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s opening at-bat in the second inning (grounding out to third) might not provoke much excitement, but what isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t noted down on the scorecard is the spine-tingling standing ovation he received prior to digging in at the batter\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s box.\u00c2\u00a0 This was Nomar\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s first appearance back at Fenway since he was shockingly traded by the Red Sox mid-way through the 2004 season.\u00c2\u00a0 The cheers lasted for several minutes as everyone, not least Garciaparra himself, got caught up in the emotion.\u00c2\u00a0 You\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll notice that Kurt Suzuki thoughtfully ended the top of the first inning by grounding the ball to Kevin Youkilis* so that Nomar could lead off the second inning.<\/p>\n

*(Youkilis recorded an unassisted put-out on Matt Holliday on the play to get the third out of the inning.\u00c2\u00a0 The \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcO5\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 in Suzuki\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s box stands for \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcoccupied ball\u00e2\u20ac\u2122, with the ball being occupied by the third baseman, or position number 5)<\/p>\n

Not a Smoltz start to savour<\/h3>\n

It was also an important day for veteran pitcher John Smoltz.\u00c2\u00a0 He was making his first start at Fenway in a Red Sox uniform, although it didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t go according to plan for the former Brave.\u00c2\u00a0 After a a shaky first inning (two singles and a walk) he settled down over the second and third frames, but his start quickly unravelled in the fourth. The A\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s sent eight batters to the plate and amassed four runs on five hits.\u00c2\u00a0 Jason Giambi\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s lead-off double to centre field set the tone for the inning and back-to-back singles by Kurt Suzuki and Nomar Garciaparra brought the first baseman home.\u00c2\u00a0 Suzuki and Ryan Sweeney were driven home on a double to left-centre by Mark Ellis and he was subsequently plated by a single to right by Adam Kennedy.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

Kennedy drove in another run in the top of the sixth inning to make the score 5-0.\u00c2\u00a0 This is a useful inning to look at because it shows one of the strengths of the IBAF scorecard and scoring method: the ability to clearly note any player substitutions.\u00c2\u00a0 Jack Cust started the inning with a double and, after spluttering to a halt at second base, was immediately replaced by a pinch runner: Scott Hairston.\u00c2\u00a0 I recorded this change by drawing a thick line on the second base section and then noting down Hairston in the batting lineup in the row for batting position number 7.\u00c2\u00a0 You\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll see that Cust was playing in right field (position 9), but Hairston took over in centre (position 8, with a superscript 1 to show he was the first replacement at this position).\u00c2\u00a0 Ryan Sweeney moved from centre to right to accommodate Hairston and this is recorded by adding another line for Sweeney (in the 8 spot on the batting line) and noting \u00e2\u20ac\u02dc9\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 with the superscript 1, before filling in the Innings played total at centre.<\/p>\n

Fielding changes<\/h3>\n

Of course, the fielding changes only really took effect when Oakland got back out on the field in the bottom of the inning.\u00c2\u00a0 If you click over to the second page, you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll see that the fielding changes have been noted down at the top of the column for the sixth inning.\u00c2\u00a0 A dark black line has also been added across the top of the first plate appearance square in that inning (Ellsbury) to show that the changes took place then.\u00c2\u00a0 Had a fielding switch been made after Ellsbury\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s lead off at-bat, a dark line would have been drawn at the top of Lugo\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s plate appearance square etc.\u00c2\u00a0 It might look a little complicated at first, but it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s really not when you get the hang of it and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a much easier way to clearly record fielding changes than any other method I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve seen (and\/or used) before.<\/p>\n

There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s one final thing to point out with the fielding changes, one that has probably already caused some \u00e2\u20ac\u02dctut-tutting\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 from experienced scorers inspecting my completed scorecard.\u00c2\u00a0 When a new fielder comes into the game, you should always note his exact position number (i.e. with<\/strong> the relevant superscript number) when he makes any plays.\u00c2\u00a0 I haven\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t done that in this case, purely and simply because I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m fairly new to this scoring method and I forgot to do it!\u00c2\u00a0 For instance, in the bottom of the seventh inning (the Red Sox\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s batting side), Ryan Sweeney made two catches in right which are just noted as \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcF9\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 when they should have been noted as \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcF9\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 with a superscript 1.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

Other plays<\/h3>\n

The other two plays in that inning are also worth a mention.\u00c2\u00a0 After David Ortiz flied out to lead off the inning, Jason Bay made it all the way to third base on an error by Hairston.\u00c2\u00a0 The notation for this is \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcE8F\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 and it includes a bit more information than a \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcfan\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s standard\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 \u00e2\u20ac\u02dce8\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 would have done.\u00c2\u00a0 A capital \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcE\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 is used to denote that the error was a decisive error (one that would have led to an out had the error not been committed) rather than an extra base error (\u00e2\u20ac\u02dce\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 – one that just allows a runner to take an extra base).\u00c2\u00a0 The capital \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcF\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 at the end shows that the error was made while attempting to catch a fly ball.\u00c2\u00a0 I was tempted to add a \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcDB\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 in there as well to show that Hairston had made a complete \u00e2\u20ac\u0153dog\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s breakfast\u00e2\u20ac\u009d out of trying to catch a relatively simple fly ball, but decided against it in the end.<\/p>\n

After Bay reached third, Jason Varitek came to the plate and could only manage to pop the ball up.\u00c2\u00a0 Bobby Crosby, who had replaced Giambi at first base, caught the ball to\u00c2\u00a0make the out in foul territory and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve recorded this as \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcFP3\u00e2\u20ac\u2122.\u00c2\u00a0 That wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t provoke any controversy among \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcfan\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 scorers: it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a foul (F) pop-up (P) caught by the first baseman (3 \u00e2\u20ac\u201c and, yes, there should be a superscript 1 on the scorecard there).\u00c2\u00a0 However, pop-ups do not exist in the IBAF scoring method: it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s either a fly-out (F) or a line-out (L).\u00c2\u00a0 So technically it should be recorded as \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcFF3\u00e2\u20ac\u2122.\u00c2\u00a0 I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve always differentiated between fly-outs and pop-outs, so I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m reserving the right to stick with a \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcP\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 in those situations.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

Extras<\/h3>\n

The last thing I want to highlight is my use of the \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcNotes\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 section for the batters.\u00c2\u00a0 The idea of these spaces is to allow you to record any notes you wish, rather than filling in lots of \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcstats\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 boxes that may not be overly important to you.\u00c2\u00a0 I have used the spaces to total up some additional incidents relating to each batter (e.g. strikeouts, stolen bases, home runs) and also to make some general notes. For example, I’ve recorded that the third baseman (Kennedy) who fielded David Ortiz\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s grounder to end the game was actually playing near second base in a defensive shift, rather than in the usual third base position (therefore\u00c2\u00a0noting that Ortiz hit the ball to the right side of the infield, not the left).<\/p>\n

I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve already noted my \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcsuperscript\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 error, but it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s possible there are others on the scorecard when judged against the full IBAF criteria.\u00c2\u00a0 I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m far from an expert at the IBAF system so if you spot a mistake, or want to pick up on anything else of interest on the scorecard, please pass on a comment or two below.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After introducing the BaseballGB \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcIBAF Scoring Method scorecard\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 last week, we now turn to the first example of the scorecard in action<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[77],"tags":[101,560,553,128],"class_list":["post-6491","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-keeping-score","tag-boston-red-sox","tag-keeping-score","tag-mlb-2","tag-oakland-as"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/baseballgb.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6491","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/baseballgb.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/baseballgb.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baseballgb.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baseballgb.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6491"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/baseballgb.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6491\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6510,"href":"https:\/\/baseballgb.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6491\/revisions\/6510"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/baseballgb.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6491"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baseballgb.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6491"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baseballgb.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6491"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}