How to Keep Score in a Baseball Game

Look for somewhere on the score sheet where there will be an area for such information as the name of the team, the date and the umpires. This is usually located on the top of the page and more detailed scorebooks will have room for information such as the weather and attendance. Fill this information in.

Find where on the sides of the score sheet there is a place to write in the names of the hitters. Once the lineups are announced fill this information in. Score sheets leave room for additional players' names in each space for when substitutions are made. Put down the players from top to bottom in the order in which they will bat, along with the position they play and their number if a slot is available for that.

Add the names of the starting pitchers in the appropriate place, which in most baseball scorebooks is toward the bottom of the page. Write the name of any other pitchers that come into the contest under the starter's name to keep track of their performance.

Familiarize yourself with the basic abbreviations that are used in a baseball scorebook. A single is recorded as 1B, a double as 2B, a triple as 3B and a home run as HR. Mark down walks or bases on balls as BB, swinging strikeouts as a K, and a strike out on a called third strike denoted with a backward K. Remember that other possible denotations such as a wild pitch, or WP, are usually just made using the first letters of each word.

Keep track of a player's at-bat. Look at the scorebook and notice that running perpendicular to the player's names on the side are the innings of the game, with a box that corresponds to each inning next to the player's name. Observe these boxes and you will see that there is a small diagram of a baseball diamond in each one. Depending on the type of scorebook, there is either room to mark in what the player did or a spot in the box to circle what the player did during an at-bat. For example, if a player were to single you should write 1B in the box.

Using the baseball diamond available in a player's box, mark down how far he or she advanced on the bases. If a player reached second then trace a line with your pencil from home to first and then again from first to second. Runs are usually denoted by filling in the entire diamond.

Memorize the numbers assigned to each position on the field to keep track of fielding players. The pitcher is 1, the catcher is 2, the first baseman 3, the second baseman 4, the third baseman 5, the shortstop 6, the left fielder 7, the center fielder 8, and the right fielder is 9. Use these numbers to show how a player was put out. A ground ball to the shortstop that is fielded and thrown to first for an out is denoted 6-3. A fly ball to centerfield that is caught is denoted F8.

Don't become frustrated if it takes a while to pick up all the nuances of scoring a baseball game in this manner. It is possible to become very detailed using very little writing. A line drive caught by the right fielder can be denoted with L9 for instance. You will learn over time that when a right fielder throws out a runner at home plate that you write 9-2 in the box of the player that hit the ball. When first attempting to score a baseball game, don't try to keep track of balls and strikes in the space in the box that is provided. Wait until you have gained more experience before doing this.

Write in how long a pitcher was in the game for and when he or she comes out. The pitching numbers are much easier to keep track of. While the next pitcher is warming up, it is possible to count up the hits the previous pitcher allowed, how many hitters were struck out by him and how many batters she walked. Look for the spaces where such stats as walks, hit by pitch and earned runs allowed are kept and fill them in.

When the game is over, fill in all the boxes that are normally on the far right of the page that recap what each player did. Mark in the correct numbers in boxes that correspond to base hits, runs, at-bats, errors and other categories.