A Sacrifice Fly ball out occurs when a batter hits the ball in the air and it’s caught before it hits the ground and a runner advances from third base to home.

To be considered a Sacrifice Fly the following conditions must be met:

1. There are fewer than 2 outs
2. The ball is hit to the outfield
3. The batter is out – ball is caught on a fly
4. A runner on base scores on the play

• The batter is credited with an RBI, entered as “RBI” in the upper right hand corner of the batter’s cell. This the example, the batter is “Smith”
• The out number of the inning is entered, with a circle around it, in the upper right hand corner of the batter’s cell to reflect the out in the inning. Again, the batter is “Smith”
• The letters “SF” are entered in the middle of the batter’s cell
• A Sacrifice Fly is not considered an official at-bat and is not to be tallied as an At-Bat in Game totals.

When a batter reaches first base safely it is recorded by drawing a line from home plate to first base.

The same pattern is followed as the runner advances from base to base, proceeding counter clockwise around the diamond in the cell.

When a batter hits a home run or advances around all the bases safely, it is recorded by drawing a line from home to first, first to second, second to third and third back to home plate and the diamond is also shaded in to denote the player has scored a run.



If a batter hits the ball and gets to first base safely without the help of a defensive fielder missing a ground ball, dropping a fly ball or dropping a throw from another fielder, it is recorded as a hit.

Single

When the batter advances to first base without the defense making an error, it is considered a Single and recorded as follows:

· A line is drawn (on the diamond in the cell) from home plate to first base.
· The value “1B” (the runner got to 1st Base) is entered in the bottom right hand corner of the cell.
· An RBI is credited for EACH run scored resulting from the hit

Double

When the batter advances to second base without the defense making an error, it is considered a Double and recorded as follows:
· A line is drawn (on the diamond in the cell) from Home to First Base and from First Base to Second Base
· The value “2B” (the runner got to 2nd Base) is entered in the bottom right hand corner of the cell.
· An RBI is credited for EACH run scored resulting from the hit

Triple

When the batter advances to third base without the defense making an error, it is considered a Triple and recorded as follows:

· A line is drawn (on the diamond in the cell) from Home to First Base, from First Base to Second Base and Second Base to Third Base
· The values “3B” (the runner got to 3rd Base) is entered in the bottom right hand corner of the cell.
· An RBI is credited for EACH run scored resulting from the hit.

Home Run

When the batter hits the ball over the fence on a fly, in between the foul lines, it is considered a Home Run.

· A line is drawn (on the diamond in the cell) from Home to First Base, from First Base to Second Base, Second Base to Third Base and Third Base back to Home Plate.
· The diamond is shaded in
· The letters “HR” (the runner hit a Home Run is entered in the bottom right hand corner of the cell.
· An RBI is credited for EACH run scored resulting from the hit.

When a batter advances all around all the bases without the defense making an error, it is considered an Inside the Park Home run. It is recorded the same as Home Run hit over the fence. If desired, the letters “IHR” can be used to distinguish it.

For youth baseball league Scorekeeping, the letters “HR” can be used exclusively for both types of Home Runs.

Noting the Direction of a Hit

It is a good idea to drawn a line in the direction of the hit, starting from home plate and ending where the ball was retrieved. If the hit never left the infield draw the line in the direction it was hit and end the line in proportion to where it stopped or was fielded.

This is a great tip for using the score book later in the game to make a strategic decision.

In the illustration to the right, the batter Jones, hit a double to left field. We know this because of the thin line extending from home plate to left field.

When a runner scores a run resulting from a Ground Ball Out, Sacrifice Fly, A Hit (Single, Double, Triple or Home Run), Hit By Pitch, Sacrifice Bunt, Force Out or Fielder’s Choice the batter is credited with an RBI (Run Batted In) for each run resulting from that specific plate appearance.

If there is an error that results in a run being scored, the batter is not credited with an RBI. In extenuating circumstances crediting an RBI may not be clear. The Official Scorer is the ultimate authority for determining if an RBI is or is not to be credited.

RBIs are not credited in the case of an Error, Passed Ball, Wild Pitch, Balk, Steal or Interference.

There are different variations for noting an RBI in the Score Book. Some scorebooks actually have a placeholder in each cell where you can mark each RBI.

However, if the Scorebook you’re using doesn’t, you can note the RBI on the right-hand side of the cell (where room permits).

The illustration to the right shows an RBI being credited to Jones that resulted from his home run over the left field fence.

Game winning RBIs can be scored using the letters “GWRBI”.

An Error occurs when a batter reaches a base safely because of a defensive player missing a ground ball, missing a fly ball or making a bad throw. An error is also given to a defensive player whose “bad” play results in a runner(s) advancing a base(s)

An Error is recorded with:
· A line drawn (on the diamond in the cell) from Home to First Base
· the letter “E” followed by the defensive position number of the player who made the error
· An RBI is not credited to the batter if a run(s) score due to the error.

Let’s take an example to clarify this scenario:

There is a ground ball fielded cleanly by the shortstop but the throw to first base goes over the first baseman’s head. This would be recorded as “E6″ where “E” represents Error and “6″ represents the shortstop who made the throwing error.

Multiple errors can occur on a single play. However, if a singular action by a fielder results in multiple runners advancing only 1 error is charged.

The terminology used is “the player was “charged” with an error.

A “Ball” is called by the Home Plate umpire when the pitch crosses home plate outside the strike zone.

The strike zone extends roughly from the batters chest to knees and from the left edge of Home Plate to the Right Edge of Home Plate, including it’s black border.

The strike zone is open to interpretation by the Umpire. Calling balls and strikes is the most difficult call to make and is made by the Home Plate Umpire.

A Base On Balls occurs when a batter is pitched 4 balls (pitches that don’t cross the strike zone) before he strikes out, gets a hit, or makes an out.

The batter is awarded first base on a “Base On Balls”. It is also referred to as a “Walk”.

A Base On Balls is recorded with:

· A line drawn (on the diamond in the cell) from Home to First Base
· the letters “BB” entered in the bottom right hand corner of the cell
· If a runner scores a run due to a Base On Balls an RBI is credited to the batter.
· A Base on Balls is not considered an official at-bat and is not to be tallied as At-Bat in Game totals.
· The batter is credited with an RBI if a runner scores a run resulting from the Base On Balls.

A Hit By Pitch occurs when a batter is struck by a thrown pitch, while the ball is in flight from the pitcher, on any body part. If it touches the ground before the batter is hit, it does not qualify.

A line is drawn (on the diamond in the cell) from Home to First Base
· the letters “HP” is recorded in the bottom right hand corner of the cell in the score book.
· An RBI is credited to the batter if a run(s) score due to a Hit By Pitch
· Hit By Pitch is not considered an official at-bat and is not to be tallied as At-Bat in Game totals.