The following terms will be used on this site:

Cell: The term cell refers to the square in which the player’s at-bat is recorded. In this illustration, the cell is the box where the diagram is drawn.

Scorecard, Scorebook: Will be used interchangeably and refer to the sheet that records the player and scoring information during a baseball game.

Scorekeeper: Refers to someone on a team that keeps the score for the purposes of the team.

Official Scorer: The designated person whose scorekeeping is considered the official record of the game. The Official Scorer is not a member of either team.

To “keep score” of a baseball game it is essential to know the defensive positions and their shorthand representation. For example, the number “1” is used to refer to the pitcher (P).

NOTE: In the younger levels of youth baseball leagues 10 defensive players are used. This 10^th position is know as the Short Center Fielder (SC) and is positioned between second base and the second baseman, on the beginning of the outfield grass. The Short Center Fielder bats and can be placed anywhere in the batting lineup.

Defensive Positions, Numbers & Abbreviations

The illustration below shows the defensive position for the defense. Notice the short center fielder is illustrated for those that are scoring youth league games.