How to Keep Score in Baseball with a Paper Scorebook

There is something deeply satisfying about keeping score at a baseball game. While the rest of the crowd checks their phones between pitches, the scorer is locked in — pencil in hand, recording every pitch, every swing, every out. By the end of nine innings, you hold a complete story of the game on a single sheet of paper. This guide will teach you how to do it.

What You Need

Keeping score requires almost nothing:

• A scorebook (or a printed scorecard)
• A pencil — not a pen, because you will make mistakes
• A lineup card or roster for both teams

You can buy a traditional scorebook at any sporting goods store, or print free scorecards online. Most scorebooks contain enough sheets for an entire season.

Understanding the Scorecard

Open any scorebook and you will see a grid. Each row represents a batter in the lineup, and each column represents an inning. At the intersection of each row and column is a small diamond — this is where the magic happens.

The diamond represents the four bases: home plate at the bottom, first base on the right, second base at the top, and third base on the left. As a runner advances around the bases, you trace his path on the diamond. If he scores, the diamond is completely filled in.

To the left of the grid, you will find columns for the player's number, name, and position. At the bottom of each inning column, there is usually space to record the runs, hits, and errors for that inning.

The Position Numbering System

Before you can score a single play, you need to learn the nine numbers assigned to each defensive position. This numbering system is universal across all levels of baseball:

These numbers describe who handled the ball on a play. When the shortstop fields a grounder and throws to first base, that play is written as 6-3. A double play from short to second to first is 6-4-3. Once you internalize these nine numbers, scoring becomes second nature.

Essential Scoring Symbols

Scorekeepers use a shorthand of letters and symbols to record what happens at each plate appearance. Here are the ones you will use on almost every page:

Hits

Outs

Reaching Base

Baserunning

Scoring an At-Bat Step by Step

Here is how to score a complete plate appearance:

1. Find the right cell. Locate the batter's row and the current inning column. You should see a small diamond.
2. Track the count (optional). Many scorers write the ball-strike count along the edge of the cell. Use dots or tally marks for balls and strikes as each pitch is thrown.
3. Record the result. When the at-bat ends, write the outcome in the center or bottom of the diamond. For example: F8 for a fly out to center, or 1B for a single.
4. Trace the baserunning. If the batter reaches base, darken the line from home to first. If he later advances to second on a teammate's single, darken the line from first to second in that teammate's at-bat cell.
5. Mark the out number. If the batter made an out, write the out number (1, 2, or 3) in the corner of the cell. This makes it easy to see which batter made the last out of an inning.

Scoring Common Plays

Let us walk through the most common plays you will encounter:

A Single to Left Field

Write 1B in the cell. Draw a line from home to first on the diamond to show the runner's position. If you want to note the direction, you can write 1B7 to indicate the single went to the left fielder's area.

A Groundout, Shortstop to First

Write 6-3 in the cell. Add the out number in the corner. No baserunning lines are drawn — the batter never reached.

A Strikeout

Write K for a swinging strikeout. If the batter was called out looking, use Kc or a backwards K. Add the out number.

A Walk

Write BB. Draw a line from home to first. Some scorers use a different color or a dashed line to distinguish walks from hits.

A Double to the Gap

Write 2B. Draw lines from home to first, then first to second. The runner's current position is second base. If there was a runner on first who scored on the double, go to that runner's at-bat cell and complete the diamond by drawing lines through third and home.

A Home Run

Write HR. Draw lines around the entire diamond — home to first to second to third and back to home. Fill in the diamond completely to indicate a run scored. Do the same for any runners who were on base.

A Sacrifice Fly

Write SF followed by the fielder number (e.g., SF9 for a sac fly to right field). Mark the out number. In the runner's cell who scored, complete their path around the diamond.

A 6-4-3 Double Play

In the batter's cell, write DP 6-4-3 and mark the out numbers. In the cell of the runner who was forced at second, mark the out there as well with a notation that it was part of the double play.

An Error

Write E followed by the position number of the fielder who committed the error. For example, E5 means the third baseman made an error. Draw the baserunning lines as if it were a hit, but note: a runner who reaches on an error is not credited with a hit.

A Stolen Base

In the cell where the runner originally reached base, extend the baserunning line to the next base. Write SB next to the line. Note the inning if the steal happened in a later inning than the one where the runner reached base.

Tracking Runners Across Innings

One of the trickiest parts of scorekeeping is tracking a runner who is still on base when an inning's at-bats end (for the opposing team's half) and then scores or advances in a later at-bat.

The key principle: all baserunning is recorded in the cell where the runner originally reached base. If a player singles in the third inning and then steals second and scores on a teammate's single in the same inning, all of his baserunning lines and notations go in his original at-bat cell in the third inning. You trace the path around the diamond in that cell and fill it in when he scores.

The End of an Inning

After three outs are recorded, draw a dark line at the bottom of the last at-bat cell to indicate the inning is over. Any batters who were left on base should have their baserunning path stop at their last base — do not fill in the diamond. At the bottom of the inning column, tally the runs, hits, and errors for that half-inning.

Substitutions

When a pinch hitter or defensive replacement enters the game, draw a line across the row below the player being replaced and write the new player's name and number. Some scorers use a different row entirely and note the inning of the substitution. The important thing is that your lineup always reflects who is currently batting in each spot.

Pitching Lines

Most scorecards have a separate section for tracking each pitcher. Record innings pitched, hits allowed, runs, earned runs, walks, and strikeouts. When a new pitcher enters the game, draw a wavy or zigzag line in the scoring grid between the last batter the outgoing pitcher faced and the first batter the new pitcher faces. This makes it easy to attribute runs and hits to the correct pitcher.

Tallying the Final Line

When the game is over, add up each column to produce the line score — the runs per inning that you see on every scoreboard. Then total each batter's at-bats, runs, hits, RBIs, walks, and strikeouts in the summary columns on the right side of the scorecard. Cross-check your totals: the number of runs should match the filled-in diamonds, and the number of hits should equal all the 1B, 2B, 3B, and HR marks.

Tips for Beginners

• Use pencil. You will erase. Everyone does.
• Stay one batter ahead. Before each at-bat, glance at the lineup and write the next batter's number and name. When the play happens, you will be ready.
• Do not try to score every pitch at first. Start by recording just the outcome of each at-bat. Add pitch-by-pitch tracking once you are comfortable.
• Watch the fielders. On a groundout, note which fielder picked it up and where the throw went. This is all you need to write the play.
• Fill in totals at the end of each inning. Do not wait until the end of the game — it is much harder to reconstruct from memory.
• Keep it consistent. It does not matter whether you use G 6-3 or just 6-3 for a groundout, as long as you use the same notation every time. Consistency is more important than convention.
• Bring a lineup card. Ask the official scorer, the press box, or download one from the team's website. Having the starting lineups and jersey numbers saves a lot of scrambling in the first inning.

Why It Matters

Keeping score transforms you from a spectator into a participant. You will notice patterns — which pitcher is tiring, which batter has seen a certain pitch three times, where the defense is shifting. You will catch things the broadcast misses. And at the end of the game, you will have a one-page record that captures every play, every substitution, every stolen base.

There is a reason scorekeeping has survived for over a century, even as technology has advanced. A well-kept scorecard is both a tool and an artifact — functional during the game, and a keepsake after it.

Grab a pencil and a scorebook, and start with the next game you watch. By the third inning, you will wonder how you ever watched baseball without it.