Baseball Scorekeeper
Score the game at bat by at bat — the line score, hits, errors and every batter's AB, H, R, RBI, BB and K are worked out for you.
How to use
- Step 1Open the settings and type the batting orders if you want them — a uniform number and a name per spot, up to fifteen. Skip it and the tool still keeps the game; with a lineup you also get every batter's AB, H, R, RBI, BB and K.
- Step 2Tap what the batter did: 1B, 2B, 3B, HR, BB, HBP, K, GO, FO, SF, SH, FC, ROE or DP. Runners move by the normal rules, the batting order steps to the next spot, and three outs flip the half-inning on their own.
- Step 3When a runner does something of his own — steals, takes an extra base, scores on a wild pitch, gets picked off — use the buttons next to that base. Every tap lands in the play log, and the line score above is built from the log, not typed in.
How to keep a baseball scorebook
Scorekeeping is shorthand, and the shorthand starts with the fielders. Every position has a number, always the same one, so a play can be written as the path the ball took: 6-3 is a ground ball fielded by the shortstop and thrown to first base, 4-6-3 is the classic second-baseman-to-shortstop-to-first double play, and F8 is a fly ball caught by the center fielder.
- K — strikeout swinging. A backwards K is the traditional mark for a called third strike.
- BB — base on balls (a walk); IBB if it was intentional; HBP — hit by pitch.
- 1B, 2B, 3B, HR — a single, double, triple and home run.
- 6-3, 4-3, 5-3 — ground outs, written as the throw. F8, L4, P5 — fly out, line out, pop out, with the fielder's number.
- E5 — an error charged to the third baseman. FC — fielder's choice. SH — sacrifice bunt, SF — sacrifice fly. DP — double play.
| Number | Position | Number | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pitcher | 6 | Shortstop |
| 2 | Catcher | 7 | Left field |
| 3 | First base | 8 | Center field |
| 4 | Second base | 9 | Right field |
| 5 | Third base | DH | Designated hitter (does not field) |
Plate appearance, at-bat and the RBI rules
A plate appearance is every completed turn at the plate. An at-bat is narrower: it excludes walks, hit batsmen, sacrifice flies, sacrifice bunts and catcher's interference. That is why a batter who walks twice and singles once is 1 for 1, not 1 for 3 — and why batting average, which divides hits by at-bats, is unmoved by a walk. This tool applies the split for you: BB, HBP, SF and SH add a plate appearance but no at-bat.
A run batted in is credited when the run scores as a result of the batter's plate appearance — on a hit, on a sacrifice, on a ground out, and on a walk or hit by pitch with the bases loaded, where the run is forced home. Official Baseball Rule 9.04 takes it away in two cases worth knowing: no RBI when the batter grounds into a force double play, and no RBI when the run scores because of an error rather than because of the batter.
How this tool builds the line score
Nothing in the grid at the top is entered by hand. Every tap becomes an entry in the play log, and the runs per inning, the hits, the errors, the runners left on base and the batting lines are all folded out of that log. Correct a mistake with Undo and the totals correct themselves, because they were never stored separately.
Runners move by the defaults below. When something else happened — a runner went first to third on a single, a throw got away, the defense conceded a base — fix it afterwards with the per-runner buttons; each of those is logged too.
| You tap | The batter | The runners |
|---|---|---|
| 1B single | To first | Each up one base. Turn on aggressive base running and a runner on second scores instead |
| 2B double | To second | Each up two bases |
| 3B triple | To third | All score |
| HR home run | Scores | All score |
| BB walk, HBP | To first | Only forced runners move; with the bases loaded the run is forced in and is an RBI |
| SF sacrifice fly | Out, no at-bat | The runner on third scores — needs fewer than two outs, otherwise it is just a fly out |
| SH sacrifice bunt | Out, no at-bat | Each up one base |
| FC fielder's choice | Safe at first | The lead runner is out |
| ROE reached on error | Safe at first, at-bat charged, no hit | Forced runners move; an error goes to the fielding team |
| DP double play | Out | The runner on first is out too, or the lead runner when first is empty |
| K, GO, FO | Out | Hold where they are |
What it does not do, and how to work around it
- It does not follow the game pitch by pitch. There is no ball-strike count and no pitch counter here; the display scoreboard page has the count, and a tally counter is better for pitches.
- It does not make the official scorer's calls. Hit or error, earned or unearned, who gets the putout — those are rulings, so you tap the ruling and the tool records it.
- It keeps no pitching line: no innings pitched, no earned runs, no strikeout totals for the pitcher. Only the batting side is derived.
- It does not handle substitutions, defensive positions or courtesy runners as separate people. Type over the lineup spot when a new player comes in, or leave the lineup empty and score the game without names.
- Tip: with nobody on base, tap the outcome and move on — the runner buttons only appear when somebody is actually on. Tip: use End half when an inning ends on something the buttons did not cover; the runners still on base are counted as left on base.
Questions and answers
What is the difference between this and the baseball scoreboard page?
Direction. The scoreboard page is a display board: you tap the runs, hits and errors and it shows them, the way the board over the outfield fence does. Here you tap what each batter did and the line score, the hits, the errors, the runners left on base and the batting lines are worked out from those plays.
Do I have to enter a lineup?
No. Without one, batters are anonymous and you still get the full line score with runs by inning, hits, errors and LOB. Type the batting orders in and you also get a box score line for every batter: at-bats, hits, runs, RBI, walks and strikeouts.
A runner went from first to third on a single. How do I record that?
Tap 1B first — the runner moves to second by default — then use the +1 base button next to second. The play log shows both entries, and the line score follows. The same buttons cover a steal, a runner scoring on a wild pitch, a pickoff and a runner thrown out on the bases.
Does a walk count as an at-bat?
No. A walk, a hit by pitch, a sacrifice fly and a sacrifice bunt are plate appearances but not at-bats, so they do not appear in the AB column and do not lower a batting average. The tool follows that rule automatically, and it credits the RBI when a bases-loaded walk forces a run home.
Can somebody follow the game from the stands?
Yes. Tap “Share live” and send the view link: it shows the line score, the bases, the outs and the last play, and updates as you tap. The edit link is separate, it is the only key to the board, and it cannot be recovered — save it somewhere.