One page, one game. Print this baseball scorecard, fill in the lineup and record every plate appearance the way official scorers do. If it's your first time keeping a scorebook, the step-by-step guide and the scoring-symbols key are below.
A scorecard looks intimidating the first time you hold one. It isn't. You only ever do one thing at a time: record what happened to the batter at the plate, then update the runners. Here's the routine.
Copy the batting order from the coach's lineup card into the rows on the left, top to bottom, with jersey number and position. If your league uses a continuous batting order, keep listing players down the rows. When a substitute comes in later, write their name under the player they replaced and note the inning they entered.
Find the batter's row and the inning's column. If the batter reaches base, write how in the cell (1B, BB, HBP, E6) and draw the first leg of the diamond from home to first. If they make an out, write the play using position numbers (6-3 for a ground out to short, F8 for a fly ball to centre, K for a strikeout) and circle the out number, 1, 2 or 3, in the corner of the cell.
When a runner moves up, go back to that runner's cell and extend the line: first to second, second to third, third to home. Note what moved them (SB for a stolen base, or the batting-order number of the hitter who drove them in). When a runner scores, fill the diamond in so the run stands out at a glance. If they're left on base when the inning ends, the line simply stops where they were.
After the third out, draw a short diagonal line in the bottom-right corner of the last batter's cell. Next inning, move to the next column and start with the batter who follows. This is the single most useful habit for a new scorer, because it tells you exactly who leads off.
In the runs / hits / LOB row at the bottom, write the runs scored, the hits and the runners left on base. If you're also keeping the game stat sheet for your own player, this is the moment to copy across their line.
At the end of the game, check that the card balances. For each team, runs + runners left on base + outs = total plate appearances. If it doesn't add up, you've missed a runner or a substitution somewhere, and it's far easier to find now than a week later.
Every fielder has a number and every play is written with them. The card carries a compact key; here's the full version.
| Symbol | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 1B / 2B / 3B / HR | Single, double, triple, home run |
| BB / IBB | Walk / intentional walk |
| K | Strikeout swinging |
| ꓘ (backwards K) | Strikeout looking (called third strike) |
| HBP | Hit by pitch |
| E + position (E5) | Error by that fielder |
| FC | Fielder's choice: batter safe because the defence chose to put out another runner |
| SAC / SF | Sacrifice bunt / sacrifice fly |
| F + position (F7) | Fly out to that fielder |
| Position-position (6-3) | Ground out: the fielder who threw it, then the fielder who made the putout |
| DP / TP | Double play / triple play |
| SB / CS | Stolen base / caught stealing |
| WP / PB | Wild pitch / passed ball |
| BK | Balk |
For the position numbers explained in more depth, including why the shortstop is 6 and not 5, read baseball position numbers explained.
For the complete beginner's walkthrough, read how to keep score at a baseball game.
The card works for fastpitch and slow-pitch softball without changes. Softball games are typically seven innings, so the last two columns stay empty or serve as extra innings. Slow-pitch fields ten players, so the tenth fielder, usually a fourth outfielder, is scored as position 10, and the ten batting rows cover a full ten-player order.
A scorecard is a single sheet covering one game. A scorebook is a bound collection of scorecards, usually one page per game, kept across a season. Print this scorecard once per game, keep them in a folder, and you have a scorebook.
Write FC in the batter's cell and draw the line to first base, because the batter is safe. Then record the out on the runner who was put out, for example 6-4 on the runner erased at second. The batter is charged with an at-bat but not credited with a hit.
Use a backwards K (ꓘ). A regular K is a strikeout swinging. Both count as an out and an at-bat; the symbol just records whether the batter swung at the third strike.
Yes. Softball is usually seven innings, so leave the last two columns blank, and score slow-pitch's fourth outfielder as position 10. Everything else is identical.
Nine, which covers regulation baseball and leaves two spare columns for extra innings in a seven-inning youth or softball game. If a nine-inning game goes to extras, continue on a second card.
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