Official Scoring: Here Comes The Sun… And The Ball!

Instead of the mailbag, we turn to the comments section of this very blog…

Q: An outfielder misplays a high, relatively routine, fly ball because he loses it in the sun. Is this a hit or an error? Does it make any difference if the ball hits the outfielder’s glove? (Gary – via the world wide web)

A: Let’s define two key words in Gary’s inquiry:

Let’s assume that Gary’s definition of routine is a ball that should be caught with ordinary effort. My favorite pitching coach defines that ball as the one “…that should be caught 100 times out of 100 times.”

To me, misplay means you had a play, but you didn’t make it. A fielder can’t play what he can’t see. Although I consider these types of plays to be unfortunate, I don’t consider them to be a misplay.

Back in my April 20th blog I covered similar circumstances as we debunked the myth that “A batted ball that reaches the outfield grass on the fly untouched by a fielder is automatically a base hit.” Today, we’re simply going to address Gary’s specific inquiry.

As the Official Scorer, we watch the batter make contact, we hear the crack of the bat, and ascertain by the ball’s trajectory that a “Can of Corn” is heading towards the outfield. I won’t speak for anyone else, but I know that while I am following the ball I am also checking the baserunners, fielders, and any other pertinent circumstances in the field of play. Depending on the hangtime, I’ll glance back amongst these various things more than once. I also try to focus on the eyes of the primary fielder. Does he see the ball? How far does he have to go to get it? Is there more than one fielder who thinks he has a play? Is anyone calling for the ball? Does the fielder look away from the ball? Even for a moment?

I try to get a glimpse of all of these things, but I am really big on the fielder’s eyes. When a fielder doesn’t see the ball, it’s usually obvious by his body language and movement. Neighbors in the pressbox have heard me say out loud more than once “He doesn’t see it”, long before the dropsies kick in. If you’re really watching, you KNOW when a fielder is going to drop a ball.

When a fielder takes his eyes off an incoming ball – to look at things like baserunners tagging up - I consider that action to be a misplay. Remember, a fielder’s number one responsibility is to get an out for the pitcher. Gunning down the baserunner is impressive and gets you on the big scoreboard, but not catching a “catchable” ball gets you on the big scoreboard as well:

OFFICIAL SCORER’S DECISION: ERROR OUTFIELDER

Finally, whether or not the ball touches a fielders glove is an important but not conclusive factor in my opinion. For example, a fielder that can’t find a ball in the backdrop of a high sky might put his glove high above his head to shield his eyes. If the ball hits the outstretched glove before the fielder can locate the ball, I’m likely to score the play a hit since the fielder never had a “play”.

Judgment of ordinary effort – it’s the core of an Official Scorer’s responsibility. Know the ability level of the players you are watching, have a realistic sense of what is ordinary effort, and do your best to apply the rules in a fair accordingly.

It’s a simple game. Really.

Send your questions and comments to the mailbag. Until next time – Peace.

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Sitting in the "big chair" prior to an OS assignment at Yankee Stadium

My personal scoring knowledge is the sum of three sources:

1) Official Baseball Rules, published by Major League Baseball.

2) Official Scoring in the Big Leagues, written by Bill Shannon (2006). I had the distinct and unique privilege of being one of the “crash test dummies” for its content, as Mr. Shannon painstakingly committed his oral pedagogy to paper, which turned out to be this book. I often respectfully refer to this publication as “The Book of Shannon“. Unlike the other attempts available in published form, the author of this publication is arguably the best Official Scorer in the major leagues.  I personally value the time over the years that I have observed him at work as well as the time spent listening as he held court on many occasion.

3) My life experience of watching “many” major league, minor league, and college baseball games live and in person – getting the opportunity to be the Official Scorer for a lot of them. In my opinion, functioning as a competent Official Scorer requires a thorough knowledge of the Official Baseball Rules, as well as the secondary ability to be able to find anything in the rulebook quickly that one has not committed to memory. Functioning as a successful Official Scorer requires a competent evaluation of  the level of “ordinary effort” of the players competing in that particular game, as well as the ability to make correct decisions without “committee” input. While the world we live in today is all about “consensus”, baseball official scoring is NOT. Red Foley, one of the best Official Scorers of the twentieth century said it best, “We don’t make popular calls, we make correct calls”.

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