At the end of a game, a baseball scorekeeper needs to prove out their scorebook. If you're bewildered by the process, read on to learn how to prove a baseball box score.
Introduction
A baseball scorekeeper reports data that is used to analyze performance of a player and a team. Games can be fast paced, and sometimes individual plays are missed or misrecorded. Proving a box score means that you can be comfortable that every play has been recorded. It doesn't guarantee that the scorekeeper's judgment about a whether a play was a hit or an error is right— it just means the play made it into the book!
Step 1: What is a Baseball Box Score?
A baseball box score is a statistical summary of a baseball game. It lays out the what happened in each inning, by player, by inning. It is using reported in a box in the newspaper, giving it the name box score. The data in the box score can be used to calculate statistics such as batting average, on base percentage, slugging average or earned run average.
Step 2: Add up the Data
During the game a scorekeeper records each action in the scorebook. Before he or she can prove out the score, they need to calculate the totals by player and by inning of each action, such as:
- Plate appearances
- At-bats
- Runs
- Errors
- Players left on base
- Put outs
- Sacrifices
- Hit by pitch
Calculate totals both by player and by inning. The the total for each statistic by player should equal the total of the that statistic by inning.
Step 3: Prove the Baseball Box Score
- Calculate a game total for the number of runs, players left on base and opponents' putouts for one team.
- Calculate a game total for at-bats, walks, sacrifices, batters hit by pitcher and awards of first base due to interference for the same team.
- If these totals equal, you've proved the box score. If not, you'll need to go back and review each inning to see what you missed.
