How to keep score in baseball

Baseball scoring at a glance

Rule	What it means for the score
Run	Worth 1. It is the only way to score
How a run scores	A runner touches first, second, third and home before the third out
Home run	The batter and every runner on base score: a grand slam is 4 runs
Innings	9 in MLB. Visitors bat in the top half, the home team in the bottom half
Outs	Each half-inning ends after 3 outs
Home team ahead after the top of the 9th	The game is over: the home team does not bat
Tied after 9 innings	Extra innings, one inning at a time, until a team leads at the end of an inning

When does a run count?

A run counts when the runner touches home plate after touching the other three bases in order, before the defence records the third out of the half-inning. Runs are never worth more or less than 1: a home run with two runners on base is simply 3 runs.

The exception is the third out. No run scores if the third out is a force out or the batter is out before reaching first. So with two outs and a runner on third, if the batter grounds out at first, the run does not count, even if the runner crossed the plate first.

A run can score without a hit. A sacrifice fly, a wild pitch, an error or a walk with the bases loaded all bring runs home. It takes 4 balls for a walk and 3 strikes for a strikeout; a walk only forces in a run when the bases are loaded.

How do you read a baseball scoreboard?

A baseball scoreboard, or line score, has one row per team, visitors on top. There is a box for each inning showing the runs scored in it, including 0, then three totals:

• R, runs: the score. This is the only column that decides the game.
• H, hits: times a batter reached base on a fair ball without the help of an error or a fielder's choice. Walks are not hits.
• E, errors: plays that, in the official scorer's judgement, an average fielder should have made but that team's fielders did not. Errors sit in the row of the team that made them, even though they helped the other team.

Here is the line score of the game scored further down, turned on its side to fit a phone.

Inning	Hawks (visitors)	Tigers (home)
1	1	0
2	0	0
3	0	2
4	0	0
5	1	0
6	1	0
7	0	2
8	0	1
9	0	X
R	3	5
H	7	9
E	1	0

The X in the Tigers' 9th means they did not need to bat. The hits and errors are made up to show how the columns read.

Does the home team bat in the bottom of the 9th?

Only if it needs to. The home team does not bat in the bottom of the 9th if it is already ahead, because the visitors have had their last turn at bat and cannot catch up. That is why a home win often shows an X in the last box.

If the home team is behind or level, it bats. The game ends as soon as the home team scores the winning run in its last at-bat, which is called a walk-off. Only the runs needed to win count: in a tie game with the bases loaded, a double that brings two runners home still wins by 1, because the game ends as the first run scores.

There is one exception. On a game-ending home run out of the park, the batter and all runners score, so a walk-off grand slam counts all 4 runs.

What happens if a baseball game is tied after 9 innings?

It goes to extra innings: play goes on one inning at a time until a team leads at the end of a completed inning, or the home team scores the winning run in its half. On a scoreboard, each extra inning gets its own box: 10, 11 and so on. MLB sets no limit on the number of extra innings.

The MLB regular season adds a twist. Each extra half-inning starts with a runner on second base, and that runner is the player who bats just before the half-inning's leadoff hitter, or a pinch runner. The rule dates from 2020, made permanent in 2023, and it is not used in the postseason.

Rain and darkness can stop a game early. An MLB game called by the umpire counts as a regulation game once it has gone 5 innings, or 4 and a half if the home team is ahead. A game called with the score tied becomes a suspended game and is resumed later from the point where it stopped.

Youth and school games are shorter: see Little League innings by division, and the mercy rule for when a lopsided game ends early.

A baseball game scored run by run

The first column is the half-inning: the top of an inning is the visitors' turn at bat, the bottom is the home team's.

When	Team	Scoring play	Points	Score	What happened
Top 1	Hawks	Solo home run	+1	1–0	Bases empty, so only the batter scores.
Bottom 3	Tigers	Two-run double	+2	1–2	Runners on second and third both score. Tigers lead.
Top 5	Hawks	Sacrifice fly	+1	2–2	The runner on third tags up and scores after the catch. Tied 2-2.
Top 6	Hawks	Walk with the bases loaded	+1	3–2	Ball four forces the runner on third home. No hit, but the run counts.
Bottom 7	Tigers	Two-run home run	+2	3–4	The batter and the runner on first both score. Tigers back in front.
Bottom 8	Tigers	RBI single	+1	3–5	Tigers lead 5-3 going into the 9th.

The Hawks do not score in the top of the 9th. The Tigers are ahead, so they do not bat in the bottom half: final score Tigers 5, Hawks 3.

The Tigers lost the lead in the 5th and 6th and took it back with a two-run homer in the 7th. Leading 5-3 after the top of the 9th, they did not need to bat again, hence the X in the line score.

How do you keep score at a baseball game?

1. Before the first pitch, write both team names, visitors on top, and draw a box for each inning.
2. During each half-inning, count runs as runners touch home plate. If the third out is a force out, or the batter is out before reaching first, a runner who crossed on that play does not score.
3. After the third out, write that team's runs in its box, including 0.
4. After the top of the last inning, check whether the home team leads. If it does, the game is over.
5. If it is tied at the end, add a box for each extra inning until a team leads at the end of one.

How do you keep score in a baseball scorebook?

A scorebook records how every batter reached base or made an out, not just the runs. Each fielding position has a number, and an out is written as the numbers of the fielders who handled the ball.

Number	Position
1	Pitcher (P)
2	Catcher (C)
3	First baseman (1B)
4	Second baseman (2B)
5	Third baseman (3B)
6	Shortstop (SS)
7	Left fielder (LF)
8	Center fielder (CF)
9	Right fielder (RF)

The marks most scorebooks use:

• 1B, 2B, 3B, HR: single, double, triple, home run.
• BB: a walk, or base on balls.
• K: a strikeout. Many scorers write a backwards K when the batter took a called third strike.
• 6-3: a groundout, shortstop to first baseman.
• F8: a fly ball caught by the center fielder.
• E6: an error by the shortstop.
• SAC, SF: a sacrifice bunt and a sacrifice fly.

Each batter's box has a small diamond. Trace the runner's path round the bases and fill in the diamond when the runner scores: add up the filled diamonds in each inning and you have the line score. Scorebooks differ a little, so follow the key printed in yours.