Failure™ Magazine

Baseball’s Scoring Slump

Why scoring baseball is becoming a lost art.

Written by Jason Zasky   Filed under Sports

Some people attribute the decline in scoring devotees to today’s attention-deficit/instant gratification society. Baseball fans have many distractions at the modern stadium—everything from trivia questions and cartoons on the JumboTron, to restaurants, batting cages and fast food outlets. Greg Jouriles, a high school teacher from Alameda, California, who learned the practice from his father and spent the entire Indians/A’s game recording every play, notes that scoring “requires patience and sticking to it—something you don’t see much anymore.”

Digger Lauter, an 18-year-old New York Yankees fan from Monterey, California, who documented the action with his brother Mick, has his own theory, claiming that scoring methodology is no longer essential baseball knowledge. “It’s simply not taught anymore, because there is so much information on the scoreboard,” he says. While each glossy game program sold in major league stadiums includes a heavyweight-paper score sheet, it usually goes unused. Fans tend to be much more interested in the photos and personal profiles of their favorite players.

But to hardcore devotees, scorekeeping is an essential part of the fan experience, a cerebral exercise that allows you to appreciate the nuances of the sport. “Baseball is a slow game,” says Jouriles. “Scoring gives you something to do and gives you a better understanding of the game. It also fits in with baseball’s whole statistical mindset,” he says.

On occasion, those with scorecards can become a quiet center of attention at the park, as they reward fans in nearby seats with insights that only a diligent scorekeeper could bring to light. Jouriles tells the story of documenting a Florida Marlins/San Francisco Giants game in which Marlins outfielder Cliff Floyd was 0-4 with four strikeouts. In his last at bat, “he had an 0-2 count on him,” recalls Jouriles. “It looked like he was going to strike out five times, but he hit a home run to beat the Giants. If you don’t keep score you probably don’t notice that.”

Although the basics of the scoring system are universal, the fan can make his or her record-keeping as simple or as complex as desired. Some fans content themselves with notating hits, runs and outs. Others record every detail of the game. Fans have been known to commemorate how much beer they consume or who threw out the ceremonial first pitch. “If an airplane flies overhead or if there’s a fight in the stadium, I note that,” claims Jouriles.

The system also allows for a certain amount of creativity and personal flair. For instance, some scorers incorporate color and diagrams into their score books. Mick Lauter notes the flight path of the ball on each play. Others scribble details about injuries in the margins or use exclamation points to highlight spectacular catches.

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