Reading a Baseball Box Score

Keeping a baseball box score is sometimes a personal thing, that is, if you’re doing it for your own pleasure. Everyone has their own methods. But if you enjoy the game of baseball, and you’re not truly savvy about game statistics, a newspaper box score can be confusing. What do all those letters and numbers stand for? Who hit singles, doubles, triples and home runs? Who got the “save?” Who were the umpires? And of course, what was the final score? First, let’s review the basics of baseball: Pitch the ball, hit the ball and field the ball. OK, there’s more …

Major League and other baseball leagues have their own “official” methods on how to the keep the box scores of professional games. The first thing you need to know is what the abbreviations stand for. Check out the tables below:

• AO - Fly Outs
• APP - Appearances
• AVG - Opponents Batting Average
• BB - Bases on Balls (Walks)
• BB/9 - Walks per Nine Innings
• BF - Batters Faced
• BK - Balks
• BS - Blown Saves
• CG - Complete Games
• CGL - Complete Game Losses
• CS - Caught Stealing
• ER - Earned Runs (runs that resulted from the pitcher’s pitches)
• ERA - Earned Run Average
• G - Games Played
• GF - Games Finished
• GIDP - Grounded Into Double Plays
• GO - Ground Outs
• GO/AO - Ground Outs/ Fly Outs Ratio
• GS - Games Started
• GSH - Grand Slams
• H - Hits allowed
• H/9 - Hits Allowed per Nine Innings
• HB - Hit Batsmen (or HBP-Hit by pitch)
• HLD - Hold
• HR - Home Runs Allowed
• I/GS - Innings Per Games Started
• IBB - Intentional Walks
• IP - Innings Pitched
• IR - Inherited Runners
• IS - Inherited Score

• 2B - Doubles
• 3B - Triples
• AB - At Bats (official times at bat. Walks, sacrifices and instances where the batter is hit by the pitch do NOT count toward batting average statistics)
• AB/GIDP- At-Bats per Grounded Into Double Play
• AB/HR - At-Bats per Home Run
• AB/RBI - At-Bats per Runs Batted In
• AO - Fly Outs
• AVG - Batting Average
• BA – Batting Average
• BB - Bases on Balls (Walks)
• CS - Caught Stealing
• DH – Designated Hitter
• G - Games Played
• GIDP - Ground into Double Plays
• GO - Ground Outs
• GO/AO - Ground Outs/Fly Outs
• GSH - Grand Slam Home Runs
• H - Hits

• A - Assists
• CS - Caught Stealing
• DER - Defensive Efficiency Rating
• DP - Double Plays
• E - Errors
• FPCT - Fielding Percentage
• G - Games Played
• INN - Innings Played

• 1B - First Base, 2B-Second Base, 3B-Third Base
• SS - Shortstop
• LF-Left Field, CF-Center Field, RF-Right Field
• P-Pitcher, C-Catcher, PH-Pinch Hitter
• DH – Designated Hitter

Let’s take a look at a typical baseball game; this one between the 1995 Cleveland Indians and Chicago White Sox took place on May 31^st of that year. (The Indians won the game 6 to 3). Although a ball game’s official scorer adds more statistics into his final determination (such as fielding data), newspapers and online sites typically publish the box score like this:

Innings 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9  R H E 

        ------------------------ 

CHI     0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 3 7 3

CLE     0 1 2 0 0 2 0 1 X 6 8 3 

What This Particular (Cleveland Indians) Box Score Means:

For example, lead-off hitter (centerfielder - CF) Kenny Lofton had four official at-bats (AB), one base hit (H) and scored one run (R). He did not walk (BB), strike out (SO) or bat in a run (RBI) and his batting average ( BA or AVG) at the end of the game was .286. The team had a total of 32 at-bats, scored six runs on eight hits. Two of the runs were “unearned” so the number of statistically official runs-batted-in (RBI) was four. Three of the Indians players hit doubles (2B); two of them hit home runs (HR). Two ballplayers were intentionally walked (IBB) by Chicago pitchers. Other statistics included Total Bases (TB), Grounded Into a Double-Play (GIDP), the number of Indians players that were Left On Base (LOB) and base hits that occurred with runners in scoring position (RISP). Fielding highlights included errors (E), outfield assists (OFA) and stolen bases (SB).

• Kenny Lofton CF ----------------------------- 4 1 1 0 0 0 .286
• Omar Vizquel SS ------------------------------ 3 0 0 0 1 1 .214
• Carlos Baerga 2B ----------------------------- 4 0 1 1 0 0 .326
• Albert Belle LF --------------------------------- 3 2 2 1 1 0 .295
• Eddie Murray 1B ------------------------------- 4 0 0 0 0 0 .319
• Manny Ramirez RF ---------------------------- 4 0 2 0 0 0 .395
• Dave Winfield DH ------------------------------ 3 1 0 0 1 0 .200
• Jim Thome 3B ---------------------------------- 3 1 1 2 1 1 .330
• Tony Pena C ------------------------------------ 4 1 1 0 0 1 .247
• Orel Hershiser P
• Paul Assenmacher P
• Jose Mesa P

Team Totals ----------------------------------- 32 6 8 4 4 3 .250

2B: M. Ramirez (2 - 1 off J. Abbott, 1 off K McCaskill); T. Pena (off J. Abbott); A. Belle (off J Abbott). HR: J. Thome (off J. Abbott; 6th inn, 1 on, 2 outs); A. Belle (off K McCaskill; 8th inn, 0 on, 0 outs to Deep LF-CF).IBB: D. Winfield (1, by J Abbott); J. Thome (1, by K McCaskill).TB: A. Belle 6; J. Thome 4; M. Ramirez 4; T. Pena 2; K Lofton; C. Baerga. GIDP: A. Belle. RBI: J. Thome 2 (his 19th); C. Baerga (19); A. Belle (20). 2-out RBI: J. Thome 2. Team LOB: 6. With RISP: 2 for 14. Fielding: E: E. Murray (his 3^rd for the season); C. Baerga (3); O. Hershiser (). Outfield Assists: K. Lofton (L. Johnson at 3rd base). Base running:SB: D. Winfield (2nd base off J. Abbott/R Karkovice); K. Lofton (his 8^th of the season-2nd base off J. Abbott/R. Karkovice).

What This Particular (Chicago White Sox) Box Score Means:

For example, lead-off hitter (centerfielder - CF) Lance Johnson had four official at-bats (AB), one hit (H) but did not walk (BB), strike out (SO) or score any runs (R). His batting average (BA or AVG) at the end of the game was .252. The team had a total of 34 at-bats, scored three earned runs on seven hits and had one batter walk once. Leftfielder (LF) Tim Raines received his 22^nd run batted in (RBI) of the season; Rightfielder (RF) Mike Devereaux got his 13^th RBI with two batters out. The White Sox left five runners on base (LOB) and had four hits in six opportunities with runners in scoring position (RISP) but not all runners scored. Fielding statistics included a passed ball (PB) by the catcher (C), errors (E) by three players and one base runner that was tagged out by the defensive player (Chicago’s John Kruk was tagged out (picked off the base) by Indians’ catcher Tony Pena, who covering first base at the time).

• Lance Johnson CF --------------------------------------- 4 0 1 0 0 0 .252
• Tim Raines LF -------------------------------------------- 4 0 1 2 0 0 .316
• Mike LaValliere C----------------------------------------- 0 0 0 0 0 0 .238
• Frank Thomas 1B ----------------------------------------- 3 1 1 0 1 0 .327
• John Kruk DH ----------------------------------------------- 4 0 1 0 0 0 .233
• Robin Ventura 3B ------------------------------------------ 4 0 1 0 0 1 .279
• Mike Devereaux RF ---------------------------------------- 4 0 1 1 0 1 .287
• Ray Durham 2B --------------------------------------------- 4 0 0 0 0 0 .321
• Ron Karkovice C --------------------------------------------- 2 0 0 0 0 1 .230
• Warren Newson PH-LF-------------------------------------- 2 1 0 0 0 1 .282
• Ozzie Guillen SS ---------------------------------------------- 3 1 1 0 0 0 .306
• Jim Abbott P
• Kirk McCaskill P

Team Totals -------------------------------------------------- 34 3 7 3 1 4 .206

TB: F. Thomas; T. Raines; O. Guillen; M. Devereaux; L. Johnson; R. Ventura; J. Kruk. RBI: T. Raines 2 (22); M. Devereaux (13). 2-out RBI: M. Devereaux. Team LOB: 5. With RISP: 4 for 6. Fielding: DP: 2. M. Devereaux-O Guillen; R. Ventura-F. Thomas. PB: R. Karkovice (4). E: R. Durham (5); R. Ventura (11); F. Thomas (4). Outfield Assists: M. Devereaux (C. Baerga at 2nd base). Base running: Pickoffs: J. Kruk (1st base by T. Pena).

Box scores list the pitchers’ statistics separately, including; innings pitched, hits, earned and unearned runs, intentional and unintentional walks, home runs allowed, strikeouts and the pitcher’s earned run average (ERA) at the end of the game. The stats include wins, losses and saves. Although the game’s official scorer adds other statistics to the final totals, typical pitchers’ box scores in newspaper and on the Internet look like this:

Cleveland Indians Pitching ------------------------------ IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA

• Orel Hershiser W (win)(4-1)(win-loss record) ---------- 7.2 6 3 1 1 3 0 3.74
• Paul Assenmacher ------------------------------------------ 0.1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0.00
• Jose Mesa S (save) (11) (pitcher’s total saves) -------- 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 2.45
• Team Totals -------------------------------------------------- 9 7 3 1 1 4 0 1.00

Chicago White Sox Pitching ---------------------------------- IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA

• Jim Abbott L(loss)(2-2)(win-loss record) ------------------ 7 6 5 1 3 2 1 4.03
• Kirk McCaskill ---------------------------------------------------1 2 1 1 1 1 1 5.79
• Team Totals --------------------------------------------------- 8 8 6 2 4 3 2 2.25

Information for Both Teams’ Pitching Staffs:

P. Assenmacher faced 1 batter in the 9th inning. Balks: None. WP (wild pitch): None. HBP (hit by pitch): None. IBB (intentional base on balls (walks): J. Abbott (1; D Winfield); K. McCaskill (3; J. Thome). Pickoffs: None.

(In 1995, the Indians’ record of 100 wins, 44 losses allowed the team to finished first in the American League Central Division following a Major League Baseball strike-shortened season. The White Sox finished the season in third place of the AL Central with a record of 68 wins, 76 losses). In the 1995 playoffs, the Indians beat the Boston Red Sox three games to none in the division series and the Seattle Mariners four games to two in the Championship series to win the American League pennant that year).

Batting Average: Divide the number of base hits by the total number of At-Bats; (AVG). For example, if Jim Thome has a season total of 400 at-bats and 125 base hits (singles, doubles, triples and home runs), then his Batting Average would be .320. (125/400).

Earned Run Average: Multiply by nine - the number of earned runs allowed by a pitcher. Divide the resulting figure by the total number of innings pitched; (ERA). For example, if pitcher Orel Hershiser allowed 60 earned runs in 230 innings, then multiply 60 by 9 … the number of innings in a standard game; (60x9 =540). Divide 540 into 230 to equal 2.35, which is the pitcher’s Earned Run Average.

Slugging Percentage: Divide the total number of base hits (singles, doubles, triples and home runs) by the total number of at-bats; (SLG). For example, if Manny Ramirez has a total of 140 hits in 420 at-bats, then 140 divided by 420 would give him a slugging percentage of .340.

On Base Percentage: Total the number of base hits, walks (Base on Balls/BB) and times the batter was hit by a pitch. This figure is then divided by the number of At-Bats, number of walks, number of hits, number of times the batter walked and number of times he hit a sacrifice fly to move a runner; (OBP). For example, if Omar Vizquel has a total of 450 at-bats, 120 hits, 60 walks, was hit by a pitch 8 times and batted 6 sacrifice fly balls, the formula is this; (120+60+8 equals 188). Divide this figure into (450+60+8+6 equals 524). 188 divided by 524 is .360, thus, Vizquel’s OBP is .360.

Fielding Average/Fielding Percentage: Divide a player’s total number of assists and put-outs by the number of assists, put-outs and errors; (FPCT). For example, if Albert Belle has 180 put-outs and 200 assists while committing 8 errors, then his Fielding Percentage is (180+200) divided by 180 + 200+8). 380 divided by 388 equals .980.

Win-Loss Percentage: Divide the total number of games won by the number of decisions. For example, if pitcher Charles Nagy has a win-loss record of 16 and 3, divide the 16 (wins) into the number of decisions (19). 16 divided by 19 equals .850.

When listening to the game on the radio or watching it on TV, announcers tend to use a variety of phrases describing all the action. Major League Baseball has a list of “favorite phrases” that includes brushback (when a pitch nearly hits a batter), twin-killing (double-play), tape-measure blast (extremely long home run) and Texas Leaguer (a looped base hit that drops between an infielder and outfielder). Check out the all the lingo ...

Ever wonder why the umpire “blew the call?” Maybe he was following the rules of the game. Check out Major League Baseball’s rules.

© Copyright by Teri Silver, 2012. All Rights Reserved