I Scored!

October 20, 2007 – Game 6, American League Championship Series

Any game six is a huge game. Obviously, one team is trying to close out the series. One team is fighting for their lives. In this case, the team one game away from elimination was the Red Sox. They needed to with to have any sort of chance. A couple things were in their favor. The game was at Fenway Park, and Curt Schilling was on the mound. If any team trailing in a series 3-2 could have confidence, it would be the 2007 Red Sox. They all knew that they just had to win these games at home, and everything would work out. This game also included the inclusion of Jacoby Ellsbury into the starting line-up. Coco Crisp was the established veteran. But, he had been performing pooly during the postseason. The fans had been calling for Ellsbury to get the playing time for a few games now. Francona finally agreed. When Jacoby was announced as the starting centerfielder, it brought a huge cheer from the crowd. things were looking up.

Right off the bat, things started to look even better. Schilling pitched a scoreless top of the first. The Red Sox jumped right out on the Cleveland pitcher, Fausto Carmona. Two singles and a walk loaded the bases with nobody out. With Manny coming to the plate, the chance for a big inning was right there. Manny couldn’t do it though and struck out. That was followed by a Mike Lowell flyout that didn’t get it done either. That brought up JD Drew. The confidence in the Fenway crowd was not very high. Drew was at the end of a controversial first season in Boston. He was signed to a huge contract at the start of the year, which was hotly debated. He wasn’t the type of player that Boston Fans usually fall for. He wasn’t a “Dirt Dog” like the man he replaced, Trot Nixon. His skill was obvious, but it just didn’t look great in the packaging. His first season was even worse. As he strode to the plate, most people in the stands assumed he’d find a way to ground into a double play with two outs. Which is why the results were so shocking. He lined a pitch over the centerfield wall for a first inning grand slam. As he circled the bases, the crowd went nuts. They stood for him, and demanded a curtain call. To his credit, he gave them one. Personally, I would have told them all to stuff it after all they had put him through. But, he appeased the crowd, and the Sox were on their way.

It wasn’t really a game after that. The Sox scored six more times in the third inning to make it a laugher. It was such a blowout, that Eric Gagne made an appearance in the eighth. The Sox won that game, and the next five to capture their second World Championship in four years. This was a huge game in that run.

And the scorecard shows how it happened.

Score!

Last weekend, I was able to go to the Sox-Yankees game on Saturday. It's always nice to pick the winner in a series like that. As usual, I kept score at the game, and thought I'd share the card with you.

Right away, we can see two things. Kevin Youkilis had a great day. His line might as well have been filled right in. Second, Jacoby Ellsbury had an awful one. Jason Varitek didn't do any favors with his two K's. But, an 0-5 at the top of the order would have killed many teams. It's amazing that the Sox scored 14 with that performance.

Anyone else have a favorite scorecard to share? (Especially if it's one of mine)

If you’re scoring at home…

…or even if you’re by yourself. - Keith Olberman

Whenever I go to Fenway, I always make sure to score the game. I do this for many reasons. The first is to use at the game. It’s great to be able to look at the scorecard and see how many hits Manny has already, how many strikeouts Beckett’s accumulating, or how many flyballs Coco ran down. I find that it definitely keeps me more in the game when I’m in the stands. Judging by the number of people who ask me questions during games, it’s pretty useful for others too.

Another reason I like it is to look back at games I’ve been to. It’s nice to look and see that I saw David Ortiz when he was with the Twins, or Manny with the Indians. I can look-up the exact line-ups that I saw several years ago, so I can chuckle at some of the players that played for the Sox. (Sometimes I wonder which is sadder…that the Sox tried to make the playoffs with some of those line-ups, or that they actually did.) I can see just what happened during Derek Lowe’s no-hitter, or any of the other games I attended. It’s great record of every game I’ve ever been to, and the players involved in them. I look them over every now and then, just to remember what I’ve seen.

The problem I’ve had is finding a scorecard I liked. I’m not willing to plunk down $2 for the Boston Baseball magazine. Nor am I going to toss in whatever the official scorecard goes for these days. But, the scorebooks you find at sporting goods stores aren’t great either. They all have problems that make scoring more difficult. Lots of books only have places for two players per batting order position, a starter and a sub. How often does a player get taken out for a pinch runner, and then have a defensive player take over in the field? All the time? Clearly, at least three spots would be great. They usually also only have three or four spots for pitchers in a game. Have they been to a Yankee game in September? After the starter, lefty specialist, set-up, closer…I’m already at four. That’s for a smooth game, without a lot of pitching changes. The scorebooks at stores are also usually set-up for Little League games, so they have lots of batting order positions, and few innings. I only need nine batters, but would love a few extra innings. I need some space if the game goes past nine innings, or a team bats around. I was at a loss.

I decided to solve the problem by creating my own. It has all the features I need, and none of the features I don’t. (I’ve included a picture of the finished sheet.) So, if any of you have the same problems I do when keeping score, or if you’ve never done it but would like to try, you can have your very on copy of my official section-36 scorecard. Just send me an e-mail and I’ll get you a PDF version you can use and share with your friends. From there, you can print up a copy to bring to a game, or print up a bunch and get someone to bind them into your very own scorebook. From there, enjoy.

Hope you score.