Errors?

What level of ball are you discussing? I wouldn't say players don't make the effort. I would say some players make a stronger effort. At that point it's a judgement call whether a play is a hit or an error. I'm not concerned about player A making five more errors than player B if he's making fifty plays player B doesn't get to.

Error stats can be very misleading. The player who gets to more balls will probably make more errors. Some players make the routine play hit right at them but let a lot of hits fall in from lack of mobility. Coaches aren't fooled by error numbers. They know who can go get 'em and who can't.

Thanks RJM. I agree wholeheartedly with your take on it. I am talking about high school level. Taking the opposite approach, should a coach charge an error to a player who should have gotten to an easily playable ball sooner, but didn't, fielded it cleanly and didn't have time to make the throw? If they choose to penalize the player who makes the extra effort, shouldn't they penalize the player who doesn't?

The coach is mentally penalizing the player who doesn't get to the ball. He's thinking to himself he has to find a player who will make the play. The player with the great range who makes more errors isn't going to be penalized. The coach knows he's a player. He remembers all the plays he makes that no one else would. Don't be so concerned with stats. Be more concerned with performance and results.

quote:

If they choose to penalize the player who makes the extra effort, shouldn't they penalize the player who doesn't?

I'm going to reward the first kid by keeping him in the lineup but the other kid will be penalized by sitting next to me.

I'm with RJM in that a coach doesn't really focus on error numbers unless they are being made on routine plays. Once a player starts trying to make plays that take range and makes an error I'm going to yell at him "Great effort" or "Atta boy".

Good coaches never penalize hustle.

Coach 2709 and RJM have done a good job of explaining the coaches’ perspective on this situation. Very useful information.

A scorekeeper’s perspective is different. While there’s still some judgment that enters the picture, there are specific rules and guidelines that must be followed.

The following may be more information than was asked for, but if you’re interested in what’s an error and what isn’t, it contains some pretty interesting stuff. Note that the question posed in the OP is answered in the first paragraph.

OBR Rule 10.12(a)(1) Comment: Slow handling of the ball that does not involve mechanical misplay shall not be construed as an error. For example, the official scorer shall not charge a fielder with an error if such fielder fields a ground ball cleanly but does not throw to first base in time to retire the batter.

It is not necessary that the fielder touch the ball to be charged with an error. If a ground ball goes through a fielder’s legs or a fly ball falls untouched and, in the scorer’s judgment, the fielder could have handled the ball with ordinary effort, the official scorer shall charge such fielder with an error.

The official scorer shall not score mental mistakes or misjudgments as errors unless a specific rule prescribes otherwise. A fielder’s mental mistake that leads to a physical misplay—such as throwing the ball into the stands or rolling the ball to the pitcher’s mound, mistakenly believing there to be three outs, and thereby allowing a runner or runners to advance—shall not be considered a mental mistake for purposes of this rule and the official scorer shall charge a fielder committing such a mistake with an error.

The official scorer shall not charge an error if the pitcher fails to cover first base on a play, thereby allowing a batter-runner to reach first base safely.

The official scorer shall not charge an error to a fielder who incorrectly throws to the wrong base on a play.

The official scorer shall charge an error to a fielder who causes another fielder to misplay a ball—for example, by knocking the ball out of the other fielder’s glove. On such a play, when the official scorer charges an error to the interfering fielder.

I think this topic has been covered fairly well.

From the jugement perspective, I apply different definitions of 'ordinary effort' at different levels of play. My son is playing 5A High School ball. At that level, the definition of 'ordinary effort' is different than when scoring my daughter's softball games. I even apply different interpretations of 'ordinary effort' in 12U club softball and Little League games.

Just this morning, my daughter smashed a ball at the second baseman (in softball only about 55' from hitter). It one hopped her shin and went into right field. I scored that a hit because in my opinion, it wouldn't taken more than an ordinary effort to field the ball for a 12U club softball player. No way that ever gets scored a hit in 5A high school.

Of course there are different approaches. There is another parent who scores 12U softball harder than I score MLB. She shamelessly applies the legend of it hitting the glove or not hitting glove (through the legs clean - hit, gap shot off the glove on a dive - error, smash off the shins, error, pop up where an infielder runs over another under the ball, but nobody touches it - hit).

On 'close' plays, I try and ask myself two questions before deciding. How would I score it if my kid was pitching? How would I score it if my kid was hitting? If I get the same answer both ways, its easy. If I get a different answer, I think about it some more. I score mostly for fun so in the end it doesn't really matter, but I try and use the best jugement I can.

I find fielding percentage to be an essentially useless stat. Would I rather have a fielder diving for every ball and making the occasional wild throw after making a great stop or the kid that is afraid of making an error? Pretty simple answer.