Keeping Stats

Hey Dad... I don't have the answer but I wanted to let you know about a site that has some great explanations. I loaded our high school team's stats, and it calculated the OBA as well as everything else imagineable.
www.statleaders.com
Maybe you will be able to find your answers out there.

Fielding average is:
The easy way to do it is (PO's + A's) / (PO's + A's + E's).

Catcher gets a Put Out on a Strike out, unless he drops it and has to throw out the runner at first, in which case he gets an assist. (2-3).


On Base Percentage is:
(Hits + Walks + HBP) Divided by (At Bats + Walks + HBP + Sac Flys).

Here is a link for you:
http://baseball-almanac.com/bstatmen.shtml

They have some Excel Spreadsheets you can download for free, too.

I have a question...If you pitch 4 complete innings, your team is winning when the new pitcher comes in the top of the 5th and does not allow any more runs to score so your team wins. Who is the winning pitcher? This is in a high school game.

Where can I go to get help keeping the book? At Tuesday's game (opening day) the kid assigned to keep the book that day kept asking me questions -- some of which I couldn't answer. I'd like to brush up on my skills as I get the feeling that the book is going to be handed off to a different player every day and I think that I'm going to be looked at as the resource so I'd like to get it right! Any ideas? Thanks!

flabaseball2, in your scenario the starter gets the "W".

Thanks for the help re OBA and catcher PO's on K's.

As best I can tell from the web site referenced, passed balls don't count into a catcher's fielding average. Is this true? It seems like you'd want a measure of PB's somewhere, other than just a tally of how many of them were committed.

No wonder catchers get such high fielding averages!

In the 9 inning college game the starting pitcher HAS TO PITCH FIVE innings to be eligible for the win. If he is pulled before he pitches five full innings he CANNOT be the winning pitcher. I’m not sure the requirements for the winning pitcher in HS. I think its four complete innings.
Passed balls do not factor into the fielding % because they have nothing to do with fielding. The only place you will see a PB or a WP considered into any stat (other than a total) is in the ERA. Catchers do get a few breaks. My son got one break on his index finger of his throwing hand that required three pins.

Fungo,

Right or wrong, rules or not, I've seen a lot of pitchers getting wins after starting and only going as little as two innings. Supposedly if it's announced ahead of time that the starter is only going to go two or three innings and they leave with the lead, they get the win.

Just yesterday, Cal Poly's starting pitcher got the win after throwing three innings.

Frank is correct. In college I have seen W-L rules change depending on prior agreement for innings or pitch count, BUT no other pitcher can pitch more innings than he.
DK has been on a pitch count and inning count so after 3 innings he was given the decision because each pitcher after pitched only one innings (and were ahead when DK left).
Last week he pitched 4 if any other pitcher pitched more than him he would have gotten the win, but the relief pitched 5.
HS is 5 innings. I don't remember any prearrangements beforehand. That seems a lifetime ago.

I don't think it has anything to do with prior arrangements. It's not like a ground rule; it doesn't affect the conduct of the game nor its outcome. It is simply the scorekeeper's discretion, when the starter leaves with a lead that is never relinquished. If the starter completed the half-plus inning (4 in HS, 5 for college/pro), then he automatically qualifies. If he goes less than that, he can still qualify, especially if the pitchers who followed him were not particularly effective or deserving.

E.g., A guy who leaves after 4 with a 20-0 lead should get the win, unless the second guy goes 5 shutout innings or some such.

Midlodad,
HS 4 , keep forgetting there are only 7 innings, thanks.

Fungo, here is the link to a report of a Division I college game (UVA vs. Norfolk State) where a starter got the win after going only 3 innings. It was 8-1 when he left and the final score was 13-2. Second pitcher also went 3 innings, then three guys did 1 inning each, full 9 inning game was played.

http://virginiasports.collegesports.com/sports/m-basebl/recaps/032906aaa.html

This is an instance where the scorekeeper had the option of giving the "W" to either the first or second pitcher. Because the game was pretty much decided by the time the starting pitcher left, and because he left for reasons other than any ineffectiveness, the scorekeeper elected to give the "W" to the starter and not the reliever.

MidloDad,
They messed up!
I don't have the exceptions to the official rules that govern the starting pitcher requirements at the college level so I have to go with the Official Rules. I do know my son's college scorekeeper never gave the win to any pitcher unless he pitched five full innings.

Rules state: 10.19 Credit the starting pitcher with a game won only if he has pitched at least five complete innings and his team not only is in the lead when he is replaced but remains in the lead the remainder of the game. (b) The "must pitch five complete innings" rule in respect to the starting pitcher shall be in effect for all games of six or more innings. In a five inning game, credit the starting pitcher with a game won if he has pitched at least four complete innings and his team not only is in the lead when he is replaced but remains in the lead the remainder of the game. (c) When the starting pitcher cannot be credited with the victory because of the provisions of 10.19 (a) or (b) and more than one relief pitcher is used, the victory shall be awarded on the following basis: (1) When, during the tenure of the starting pitcher, the winning team assumes the lead and maintains it to the finish of the game, credit the victory to the relief pitcher judged by the scorer to have been the most effective; (2) Whenever the score is tied the game becomes a new contest insofar as the winning and losing pitcher is concerned; (3) Once the opposing team assumes the lead all pitchers who have pitched up to that point are excluded from being credited with the victory except that if the pitcher against whose pitching the opposing team gained the lead continues to pitch until his team regains the lead, which it holds to the finish of the game, that pitcher shall be the winning pitcher

We both owe an apology to Tiger Paw Mom!

Fungo, you've got me scrambling to search rule books, at least to the extent I can find them on line. The most recent that I (with my limited internet capabilities) could get Google to turn up was the 2004 NCAA baseball rule book. Section 25 provides only limited exceptions to the 5-inning requirement, one of which is "by prearrangement, if three or more pitchers are to be used, the pitcher of record shall be considered the winning pitcher." "Pitcher of record" is then defined in the context of the winning pitcher as "the one who is in the game at the time the winning team gains the lead, provided that the lead is never relinquished ...."

I have no idea if this might have changed in the last 2 years, BUT ...

Tiger Paw Mom, looks like you had it right all along!

And since my education is apparently sorely lacking, I'll quit weighing in without checking myself with the rule book first!

I do wonder, though, how many home team scorekeepers might be overlooking the "prearrangement" requirement and just giving a guy a win in these situations. A bit of "bending the rules", perhaps?

Apology accepted, this is common among pitchers returning from injury, with prior agreement. As in the case of DK.

HEY!! I said it first! Course I did say "supposedly".