I’ve been thinking about that some, and thought I’d make a few comments on this forum to try to give some encouragement to those folks like me who do take their job as an SK, just as seriously as any coach takes theirs.
The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It's been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt, and erased again. But baseball has marked the time.
Over the years, SK’s have pretty much done their job in obscurity. Unlike the players who get to actually play the game, the coaches who are supposedly the braintrusts of the game, the administrators who get to make all the fancy decisions, the umpires who are charged with making sure the games are conducted properly, and the fans who get to hoot, holler, and otherwise say and do almost anything they like, the SK’s have just kind of been there.
But although all those other folks believe they’re the reason baseball’s been the one constant through the years, its been the SK’s who have been the true keepers of the flame, because they’re the ones who have been writing the history down so those who follow will be able to see what went on before.
That brings me to what the correlation between coaching and scorekeeping is. In the pros and organizations like Perfect Game, or in some higher level tournaments, the SK’s are chosen by administrators, never coaches. But, for regular games like most folks see their kids play in, the coach chooses someone to be the team’s scorekeeper.
But many times, rather than actually think a little bit about that decision, the coach is happy anyone volunteers to do it, and couldn’t care less about their competence. That’s when the breakdown starts.
I get angry at coaches who will holler and scream about umpires, but never give a thought to the other OFFICIAL at the game. That’s right! In every rule set I’m aware of, the official scorer for a game is designated by the home team, and that person is a game official!
But do the coaches give much thought to whether or not the people they choose can actually keep score, or fully understand the rules that govern scorekeeping? Heck, do the coaches even make sure the SK’s get a rule book or other written documentation to tell them how to do their jobs?
Then to top that lack of regard, the coaches feel free to make changes to the players on the field, and seldom give the SK’s the courtesy of telling them what changes have been made!
I could go on, but I think y’all get the idea. Scorekeepers are a very integral part of the game, and deserve much more respect than what they get accorded.
