Scorecap

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Scorecap is a notation system that displays a team's play-by-play as a single line of text. In essence it takes the batting team's half of a traditional baseball scorebook and condenses it into a string of (mostly) familiar symbols. If you've ever filled out a baseball scorecard, you should be able to read a Scorecap without any trouble at all.

I developed Scorecap because I needed a quick way to visualize the course of a no-hitter or no-hit bid without having to consult Retrosheet or Baseball Reference and read the textual play-by-play. For that reason, Scorecap focuses on the result of each plate appearance, which is all that really matters as a pitcher for this purpose. Additional information, such as base runner outs and runs scored, is included for context.

Whether you use Scorecap or not, every game in every list includes links to Retrosheet and Baseball Reference, where you'll be able to view the box score and play-by-play to get a complete picture of the game.

Example

To get started, let's take a look at the most famous perfect game of all-time, Don Larsen's gem in the 1956 World Series: There it is: 27 outs, 27 alphanumeric characters. If told you that each of the numbers represents a player that fielded a batted ball that resulted in an out, I am confident you can already see

KK9•5K4•9K8║ 44K•984•44K║ 687•158•94K

Let's add some baserunners. This is Rick Wise in 1975. At thestart, 18 up, 18 down, six perfect innings. But in the seventh, the first base runner, on an error: e5. An out and a walk, a strikeout and another out.

983•K14•89K║ 583•397•369║  e6 3wK4•K98•K5w h 2h1wK

7 e1 3+•6c95•6K6║ wwx8166•376•4w'4║ k1KK•886•K d ■𝒾4K

• Batters reaching base are always indicated by lower-case letters or a small capital k. Base hits are shown as s, d, t, and h (single, double, triple, and home run). A batter may also reach by a walk (w), intentional walk (script 𝒾, see note 1), hit by pitch (x), or error (e). When a batter reaches base on an error, the fielder making the error is normally not shown. However, if the batter is the first base runner, "e" is followed by a small numeral indicating the fielder that made the error; for example,  e5 . Note that it is possible that the error was committed by a fielder receiving a throw at first base rather than the player that fielded the batted ball. The remaining methods of reaching base are less common: a dropped third strike (k), catcher's interference (c), or a fielder's choice (f) where no runner is retired and no error is recorded. Although not a batter, the extra-inning ghost runner (®), introduced in 2020, is included for context.

• Batter outs are always indicated by a full-height character: K for a strikeout or a numeral indicating the player that fielded a batted ball. The method that the batter was retired, if it was recorded, is shown by one of the following: an overline (fly ball, foul fly, or pop fly), a red strike-through (line out), an underline (ground out), or a double underline (ground out on a bunt). Fielder's choices are included in this category if a base runner was put out. Note that there is no information about where the ball might have been thrown after it was fielded. When the type of out is known but the fielder is not recorded, the numeral 0 is used with the appropriate markup. If no details of an out are known, it is indicated by a question mark (?).

• Base runner outs are indicated by superscript symbols. As mentioned in the previous item, this does not include a base runner retired on a fielder's choice, where the batter essentially replaces the base runner. However it does include an out made by the batter after reaching first base.
  An apostrophe (') covers a single out, typically a runner caught stealing, picked off, or out trying to take an extra base on the immediately previous play. A plus sign (+) indicates a double play; the batter is almost always one of the outs. A hash mark (#) indicates a triple play (note 2). A raised circle (o) indicates a rarity—a runner hit by a batted ball (note 3).

• Runs scored are indicated by subscript numerals, such as 1 or 2. Usually the scoring occurred on the play covered by the previous symbol. Occasionally the scoring occurred on a separate play that did not involve the batter, such as a wild pitch, passed ball, or steal of home.

• Other symbols. Breaks between innings are generally indicated by a centered dot (•). Every third inning is followed by a double vertical bar (║). The end of the ninth inning is indicated by a crossbar (╬). Pitching changes are shown by a dark square (■).

• Colors: In busted no-hitters and perfect games, background colors highlight the play that ended the bid: the first base runner (yellow) and the first base hit (pink), respectively. If the first hit and the first base runner occur on the same play, the color is orange.

Key

Elements of Scorecap
Batter Outs 1  fly out, pop fly, or foul out 1  lineout 1  ground out or fielder's choice 1  bunt on ground, often a sacrifice 1  (no markup) unspecified ball caught on fly 0  unspecified fielder, markup on 0 indicates type of out ?  unspecified out, both type and fielder unknown K  strikeout XXX  three consecutive strikeouts in inning Base Runner Outs  '  runner out on bases +  runner or runners out on double play #  runners out on triple play o  runner hit by batted ball	Batters Reaching Base s  single d  double t  triple h  home run w  walk 𝒾  intentional walk x  hit by pitch e  error k  dropped third strike f  fielder's choice (no out or error made) c  catcher's interference ®  extra-inning ghost runner	Runs Scored 1 2 3 4   (subscript) runs scored on play Bustup Plays  yellow   first base runner  pink   first hit  orange   first hit and first base runner Other Symbols ■  pitching change •  end of inning ║ end of every third inning ╬  end of ninth inning

Quiz

Now explore, and enjoy Scorecap!

Got it? Now try to identify these famous no-hitters or busted no-hit bids. The answers are provided further below.

EASIEST: 638•K45•96K║ K88•577•36K║ 5K5•K75•K7K║ 886•688•185║  e5 1𝒾 d 1

HARDER: 833•644•866║ 38K•711•K89║ 486•6K4•86 s 5

HARDEST: 3 w 14•1wK9•4xK5║ 55wwK•636•w6+4║ xe561•w1𝒾32•ww521w■e15

BONUS: 799•KK6•996║ 446•75 w w7•743║ w9'K•44ewwe3e16

Answers

Game 1 starts with 12 perfect innings, so it has to be Harvey Haddix's famous game from 1959.

Game 2 is perfect through 8⅔ innings. There have been a few such games. This one is Armando Gallaraga's from 2010, which was busted by an incorrect safe call at first base.

Game 3 is from 1967, the wild, wonderful combined no-hitter of Steve Barber and Stu Miller, which they lost, 2-1. Look at all the base runners.

Game 4. And who can forget the unfortunate Andy Hawkins, who pitched a complete game and allowed no hits, but gave up four runs in the bottom of the eighth inning on two consecutive outfield errors?

______________

Note 1 Why a script 𝒾 ? In a sans-serif font, the letter i is barely visible in the jumble of numbers and letters.

Note 2 Search <A HREF="../lists/LongNoHitters,Pitchers-M.htm">here</A> for Roger Moret.

Note 3 No instance has been found of an MLB no-hit bid being broken up by a ball hitting a base runner after the fifth inning. But check out UNC celebrates a no-hitter that never happened.