The Joy of Keeping Score: How Scoring the Game Has Influenced and Enhanced the History of Baseball (Paperback)

~ (Author) "The urge to score is as old as the game itself and borrows significantly from the bookkeeping instincts of British cricketeers..." (more)
Key Phrases: team error, official scorer, box score, New York, World Series, Collection of Ron Menchine (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

There are two reasons to head out to the ballpark. One is to passively watch the game, the other is to actively see it, and you can't do the latter without a scorecard. In this slim gem of a volume, Paul Dickson clearly explains and translates the quirky documentation system, which looks like cuneiform to the uninitiated, for recording what happens on the ball field, and why true fans are so adamant about doing it. Filled with history, anecdotes, and rules, it also reproduces--to the joy of scorers everywhere--the official scorer's records for some of baseball's most significant moments, including Don Larson's perfecto and Babe Ruth's called shot. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Publishers Weekly

Scorekeeping in baseball was inaugurated nationally in 1863 by Henry Chadwick, who also invented the box score. Dickson (Baseball's Greatest Quotations) here teaches the rudiments of scoring, including how the players are numbered, some of the obvious symbols (e.g., SB is a Stolen Base) and some of the less obvious (K is the universal mark for the Strikeout). He explains the nuances of scoring a ball game and how to read a box score, and profiles some of the celebrities who liked to score games (Dwight D. Eisenhower and Mrs. Calvin Coolidge, among others). We also see how it's done north of the border, from a Montreal Expos scorecard (a home run is un circuit); how the hot dog was invented; and how FDR introduced baseball lingo into politics. Dickson has written a testimonial to the joys of scoring that true ball fans will embrace. Photos.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Harvest Books (February 15, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0156005166
• ISBN-13: 978-0156005166
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 7.4 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.3 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #497,033 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fun, a nice read, buy it! But, it's lacking in areas., April 11, 1998

By	David J. Sullivan (Jersey City, NJ) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Don't expect this book to teach you how to score games. The book lacks a full-size sample scorecard to use, which I would have liked. It doesn't go into enough detail about scoring; being a beginner I was flummoxed attempting to score double-switches, bunts and teams batting around in an inning. It will get you going, but if you're like me and don't know how to score a game yet, you'll be looking for more. That aside, the anecdotes and illustrations make this a fun book to read. The subtitle "How Scoring the Game Influenced and Enhanced the History of Baseball" is an accurate description of the gist of the book. It's less of a how-to and more of a why-to.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars If you want to learn to keep score, don't buy this one., May 2, 2002

By	Tracy Clark (Tacoma, WA United States) - See all my reviews

Unfortunately, I purchased this book looking for detailed instructions on how to keep score. While there is a section for this, it's very brief and did not suit my needs. 4 stars however, for the informative history of scorekeeping. Very interesting and entertaining to read.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The evolution of baseball scoring, August 25, 2000

By	Russell T. Wright "tommyhawk" (Frankfort, Kentucky USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

... I bought this book when I became my son's youth leagueasst. coach/scorekeeper. The advice that scorekeeping can become individualized to suit the needs of the scorekeeper and team led me to incorporate several techniques and created what I think was more interesting and revealing portrait a game on the page. This book reveals the many ways of keeping score and the true reason for the existence, to recreate the game on paper. The author offers baseball history and many interesting and funny anecdotes (LL Bean devised a scorekeeping method). Well illustrated, a must for all baseball fans.