Editing Official scorer (section)

{{short description|Person who records the official record of events in a baseball game}}
{{good article}}
{{about|the person who records the official record of events in a baseball game|the equivalent person in cricket|Scorer}}
[[File:Official scorer booth.jpg|thumb|Booth of the official scorer in [[Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium]] (Taiwan)]]

In the game of [[baseball]], the '''official scorer''' is a person appointed by the [[sports league|league]] to [[baseball scorekeeping|record the events on the field]], and to send the official scoring record of the game back to the league offices. In addition to recording the events on the field such as the outcome of each [[plate appearance]] and the circumstances of any [[baserunning|baserunner's]] advance around the bases, the official scorer is also charged with making judgment calls that do not affect the progress or outcome of the game. Judgment calls are primarily made about [[error (baseball)|errors]], [[Earned run|unearned runs]], [[fielder's choice]], the value of [[Hit (baseball)|hits]] in certain situations, and [[wild pitch]]es, all of which are included in the record compiled. This record is used to compile [[baseball statistics|statistics]] for each player and team. A [[box score (baseball)|box score]] is a summary of the official scorer's game record.

Newspaper writers initially performed this function in the early days of [[Major League Baseball]] (MLB). As the importance of baseball player statistics increased, teams began to pressure writer-scorers for favorable scoring decisions for their players in games played at home stadiums, and a home team scoring [[bias]] was perceived by many coaches, players, and writers. Controversies related to perceived bias or errors in scoring have led to questions about important baseball records, including several [[no-hitter]]s and [[Joe DiMaggio]]'s 56-game [[hitting streak]] of 1941. By 1979, many major newspapers decided to ban their writers from scoring baseball games due to conflict-of-interest concerns, and in 1980 MLB began to hire independent official scorers.

Since 1980, some reforms have been suggested to improve the performance of official scorers. In 2001, MLB formed a scoring committee to review their performance, and by 2008 the committee was given the authority to overturn scoring decisions. This authority was used by the scoring committee three times during the 2009 season. In 2006, an academic study seemed to confirm the historical existence of a home-team bias in scoring decisions, but this measurable bias decreased after 1979.{{Citation needed|date=May 2022}}