Editing Official scorer (section)

==History==
[[File:Henry Chadwick (NYPL b13537024-56451) (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|upright=.5|[[Henry Chadwick (writer)|Henry Chadwick]]]]
[[Henry Chadwick (writer)|Henry Chadwick]] is generally credited with the invention of scorekeeping in baseball. Chadwick was also the inventor of the modern box score and the writer of the first rule book for the game of baseball.<ref name="bbp">{{cite web |url=http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=10431 |title=Manufactured Runs: When Subjective Overrules Objective |first=Colin |last=Wyers |date= April 1, 2010 |publisher=Baseball Prospectus |access-date= October 28, 2010}}</ref> Since baseball statistics were initially a subject of interest to sportswriters, the role of the official scorer in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the early days of the sport was performed by newspaper writers. A judgment call that is required by the official scorer does not alter the outcome of a game, but these judgments impact the statistical records of the game. As the subjective scoring decisions which are used to calculate baseball statistics began to be used to determine the relative value of baseball players, MLB began to require approval from the league before a writer-scorer could be assigned to produce the scoring report for a game. By the 1970s, writers who were willing to score games for MLB were required to have attended 100 or more games per year in the prior three years and to be chosen by the local chapter chairman of the [[Baseball Writers' Association of America]] (BBWAA). Qualified candidates for scoring were submitted to the leagues for approval.<ref name="SI1978">{{cite magazine |url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1093895/1/index.htm |title=Do They Really Know The Score? |first=Jim |last=Kaplan |date=July 24, 1978 |magazine=Sports Illustrated |access-date=October 28, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121103135626/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1093895/1/index.htm |archive-date=November 3, 2012 |via=[[Wayback Machine]]}}</ref>

===Early controversies===
{{cquote|It's always safer to call it a hit. The batting team is happy, and the fielding team can be ambivalent ... But you have to make the proper call.<ref name="Minpost">{{cite news |title=Meet the guys who hold Major League Baseball's most thankless job (other than the umpires) |first=Pat |last=Borzi |url=http://www.minnpost.com/stories/2009/07/27/10473/meet_the_guys_who_hold_major_league_baseballs_most_thankless_job_other_than_the_umpires |newspaper=Minnesota Post |date= July 27, 2009 |access-date=October 28, 2010}}</ref>|4=Stew Thornley|5=official scorer}}
Baseball writer-scorers usually worked at the games played at the home stadium of the team which they covered for their newspaper. The writer-scorers were tasked with making objective decisions that could impact the statistics of the team they were writing about. Because of this affiliation, the official scorer was often presumed by the baseball players and managers to favor the home team when making the required judgment calls during the course of a game.<ref name="SI1978" /><ref name="MLBstory">{{cite web |url=http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20040907&content_id=850056&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=null |title=For Those Keeping Score... |first=Anthony |last=Castrovince |date=September 7, 2004 |work=MLB.com |access-date=October 28, 2010}}</ref><ref name="SI1968">{{cite magazine |url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1081165/1/index.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121103135634/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1081165/1/index.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=November 3, 2012 |title=Some Who Know the Score |first=Joe |last=Jares |date=May 13, 1968 |magazine=Sports Illustrated |access-date=October 28, 2010}}</ref>

Criticism of scoring decisions date to the earliest days of the game. Some historians claim that [[Joe DiMaggio]]'s record [[Joe DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak|56-game hitting streak]] in 1941 was made possible by several generous rulings at [[Yankee Stadium (1923)|Yankee Stadium]].<ref name="MLBstory" /> In 1953, [[Al Rosen]] narrowly missed being recognized for achieving a rare "[[Major League Baseball Triple Crown|triple crown]]" in hitting after a questioned error caused him to finish the season one hit short of winning the [[American League]] batting title.<ref name="MLBstory" />

Although scoring decisions were widely believed to favor the [[Batting (baseball)|hitter]] over the [[Position player|defense]], many players believed this bias shifts in favor of the [[pitcher]] when he carries a no-hitter (where a pitcher throws a complete game without giving up a hit) into the late [[inning]]s.<ref name="SI1978" /><ref name="SI1968" /> [[Infielder]] [[Davey Johnson]] said, "I've been involved in five or six no-hit games, and all of them were suspected of being helped by hometown scoring."<ref name="SI1978" /> One of the last controversies of the writer-scorer era was seen in a 1978 game at St. Louis. In that game, [[St. Louis Cardinals|St. Louis]] pitcher [[Bob Forsch]] was pitching a no-hitter in the 8th inning against [[Philadelphia Phillies|Philadelphia]] when a hard ground ball hit into the hole between [[shortstop]] and third was narrowly missed by [[third baseman]] [[Ken Reitz]]. The official scorer [[Neal Russo]] (who was a writer for a local newspaper) judged the play to be an error rather than a hit, and Forsch went on to pitch the first no-hitter of the 1978 season.<ref name="SI1978" />

===Newspaper reaction===
[[File:Jerry Adair 1963.jpg|thumb|right|upright=.5|[[Jerry Adair]]]]
A player's baseball statistics can increase or reduce the leverage which he may have in future contract negotiations. Many players also have monetary incentives written in their contracts which are based on statistical measurements, and official scorers have the option to reverse a scoring decision within 24 hours of the conclusion of a game. Because of this, baseball writer-scorers were often subject to pressure from the players they were covering in their newspaper.<ref name="MLBstory" /> After a game in 1962, infielder [[Jerry Adair]] asked for a meeting with local writer Neal Eskridge after learning that he was the scorer for the game. Angry about an error he had received in the game, Jerry "cursed [Neal] thoroughly and imaginatively, and told him, 'Never talk to me again.{{' "}} They reportedly did not speak to each other for almost four years.<ref name="SI1968" /> In the early days of baseball, a disagreement over a scoring decision occasionally led to physical altercations between the player and the writer. Confrontational incidents decreased after 1974 following a warning from MLB.<ref name="SI1978" />

The pressure and the perceived conflict of interest faced by the baseball writers who scored games for MLB eventually led many major newspapers to end the practice for their employees. In 1958, ''[[The Washington Post]]'' prohibited their writers from scoring baseball games.<ref name="SI1978" /> Over the next two decades other major newspapers joined in the writer-scorer ban, including ''[[The New York Times]]'', the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'', ''[[The Boston Globe]]'', and the major daily newspapers published in Atlanta, Detroit, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, and Philadelphia.<ref name="SI1978" /> In 1980, MLB resolved the conflict by directly hiring official scorers for each stadium.<ref name="MLBstory" />

===After 1980===
Today, the [[Commissioner of Baseball (MLB)|MLB commissioner's office]] directly employs the official scorers who are responsible for producing score reports, although most scorers are hired on the recommendation of the public relations directors of baseball teams.<ref>Kalist, p.2</ref> Official scorers are typically retired writers, coaches, and umpires. Unlike [[Umpire (baseball)|umpiring]] teams, MLB official scorers do not typically travel between stadiums. Each official scorer is assigned to a stadium for the season, with each stadium having one or more scorers.<ref name="MLBstory" /> Scorers now have access to [[Instant replay|replay video]] from different angles which they can review before making a decision. As of 2012, MLB official scorers earned $150 per game.<ref>{{cite web|first=Bill|last=Christine|title=An Official Scorer's Call Isn't Always the Last Word|date=July 7, 2012|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/08/sports/baseball/a-baseball-official-scorers-call-isnt-always-last-word.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all|access-date=2012-07-08}}</ref><ref name="yahoo">{{cite news |url=https://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=ti-scorekeepers090208 |title=Technology puts scorekeepers in a box |first=Tim |last=Brown |date=September 2, 2009 |work=Yahoo! Sports |access-date=October 28, 2010}}</ref> Official scorers are not required to meet the old BBWAA requirements, and are also no longer required to pass a written test, which was once administered by the [[National League (baseball)|National League]] before it was phased out in the mid-1990s. Potential scorers are generally required to briefly apprentice under an existing scorer before they are allowed to work alone.<ref name="bbdigest">{{cite web |url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0FCI/is_7_63/ai_n6108323/?tag=content;col1 |title=The art of score keeping: correctly documenting the statistics of a game remains an exacting and challenging task |first=Larry |last=Stone |date=July 2004 |publisher=Baseball Digest |access-date=October 29, 2010}}</ref>

Official scorers are only occasionally terminated, but there have been cases when a scorer was replaced after making decisions which displeased the home team. In 1992 the [[Seattle Mariners|Seattle Mariner]] players signed a petition to have their official scorer replaced, and in 2001 the management of the [[Boston Red Sox]] ordered that a rookie scorer not be allowed to score another game after pitcher [[Hideo Nomo]] lost a no-hitter on a close play in right field that was ruled a hit rather than an error.<ref name="bbdigest" /><ref name="bbp2">{{cite web |url=http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=10164 |title=Prospectus Q&A
|first=Chaz |last=Scoggins |date=December 2004 |publisher=Baseball Prospectus |access-date=October 29, 2010}}</ref><ref>Kalist, p.3</ref>

[[File:NedYost.jpg|thumb|right|upright=.5|[[Ned Yost]]]]
In 2001, MLB formed a scoring committee to evaluate the performance of official scorers. In 2008, the scoring committee was given the authority to enforce the portion of rule 10.01(a) which allows the league to change a scoring decision that is "clearly erroneous". The committee has used this authority on a few occasions, having overturned three scoring decisions in the 2009 season.<ref name="yahoo" /> The scoring committee came under some scrutiny after a game on August 31, 2008. [[Milwaukee Brewers|Milwaukee]] pitcher [[CC Sabathia]] threw a disputed 7–0 one-hit shutout against [[Pittsburgh Pirates|Pittsburgh]]. Milwaukee manager [[Ned Yost]] argued that the hit recorded by Pittsburgh should have been recorded as an error by the pitcher, but Pittsburgh official scorer Bob Webb disagreed. Yost commented, "That's a joke. That wasn't even close. Whoever the scorekeeper was absolutely denied major league baseball a nice no-hitter right there."<ref name="AP1">{{cite news |title=Sabathia throws 1-hitter in Brewers' 7–0 win
|first=Alan |last=Robinson |url=https://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/recap?gid=280831123&prov=ap |agency=Associated Press|location=Pittsburgh |date=August 31, 2008 |access-date=October 29, 2010}}</ref> The official scorer had argued that the batter was too close to first base to be put out by a clean play. Milwaukee appealed the ruling to the scoring committee, but on September 3 the committee reviewed the footage and supported the ruling by Webb, saying the ruling was not "clearly erroneous" as required by rule 10.01(a).<ref name="AP2">{{cite news |title=MLB scoring committee rules against Sabathia |url=https://www.espn.com/mlb/news/story?id=3568101 |agency=Associated Press|location=Milwaukee |date=September 3, 2008 |access-date=October 29, 2010}}</ref>

===Outside MLB===
Official scorers in the [[Minor League Baseball|minor leagues]] are generally hired by the teams to score games at their stadium. Some minor league scorers have a history or connection with the team, including former players, former coaches, and local writers.<ref name="milb1">{{cite web |url=http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080827&content_id=451125&vkey=news_milb&fext=.jsp |title=Kraly more than B-Mets' scorekeeper |first=Benjamin |last=Hill |date=July 2004 |publisher=MiLB.com |access-date=October 29, 2010}}</ref><ref name="milb2">{{cite web |url=http://rojos.aguila.milb.com/milb/history/top100.jsp?idx=38 |title=1970 Hawaii Islanders |first1=Bill |last1=Weiss |first2=Marshall |last2=Wright |date=May 7, 2009 |publisher=MiLB.com |access-date=October 29, 2010}}</ref><ref name="dartmouth">{{cite web |url=http://www.dartmouthsports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=11600&ATCLID=1470045 |title=Rick Bender |year=2010 |publisher=DartmouthSports.com |access-date=October 29, 2010}}</ref> Official scorers for international baseball competitions are generally selected by the organizer of the competition.<ref name="WBC">{{cite web |url=http://web.worldbaseballclassic.com/about/rules.jsp |title=World Baseball Classic Tournament Rules and Regulations |date=December 8, 2008 |publisher=WBC |access-date=October 29, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20090625080729/http://web.worldbaseballclassic.com/about/rules.jsp |archive-date=June 25, 2009 }}</ref>