“BASEBALL FAN-KEEPING SCORE AT HOME”

by | May 8, 2026 |

Do you like the San Diego Padres TV broadcasts with Don Orsillo, Mark Grant, Bob Scanlan and the rest of the broadcast crew?

Popular people.  

Operating under the MLB-Umbrella for years, it’s a quality broadcast, loaded with lots of stats.

It made me think how the games, and the broadcasts have changed,  and it made me wonder ‘How much is too much’.

Lots of talk about launch angles, spin rates, velo etc.

A ton of new stats and graphics and graphs about all the analytical numbers now used to evaluate players and create game plans.

Once upon a time, as a young boy, I did it.  I kept score of games, watching black and white TV telecasts of the Dodgers.  I kept score in a program, I still have, of the first ever game I attended at Yankees Stadium vs the Cleveland Indians.

Now in the world of the internet, MLB.com and every stat website out there, you can snare instant information.  Don’t need to keep score.

Aside from some really old-time baseball fans I have seen at Petco Park, I don’t hardly see anyone keeping score now-a-days.  Technology sure has changed things.

But as a ‘refresher’, I allow you stat-geeks and number crunchers,  to hit the reset button to take a look at all the stats you seem to adore, and better understand how MLB determines the numbers Don Orsillo and Mark Grant will throw at you this weekend during the Pades-Cardinals weekend series.

Call this-Baseball stats 101:

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Pitching
GF: Games Finished. The number of times the pitcher was on the mound during the final out.
ERA: Earned Run Average. The number of earned runs times nine then divided by the number of Innings Pitched.
CG: Complete Games. When the pitcher throws the entire game without any relief.
SHO: Shutouts. A complete game thrown by the pitcher where the losing team did not score.
Saves. Earned by a pitcher when a. He is the finishing pitcher in a game won by his team. b. he is not the pitcher who earned the win (W). c. he meets one of the following criteria: 1. He came to the mound with a lead of three runs or fewer and pitches at least one inning. 2. He came to the mound with the tying run on base, at bat, or on deck. 3. He pitches effectively for at least three innings.
IP: Innings Pitched. A pitcher with 4.2 innings pitched had four full innings then retired two batters in his fifth inning of work.
ER: Earned Runs. Earned runs are those which scored without the aid of an error, a catcher’s interference call, or a passed ball.
R: Runs Allowed. A total number of runs, earned or not earned, that scored.
K: A strikeout by the pitcher.
Balks. A call against the pitcher for making an illegal motion that the umpire views as an attempt to deceive a baserunner.
Hold. Awarded to a relief pitcher who enters with the lead, retires at least one batter, and does not relinquish the lead.
K/BB: Strikeouts to Base on Balls Ratio. Strikeouts divided by base on balls.
K/9: Strikeouts per nine innings. The number of strikeouts averaged during every nine innings of work. Strikeouts times nine divided by innings pitched.
BB/9: Walks per nine innings. The number of walks averaged during every nine innings of work. Calculated as walks times nine divided by innings pitched.
ERA+: A pitcher’s ERA adjusted to reflect home ballpark and league average. A pitcher with an ERA+ of 100 is a league average pitcher. An ERA+ of 110 means the pitcher’s ERA is 10% better than the league average. An ERA+ of 90 means that the pitcher’s ERA is 10% worse than the league mean.
FIP: Fielding Independent Pitching. FIP is similar to ERA, but it focuses solely on the events a pitcher has the most control over: Strikeouts, walks, hit-by-pitches and home runs.
For example: If a pitcher has surrendered a high average on balls in play, his FIP will likely be lower than his ERA. Balls in play are not part of the FIP equation because a pitcher is believed to have limited control over their outcome.
The formula: The “FIP constant” puts FIP onto the same scale as the entire league’s ERA: ((HR x 13) + (3 x (BB + HBP)) – (2 x K)) / IP + FIP constant.
Hitting
AB: At-bats. Number of times a player batted, excluding walks, sacrifices, catcher interference, or being hit by a pitch.
Plate appearances: The number of times a player batted.
Runs Batted In. Given to a a batter when a runner scores due to a base hit, a sacrifice, being hit by a pitch, during an infield out (but not during a double play), or a fielder’s choice.
Sacrifice Fly. A fly ball hit with less than two outs, fair or foul, that is caught but allows one or more baserunners to tag up and score.
Batting Average. The player’s total number of hits divided by their total number of at-bats.
OB%: On Base Percentage. Determines what percentage of a player’s plate appearances resulted in him reaching base safely. Calculated by adding hits, walks and hit by pitch then dividing that by the player’s at-bats, walks, sacrifice flies and hit by pitch.
SLG%: Slugging Percentage. Calculated by taking the total bases (singles + 2 x doubles + 3 x triples + 4 x home runs) then dividing it by the number of at-bats.
AB/HR: At-Bats per Home Runs. Calculated by dividing the number of at-bats by home runs.
AB/K: At-Bats per Strikeouts. Calculated by dividing the number of at-bats by strikeouts.
OPS: On-Base Plus Slugging. On-base percentage added to slugging percentage.
OPS+: OPS adjusted to reflect league and ballpark conditions, like ERA+ for pitchers. OPS+ is scaled so that 100 is a league average player. Formula: 100 x (OBP/lgOBP + SLG/lgSLG – 1)
BABIP: Batting Average on Balls in Play. BABIP measures a player’s batting average exclusively on balls hit into the field of play, removing outcomes not affected by the opposing defense (namely home runs and strikeouts).

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