How you keep the box scores for the games in your replay is a very personal selection. The number of box score formats available is endless. Google box score formats and you get hundreds of examples of different formats that are available.
Some questions worth considering before you settle on a particular box score format:
- Will the box score format I select be easy to maintain?
- At the end of each game, do I want to compile each individual game box score or do I simply want to have the information in plain view so I can convert the information into a cumulative statistical package?
- Will my box score format still be understandable months after I have completed the box score? (more on this later)
The simplest way I have personally found to keep the box scores in order is to record them in a five-subject, college-ruled notebook, (180 or more pages), with each page representing an individual game.
My personal box score format simply lists away and home teams and each team’s lineup, with enough space underneath each team to record the insertion of bench players, with replacements denoted by A, B, C, etc. Pitching changes are denoted with a heavy line at the point where the pitching change occurred, along with the name of the pitcher entering the game.
To denote the end of an inning, I simply use a heavy slash or ” / ” graphic to the immediate lower right of the batter’s name who recorded the third out.
The one-page format allows plenty of room for notes, from highlights to notes, in red, notes that showcase things you want to recall later. Really exceptional highlights are highlighted with a yellow highlighter.
Your choice of box score format is solely up to you.
But, do yourself a favor before you start a replay. Use a box score system that is simple, manageable, and allows you to keep the game information in order without having to overload yourself with too much paper-keeping administration.
Next: An illustrated example of a simple box score for replays.
Hi Rod,
I’ve started up with my 1966 replay again partially inspired by your series of articles.
Now that I have, one thing I really agree with you on is… “don’t get ahead of yourself”.
I may play a three games at a time AT MOST. But I enter stats one game at a time and make sure everything adds up correctly before continuing on. There’s nothing worse than backtracking and working out a mistake.
A mistake with wins/losses is one thing. But I also want league runs/hits/Ks/walks for pitching to match up with hitting. Otherwise, it’s staring me in the face. After doing stats for one game, if they don’t match, I find out where my mistake was.
One thing is for sure, I’m getting better about entering them in the first time :)
thanks so much, Rod! Great write-ups!
Thanks for the feedback and the info about entering stats one game at a time. I liked your comment about no more than three games at a time at most. Three or four at a time are about all I can handle, as well.
E.g., I’m currently doing an American League 1911 replay. I am doing it in increments of three and four game series.
As I play each game, I keep the pitcher’s stats updated as soon as a pitcher either leaves the game (not too often in 1911) or the game is completed. I enter batting stats at the end of each series for the simple reason that I can read across the batting stats and enter them one game at a time.
Glad you like the replay info. God knows, I’ve made all the mistakes one can make while developing an efficient, but fun, approach.
Thanks for the feedback and the info about entering stats one game at a time. I liked your comment about no more than three games at a time at most. Three or four at a time are about all I can handle, as well.
E.g., I’m currently doing an American League 1911 replay. I am doing it in increments of three and four game series.
As I play each game, I keep the pitcher’s stats updated as soon as a pitcher either leaves the game (not too often in 1911) or the game is completed. I enter batting stats at the end of each series for the simple reason that I can read across the batting stats and enter them one game at a time.
Glad you like the replay info.
I have played with several types of scoresheets and finally just made one on excel. It’s very bland and boring, but it works for me personally.
Regarding stats I found out the hard way to always do them ASAP. Even then I have made some entry errors that have caused some work later on after I noted the error.
Once again thanks for the educational series.
Rod,
Wow this is so inspirational. The work you have done is amazing. I can’t wait to get my replay started. However, I am going to take my time with the prep work. My question for you is how do you handle lineups and roster changes? I was thinking of making my own lineups based on the apba recommended. I used to spend time researching lineups but it became to much of a hassle and would much rather make my own lineups. Also how
do you handle transactions? Thanks for all your work I really enjoy the season recaps.
Robert:
Thanks for your kind words.
The prep work, I agree, is worth the time and effort. When you have your replay orgranized, it’s considerably more rewarding and a lot more fun (and less work).
Here’s how I have approached transactions and lineup changes.
As a general rule of thumb, I institute transactions on either the actual date that they occurred (assuming your replay starts on the same date that it actually began in real life) or the same number of games into a season on which the transaction occurred. One has to accept that a replay will not replicate an actual season in every aspect (e.g., injuries occur, players go into slumps, pitching rotations change), but one has to adjust .
One has to be flexible enough to adjust as the replay moves forward to keep the quantities (AB, PA, IP, no overuse of ringers whose card is distorted because of a restricted number of appearances, like Red Lutz, 1922 Cincinnati) more or less accurate to see how the replay plays out
The two best resources for noting transactions are The Baseball Trade Register, Joesph L. Reichler, Collier Books, , published 1984 and Baseball Reference, http://www.baseball-reference.com, which is, by far, the best source of this information. If you scroll down, down, down on baseball-reference, you will find ‘Transactions” after Similarity Scores and before Salaries. It is way down on the page, but it’s there and it’s a great resource.
Be forewarned, some of the information in The Baseball Trade Register is in accurate, but it provides a starting point. The book, however, is long out of print and probably not worth buying as the same information, only accurate is shown on baseball-reference.
Here’s an illustrative example.
On June 10, 1911, the Boston Braves traded P Cliff Curtis, 2b Bill Collins, C Peaches Graham and OF Wilbur Good to the Chicago Cubs for C Johnny Kling, OF Al Kaiser and P Orlie Weaver.
In the Baseball Trade Register, the deal is defined as occurring on June 10, 1911 with the Braves sending “P Cliff Curtis, OF Wilbur Good, 2b Bill Collins” to the Cubs for “C Johnny Kling, C Al Kaiser, P Orlie Weaver.” Immediately after listing the three-for-three deal, The Baseball Trade Register also lists “June, 1911” with “C Jimmy Austin” being traded by the Braves to the Cubs for “P Hank Griffin.”
There are some total inaccuracies with the Register’s listing.
First of call, The Cubs Al Kaiser was an outfielder, not a catcher. Second, Cubs P Hank Griffin was included as a part of the first deal, which was actually a four-for-three trade. Third, “C Jimmy Austin” was, in reality, 3b Jimmy Austin, who spend most of his career with the St. Louis Browns and was never a part of this deal.
The Register includes lots of errors like this. To be fair, however, Reichler’s book was a breakthrough at the time and represents a lot of heavy lifting in terms of the research that went into preparing his book.
In the intervening 30-plus years, the work of SABR folks, et al, has culled out the inaccuracies on the transactions and the information that appears on Baseball Reference is considerably more accurate.
My recommendation is to research http://www.baseball-reference.com to identify transactions, when they occurred, or about at what point in the season they occurred. As a backup, you have the ability to restrict how much a player appears during a replay, which amounts to about the same thing.
In terms of lineup changes, you can look up box scores on http://www.baseball-reference.com or use common sense. I prefer the latter as each replay takes on a life of its own. In order to avoid over-using players, I will insert second-tier players into the lineup once in a while to “give a rest” to first-line players.
E.g., in 1911, Ty Cobb and Sam Crawford of Detroit both played in 146 games. That means they each sat out eight games. While the box scores for 1911 have not yet been research by RetroSheet, it’s difficult to say which eight games Cobb and Crawford missed. However, one has to assume that they either did not play against lesser opponents (i.e. the woeful St. Louis Browns) or sat out a few games at the end of the season when they were out of the pennant race. The Tigers finished 13 1/2 games behind Philadelphia, so it’s probably likely the Cobb and Crawford sat out games to provide the Detroit management with a look at minor leaguers called up or simply to give their worn-out warriors a rest.
Hope this helps. Glad to learn you like the writeups on approaching the replays.