Box score (baseball) facts for kids
A box score is a special chart used in baseball. It shows important facts about what players did in a game. A shorter version, often seen on a scoreboard, is called a line score. The Baseball Hall of Fame says that Henry Chadwick created the first box score in 1858.
Contents
What is a Line Score?
A line score is a quick summary of a baseball game. It has two lines. The top line shows the visiting team, and the bottom line shows the home team.
How to Read a Line Score
It shows how many runs each team scored in every inning. At the end, it lists the total runs, total hits, and total errors for each team.
For example, "top of the inning" and "bottom of the inning" come from how teams are listed in the line score. If the home team is winning and doesn't need to bat in the last inning, you'll see an "X" there.
Here's an example from a famous game on October 3, 1951:
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brooklyn | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 0 | |||||||||||
| New York | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 8 | 0 | |||||||||||
| WP: Larry Jansen LP: Ralph Branca | |||||||||||||||||||||||
In this game, the New York Giants won 5 runs to 4.
What is a Box Score?
A full box score gives you even more details than a line score. It includes the line score, plus how each player and the whole team performed. These numbers are officially recorded by the game's official scorer.
Here is a box score from a famous game, Game 6 of the 1991 World Series:
Saturday, October 26, 1991 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Minneapolis, Minnesota Atlanta 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 – 3 9 1 Minnesota 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 - 4 9 0 Atlanta Braves ab r h rbi bb so po a Smith dh 3 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 Pendleton 3b 5 1 4 2 0 0 1 2 Gant cf 5 0 0 1 0 0 2 0 Justice rf 4 0 0 0 1 1 3 0 Bream 1b 4 0 1 0 1 0 12 2 Mitchell pr,lf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Hunter lf,1b 5 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 Olson c 5 0 0 0 0 1 6 0 Lemke 2b 4 1 2 0 0 0 2 3 Belliard ss 2 0 1 0 0 1 1 4 Gregg ph 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Blauser ph,ss 2 0 1 0 0 1 1 3 Totals 39 3 9 3 3 4 30 14 FIELDING - Atlanta DP: 2. Bream-Belliard-Bream, Blauser-Lemke-Bream. E: Hunter (1). BATTING - Atlanta HR: Pendleton (2,5th inning off Erickson 1 on 1 out). HBP: Smith (1,by Erickson). GDP: Smith (1,off Willis). Team LOB: 7. BASERUNNING - Atlanta CS: Mitchell (1,2nd base by Aguilera/Harper). Minnesota Twins ab r h rbi bb so po a Gladden lf 4 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 Knoblauch 2b 5 1 1 0 0 0 4 1 Puckett cf 4 2 3 3 0 1 3 0 Davis dh 4 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 Mack rf 4 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 Leius 3b 3 0 2 0 0 0 3 2 Pagliarulo ph,3b 1 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 Hrbek 1b 4 0 0 0 0 1 11 1 Ortiz c 2 0 0 0 0 1 4 0 Harper ph,c 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 Gagne ss 4 0 1 0 0 0 5 6 Totals 37 4 9 4 1 6 33 11 FIELDING - Minnesota DP: 2. Gagne-Hrbek, Gagne. BATTING - Minnesota 2B: Mack (1,off Avery). 3B: Puckett (1,off Avery). HR: Puckett (2,11th inning off Leibrandt 0 on 0 out). SF: Puckett (1,off Avery). GDP: Hrbek (1,off Avery); Gladden (1,off Stanton). Team LOB: 5. BASERUNNING - Minnesota SB: Gladden (2,2nd base off Avery/Olson); Puckett (1,2nd base off Stanton/Olson). Pitchers Atlanta Braves IP H R ER BB SO HR BFP Avery 6.0 6 3 3 1 3 0 25 Stanton 2.0 2 0 0 0 1 0 7 Pena 2.0 0 0 0 0 2 0 6 Leibrandt (L, 0-2) 0.0 1 1 1 0 0 1 1 TOTALS 10 9 4 4 1 6 1 39 Leibrandt faced 1 batter in the 11th inning Minnesota Twins IP H R ER BB SO HR BFP Erickson 6.0 5 3 3 2 2 1 26 Guthrie 0.1 1 0 0 1 1 0 3 Willis 2.2 1 0 0 0 1 0 8 Aguilera (W, 1-1) 2.0 2 0 0 0 0 0 6 TOTALS 11 9 3 3 3 4 1 43 Erickson faced 1 batter in the 7th inning WP–Guthrie (1). HBP–Erickson (1,Smith). Inherited Runners - Scored: Guthrie 1-0; Willis 3-1. U–Ed Montague (NL), Don Denkinger (AL), Harry Wendelstedt (NL), Drew Coble (AL), Rick Reed (AL), Terry Tata (NL). T–3:46. A–55,155. |
Game Information
At the top of the box score, you'll often find the date, time, and where the game was played. For example, the box score above shows the game was at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis.
The Line Score in a Box Score
The line score is always included in the box score, usually near the top. It shows the runs scored in each inning. In our example, the Atlanta Braves scored two runs in the fifth inning and one in the seventh. The Minnesota Twins scored two runs in the first, one in the fifth, and one in the eleventh.
The total runs, hits, and errors for each team are listed at the end of the line score. The first number after the dash is the final score. The Twins won this game 4 runs to 3.
Batting Performance
This part lists how each player did when they were batting. Players are grouped by team, with the visiting team first. They are listed in the order they batted.
- Player Names and Positions: You'll see their last name and their fielding position (like "rf" for right field). If a player changes position, both are listed. For example, Brian Hunter started at left field ("lf") and later played first base ("1b").
- Substitutes: Players who came into the game later are also listed. "ph" means pinch hitter (they batted for someone else), and "pr" means pinch runner (they ran for someone else).
- Batting Stats: To the right of each player's name, you'll see their stats:
* ab: at bats (how many times they tried to hit) * r: runs (how many times they scored) * h: hits (how many times they hit the ball and reached base safely) * rbi: runs batted in (how many runs they helped score) * bb: bases on balls (walks) * so: strikeouts * po: putouts (how many outs they made while fielding) * a: assists (how many times they helped make an out)
- Team Totals: At the bottom of each team's batting list, you'll find the total stats for the whole team.
Extra Batting, Fielding, and Baserunning Stats
Below the main batting lists, you'll find more details:
- E: Errors – mistakes made by fielders.
- DP: Double plays – when two players are out on one play.
- 2B: Doubles – a hit where the batter reaches second base.
- 3B: Triples – a hit where the batter reaches third base.
- HR: Home runs – a hit where the batter scores a run without stopping.
- HBP: Hit by pitch – when a batter is hit by the ball thrown by the pitcher.
- SF: Sacrifice fly – a fly ball hit that allows a runner to score.
- CS: Caught stealing – when a runner tries to steal a base but is tagged out.
- SB: Stolen base – when a runner moves to the next base while the pitcher is throwing.
- TB: Total bases – a score based on how many bases a batter reaches with their hits (1 for single, 2 for double, etc.).
Pitching Summary
This section lists every pitcher who played in the game.
- Decisions: Pitchers can get a win (W), a loss (L), a save (SV), or a hold (H).
- Pitching Stats: To the right of their name, you'll see:
* IP: Innings pitched * H: Hits allowed * R: Runs allowed * ER: Earned runs allowed (runs that were not due to errors) * BB: Walks allowed * SO: Strikeouts made * HR: Home runs allowed * BFP: Batters faced by pitcher
Other Game Information
At the very bottom of the box score, you'll find general game details:
- U: Umpire crew – lists the umpires who worked the game.
- T: Time of the game – how long the game lasted.
- A: Paid attendance – how many people bought tickets to watch the game.
How Box Scores Changed Over Time
The first box scores were very simple. They only showed how many times a player was out and how many runs they scored.
Over time, as fans became more interested in all parts of the game, box scores grew. They started to include more batting stats like at-bats and hits. They also added defensive stats like put-outs and assists.
Later, the "Runs Batted In" (RBI) stat was added in the early 1900s. As more relief pitchers were used, a separate section for pitchers was created. This section showed their innings pitched, hits allowed, and strikeouts.
By the 1960s, newspapers often removed some defensive stats from the main batting lists to save space. However, for big games like the World Series, they might still print the full, detailed box score.
