Close the Book is an expression used in Baseball to describe baseball scorecards or scorekeeping. At a baseball league, they would hire professional official scorers to take hold of the game's record. This is done in a printed scorecard for the fans to see, and so that the fans can add their styles to the scoring. Closing the book is generated originally by Henry Chadwick, a sportswriter who became the official inventor of baseball scorekeeping. Since the late 18th century, there was a sign of changes in the scorekeeping, but people are still following Chadwick's standard for the simplicity of score recording.
Abbreviations and Scorecards
Symbols and abbreviations are used in scorekeeping, where each position is indicated. For example, the Pitcher, Catcher, the First Baseman, and the Second Baseball, will be indicated as P, C, 1B, and 2B respectively. The designated hitter will be abbreviated by DH, but if this position is used, it will be marked as 0. Scorecards can differ in appearance depending on the date, location, teams, battling line-up, and play-to-play action. Alongside these data, the tallying of the player's at-bats and runs will be recorded. In each game, there will be two scorecards to be used.
The Importance of Scorekeeping
Closing the book is very important, not only because it can be used as a determiner for the winning team, but it has the sole authority for the official scorers to make sound judgment towards the game. Such records would involve the batter's first attempt to hit the first base, whether it ended up as a success or not. The official scorer shall then communicate with the other officials by signaling them through hand signals or announce the scores through a loudspeaker system. Just in case the scores of both teams are in question, then they should deem the official scorer accountable.
How to Achieve Uniformity in Scoring
To keep records of scores, the scorer should be strict in following the Scoring Rules and Guidelines. If either of the teams should question the scores, then the scorer can go to the official umpire to rectify the mistake and rectify the score. If the game is suspended, then the scorer shall take note of what has happened during the suspension, including the scores, the player's position and number, and the ball and strike count. With the heaviness of the scorer's responsibility, he shall then communicate with the umpire's decision to align the scores with the official playing rules.
