How does scoring work in baseball?
Runs and innings
Each team bats in turns during an inning, and every inning has a top half and a bottom half. A run scores when a batter or runner advances around the bases and touches home plate legally. Most runs come from hits, walks, errors, and sacrifice plays, though the exact result depends on how the play unfolds.
A standard game lasts nine innings. If the score is tied after nine, the teams keep playing extra innings until one team leads at the end of a complete inning.
- A run counts only if the runner touches home plate before the third out of that inning.
- Walks and hit batters can force in runs without a base hit.
- Errors can score runs but are recorded separately from hits.
- The team with more runs after a complete inning wins.
How the scorekeeper records a play
The official scorer records each play in a scorebook, marking hits, outs, errors, and runs in the boxes along each batter's line. The scorer makes judgment calls on whether a play is a hit or an error, so fans can disagree about the same play.
The line score at the bottom of the box score shows runs by inning, plus total hits and errors for each team. Checking that line is the quickest way to confirm the final total.
Common mistakes
- Counting a run that scored after the third out, which does not count.
- Assuming a hit and an error are always clear-cut when the scorer decides the play.
- Expecting a tied game to end after nine innings no matter the score.
