9.01 Official Scorer (General Rules)

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(a) The Office of the Commissioner, with respect to Major League games, and the Minor League President, with respect to Minor League games, shall appoint an Official Scorer for each league championship, post-season or all-star game. The Official Scorer shall observe the game from a position in the press box, in permanent assigned seating as designated by the home Club, in a seat adjacent to league Official Data Collection staff. The Official Scorer shall have sole authority to make all decisions concerning application of Rule 9 that involve judgment, such as whether a batter’s advance to first base is the result of a hit or an error. The Official Scorer shall communicate such decisions first to league Official Data Collection staff, and second to staff and media personnel in the press box and broadcasting booths by hand signals or over the press box loudspeaker system and shall advise the public address announcer of such decisions, if requested. All persons, including Club officials and players, are prohibited from protesting to the Official Scorer or league Official Data Collection staff regarding any such decisions.

The Official Scorer shall make all decisions concerning judgment calls. Upon conclusion of an event in the field requiring a scorer’s judgment, the Official Scorer will first make a “preliminary” judgment call, generally using best efforts to do so in a timely fashion in line with the general pace of play, and no later than the start of the next plate appearance. Within 24 hours after a game concludes or is suspended, the Official Scorer will, at his or her discretion, render such preliminary judgments as “final,” or revise the initial judgment call to become a final judgment. A Major League player or Club may request that the Chief Baseball Officer review a final judgment call of an Official Scorer made in a game in which such player or Club participated, by notifying the Office of the Commissioner in writing or by approved electronic means within 72 hours of a judgment becoming final. The Chief Baseball Officer shall have access to all relevant and available video and, after considering any evidence he wishes to consider, may order a change in a final judgment call if he determines that the final judgment of the Official Scorer was clearly erroneous. No judgment decision shall be changed thereafter. If the Chief Baseball Officer determines that a player or Club has abused the appeals process by repeatedly filing frivolous appeals, or acting in bad faith, he may, after providing a warning, impose reasonable sanctions on the Club or player. A Minor League player or Club may request that the League President review a judgment call of an Official Scorer in accordance with league rules.

After each game, including forfeited and called games, the Official Scorer shall prepare a report, on a form prescribed by the Office of the Commissioner, with respect to Major League games, and the Minor League President, with respect to Minor League games, listing the date of the game, where it was played, the names of the competing Clubs and the umpires, the full score of the game and all records of individual players compiled according to the system specified in this Rule 9. The Official Scorer shall forward this report to the Office of the Commissioner, with respect to Major League games, and the league office, with respect to Minor League games, as soon as practicable after the game ends. The Official Scorer shall forward the report of any suspended game as soon as practicable after the game has been completed, or after it becomes a called game because it cannot be completed, as provided by the Rule 7.02) Rule 4.12(b)(4)).

Rule 9.01(a) Comment:

The Official Scorer shall forward the official score report to the league statistician instead of to the league office, if requested to do so by the league. In the event of any discrepancy in records maintained by a league statistician and the rulings by an Official Scorer, the report of such Official Scorer shall control. League statisticians and Official Scorers should consult cooperatively to resolve any discrepancies.

(b)

(1) In all cases, the Official Scorer shall not make a scoring decision that is in conflict with Rule 9 or any other Official Baseball Rule. The Official Scorer shall conform strictly to the rules of scoring set forth in this Rule 9. The Official Scorer shall not make any decision that conflicts with an umpire’s decision. The Official Scorer shall have authority to rule on any point not specifically covered in these rules. The Office of the Commissioner, with respect to Major League scorers, and the League President, with respect to Minor League scorers shall order changed any decision of an Official Scorer that contradicts the rules of scoring set forth in this Rule 9 and shall take whatever remedial actions as may be necessary to correct any statistics that need correction as a result of such mistaken scoring decision.

(2) If the teams change sides before three men are put out, the Official Scorer shall immediately inform the umpire-in-chief of the mistake.

(3) If the game is protested or suspended, the Official Scorer shall make a note of the exact situation at the time of the protest or suspension, including the score, the number of outs, the position of any runners, the ball-and-strike count on the batter, the lineups of both teams and the players who have been removed from the game for each team.

Rule 9.01(b)(3) Comment:

It is important that a suspended game resume with exactly the same situation as existed at the time of suspension. If a protested game is ordered replayed from the point of protest, the game must be resumed with exactly the situation that existed just before the protested play.

(4) The Official Scorer shall not call the attention of any umpire or of any member of either team to the fact that a player is batting out of turn.

(c) The Official Scorer is an official representative who is entitled to the respect and dignity of his office and shall be accorded full protection by the Office of the Commissioner, with respect to Major League scorers, and the League President, with respect to Minor League scorers. The Official Scorer shall report to the appropriate league official any indignity expressed by any manager, player, Club employee, Club officer, or media personnel in the course of, or as the result of, the discharge of Official Scorer duties.