Why does 6 4 3 2 in baseball

Each defensive position also carries a shorthand denotation of 1 or 2 capital letters, shown here along with the position numbers:. A designated hitter is not a defensive position and thus has no fielding number. The numbers and shorthand were necessary to allow all the possible at-bats in a game to be logged on two sheets of paper unless there are many extra innings , one for each team. Each of these squares is pre-filled with a diamond — representing a baseball field diamond, with bases at each corner.

As a batter puts a ball in play, is put out, reaches base, or advances a base, the scorekeeper takes note by making notations along the baseline where the action occurred.

Hence, a ground-ball out from the shortstop thrown to the first baseman would be logged as along the first-base line, and the number of outs for the inning would be written atop it to indicate a putout, then sometimes circled. Since the batter failed to reach base, no segment of the diamond would be filled in.

Fly-ball putouts are easier — just write in F9 for a fly out to the right-fielder, or F6 for a pop-up to shortstop, etc. Each defensive player who touches the ball gets noted. If a player got a base-hit to left field, the scorekeeper would draw a line from home plate to first base indicating the player made it there safely, then write 1B or H1 along the first-base line.

For a double, 2B or H2 could be denoted on the diamond line representing the space between first and second base. A home run would be HR, and the entire diamond would be filled in noting that the player touched all bases and scored a run.

Strikeouts are easy, too: either a K for a strikeout where the batter swung the bat; or a backward K for a strikeout just looking at the ball whizzing by. This numbers system for scorekeeping is important for a number of reasons, among them the love affair baseball experts have with statistics. Recording at-bats and hits, and specific types of hits such as home runs, triples, doubles and singles, is relatively easy.

Each putout by a shortstop 6 over the course of the game can be counted — as well as errors by that player. Those numbers can be crunched into a fielding percentage, with 1. Sometimes it can be a double play, a double play, or sometimes it could be a whole set of seemingly random numbers to announce what type of double play it was. The numbers that come before a double play indicate which defensive players were involved in the play as well as the sequence of events that occurred during the play.

The first thing to understand about the numbers you see in a double play is that these numbers correspond to the defensive position of the player. As a general rule, there are 9 positions in baseball, and each defensive position is associated with a number. Using numbers instead of names helps keep the scorebook clear of clutter while also improving the efficiency of keeping an accurate scorebook.

The second piece of the puzzle to understanding what the numbers mean in a double play is to look at how those numbers are ordered.

As a general rule, the order of the numbers in a double play tells us a story as to what happened first, what happened second, and what happened third. Because this is a standard way to track what happened during a play, this also makes it easier for anyone else who reads the scorebook to understand what happened during that play.

As an example, if there were three defensive players who handled the ball during a double play, the first number in a double play will tell us who originally fielded the ball, the second number will tell us who received the throw to make the first out, and the last number will tell us who received the ball for the second out.

The double play is a very common type of double play where the shortstop 6 fields the ball, throws the ball to the second baseman 4 to get the force out at second, and the second baseman makes a throw to the first baseman 3 to get the batter out at first.

Because the numbers are ordered this way, we know the shortstop originally fielded the ball, the second baseman somehow received the ball from the shortstop, and the first baseman somehow received the ball from the second baseman. Right Field RF So, as an example, a 6 4 3 double play means the shortstop fielded the ball and threw it to the second baseman, who turned the double play by throwing it to first base. Who we are. Toby on July 18, pm. Markos on June 29, pm. Jake Rumboldt on January 26, am.

Tbh I have heard them call the positions by number for SO long Reply. Chad on June 28, pm. Debt lewis on November 3, pm. Is there ever a reason to have a 9 to 8 to 5 play? Aaron Dilks on December 6, pm. Annetta on June 16, pm. If the CF plays cut off and guns the runner out at 3rd. Me on July 13, pm. Richie to Potsie on Happy Days lol Reply.

Jack Valencia on June 13, pm. Frederick DeHaan on September 11, pm. Doug Bernier on September 17, pm. Andrew Miller on October 2, pm. Sarah Bernier on April 30, pm. Koratta Campese on July 10, am. Is this true? Doug Bernier on September 30, pm. Doug Reply. Dana on January 24, pm. Doug Bernier on January 27, pm. Doug Bernier Reply. Loren on July 13, pm. Big Man Frimp on April 22, am. Teri on September 5, am.

Sarah Bernier on September 5, pm. October 19, 0.