Showing posts with label box score. Show all posts
Showing posts with label box score. Show all posts

Friday, July 16, 2021

Keeping Score: A Legacy Written in Box Scores

July 2016 Cubs Scorecard
I found it while packing up my office, preparing for my move to Boise—a dusty file folder tucked behind a stack of old software manuals and holiday cards. Inside was a scorecard from July 20, 2016, Cubs versus Mets at Wrigley Field. Five years to the day from when I'm writing this, and the pencil marks have faded some, but I can still make out the neat columns and careful notations that chronicle nine innings of Cubs baseball for my daughter Kailey and me during our cross-country road trip. It's more than just a souvenir; it's a thread that connects three generations of my family, linking back to a lesson my father taught me on a cool early fall evening in Pittsburgh more than forty years ago.

I was nine years old in 1974 when my family moved to Pittsburgh. My father, a Yankees fan from New York who had married into a Cubs family from Chicago, knew how much I loved my mother's team. Despite his own allegiances, he promised to take me to see the Cubs play the Pirates at Three Rivers Stadium that fall. It would become the first professional baseball game that I remember.

That day stuck with me—not just because it was my first, but because I kept score. And now, decades later, I can revisit it with uncanny clarity, thanks to a relic of the internet age: the game's box score, preserved online like some sacred archaeological tablet.

September 30, 1974. Bill Bonham pitched a complete game, but the Cubs could only muster one run—Billy Williams scoring on a bases-loaded walk to Pete LaCock in the first inning. That was it offensively for the Cubs. Bruce Kison and the Pirates held on for a 2–1 win.

I had every play neatly recorded in pencil on that crisp scorecard in my lap. That quiet thrill of charting a real ballgame, pitch by pitch, was something new entirely. It transformed the experience from spectator to storyteller. But I was still heartbroken at the loss.

Dad showed me the symbols—the elegant shorthand of baseball. He drew a mini version of the field and jotted the numbers down for each position. He explained how a strikeout was a backwards ꓘ if the batter was looking, how a 5-4-3 double play told a complete story in three numbers, how a home run was simply HR but somehow contained all the joy of watching a ball disappear into the stands. His patient explanations transformed what I thought was just watching into something deeper—active participation in preserving the game's narrative.

Then came the moment that would define not just that game, but our family's sports allegiances for decades to come. A Pirates fan sitting behind us struck up a conversation with my younger brother and me. When he offered to give us a foul ball—if he caught one—in exchange for switching our loyalty from the Cubs to the Pirates, my response was immediate: "No way." But my brother, perhaps seduced by the promise of an actual baseball, said "okay".

That single word changed everything. What started as a Cubs family suddenly became divided. My brother's newfound love for Pittsburgh sports—the Pirates, the Steelers, the Penguins—created a rivalry that continues to this day. While he embraced his adopted city's teams, I remained stubbornly loyal to Chicago, setting up decades of good-natured family warfare that adds spice to every sports conversation. That moment taught me something about loyalty and choice that I'd carry forward—that the traditions we embrace, we embrace deliberately, and they become part of who we are.

But the real gift my father gave me that day wasn't about team loyalty—in fact, he was quietly rooting for neither team, content to watch his Cubs-loving son discover the game's deeper rhythms. It was about attention and presence. Keeping score forced me to watch every pitch, every swing, every defensive play with intention. It taught me that baseball, like life, is made up of small moments that accumulate into something larger, and that paying attention to details creates memories that last. Looking back now, through the lens that only comes with time and distance, I understand that this wasn't just a baseball lesson—it was a masterclass in being present, in showing up, in the quiet ways that love is demonstrated through shared experience.

Decades passed. I married, had children, and found myself facing the same choice my father had made—whether to pass along this beautiful burden of Cubs fandom. Even as I embraced this ritual with my own children, I couldn't escape Mike Royko's famous warning Sins of the Fathers and the generations-long suffering we Cubs fans inflict upon our children. In his 1989 column, Royko pleaded with fathers not to pass along the disease of Cubs fandom, calling it worse than drug addiction. He warned against hooking innocent children on a lifetime of disappointment and heartbreak. Royko was kidding, but not really...

Despite his wisdom, despite knowing the pain that comes with loving a team that specializes in creative ways to break your heart, I couldn't help myself. Still, I carried that lesson forward. When I wasn't coaching my son's Little League teams, I was in the stands with my scorecard, chronicling his journey from tee-ball through high school and into college. Those scorecards became the record of his baseball career—not just the statistics, but the story. The strikeout that led to tears but also to determination. The diving catch in the gap at the Little League Western Region Complex. The clutch HR with two outs in Arcadia.

As I wrote back in 2009, during another year of Cubs disappointment, I knew I was passing along the same "optimistic pessimism" that had been inflicted upon me. I was the dad telling my children that tomorrow is a new day, that there's always next year, that this season—surely this season—would be different. Despite the decades of evidence to the contrary, despite the mathematical reality of Cubs history, I continued to believe. And worse, I taught my children to believe too.

Every box filled in was a moment preserved, a way of saying this mattered, you mattered, this game we shared mattered. The habit became so ingrained that I've purchased a program or scorecard and kept score at nearly every Cubs game I've attended since that first one in Pittsburgh. My children learned not just the symbols and abbreviations, but the ritual itself—the careful attention, the patient recording, the way that keeping score transforms you from passive observer to active participant in the game's unfolding story.

Which brings me back to that scorecard from July 20, 2016, when Kailey and I sat in the sweltering heat at Wrigley Field, watching Bartolo Colon face off against Kyle Hendricks during what would become the Cubs' championship season. Our seats were next to two Mets fans who had flown into Chicago that very day just to see Colon pitch. A friendly rivalry bloomed between us, scorecards in hand, each of us tracking every pitch, every run, every substitution. As the Cubs pulled ahead, our scorekeeping turned competitive, complete with light trash talk and shared laughs. wo Anthony Rizzo homeruns later, we left the ballpark grinning, ready to continue our trip westward, while our new Mets friends flew home to New York, slightly sunburned and disappointed. It was the kind of fleeting, scorecard-fueled camaraderie only baseball can conjure.

As I filled in each box that afternoon, I was struck by the perfect symmetry of the moment. Here I was, passing along my father's gift to my daughter, just as he had done with me four decades earlier.

But there was something different about that day, something that only became clear in retrospect. For the first time in my adult life, that eternal Cubs refrain of "wait 'til next year" actually came to pass. That 2016 season—the one chronicled in part on that faded scorecard—ended not in heartbreak but in celebration. The curse was broken. The suffering, at least that particular strain of it, was over.

I think about my father often, especially now that he's gone. I understand better what Kierkegaard meant about how we live life forward but understand it backward—those moments that seemed simple at the time were profound acts of love. He was teaching me not just about baseball, but about presence, about the importance of being fully engaged in the moments we share with the people we care about most.

The scorecard in my office now represents more than just that Cubs-Mets game or even our cross-country adventure. It's a tangible reminder of a chain of connection that runs from my father to me to my children—each of us learning that some things are worth preserving, that attention is a form of respect, and that the stories we keep are the ones that make us who we are.

My children are young adults now, and they've inherited more than just Cubs fandom from me. They've learned that baseball is a language of connection, that keeping score is really about keeping memories, and that sometimes the most profound gifts are the ones that look like simple pastimes. When they have children of their own, I suspect they'll find themselves at ballparks with scorecards and pencils, continuing a tradition that started with a patient father in Pittsburgh all those years ago.

The game ends, the crowd goes home, but the scorecard remains. A humble piece of paper transformed into family history, one box score at a time.

And for all of Mike Royko's warnings about the sins we visit upon our children, I can't help but think some sins are worth inheriting—especially when they come wrapped in the language of love, attention, and the enduring hope that this year might finally be the year.

Monday, August 10, 2009

Babe Ruth - 2009 PSW Regionals, Game #4

Sunday, August 9, 2009
Eureka Babe Ruth Field, Eureka, CA

La Crescenta          1 0 0  0 5 0  7 – 15 14 5
Madera                0 0 0  2 3 2  1 –  8 10 4


La Crescenta       ab  r  h rbi
White ss            4  2  2  1
Okimoto 2b          3  2  0  0
Sullivan c,p,c      5  1  4  0
Tavizon lf          3  2  1  1
Alonso p,3b         2  2  1  1
Ha rf               3  2  0  1
Boeke 3b,c,lf,1b    5  3  3  2
Wang cf             4  1  3  6
Rea 1b              2  0  0  0
 - Cook p           2  0  0  0
Totals             33 15 14 12

Madera             ab  r  h rbi
Garcia cf           5  1  1  0
Mendrin ss,p        5  1  2  1
Roberts rf,1b       5  1  1  0
Bertoncini c        2  0  0  0
Martinez, A. lf     3  2  0  1
Coronado 2b         4  2  3  4
Cappelluti 1b       1  0  0  0
 - Gallardo 3b      1  0  0  0
 - Mosqueda ph      1  0  0  0
Martinez, S. p,rf   4  1  2  1
Granado 3b,p        2  0  1  0
Totals             33  8 10  7

E–La Crescenta-Sullivan (2), Boeke (1), White (1) Rea (1); 
Madera-Martinez, S (1), Martinez, A (1), Bertoncini (2)
2B–Madera-Garcia (1,off Cook), Roberts (1,off Tavizon).
3B–La Crescenta-Wang (2, 1 off Grenado, 1 off Wang).
Sac–Madera-Cappelluti (1,off Sullivan).
SB–La Crescenta-White (1,3rd base off Martinez/Bertoncini),
Okimoto (1,2nd base off Martinez/Bertoncini), Tavizon (1,2nd
base off S. Martinez/Bertoncini), Boeke (1,2nd base off 
Granado/Bertoncini), Rea (1,2nd base off S. 
Martinez/Bertoncini); Madera-Mendrin (1, 2nd base off 
Cook/Sullivan), Martinez, A. (2,2nd base off Sullivan/Boeke
& 2nd base off Tavizon/Sullivan, Martinez, S. (1, 2nd base 
off Cook/Sullivan).
CS-White (1)

Pitchers

La Crescenta   IP  H  R  ER  BB  SO
Alonso        3.0  0  0   0   1   0
Sullivan      0.1  2  2   2   1   0
Tavizon       1.2  3  3   2   0   0
Cook (W)      2.0  5  3   3   4   4

Madera         IP  H  R  ER  BB  SO
Martinez      4.1  5  5   4   7   3
Granado (L)   2.0  7  5   7   3   2
Mendrin       0.2  3  3   3   1   1 

WP–La Crescenta-Sullivan (1); Madera-Martinez, S. (1), 
Granado (1)
Balk— Madera-Granado (1).
PB—La Crescenta-Sullivan (2).
BS-La Crescenta-Cook  

Scoring Summary
Top 1st: La Crescenta
- J. White singled to right field
- C. Okimoto reached first on a throwing error by J. 
Mendrin, White to second base
- J. White stole third
- J. White scored on a wild pitch by S. Marinez.
Bot 4th: Madera
- A. Martinez walked and stole second base, then advanced 
on a wild pitch by R. Sullivan.
- R. Coronado hit an infield single to second, scoring 
A. Martinez
- W. Cappelluti sacrificed R. Coronado to second
- S. Martinez hit a single to right field, scoring R. 
Coronado.
Top 5th: La Crescenta
- C. Okimoto led off with a walk, and stole second base
- R. Sullivan singles to left field, Okimoto scores on 
fielding error by A. Martinez, Sullivan to second
- C. Tavizon singles to right field, Sullivan thrown out at
home, Tavizon to second on throw.
- B. Alonso walks
- T. Ha walks
- I. Granado relieves S. Martinez
- T. Boeke singles to center, scoring C. Tavizon
- B. Wang singles to right, scoring B. Alonso and T. Ha
- T. Boeke balked to 3rd base (Wang to second) by I. Granado
- T. Boeke scores on wild pitch by I. Granado.
Bot 5th: Madera
- S. Roberts doubled to right center
- D. Bertoncini walks
- A. Martinez reaches first on a fielder’s choice 
(Bertoncini out at second, Roberts to 3rd base).
- A. Martinez steals second base
- R. Coronado singles to right, scoring S. Roberts and 
A. Martinez, and advances to second on throw to the plate
- R. Gallardo advances Coronado to 3rd base on a fielder’s 
choice
- R. Coronado scores on a throwing error by R. Sullivan.
Bot 6th: Madera
- Cook relives Tavizon
- I. Garcia doubles down the left field line
- J. Mendrin singles to left, Garcia to 3rd base
- D. Bertoncini walks
- A. Martinez walks, scoring Garcia
- R. Coronado singles to left, scoring Mendrin.
Top 7th: La Crescenta
- T. Boeke singles to left field
- B. Wang hits a triple to right center, scoring Boeke
- J. White reaches first on a fielder’s choice, scoring 
B. Wang, White advances to second on a throwing error by
D. Bertoncini
- C. Okimoto walks
- R. Sullivan singled to left field
- C. Tavizon walks, scoring J. White
- B. Alonso singled to left field scoring C. Okimoto
- T. Ha walks, scoring R. Sullivan
- T. Boeke singles to right scoring C. Tavizon
- B. Wang triples to deep center field, scoring B. Alonso, 
T. Ha and T. Boeke. 
Bot 7th: Madera
- S. Martinez reaches first on an infield single and steals
2nd base
- I. Granado walks
- J. Mendrin singles to left field, scoring S. Martinez.


Babe Ruth - 2009 PSW Regionals, Game #3

Saturday, August 8, 2009
Eureka Babe Ruth Field, Eureka, CA

La Crescenta          1 0 0  0 0 7  5 – 13 13 2
Somervile-Yaqui (AZ)  0 0 3  0 0 0  2 –  5  5 1

La Crescenta       ab  r  h rbi
White ss            3  3  2  0
Okimoto 2b          2  2  1  2
Sullivan c          4  1  3  5
Tavizon cf,lf       3  1  1  1
Alonso 3b           5  0  3  1
Ha rf               3  1  0  0
Boeke lf,p          4  2  2  0
Wang p,cf           3  0  0  0
 - Marquis ph       0  1  0  0
Rea 1b              3  1  1  1
 - Cook ph          1  1  0  0
Totals             31 13 13 10

Somervile-Yaqui    ab  r  h rbi
Rosas cf            2  1  1  0
 - Beltran ph       1  0  0  0
Lopez 2b            3  2  1  0
Gonzales ss         4  0  1  2
Estrada c           4  0  3  1
Aguirreberrena 1b   3  0  0  0
Aguilar 3b          2  0  0  0
Miranda rf          2  0  0  0
Villegas p,3b       3  0  0  0
Esparza lf          2  1  0  0
 - Magana ph        1  1  0  0
Totals             27  5  6  3

E–La Crescenta Alonso (1), White (1); 
Somervile-Yaqui Lopez (1). 
2B–La Crescenta Alonso (1,off Aguilar); 
Somervile-Yaqui Lopez (1,off Boeke), Estrada (1,off Boeke).
3B–La Crescenta Tavizon (1,off Aguilar).  
Sac–Okimoto (1,off Villegas), Sullivan (1,off Villegas).
SB–La Crescenta Sullivan (2,2nd base off Aguilar/Estrada,
3rd base off Aguilar/Estrada)

Pitchers

La Crescenta    IP  H  R  ER  BB  SO
Wang*          2.0  0  3   3   5   3
Boeke (W)      5.0  6  2   1   0   5

Somervile-Yaqui IP  H   R  ER  BB  SO
Villegas*      5.1  5   2   3   5   1
Aguilar (L)*   0.2  7  11  10   3   0
Gonzales       1.0  1   0   0   1   0

*Wang pitched to 3 batters in the 3rd inning; Villegas 
pitched to 2 batters in the 6th inning and Aguilar pitched
to 5 batters in the 7th inning.

WP–Somervile-Yaqui Aguilar (1).
Balk—La Crescenta-Boeke (2).
PB—La Crescenta-Sullivan (2).  

Scoring Summary
Top 1st: La Crescenta
- J. White singled to left field
- C. Okimoto sacrificed White to second base
- R. Sulivan singled to left J. White scored.
Bot 3rd: Somervile-Yaqui
- E. Esparza walked
- M. Rosas walked
- I. Lopez walked, T. Boeke relived B. Wang
- T. Boeke balked home Esparza.
- J. Estrada singled to right, scoring M. Rosas
- T. Boeke balked home I. Lopez. 
Top 6th: La Crescenta
- B. Alonso singled to left
- T. Ha walked
- A. Aguilar relived F. Villegas
- T. Boeke singled to right
- B. Wang reached first on a fielder’s choice, B, Alonso
out at home.
- N. Rea reached first on a throwing error by I. Lopez, 
B. Wang out at second base, T. Boeke scored.
- J. White singled to left, N. Rea to third, J. White 
advancing on the throw.
- N. Rea scored on a wild pitch by Aguilar, J. White to 
third.
- C. Okimoto walked and advanced to second on defensive 
indifference
- R. Sullivan singled to left field, scoring J. White and C. 
Okimoto, R. Sullivan to second on throw
- C. Tavizon triples to left field, R. Sullivan scoring
- B. Alonso doubles to left field, C Tavizon scores.
Top 7th: La Crescenta
- T. Boeke singles to right center field, steals second and
third base
- C. Marquis walked
- J. Cook reaches first on a fielder’s choice, T. Boeke 
scores, Marquis to second
- J. White walked
- C. Okimoto singled to left field, C. Marquis and J. Cook
scoring
- A. Gonzales relived A. Aguilar
- R. Sullivan singled to left field scoring J. White and 
C. Okimoto.
Bot 7th: Somervile-Yaqui
- A. Magana reached first on fielding error by J. White
- I. Lopez doubled down the left field line
- A. Gonzales singled down the right field line, scoring 
A. Magana and I. Lopez.

Saturday, August 8, 2009

Babe Ruth - 2009 PSW Regionals, Game #2

Friday, August 7, 2009
Eureka Babe Ruth Field, Eureka, CA

Tri Valley      0 0 0  1 3 0  0 – 4 6 1
La Crescenta    0 0 0  0 0 0  1 – 1 1 4

Tri Valley ab r h rbi Soltis cf 3 0 0 0 Anderson 3b 3 1 1 1 Sprugasci p 3 1 1 0 Dronkers 1b 4 0 0 1 Fernandez rf 3 1 2 1 Allman lf 3 0 0 0 - Piscoty ss 0 0 0 0 Franco 2b 2 0 1 0 Jackson c 3 0 0 0 Pluschell ss 1 0 1 0 - Robbins lf 2 1 0 0 Totals 27 4 6 3 La Crescenta ab r h rbi Okimoto 2b 1 0 0 0 Ha rf 2 0 0 0 - Marquis ph 1 0 0 0 Sullivan 3b 3 0 0 0 White ss 2 1 0 0 Tavizon lf 3 0 0 0 Alonso c 3 0 1 1 - Tremain pr 0 0 0 0 Boeke 1b,p 3 0 0 0 Wang cf 1 0 0 0 - Moscicki ph 1 0 0 0 Cook p 1 0 0 0 - Rea 1b,lf 1 0 0 0 Totals 22 1 1 1 E–Tri Valley-Jackson (1); La Crescenta-White (1), Boeke (2), Ha (1). 2B–Tri Valley-Anderson (1,off Cook); La Crescenta Alonso (1,off Sprugasci). HBP–La Crescenta-White (1,by Sprugasci). Sac–Soltis (1,off Cook), Anderson (1,off Cook). CS–Okimoto (1,2nd base by Sprugasci/Jackson), Boeke (1,2nd base by Sprugasci/Jackson). SB–Tri Valley-Sprugasci (1,2nd base off Cook/Alonso); La Crescenta-White (1,2nd base off Sprugasci/Jackson). Pitchers La Crescenta IP H R ER BB SO Cook (L) 5.0 5 4 3 2 4 Boeke 2.0 1 0 0 0 2 Tri Valley IP H R ER BB SO Sprugasci (W) 7.0 1 1 1 2 5 PB-Tri Valley-Jackson (1); La Crescenta-Alonso (1) HBP–Tri Valley-Sprugasci (1,White). Scoring Summary Top 4th: Tri Valley - V. Fernandez singles to left field - K. Franco singles to right center field, Fernandez scores on fielding error by Okimoto on relay. Top 5th: Tri Valley - N. Robbins reaches first on fielding error by Boeke - C. Soltis sacrifices Robbins to second - R. Anderson doubles to right center field, scoring Robbins - R. Anderson balked to third by Cook - J. Sprugasci walks and steals 2nd base - J. Dronkers hits into a fielder’s choice to short, Anderson scored - V. Fernandez hits a single to center field, Sprugasci scores. Bot 7th: La Crescenta - J. White hit by a pitch and steals 2 base - B. Alonso doubles to center field, scoring White.

Friday, August 7, 2009

Babe Ruth - 2009 PSW Regionals, Game #1

Thursday, August 6, 2009
Eureka Babe Ruth Field, Eureka, CA

La Crescenta    0 1 0 1 0 1 1 – 4 9 1
Eureka          1 1 0 0 0 0 0 – 2 2 1
La Crescenta       ab  r  h rbi
Okimoto 2b          2  0  2  2
Ha rf               4  0  0  0
Tavizon lf/p        4  0  1  0
Alonso p/3b         3  0  0  0
 - Moscicki pr      0  1  0  0
Sullivan c          3  1  1  0
White ss            3  0  1  1
Boeke 3b,1b         4  1  1  0
Wang cf             4  1  1  0
Rea 1b,lf           2  0  2  1
Totals             29  4  9  4

Eureka             ab  r  h rbi
Raxa cf             4  1  2  1
Ables ss            2  0  0  0
Kirk c              3  0  0  0
Stone p             3  0  0  1
Snipes 3b           3  0  0  0
Swanson rf          0  1  0  0
Masten lf           2  0  0  0
 - Crews ph,lf      1  0  0  0
Savage 1b           2  0  0  0
 - Crews ph,1b      1  0  0  0
Maples 2b           2  0  0  0
 - Martin ph,2b     1  0  0  0
Totals             24  2  2  2

La Crescenta's #21, Ted Boeke, slides in ahead of the tag by Eureka's catcher Matt Kirk to score the tying run in the 4th inning.
©Rich Bickel/Times Standard
La Crescenta's #21, Ted Boeke, slides safely into home in front of Eureka's Matt Kirk to score the tying run in the fourth inning.


E–La Crescenta Alonso (1); Eureka Snipes (1).
2B–La Crescenta Sullivan (1,off Stone), Boeke (1,off Stone), 
White (1,off Stone); Eureka Raxa (1,off Alonso)
3B–Eureka Raxa (1,off Alonso).
HBP–Swanson (1,by Alonso).
SF–Stone (1,off Alonso).
CS–Okimoto (1,2nd base by Kirk/Maples).
SB–La Crescenta Sullivan (1,2nd base off Stone/Kirk);
Eureka Ables (1,2nd base off Alonso/Sullivan), Swanson
(1,2nd base off Alonso/Sullivan).

Pitchers

La Crescenta   IP  H  R  ER  BB  SO
Alonso        4.0  2  2   2   5   6
Tavizon (W)   3.0  0  0   0   4   5

Eureka         IP  H  R  ER  BB  SO
Stone (L)     7.0  9  4   4   5  12

WP–La Crescenta Alonso (1), Tavizon (1); Eureka Stone (1).
HBP–La Crescenta Alonso (1,Swanson).

Scoring Summary
Bot 1st: Eureka
- D. Raxa tripled to deep center
- K. Ables walked and stole second base
- Z. Stone hit a sacrifice fly to left field, D. Raxa scored
Top 2nd: La Crescenta
- R. Sullivan walked, J. White walked, Nolan Rea walked, 
C. Okimoto walked, scoring Sullivan.
Bot 2nd: Eureka
- D. Raxa doubled to right center field
- E. Savage walked, D. Raxa hit a double to the right
Top 4th: La Crescenta
- T. Boeke doubled to right center field
- N. Rea singled to right field, scoring Boeke
Top 6th: La Crescenta
- B. Wang singled to right center field
- N. Rea singled to center field
- C. Okimoto singled to second, scoring Wang
Top 7th: La Crescenta
- B. Alonso drew a walk, Moscicki pinch ran
- R. Sullivan reaches first on a fielder’s choice, Moscicki 
safe at second on throwing error by Snipes.
- J. White doubles to right center field, scoring Moscicki.