I can remember the day in 1981 when Ron came into the library and asked if I was doing anything that night. He'd love to teach me to do the softball scorebook. We played Blue Ridge in my very first game. Ron taught me to use a green pencil for hits and red for errors. This made it easy to find them quickly in the book. I began a tradition of giving away the green pencil at the end of the season to the player with the most hits. The red pencil was awarded to the player with the most errors until it began to be politically incorrect even though it was done with good humor and affection. Ron taught me to note balls and strikes because it would help to keep me paying attention to the game. He was right about that but mostly I think it was because he never had any idea of the count from one second to the next. I cannot tell you how many times I reminded him of the count on a batter. He never retained it. Ever.
This particular game was played in Dunkirk as part of the state championship series. The other team arrived at this field not far from a sewer plant and they were GIANTS. Jean Valvo came to the game and gave it her best effort to say the appropriate things. One of the players went down with an injury and Jean was rummaging in her purse for ANYTHING that might be remotely helpful. We only scored one run in this game but it was enough to win. On the other side of the book, the Brocton players never got further than second base in this one hitter for our pitcher.And if you look, I think you can see their pitcher was no slouch; eight of our players struck out.
Anyhow, these scorebooks are like old friends. I attached them to a clipboard, clutched at least 4 pencils and balanced a camera around my neck. I regularly endured muscle soreness as a result holding tight to the clipboard at the odd angle required to accommodate the physics of scorekeeping. On at least one occasion, the old scorebooks won over a recalcitrant student who's mother was one of our best hitters. I dug out the scorebook and used it to help make whatever the point of the lesson was and he was recalcitrant no more.
In the articel, on mand (about my age) noted that "keeping score by hand 'helps fuel my anal retentiveness.'" Yes--what he said.
1 comment:
Funny that three of us, you, me and Judy all like keeping a scorebook! I first learned in high school. The coach needed someone to keep the book, and I was recruited. I loved it! I continued and taught my boys how to keep a scorebook at the old Oneonta Yankee games.
I admire that Judy does it on an ipad now, I doubt I could do that. I prefer the old book method, for sure.
Keeping score in a way that you can look back over twnety years later and remember what the whole game was like, who was there, how a coach paced the side line, is a treasure.
Aren't we lucky to have learned this art?
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