In Baseball when a player hits into a double play, the television announcers will often say something like, "That's a 6-4-2." What do these three various numbers mean?

pjotr

In baseball, each position is assigned a number, the pitcher is assigned 1, catcher 2, first baseman 3, second baseman 4, third baseman 5 and shortstop 6, and then from left to right fielders 7 through 9, so a 6-4-3 double play happens when the ball is hit to the shortstop who throws to the second baseman to get the first out and then to the first baseman who gets the second out. There are many more combinations, but if you know which position is which number, you will understand. Hope that clears things up. I remember having the same trouble listening to games on the radio whenever they said stuff like that. Sep 01 03, 9:48 AM

potterguy

What pjotr didn't explain was the rationale for assigning numbers to the various positions in baseball. They are a form of shorthand which is used in keeping score on a scorecard, which is fast becoming a lost art in modern baseball. The scorecard was a two page affair that was purchased at the ball park on game day. Two pages contained a grid upon which the names of the players were entered, and when those players came to bat, the coded entries recorded what happened to that player. A K meant he had struck out. A backwards K meant he had not swung at the third strike, and the umpire called him out. A player who reached base was tracked on a small diamond which was centered inside of each grid square. A player who reached first base was scored with a line from the bottom corner of the diamond to the right hand corner, and a corresponded coded entry was placed beside the right corner. And so on, and on, and on... It is a beautiful way to chronicle a game in abbreviated form. Anyone who has ever learned to "keep score" can look at a scorecard from a game they have not witnessed and know in detail how the game proceeded. There...sorry for the excessive wordiness... Sep 01 03, 9:01 PM

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