Scorekeeping and GameChanger Clinic

 

League expectations

• GameChanger will be used for schedule, standings and pitch counts.
• Everyone (coaches, family, friends, fans) should have GameChanger for team communications and schedule.
• The Scorekeeper should answer questions from umpires and coaches related to scoring during the game. For example, to confirm runs scored during a half inning.
• The Scorekeeper can alert the umpire if they are aware of a pitch count, batting order or minimum play violation.
• The umpires are in charge of enforcing the rules and their calls stand even if the Scorekeeper disagrees with the call.
• Minor and Major visitor teams should keep independent pitch count and verify with the scorekeeper or in gamechanger after each half inning and when pitchers change.
• Rookie and TBall should not score games in GameChanger.
• Farm and above home team will provide a scorekeeper for every game in GameChanger.
• Visiting team will have a volunteer run the scoreboard.

Why?

• Standings will use the score kept in GameChanger.
• Pitch counts. Minor and Major leagues have strict rules on pitches a pitcher can throw and how many days rest they need between outings. We use GameChanger stats to monitor and enforce these.
• Fans that can’t make the game appreciate being able to watch the play by play gamestream.
• Scoring is more fair and should be more accurate when we have both teams participating (GameChanger and Scoreboard).
• Post season tournaments will use regular season standings for seeding.
• Family and fans can view stats and division leaders.
• Coaches can use stats to coach better and be more competitive as a team. We don’t use stats in All Star team selections.
• It’s fun.

 

Division expectations:

Rookie and TBall

No scorekeeping. GameChanger for schedule and team communication

Farm

Keep track of lineup and score batters

The game should be completed with the correct score

Minor and Major

Keep track of lineup and batting.

Keep track of pitchers and catchers.

Visiting team coach should validate pitch counts after each half inning and after pitch substitution.

Make sure score and pitch count is accurate at the end of the game.

With technology there is always a chance that something gets really screwed up. If everything goes south, keep the pitch count and score by hand (on paper or in a note on your phone). Then go in after the game and use manual overrides to set the final score and pitches per player.

Coaches

 

Coaches should have at least 2 volunteers that can act as scorekeepers. The coach should have anyone that will be scorekeeping complete the volunteer application. Once that is done, player agents will add them to your team and they will show up in GameChanger as staff on your team.

Scorekeepers should go through this course (takes about 30 minutes):

GameChanger University

The clinic will be hands-on practice so everyone should bring a device (phone or tablet) that they can use.

 

High Level Clinic Agenda

 

• GameChanger setup and configuration
• Scorekeeping with GameChanger
• League and Division rules to be aware of
• How to stream video
• How to use the scoreboards.
• Music and Walkup songs

 

Detailed Agenda:

 

 

WiFi connection instructions

If you’ve scored with GameChanger before, let’s talk about the differences between scoring last year and this year:

1. Only one team needs to score the game.
2. Rosters are already loaded for all teams.
3. Both coaches will be able to set their lineup before the game so you won’t have to set initial positions and batting orders.
4. Organization tab on the team shows the whole division schedule and current standings.

 
Pre-game setup

Game settings. Stat settings. Broadcast permissions.

• Innings per game
• Extra fielder
• Pitch count alerts
• Show playing time
• Game Clock

Set lineups and positions. Both teams should have set lineups and positions before the game. If they haven’t, get the lineup from the coaches.

Get positions by inning from coaches (if they have it).

Home and Away should be set automatically but make sure it is right before the game starts.

Ensure that no one else is or will be logging in with your username. You will get kicked out after 2 devices are logged in.

Practice scoring a game

Go to a team where you are staff (or create a new team. Or log out and “explore scorekeeping”). Go to Team Settings -> Practice Scoring a Game

 

Batter 1:

1. Ball
2. Swinging Strike
3. Called Strike
4. Hit by pitch

Batter 2:

1. Foul ball
2. Ball
3. Passed ball. Runner on 1st advances to 2nd.
4. Batter gets a hit with a ground ball to 3rd base. Safe at first. Runner advances to 3rd.

 

Batter 3:

1. Called strike. 1st base runner steals 2nd
2. Ball
3. Ball
4. [Coach asks for pitch count for current pitcher]
5. Called strike
6. Called 3rd strike. Catcher doesn’t catch it. Batter advances to first safely (Major only, this is an out in minor). Other runners remain.

 

Batter 4:

1. Fly ball to pitcher. Throw to first before runner tags up. Double play

 

Batter 5:

1. Catcher’s mitt gets hit by bat on swing. Catcher interference. Batter goes to first

 

Batter 6:

1. Swing and miss
2. Swing and miss
3. Ball. Runner on 3rd base steals home. Runner at 2nd advances to 3rd on same pitch.

 

Switch pitchers. RF comes in to pitch. Bench player comes into RF. Pitcher goes to bench.

 

Batter 7:

1. Called strike
2. Catcher throws to 3rd after pitch and 3rd tags out runner.

 

Inning over. Confirm switch

 

Batter 1 on home team:

1. Line drive to center field drops in front of fielder. Batter safe at first

 

Batter 2

1. Ground ball to shortstop. Throws to 2nd and gets runner out. Fielder’s choice.

 

Batter 3

1. Ball. Passed ball. Runner advances to 2nd. Catcher overthrows to 2nd. Runner advances to 3rd.
2. Deep fly ball to right field. Ball is caught. Runner tags up and scores. Sac fly

Batter 4

1. Intentional Walk. Don’t use the intentional walk feature. Score 4 balls.  

 

 

More scenarios we will practice:

 

1. End the half inning before 3 outs (because of a run limit)?

1. Menu -> end half inning

 

2. Start the Game Clock.

1. Adjust the game clock (in case you didn’t start it on time but you know the game start time)

 

3. Bring up pitch count report for all pitchers. Touch pitcher name directly below the score.

 

4. Batting lineup finishes. Go to the beginning of the lineup.

 

5. Sub a courtesy runner when a catcher gets on base and there are 2 outs. Last out should be the courtesy runner.

 

6. Switch out the pitcher on a previous play (because you missed the change and a few batters have already hit). Go to Plays. Find the play where the new pitcher came in. Edit -> click on pitcher-edit and change to the new pitcher. Verify that pitch counts are correct.

 

7. Runner advancing home is called safe due to catcher obstruction.

 

8. Sub player out in the batting order. All divisions bat all players so batting order shouldn’t need to change often. Players not playing in the field will show as EH (extra hitter) in the lineup.

 

9. Runner left early. Called out. Message fans.

 

10. Add a 10th fielder

 

11. End a game. Set winning and losing pitchers. Save and blown save.

 

12. Go back into scoring after you have already ended the game. Override the score.

 

13. Farm: Don’t score balls. When using the pitching machine, only score strikes that the batter swings at or the umpire calls a strike.
14. Farm: In the first few weeks, teams may bat everyone in the lineup in an inning. Don’t score any runs after the 3rd out.
15. Minor: Score coach pitch
16. Keeping track of every position change can be challenging. It is less important in farm. Do your best. If you don’t update them all, try to update ones where plays are made or before you score the fielding play.
17. In Majors and Minors, many coaches will have a copy of the positions they have assigned by inning. Take a picture or get a copy so you can update positions every inning.
18. Both Home and Away teams scoring the same game.
19. Leave a game unfinished if you need to. Finalize game once outstanding issues are addressed. You can still edit scoring after you have finalized a game.
20. Softball specific scoring notes^[a][b].
21. Check out the cheatsheet

 

League and Division Rules to be familiar with

 

1. Pitch limits by league age. Read complete rules here: little league guidelines. Baseball:

1. Ages 6-8: 50 pitches per day
2. Ages 9 and 10: 75 pitches per day
3. Ages 11 and 12: 85 pitches per day
4. 1-20 Pitches = 0 Days Rest
5. 21-35 Pitches = 1 Day Rest
6. 36-50 Pitches = 2 Days Rest
7. 51-65 Pitches = 3 Days Rest
8. 66+ Pitches = 4 Days Rest

2. Restrictions on catchers coming in to pitch. Can’t pitch if caught in more than 3 innings.
3. Days of rest required.
4. Time limits per division
5. Inning limits.
6. Run limits (per inning and mercy rule)
7. Minimum play per player rules. Each player should play in 6 defensive outs.
8. Resources for scorekeeping. Who can you ask if you have questions? Email [email protected]

 

 

 

GameChanger Video Streaming

 

Streaming the game live is pretty easy and provides a way for friends and family that can’t be at the game to enjoy it.
It is completely optional. They can still follow play by play gamestream if there isn’t video. We will have wifi at the Swope fields this year which should make this easier to do.

The easiest set up is to get a fence clip for your phone. Attach it to the fence behind home plate and hit “Go Live”.

Scoring a game requires a staff role in GameChanger but any member of the team can livestream the game (unless this setting is changed. Broadcast permissions -> Who can broadcast?).

 

There are a couple things that you’ll probably want:

1. External battery. Live streaming video burns through your battery quickly so it is good if you can have it plugged into an external battery the whole time.
2. Fence clip. I’ve tried many things from tripods to zip ties. The fence clip is the quickest to set up and get the field framed correctly without the fence being in the shot.
3. Gamechanger kit. - I use this to keep all my gear in and I will occasionally use it if it is raining or snowing to keep my phone out of the weather. For phones, it is harder to get the shot framed correctly because the phone sits further from the fence.
4. Phone case. Foul balls will hit the backstop and could hit your phone or knock it loose so you want to make sure it is protected if it falls from the fence.

 

Can you score the game and livestream at the same time?
Yes, but you’ll need two devices. I like to score on an iPad and livestream from my phone. At fields without wifi, I would start the hotspot on my phone and connect to it from my iPad before starting to stream from my phone.

 

How do I get the whole field in view?
Most newer phones have wide angle lenses that will work for this. You can either touch the zoom setting (to change between 1x and 0.5x) or pinch to zoom to get as zoomed in as possible while still having 1st and 3rd bases showing. 0.7x or 0.8x is usually pretty good for me.

 

Can fans of the other team watch the livestream?
There are two options when you start a stream. Anyone or Confirmed Members. If you choose anyone, then fans of the other team can view the stream. There is also a shareable link that you can send out in a text after the game starts. If the other team is live-streaming, you can find their team from the head to head matchup, follow the team as a fan and then view their livestream as long as they allow anyone to view it.

 

Dedicated cameras.

GameChanger supports other cameras, mainly GoPro and Mevo Smart. I’ve tried both and did not have good luck with either one when I was using my phone hotspot. When there is wifi, the Mevo smart worked great. The GoPro viewing angle was wider than I liked. If you use the Mevo camera you can use their mobile app to change the view. For example, if there is no one on base you can zoom in on the pitcher and batter until the ball is hit. You can create a much better video stream but it takes more involvement than just setting it at the beginning of the game.

 

 

How to operate the scoreboards

 

1. Make sure the scoreboard is on. Switches are inside the pyramid and should be turned on by the board member that opens the fields.
2. Turn on the scoreboard controller.
3. Connect the controller to the scoreboard. Push home score until the proper field is flashing all 1's, Press guest score, Press horn.  (These directions are on the bottom of the controller).
4. Pitches and outs count up. If you go too far, either start a new batter or keep going until you get to the right count.
5. Score (runs) count up but there are buttons to subtract runs.
6. Innings can only advance. If you accidentally advance an inning, remember the current score (and outs, pitches), start a new game, advance to the correct inning and restore the runs and other stats. Don’t try to keep advancing the inning expecting it will eventually loop back to 0. It won’t.
7. The main issue people have with the scoreboard is when the controller gets paired to the wrong scoreboard. There are instructions on the back of the controller to reset and re-pair the controller to the scoreboard.

 

Music and walkup songs

 

There are lots of apps now that help you set this up and there are speakers in the press box that can be used for announcing and playing music.

Please keep these in mind:

• Don’t play explicit content
• Mute the volume before the play starts
• Be respectful of players, umpires and fans. Keep in mind that games are likely in progress on the other fields, too.
• No kids in the scoring booth.
• Treat the equipment well. Keep food and drinks away from the audio, internet and scoring equipment.