Softball Scoring: stolen base

[Agcy]

The real question: did the coach signal to steal and/or did the player attempt to steal regardless of the location/result of the pitch. Typically, as scorers, we don't know if a steal was called or not, the only thing we can tell is if the runner broke for the next base at the release of the pitch or on the read of a ball in the dirt.

Everything after that break doesn't matter. If they took off on the pitch release and weren't out, it is a stolen base. If the runner left when the ball hit the dirt (or was clear it was going to) or backstop and then they took off - wild pitch or Passed ball.

Stolen bases go against the catcher (maybe also the pitcher), but it takes a good pitch, a good throw, and a good catch/tag to get a Caught Stealing. As a catcher's dad, it pains me to score stolen base when:
- SS isn't there on time on a beautiful on time throw down (and then you also give the C an error when the ball bounces into center field and the runner goes to third (yes, very annoyed by this!))
- SS drops the ball or misses the tag
- runners at first and third and no attempt is made the runner advancing to 2nd after the pitch
- runner happens to take off on a really slow change up

But those are all Stolen Bases.

You can use Caught Stealing with Error, but IMO that has to be VERY clear that the ball was there and only by the ball getting dropped during the tag was the runner safe.

 

[Agcy]

Epiphany moment?

As I hit post on that last reply, it dawned on me that I credit a steal to the runner when the play ends on an error (e.g., SS boots the ball), so maybe it isn’t so absurd that the runner gets the same credit when the play starts with an error?

Still seems wrong to me, but if you all buy me a drink, I may warm up to it.

What "error" did the play start with? Passed Balls and Wild Pitches are not errors.

 

[uncdrew]

As Agcy alludes to, it all depends:

1. If your daughter is the base-runner, it's a steal
1a. If the coach's daughter is the base-runner, it's a steal
2. If it's the annoying parents' kid, it's either a passed ball or a wild pitch, depending on which kid/kid's parents in the battery you like more
3. If your DD is pitching, it's a passed ball.
4. If your DD is catching, it's a wild pitch
5. If you have twins and one it pitching and one is catching, it's advanced on error and you assign the error to the annoying parent's kid

 

[LEsoftballdad]

As Agcy alludes to, it all depends:

1. If your daughter is the base-runner, it's a steal
1a. If the coach's daughter is the base-runner, it's a steal
2. If it's the annoying parents' kid, it's either a passed ball or a wild pitch, depending on which kid/kid's parents in the battery you like more
3. If your DD is pitching, it's a passed ball.
4. If your DD is catching, it's a wild pitch
5. If you have twins and one it pitching and one is catching, it's advanced on error and you assign the error to the annoying parent's kid

I had this very scenario come up this year after my older daughter graduated in 2022. She was the starting catcher for the last three seasons, and the other girl was forced to play 3rd due to my daughter having seniority and being better. My younger daughter was the pitcher, so I had #5 without them being twins.

When the parent questioned why I gave his daughter a passed ball and not a wild pitch, he didn't like my explanation. I asked him how he thought I handled it the previous seasons, and he figured I scored a PB or WP as "other.'"

 

[MightyMO]

As Agcy alludes to, it all depends:

1. If your daughter is the base-runner, it's a steal
1a. If the coach's daughter is the base-runner, it's a steal
2. If it's the annoying parents' kid, it's either a passed ball or a wild pitch, depending on which kid/kid's parents in the battery you like more
3. If your DD is pitching, it's a passed ball.
4. If your DD is catching, it's a wild pitch
5. If you have twins and one it pitching and one is catching, it's advanced on error and you assign the error to the annoying parent's kid

I was reading this thread and formulating basically this same post

In all honesty, I score high school softball and baseball, and I typically give the benefit of the doubt to our players on close plays either way. I do my best to score games correctly but when it's close on a hit vs. error or steal vs. wild pitch, I will go our players way.

I learned years ago those stats are used for post season honors and I've seen enough stats from other schools to know that they have score keepers who either don't know what they are doing (random kids in the dugout keeping the book) or are blatantly scoring games wrong on purpose to boost stats. Nothing like watching a team play 3 or 4 games where they look completely lost at the plate and then seeing that they have 3 girls batting .700 on the year.

That said, there are good ones out there. I once scored a game where we only had one hit. The opposing team's scorekeeper approached me after the game and asked how I had scored that hit (it was a blooper in left that dropped between the left fielder and the short stop). I told her I scored it a hit and she said she did too. The pitcher had come to her begging her to call it an error but she stuck to her guns.