There are many reasons to keep a baseball scorecard. It’s a great practice to follow for a game that you are watching, playing in, or just have a rooting interest in.

Technology has advanced so much since the days of Cy Young, Honus Wagner, Mordecai “The Finger” Brown and The Anson brothers. The way that players study the opposition has gone from inside advanced scouts to on demand video. Baseball gloves have gone from the equivalent of a winter mitten to a computer designed piece of leather craftsmanship. The baseball bat has gone from homemade carved bats to pieces of lumber that are made to a player’s specific weight and strength.

History of the Baseball Scorecard

One thing that has not changed since the first days of baseball has been the baseball scorecard. The entry for a single to left and an error on the shortstop are exactly the same. It doesn’t matter if you are looking at a baseball scorecard from 1882 or 2012. You can re-create a baseball game by looking at the baseball scorecard for that game. You can envision how a game played out. Even if that game took place before your great grandfather was old enough to pick up a ball and mitt.

One thing that can keep you entertained for hours is to keep a baseball scorecard for a few major league games, minor league game, college game or even little league game. Go back a year later and see how much of the game you can recall. You would be surprised how much a baseball scorecard can bring back memories of a great baseball watching experience.

It doesn’t matter if you are watching a great major leaguer like Derek Jeter, top minor league prospect like Dylan Bundy, or your nephew. You can always look back at your own little piece of baseball history and you have proof that you were there.

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There is nothing quite like watching a game a baseball. For as much as people talk about it not being the most exciting sport out there, it is that rare sport that has a social aspect to it, making it the perfect spectator sport. While football may have a more condensed season and hockey may offer more big plays, baseball is about the long haul, both in terms of the season, and the game.

You don’t go to the ballpark looking to be entertained second after second, you go there wanting to experience a day out. You have your peanuts, your cracker jacks, and your baseball score sheet to keep track of the game.

Filling Out a Baseball Score Sheet

Of all of the sports out there, there is something about baseball that just makes you want keep track of it. While you can keep track of football by watching the scoreboard, baseball is something that is better kept track of on a baseball score sheet.

Part of the fun is tracking the game on your sheet and seeing just what your favorite players do each time you get to the plate. Because of the relatively slow pace of the game, you are able to get keep track on your baseball score sheet without completely having to absorb yourself in it. All you need to do is put a couple of marks for each batter; you don’t need to pay close attention, nor do you have to shun those around you just to keep track.

Even better, keeping score at a baseball game is something that can be done in a group. It is not out of place to see a father and son (or daughter) each with a baseball score sheet, or an entire row of people filling out a baseball score sheet. It’s one of the best ways to get into the ball game.

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In 2012, the MLB World Series bracket expanded to allow a second Wild Card team to enter the postseason, bringing the total number of teams in postseason play to ten – five each from the American League and National League.

World Series Bracket: Postseason Qualifiers

In the World Series bracket, the team with the best regular season record in each of the six divisions (three in each league) earns an automatic berth into the Division Series. Of the remaining teams, the two with the best non-division winning record in each league face off in a one-game, winner-take-all matchup to determine who advances to the Division Series to play the team with the best record in its league.

World Series Bracket: Division Series (ALDS and NLDS)

The two division winners with the best record in each league earn homefield advantage during the Division Series, which is a best-of-five series. In 2012, the Division Series became a 2-3 format with the higher seed going on the road for the first two games and returning home for the final three games of the series, if necessary.

World Series Bracket: League Championship Series (ALCS and NLCS)

The winners advance in the World Series bracket to the League Championship Series, a best-of-seven matchup with home field advantage going to the team with the better record. The League Championship Series in the World Series bracket is a 2-3-2 format, which means the team that earns homefield advantage plays games one, two, six and seven at home. If a Wild Card team advances to the League Championship Series, homefield advantage goes to the team that won its division.

World Series

The winner of the ALCS and NLCS earns its league’s pennant and advances to play in the World Series. Since 2003, homefield advantage in the World Series has gone to the league that wins the MLB All-Star Game, a system created by Commissioner Bud Selig to give the game more meaning after the 2002 game ended in a tie.

2020 MLB Playoff Bracket: The Wild Card Round

In 2020, Major League Baseball altered its playoff system, changing the structure of the MLB playoff bracket as we know it. In an effort to extend the playoff season and add an extra element to the MLB playoff bracket, officials added an extra Wild Card team to each league.

Wild Card teams earn a place in the MLB playoff bracket by having one of the top two records in their league outside of the three division winners. For example, in the 2020 season, the Baltimore Orioles and the Texas Rangers played in the Wild Card round of the MLB playoff bracket. Though neither team won their individual division, they had the top two non-division winner records in the American League. The Wild Card round consists of a single game, with the winner advancing to the divisional round of the MLB playoff bracket.

MLB Playoff Bracket: The Divisional Round

In the divisional round of the MLB playoff bracket, the teams are seeded (by regular season record) one through four – the first seed plays the fourth, and the third seed plays the second. The team with the better record has home-field advantage, meaning the majority of the games are played in their home city. The teams play a best-of-five series; the first team to win three games advances to the next round.

MLB Playoff Bracket: The League Championship Series

The League Championship Series consists of up to seven games in both the American and National Leagues. The divisional-round winner with the best record again has home-field advantage, and the first team to win four games advances to the World Series.

2020 MLB Playoff Bracket: The World Series

The World Series colloquially referred to as the “Fall Classic”, consists of a best-of-seven series between the winners of the National and American Leagues. The league that wins the All-Star game in July enjoys home-field advantage, and the first team to win four games is crowned the world champion of baseball.