Scorekeeper's Guide to Baseball Canada Official Scoring 2026

Under the 2026 Rules & Regulations for Baseball Canada Championships (Sections 2.7 and 3.11), teams must submit their starting lineup to the official scorekeeper at least 30 minutes before the game.

The list includes all available substitutes. It shows the surname of each player, coach and manager with their usual first and last name and uniform number. The uniform number goes to the left of each name, and the playing position of each starting player goes to the right of the name.

The Baseball Canada Official Scorekeeper(s) also attend the pre-championship meeting, along with the Host Committee Chairperson, the Baseball Canada Technical Officer (who chairs it) and the lead Baseball Canada Supervisor of Umpires.

Official Baseball Rules 9.05 (2025 edition, used for the 2026 Baseball Canada season). Credit a base hit when the batter reaches first base (or any later base) safely on:

• a fair ball that settles on the ground, touches a fence before a fielder touches it, or clears a fence;
• a fair ball hit so hard, or so slowly, that a fielder attempting a play has no opportunity to make it;
• a fair ball that takes an unnatural bounce so a fielder cannot handle it with ordinary effort, or that touches the pitcher's plate or a base before a fielder touches it and bounces so it cannot be handled with ordinary effort;
• a fair ball not touched by a fielder that is in fair territory when it reaches the outfield, unless in the scorer's judgment it could have been handled with ordinary effort;
• a fair ball not touched by a fielder that touches a runner or an umpire (but no hit if a runner is called out on an Infield Fly);
• a play where a fielder unsuccessfully tries to put out a preceding runner and, in the scorer's judgment, the batter-runner would not have been put out at first by ordinary effort.

Benefit of the doubt: in applying these rules the scorer always gives the batter the benefit of the doubt, and a safe course is to score a hit when exceptionally good fielding of a ball fails to result in a putout. Errors are covered separately in Rule 9.12.

Official Baseball Rules 9.12 (2025 edition, used for the 2026 Baseball Canada season). Charge an error against a fielder:

• whose misplay (fumble, muff or wild throw) prolongs a batter's time at bat, prolongs a runner's presence on the bases or lets a runner advance one or more bases;
• who muffs a foul fly to prolong the batter's time at bat;
• who catches a thrown ball or ground ball in time to put out the batter-runner and fails to tag first base or the batter-runner;
• who catches a thrown ball or ground ball in time to put out a runner on a force play and fails to tag the base or the runner;
• whose wild throw lets a runner reach a base safely when, in the scorer's judgment, a good throw would have put the runner out (unless the throw was made trying to prevent a stolen base).

Ordinary effort test: if a ground ball goes through a fielder's legs or a fly ball falls untouched and, in the scorer's judgment, the fielder could have handled it with ordinary effort, charge an error. A fielder does not have to touch the ball to be charged.

Not errors:

• Slow handling that is not a mechanical misplay, for example fielding a grounder cleanly but not throwing to first in time.
• Mental mistakes or misjudgments, unless a specific rule says otherwise.
• A pitcher failing to cover first base.
• A throw to the wrong base.

The Official Baseball Rules (2025 edition, used for the 2026 Baseball Canada season) define a fielder's choice as the act of a fielder who handles a fair grounder and, instead of throwing to first base to put out the batter-runner, throws to another base to try to put out a preceding runner.

Scorers also use the term to account for:

• the advance of the batter-runner who takes one or more extra bases when the fielder handling their safe hit attempts to put out a preceding runner;
• the advance of a runner (other than by stolen base or error) while a fielder is attempting to put out another runner; and
• the advance of a runner made solely because of the defensive team's indifference (an undefended steal).

Related rules:

• No hit: a base hit is not credited when a runner is forced out by the batted ball, or when a fielder handles the ball and puts out a preceding runner; the batter is charged with a time at bat but no hit (Rule 9.05(b)).
• Hit instead: if a fielder fails to put out a preceding runner and, in the scorer's judgment, the batter-runner could not have been put out at first with ordinary effort, score a hit (9.05(a)(6)).
• Two-base or three-base hit: when a batter advances more than one base on a safe hit and the defence tries to put out a preceding runner, the scorer decides whether it was a legitimate two-base or three-base hit or an advance on the fielder's choice (9.06(b)).
• RBI: a run that scores on a fielder's choice unaided by an error is credited as a run batted in, except on a force or reverse-force double play (9.04).

Official Baseball Rules 9.08 (2025 edition, used for the 2026 Baseball Canada season):

Sacrifice bunt - score one when, before two are out:

• the batter advances one or more runners with a bunt and is put out at first base, or would have been put out except for a fielding error; or
• the fielders handle a bunted ball without error in an unsuccessful attempt to put out a preceding runner advancing one base.

Exceptions: if the Official Scorer judges the batter was bunting exclusively for a base hit, not sacrificing their own chance of reaching first, charge a time at bat. The scorer gives the batter the benefit of the doubt, considering the inning, number of outs and score. If an attempt to turn a bunt into a putout of a preceding runner fails and ordinary effort would not have put out the batter at first, credit a one-base hit, not a sacrifice. Do not score a sacrifice bunt when any runner is put out trying to advance one base on the bunt (or would have been, except for a fielding error); charge a time at bat.

Sacrifice fly - score one when, before two are out, the batter hits a ball in flight handled by an outfielder (or an infielder running in the outfield), in fair or foul territory, that is caught and a runner scores after the catch, or is dropped and a runner scores, if in the scorer's judgment the runner could have scored after the catch.

A sacrifice bunt or sacrifice fly is not charged as a time at bat.

From Rule 9 of the Official Baseball Rules (2025 edition, used for the 2026 Baseball Canada season):

No time at bat is charged when a player hits a sacrifice bunt or sacrifice fly, is awarded first base on four called balls, is hit by a pitched ball, or is awarded first base because of interference or obstruction (Rule 9.02(a)(1)).

Walks (9.14): score a base on balls when four balls are pitched outside the strike zone; if the fourth ball touches the batter it is a hit batter. Score an intentional walk when the pitcher makes no attempt to throw the last pitch into the strike zone, or when the manager tells the umpire the batter is to be walked.

Strikeouts (9.15): score a strikeout when the batter is put out on a third strike caught by the catcher, is put out on an uncaught third strike with a runner on first before two are out, becomes a runner because the third strike is not caught, or bunts foul on the third strike (unless a fielder catches it in the air).

Wild pitch (9.13(a)): charged to the pitcher when a legally delivered ball is so high, so wide or so low that the catcher does not stop and control it by ordinary effort, and a runner advances. Passed ball (9.13(b)): charged to the catcher when they fail to hold or control a legally pitched ball that should have been held with ordinary effort, and a runner advances. If the third strike is a wild pitch or passed ball and the batter reaches first, score a strikeout and a wild pitch or passed ball.

Count every pitch thrown by each pitcher in the pitching log. Each required day of rest runs from 12:01 am to 11:59 pm of the next calendar day, and rest starts immediately: a pitcher who becomes ineligible is out for the rest of that calendar day. Any player on the team is eligible to pitch and there is no limit on the number of pitchers a team may use in a game.

Daily rest requirements (Section 4.4(b), 2026 Championships):

Example: a 13U pitcher who throws 60 pitches on Thursday needs two days of rest, so cannot pitch for the rest of Thursday, Friday or Saturday.

Other limits:

• Over any two-day period the maximum is 75 (11U), 85 (13U/14U Girls), 95 (15U/16U Girls), 105 (18U/19U Women/Canada Cup) or 115 (22U).
• A pitcher cannot pitch on four consecutive days, and over any four consecutive days the maximum is 105, 120, 135, 150 or 165 pitches (same division order).
• To pitch on a third consecutive day, the first two days' combined pitches must not exceed 25 (11U), 30 (13U/14U Girls), 35 (15U/16U Girls), 40 (18U/19U Women/Canada Cup) or 45 (22U).

From Section 4.4 of the 2026 Rules & Regulations for Baseball Canada Championships:

• Completing a batter: a pitcher who reaches the maximum pitches for a rest threshold may finish the at-bat. If the coach signalled "last batter" to the umpire (the umpire tells the scorekeeper), the pitch count log reverts to the threshold reached. Example: a 13U pitcher throws 33 pitches after the coach signalled before the 30-pitch threshold; 30 is recorded. If the coach did not signal, the actual number of pitches thrown is recorded. Once the coach has signalled, the pitcher must be removed after the at-bat.
• Intentional walks: only pitches actually thrown count. With a 2-0 count and an intentional walk signalled, only the two pitches thrown are counted.
• Balks: if the pitcher balks, continues the delivery and the pitch crosses the foul line, a pitch is charged against the pitch count.
• Past midnight: if a game continues past 12:01 am, those pitches count as if thrown before midnight.
• Two appearances in a day: a pitcher may have two appearances on the same calendar day if they did not exceed the minimum rest threshold in the first; the cumulative pitches of both determine the rest days beginning the next day.
• Switching age divisions: a pitcher in a higher division is governed by the pitching rules of their actual age division; a player in a younger division (an overage player) is governed by the younger division's rules.
• Catching: once a player is the pitcher, they cannot catch for the rest of the day.

The 2026 Rules & Regulations for Baseball Canada Championships (Section 4.4) say that when a pitcher is about to become ineligible, all individuals, including scorekeepers and the opposing team's coaches, must raise this point and prevent the pitcher from becoming ineligible by advising the pitcher's Head Coach or Manager.

Penalty for any pitch count violation: ejection of the team's Head Coach or Manager, a financial penalty, and an automatic one-game suspension. If a violation is discovered at the end of a game, the Head Coach or Manager is suspended for one game. Beginning in 2026, at the 19U Women's, Women's, Canada Cup, 18U, 22U and Men's levels, a pitch count violation does not result in a forfeit of the game.

Suspended games: the scorekeepers record all pitches thrown in the pitching log and the required rest applies immediately. Pitches thrown when the game resumes are recorded on the day they are thrown. A game is suspended when the Baseball Canada Technical Officer declares it and advises teams to leave the park; a delay (teams stay at the field) has no impact on pitching rules.