The Major League Baseball season has started! America’s favorite pastime is in full swing, with all 30 teams in action and the feelings of renewal and hope still full for every fan, player and team.

Whether you live and die with your team or you’ve never been to a ballpark, going to a baseball game is a wonderful way to spend an afternoon or evening with your niece, nephew or any of the kids in your life. I asked Patrick, an Atlanta Braves loving 9-year-old in my life, what he loves about going to a game. “The stadium store has jerseys and hats and foods that smell good,” he said. I just like being there; it’s a lot of fun.” Being a fan is a lifelong privilege, and you, Savvy Auntie, can be at the birth of this.

I didn’t know much about baseball as a kid.  I have horrific hand-eye coordination and there wasn’t a league to call my own. I did go my brother’s little league games and I am sure I attended a high school game or two, but I didn’t make it to “The Show” until I was in college. A group of us traveled to Baltimore’s old Memorial Stadium for an Orioles’ game. I remember buying a chicken hot dog and a beer, climbing to our seats and feeling like I had arrived. I took in 9 innings of pure pleasure.

I was totally entertained and didn’t know much more than the basics (three strikes and you’re out, nine innings of play and homeruns were exciting). I don’t remember who the visiting team was, as I didn’t really pay attention to the game; I just watched the action and had loads of fun! If you are lucky enough to live near a Major League ballpark, fantastic! However, almost every town in America has a field or stadium where rec leagues, little leagues or even minor leaguers run the bases, the destination isn’t as important as the time spent together.

It wasn’t until I went to work at ESPN that I learned a great deal more about baseball. There is nothing like the pressure of working alongside baseball historians (Peter Gammons and Keith Olbermann), baseball fanatics (75% of my co-workers) and being assigned to a Montreal Expos game televised in French to put pressure on a young woman. My saving grace was learning to score the game.  

Baseball is a game of numbers, a game of history, a game of statistics, abbreviations and words, phrases and language that you just won’t use or hear anywhere else. However, it’s also an unbelievably easy game to follow…its child’s play, after all! Scoring baseball allowed me to follow the game, learn who the players were and provided me with a basic understanding of the role of each position. If I can learn how to score a game, in French, anyone can do this.  

How To Score A Game

The standard position numbers are as follows:

1 = pitcher
2 = catcher
3 = first base
4 = second base
5 = third base
6 = short stop
7 = left field
8 = center field
9 = right field

The basic plays are as follows:

BB = walk (base on balls)
1B = single (1-base hit)
2B = double (2-base hit)
3B = triple (3-base hit)
DP = double play
F = fly out
HR = home run
K = strikeout

Combining numbers:

6-4-3 = a double play (2 outs) that initiated with the short stop (6) who threw to the 2nd baseman (4) – got the player out there – and then threw to the 1st baseman (3) getting another player out there.

5-3 = ground ball to the 3rd baseman (5) who threw it to 1st base (3) to get the out.

The basics are the same but everyone can put their own touch on it. I like to mark the play based on where the ball goes once the pitcher releases the pitch. Here’s an example: If Joe Shmo is at the plate and hits a ball directly to center field and the center fielder catches it, I mark it as F8 (a fly ball to center field for the out). I have a friend who puts P8 for the same play (pop up to center field) and another who uses L8 (line out). You can put dots for RBI (runs batted in) or draw lines for where a base hit lands. There are so many possible combinations; I wouldn’t be able to list them all, but learning is part of the fun and the experience you’ll be sharing with the future fans in your life.

There were several people who happily led me around the bases, but the one that I admire most for her unbelievably infectious, ridiculous, over-the-top love for this sport is Lara Hansel Werwa. If Reggie Jackson is Mr. October, this woman is Mrs. Calendar Year. The baseball season can last until November, there’s winter meetings in December, I don’t know what happens in January, but don’t worry, Lara does! Just like with anything, when you talk to someone who is knowledgeable about his or her sport, game or hobby, you’ll learn and be inspired. Find your Lara, ask your dad or neighbor or the high school coach. Go online and print out a scorecard and take the kid or kids in your life to a game and learn together. Do a bit of research and just take a swing at it.  

Fun Facts

When it comes to sports, there are a few things that I have noticed about being a Savvy Auntie. Kids love to have fun, be a part of an adventure and, get ready for this, learn! A few bits of information can feed their curiosity and they will in turn use their new knowledge as valuable playground collateral to share with their friends. If you present it in a clever way, learning more about the game of baseball will certainly earn you some “Big Fun” points. Here are a few fun facts:

-The classic Louisville Slugger bat used by today's professional players is made from white ash. The wood is specially selected from forests in Pennsylvania and New York. The trees they use must be at least fifty years old before they are harvested.
-Baseballs are stitched by hand with two straight needles – 108 stitches each!
-The average life span of a major league baseball is 7 pitches/
-In 1893, hot dogs became a staple at American ballparks.
-Softball is a completely different sport.  It may look like the game of baseball, but it is not.  It has different rules, equipment and style of play.
-The National Baseball Hall of Fame & Museum is located in Cooperstown, N.Y. It was created in 1935 to celebrate baseball's 100th anniversary.

Now, get on out there auntie and…Play Ball!

Amy Shigo is a sports journalist.