Lack Of Oversight

The other day, I expressed a great deal of disdain for MLB official scorers, specifically in reference to error assignment when the defense is shifted for a lefty pull hitter.  That got me to thinking about who these official scorers are and how they obtain their positions.

It turns out that, by rule, Major League Baseball is responsible for the appointment and employment of official scorers.  However, in practice, these individuals are designated by the individual teams and their corresponding chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America.  Commonly, two people compose an official scoring dyad and, theoretically, posses a firm experiential understanding of the game and encyclopaedic knowledgability of the rule book.  The appointments are for at least one complete season and, although "the scorer is required to rule in accordance with baseball rules and in agreement with the judgment of the umpires," there is no standardization process at either a team or league level.  A team or player may request a league review of any scoring decision, but this is a cumbersome process that is rarely employed (although the below play was changed from a triple to an error just a week ago).

The long and short of it is that if you don't like a scoring decision, tough shit.  MLB does not care.  This is the way score keeping has been done for the entire history of the league and they shan't be laying any accountability on official scorers anytime soon.  They will remain free to be "super retarded."

Cheers.