Determining and Scoring Errors in Little League Baseball and Softball in Little League, scorers should favor the batter if a decision of judgment is on the border line of hit versus error. However, this is not to say that obvious errors should be glossed over.

·       Generally, when a defensive player, through ordinary effort, muffs a batted or thrown ball, throws the ball widely, or drops the ball, the error must be charged. The key is to determine the value of ordinary effort by a fielder. If the fielder should have made the play, with ordinary effort, and failed to, an error may be charged.

o   However, in the case of a fielder, who has to extend far from his usual position to make a play and fails to make the play (even if he touches the batted ball), no error should be charged. The benefit of the doubt should always go to the batter. If a fielder’s play on a batted ball is affected by some outside force, such as bright sunlight, a collision with a fence or fielder, or a “bad hop,” it should be scored a hit if the fielder fails to make the play.

·       Errors of omission, such as indecision to throw the ball, etc., cannot be charged as an error. But in the case of a baseman, for example, who neglects to have his/her foot on the base when he/she receives a throw, they’ve committed a chargeable error.

·       For throwing errors where additional bases are taken by a runner because of the throw, the scorekeeper must charge an error to someone. For fielding errors after a throw, when additional bases are taken by the runner (like when a first baseman drops the ball on a good throw to first) the scorekeeper must charge an error to someone.

·       The scorekeeper should not be awarding a double, triple or a home run when the batter only earned a single, and then a fielding or throwing error allowed him/her to advance. This should be scored as a hit plus an error.

·       For no throw or no play made by the fielder -- even if a play should have been made – it should be scored as a hit