Tough Call

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Your first ten minutes

You don’t need an account, and you don’t need to know the notation yet. Here’s what a first session looks like.

Your first session

  1. Open the app and tap Start.

    Go to app.toughcall.app on your phone. Start gives you ten real MLB plays. If you plan to come back, add it to your home screen.

  2. Read the situation first.

    Above the video: the inning, outs, count, and which bases have runners. Scorers check this before every pitch, because it changes the call. With a runner on first and nobody out, a ground ball might be a double play. With two outs, a fly ball to the warning track can’t be a sacrifice fly.

  3. Watch the play.

    The clip plays muted, because announcers often say the ruling out loud. When it ends, the clock starts. Tap Replay if you need another look.

  4. Make the call, one row at a time.

    The picker asks in the order a scorer thinks it through, and the same order GameChanger uses: how the at-bat ended (ball in play, strikeout, walk, hit by pitch), what kind of ball was hit, what happened, and which fielders touched it, in order. Not sure what an option means? Tap the ? next to the row for a plain-English explanation of each one. Then tap Submit.

  5. Read the verdict.

    Correct, Partial, Missed, or Judgment call, followed by the official scorer’s ruling. Tap More details for the field-by-field grade and MLB’s description of the play.

  6. Finish ten, then drill your weak spot.

    At the end, To review lists the plays you missed. If one kind of call keeps getting you, open Drills and do ten of just that.

A Partial verdict: the user called a groundout 5-3, and the official scorer ruled a groundout 6-3, so the result matched but the fielder sequence did not.

What the verdicts mean

  • Correct. You matched the official scorer on everything graded.
  • Partial. You got the result but missed the batted ball, the fielders, or the error. Half credit.
  • Missed. The result was different.
  • Judgment call. The scorer’s ruling was a judgment call, like hit or error, and that’s the only place you differed. It doesn’t count against you.

The details are in How grading works.

Do I need an account?

Not for Practice or Drills. Sign in with your email if you want your accuracy and streaks kept, if you want to flag a play, or to use Live. There’s no password: we email you a link and a code.

Scorebook notation

You don’t have to memorize these to use Tough Call; the app shows the code next to each option. But you’ll see them in every scorebook and scoring app.

  • 1Pitcher
  • 2Catcher
  • 3First base
  • 4Second base
  • 5Third base
  • 6Shortstop
  • 7Left field
  • 8Center field
  • 9Right field
6-3
Groundout, shortstop to first baseman. Fielders in the order they touched the ball.
F8, L6, P4
Fly ball caught by the center fielder, line drive caught by the shortstop, pop fly caught by the second baseman.
1B, 2B, 3B, HR
Single, double, triple, home run.
K, K
Strikeout swinging, strikeout looking (a backwards K).
BB, IBB, HBP
Walk, intentional walk, hit by pitch.
E6
Error on the shortstop. The official scorer also records whether it was a fielding or a throwing error.
FC
Fielder’s choice. The batter reached because the defense went after another runner. Not a hit.
DP, TP
Double play, triple play. Score every fielder who touched the ball, like 6-4-3.
SF, SAC
Sacrifice fly, sacrifice bunt. Neither counts as an at-bat.
SB, CS, PO
Stolen base, caught stealing, pickoff. Caught stealing and pickoffs are scored with the throw, like CS 2-6.
WP, PB
Wild pitch (charged to the pitcher), passed ball (charged to the catcher).
BK
Balk. Every runner moves up one base.
DI
Defensive indifference. The runner moved up with no attempt to stop him. No stolen base.
IF
Infield fly. The umpire calls the batter out on a catchable infield pop-up with runners on first and second, or the bases loaded, and fewer than two outs.
CI
Catcher’s interference. The batter takes first, and the catcher is charged with an error.

Where to go next

  • Scoring guides, for the rules behind hit or error, wild pitch or passed ball, fielder’s choice, dropped third strike, and sacrifice fly.
  • The Live guide, to score a whole game as you watch it.
  • Help, for installing, grading, the timer, and flagging a play.
  • FAQ, for softball, GameChanger, and the offseason.

Make your first call.

Ten plays. No account. About ten minutes.

Open Tough Call