Over the course of games, it’s possible to have various malfunctions and the announcer’s job is to announce what the fans need to know.  The scoreboard shows them information they need to know, so announcers don’t need to rely much on the scoreboard, except to keep updated, or announce the final minute.  In baseball, the announcer really doesn’t need to reference the scoreboard except to serve as a system of checks and balances to make sure it’s correct.  Below is information you will need to announce to help keep fans, players and umpire informed in the event of a scoreboard malfunction at a baseball or softball game.

The Count

You can get away with not announcing the count, but if the powers-that-be request you do so, you have a couple of different options.

• Announce the count every other pitch, “The count is two-and-oh”, “The count is one-and-one” or “The count is oh-and-two” are all fine.  No need to add “balls” or “strikes” after the number as this can wind up jumping over into play.
• Announce the count when a strikeout or walk is imminent.  Once the batter has earned three balls or the pitcher thrown two strikes, announce the count to direct attention to something that may happen.

Outs

Announcing the number of outs is pretty easy and can be tied into your announcement of the batter.  “Batting with one out, the third baseman, number five, Brooks Robinson.”  Typically, don’t announce the number of outs in the inning until an out has been recorded.  If you get to four or five batters into the inning, you could add “with nobody out”, but not required.

Inning

You should already announce the inning when the leadoff batter comes to the plate, “Leading off the second for the …,” however during the inning is easy to announce when you have outs.  “Batting with one out in the fourth, the third baseman …”  Again, you can omit the inning with nobody out as it provides a slight difference to pull attention to what you are saying and you’ve already announced it at the beginning of the inning.

Score

This can seem clunky in some situations, however announcing the score whenever a run is scored is helpful.  You have to pay attention to what’s going on with the game and make sure you announce the runners as they happen.

“The score is now Hackensack 3, Trenton 0”.  Always announce the team in the lead as this is the general convention when announcing the score.  Some may ask to have the team batting announced first, but that can lead to misunderstanding as most believe the first team they hear is the team that is in the lead.

Some may announce the above as “Hackensack leads 3-0”, but you really should announce both team names and their scores individually.  It’s easier to recall for the fans.

End of the Inning

You should already be announcing an end-of-inning recap consisting of the number of runs, hits, errors and runners left on base.  This information helps to complete the inning and gives fans keeping score a chance to recap the inning.  If you’re doing this and the scoreboard is malfunctioning, you can easily add the score following the announcement.

“For the Bulls in the fifth, two runs on one hit, no errors and two runners left on base.  The score after four-and-a-half, Hackensack 5, Trenton 4.”

Remember, four-and-a-half innings is the middle of the fifth.  You could also use “end of the fifth” or “at the middle of the fifth” in place of “four-and-a-half”.