Zero in Unplayed Half-Inning
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rockportjack
- Posts: 49
- Joined: Sat Apr 27, 2013 9:20 am
Re: Zero in Unplayed Half-Inning
Thanks for the detailed investigation into the zeros and alternatives to the zero. Your point about "which inning is it?" is well taken. It seems that the shaded square for the in-progress half inning is the best choice. I'm hoping to see that change made sometime in the future. One last (I promise last) question under this post: Is iScore affiliated with ESPN in any way? I'm just curious; it doesn't really matter to the user one way or the other.....although ESPN's financial strength could be a real advantage in the grand scheme of things. Thanks again for your diligence. Best wishes.
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cfm56dash7
- Posts: 10
- Joined: Sat May 29, 2010 5:59 pm
Re: Zero in Unplayed Half-Inning
I used the score cast for the first time today. I immediately got a request from one of the dads surfing the website that he was confused and found it difficult to tell what inning was active. Since he's used to the hand operated scoreboard at Safeco field, he suggested using a yellow number to indicate an inning that was not yet finished and then changing it to white once it was in the record books. A grey background would work as well.
Re: Zero in Unplayed Half-Inning
I'd like to weigh in from a straight-up logic POV. If there is a zero in the square, it implies that no runs scored for that ½ inning. As soon as a zero goes up in the top half box, it means that the third out has been recorded, with no runs. Therefore, the next empty square is now the active half inning.
When I first look at a scoreboard, I start with determining the active half inning. My next move is to find the outs counter to find out how many outs have been recorded. If no outs, then I look to the balls and strikes display.
The analog of this is a kid hanging a piece of painted sheet metal on the scoreboard at the end of a half inning. He's not going to hang a zero at the start of the inning, because he'd just have to change it every time a run scored. He's already got to run to the total runs/hits/errors section almost every time the ball is put in play. Why would he volunteer to run more? A kid sitting in the outfield on a hot summer day has more common sense than a web designer in an ESPN cubicle in Connecticut.
I'm with OP on this. A zero in the active half inning is confusing.
When I first look at a scoreboard, I start with determining the active half inning. My next move is to find the outs counter to find out how many outs have been recorded. If no outs, then I look to the balls and strikes display.
The analog of this is a kid hanging a piece of painted sheet metal on the scoreboard at the end of a half inning. He's not going to hang a zero at the start of the inning, because he'd just have to change it every time a run scored. He's already got to run to the total runs/hits/errors section almost every time the ball is put in play. Why would he volunteer to run more? A kid sitting in the outfield on a hot summer day has more common sense than a web designer in an ESPN cubicle in Connecticut.
I'm with OP on this. A zero in the active half inning is confusing.