Baseball has always been obsessed with record keeping. The habit of taking score during a baseball game has existed since the beginnings of the sport; in its heyday it was nearly mandatory. Scorekeeping boils down the events on the field in an abstract manner, and there is no universal method. You can look at 10 different scoresheets and find 10 different ways of recording the same information. Scorekeeping is a fascinating art that has died out to all but the most rabid of baseball fans. I want to change that.
I have designed a set of scorebooks that are less cumbersome and more inviting than the soulless spiral bound grids that are sold today. The book is designed for beginners, with lots of spaces to take notes on what you ate, who sang the national anthem, where you sat and what the weather was like. The book is designed to be easy to carry and slick enough to get the attention of your friends, and perhaps ease them into the habit as well. The book will feature stickers(!), and a reference card with some common scorekeeping abbreviations. The corners are rounded and the cover has die cuts for that extra wow factor. Each scorebook has enough sheets to score 20 games.
The goal here is to make scorekeeping fun again, to make it something the average fan can delve into. A spiral bound monster scorebook printed in one color isn't going to pique the interest of a random person, but these scorebooks might. Personal expression is such a key factor in baseball. Players are allowed more freedom in terms of equipment and uniform tailoring than any other sport, and that's not even delving into each player's unique batting stance. Scorekeeping is another extension of that expressionism. You can show off your love for your team in a variety of ways, some involving body paint, but nothing connects you to your team than keeping a personal record of what goes on in the field. I will bet that keeping score is going to give you a deeper understanding and appreciate for the players and for the sport itself.
The money raised goes towards getting the scorebooks printed. Any extra funds are going to be set aside for getting a larger scorebook produced for scorekeepers who want to graduate to a more thorough scorebook design. If you are interested in learning how to keep score, check out http://eephusleague.com/2010/12/scorekeeping-101/
As rewards, backers can get copies of the scorebooks, posters and various other Eephus League branded swag. I am also designing a baseball broadside to be letterpress printed with my wood type collection.
You can message me to let me know the shirt size and design you'd like, or which poster(s) you want.
I have designed 6 posters celebrating baseball's oddities and history, which will be available as rewards for donors.
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Funding period
- (30 days)