What is "Game Score"?

It is recommended that you first familiarize yourself with how a "Zone Score" is calculated. For a detailed description of "Zone Score", see this post.

The Game Score is a calculation that attempts to represent the overall fairness of a home plate umpire's performance for a game. The Game Score is the sum of gifts and misses as determined by the 8 Zone Scores.

Each home plate umpire receives 8 Zone Scores:

• (A) Dodger Pitching vs. LHH (Standard) - (DLSZ)
• (B) Dodger Pitching vs. RHH (Standard) - (DRSZ)
• (C) Opposing Team Pitching vs. LHH (Standard) - (OLSZ)
• (D) Opposing Team Pitching vs. RHH (Standard) - (ORSZ)
• (E) Dodger Pitching vs. LHH (Adjusted) - (DLAZ)
• (F) Dodger Pitching vs. RHH (Adjusted) - (DRAZ)
• (G) Opposing Team Pitching LHH (Adjusted) - (OLAZ)
• (H) Opposing Team Pitching vs. RHH (Adjusted) - (ORAZ)

These calculations are used to determine an overall Game Score. Each umpire receives 2 Game Scores:

• Standard Strike-Zone Game Score = (A+B) - (C+D)
• Adjusted Strike-Zone Game Score = (E+F) - (G+H)

The results indicate if one team received a greater benefit in calls by the home plate umpire, and if so, by how much. Since this is a Dodger-centric blog, and we are mainly interested in the impact on the game in relation to them, the Game Scores are represented as such. For Game Scores, the larger the positive number, the bigger the benefit the Dodgers received. Accordingly, negative numbers represent the opposing team receiving a benefit.

Generally speaking, the Adjusted SZ Game Score is the most important, as it takes into account what are considered acceptable deviations in an umpire's strike-zone. For the most part, the difference in an umpire's Standard Game Score, and Adjusted Game Score, will be indicative of the size of his strike zone.

The Zone Scores and Game Scores are meant to reflect an umpire's fairness and consistency, not his accuracy.