We Now Have Box Scores | Site Update

• 4 comments - > Site Updates, College Football, MLB, NBA, NCAA Basketball, NFL - posted by David Hess on May 15, 2012

Last week we added a feature that’s been on our to-do list for a long time: box scores for all the sports we cover. It’s nothing groundbreaking, but it’s a small step toward exposing as much information as possible.

For the most part, these box scores should look similar to those you see on other major sport sites or in your daily newspaper. (Those still exist, right?) All the basics are there. However, we have added a few pieces of valuable info to each sport’s box score that you won’t be able to get from your typical ESPN report.

Before we go over those additions, here’s how to find a box score for a specific game. First, go to the game’s matchup overview page by clicking a date on a team overview page (example: New England Patriots), or via a schedule, scores, odds, or picks page. Once there, click the “Box Score” link at the bottom of the gray menu on the left side of the screen. All set? OK, let’s review the new pages.

NFL & College Football Box Scores

There are four sections to our football box score. Here’s this year’s Super Bowl box score as an example.

1. Score by quarter
2. Scoring play summary
3. Team stat summary
4. Player stat details

The main additions we’ve made here are to the team stat summary. We’ve added info about sacks, run stuffs, and time of possession by quarter, among other things. And we’ve calculated several percentages for you, so you don’t have to wonder whether a quarterback that completed 27 of 41 attempts had a slightly better or worse day than his opponent who completed 24 of 37. (FYI: The first guy was a bit better).

NBA & NCAA Basketball Box Scores

Our basketball box scores — like this one from the 2012 NCAA Tournament Championship Game — show each player’s usual box score stats: points, rebounds, assists, blocks, steals, etc.

The main addition here is up at the top, where we’ve added the estimated number of possessions, team scoring efficiency, and Four Factors (effective FG%, Turnover %, Offensive Rebounding %, and Free Throw Rate) for each team.

MLB Box Scores

Baseball has a long and illustrious stat history, so we were always curious why typical box scores only show at bats, runs, hits, home runs, and RBI. We’ve added quite a few more counting stats to our baseball box scores to show the complete picture of what each player did in the game. That includes doubles, triples, walks, sacrifice flies and double play ground outs for hitters; batters faced, pitch counts, strikes thrown, and wild pitches are listed for pitchers. See this Royals-Rangers game as an example.

Take a look at these new box scores, and let us know any feedback you have. Is there a key stat we’re missing, or a better way to lay them out? We’re all ears.