Tough Call

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Help

How to install it, how grading works, and what to do when a play looks wrong. Still stuck? Send us a message.

Getting started

  1. Open app.toughcall.app on your phone.
  2. Tap Start. You can play without an account.
  3. Sign in with your email when you want your results kept. We send a link; tap it and you’re in. No password.

A session is twenty plays. Drills narrows the plays to one kind of call, like wild pitch versus passed ball or which fielder gets the error.

Add it to your home screen

Tough Call isn’t in an app store. It installs from your browser in a few seconds, then opens full screen from its own icon.

iPhone and iPad (Safari)

  1. Open app.toughcall.app in Safari.
  2. Tap Share, the square with the arrow pointing up.
  3. Scroll down, tap Add to Home Screen, then Add.

Android (Chrome)

  1. Open app.toughcall.app in Chrome.
  2. Tap Install if a banner appears. Otherwise open the three-dot menu and tap Add to Home screen or Install app.
  3. Confirm with Install.

When a clip won’t load

Every clip streams straight from MLB’s servers. Tough Call doesn’t keep a copy, so when MLB’s end has a problem, so does the play.

  • Some clips just aren’t there. MLB doesn’t publish video for every play, especially older seasons and the lower minors, and clips can be taken down at any time.
  • Your connection. Video needs a network. On weak ballpark signal, try again on Wi-Fi.
  • Try once more. If you see “Couldn’t load the video. Try again,” tap it. If it still fails, flag the play as a bad clip and move on. Flagged clips get checked, and broken ones are retired.

How grading works

Your call is compared with the official scorer’s ruling from MLB’s play record, one field at a time.

Result

What happened: single, groundout, fielder’s choice, reached on error, sacrifice fly, strikeout, wild pitch, stolen base, and so on. This is always graded.

Fielder sequence

The position numbers in the order the ball was touched. 6-3 means the shortstop threw to the first baseman for the out. Order matters: 6-3 is not 3-6. F8 is a fly ball caught by the center fielder. When the scorer credited no fielders, as on most clean hits, this field isn’t graded.

Error

When the scorer charged an error, you need both the fielder and the kind: fielding (a bobble, a dropped ball) or throwing (a bad throw). E6 throwing and E6 fielding are different calls.

Get every graded field right and the play is Correct. Get the result right but miss the sequence or the error, and it counts as partly correct: half credit toward your accuracy, and it ends your streak. Get the result wrong and it’s Missed.

Runner advancement, RBIs, and earned versus unearned runs are shown after each play but not graded yet.

Position numbers

  • 1Pitcher
  • 2Catcher
  • 3First base
  • 4Second base
  • 5Third base
  • 6Shortstop
  • 7Left field
  • 8Center field
  • 9Right field

What Judgment call means

Some rulings are the official scorer’s judgment, and good scorers can differ. The common ones are hit or error, and fielder’s choice or single.

When a play is tagged as a judgment call and your call differs from the scorer’s only on that question, you see Judgment call instead of Missed, along with the ruling the scorer made. It doesn’t count against your streak. The official ruling is still the answer; the tag is there so you know it was a close one, not a clear miss.

How the timer works

The clock starts when the clip ends, not when it starts, and stops when you tap Submit. Watching the play is free. Deciding is what’s timed.

Some clips keep rolling after the play is over. For those, the timer starts closer to the end of the action. If a timer ever seems off, flag the play and pick Timer.

Flag a play

After you see the ruling, tap Flag this play and pick a reason:

  • Bad clip. The video didn’t load, cut off, or shows the wrong play.
  • Wrong answer. You think the answer key doesn’t match what happened.
  • Unclear situation. The inning, outs, count, or runners shown don’t match the clip.
  • Timer. The clock started too early or too late.
  • Other. Anything else. Add a note.

Flagging needs you signed in. Every flag gets read, and plays with real problems are fixed or retired.

Your account

  • Sign-in link didn’t arrive. Give it a minute and check your spam folder, then request a new one.
  • Delete your account. Send us a message from the email on your account and we’ll delete it and your history.
  • Is this an official MLB app? No. Video and data are provided by MLB Advanced Media, L.P. Tough Call is not affiliated with MLB or GameChanger.

Anything else: contact us.