As Little League and youth baseball becomes ever more popular and competitive, it is important baseball keep a close watch on the safety of the youngsters playing the game. One of the most common ways players injure themselves in this level of baseball is through pitching: pitching too often, with too many pitches at a time and throwing harder than necessary and without proper form. As such, it has become a matter of baseball coaching and rule making in order to regulate this and prevent injuries; it cannot be left up to the player alone. Baseball pitching counts are now officially in place throughout the Little League system and should be strongly considered in all levels of youth baseball through high school, until a player's body is stronger and more mature.
In the past, Little League used innings pitched as a standard for how long a player should be allowed to pitch. However, this is much more inaccurate than following pitching counts, as innings can vary greatly. An inning can last 3 pitches or 30, so the actual pitching count is what should be followed. Even in Major League Baseball, starting pitchers are often limited to not much more than 100 pitches and relief pitchers to several short innings of work. Considering that, why shouldn't there be pitching counts for the young athletes playing the same sport?
The current Little League rules vary by age group and are as follows:
10 and under: 75 pitches/day
11-12: 85 pitches/day
13-16: 95 pitches/day
17-18: 105 pitches day
There are also minimum rest requirements to provide adequate time to recuperate between outings. Under 16 years of age, a pitcher must rest for 3 days after throwing more than 60 pitches, 2 days for between 40 and 60 pitches and 1 day for between 20 and 40 pitches. Between 17 and 18 years the same recommendations are made for pitch counts totaling over 75, in between 50 and 75 and in between 25 to 50.
Besides keeping young arms healthy, there are many other benefits to instituting and adhering to pitch counts. Some of these include:
Providing a chance for pitchers to play and enjoy other positions.
Giving other players a chance to pitch and see if they enjoy it or are good at it.
In youth leagues, it can even the playing field and make baseball more competitive when there are just a few standout athletes that always dominate their outings.
Controversy Surrounding Pitching Counts
While Little League has official pitch counts in place now, there is still controversy surrounding the issue today. Many argue that if their player is healthy and capable, they should be able to play. Others argue that is unfair to take out a highly performing pitcher in the middle of an outing, or be able to use them in a future important game, just because of a somewhat arbitrary number.
There is little to no medical evidence showing that instituting pitching counts actually prevents injuries in youth athletes. Reports do show, however, that by the end of the season players do feel more rested and strong. Some in the baseball and medical communities say that pitch counts actually cause injuries down the line in professional or college players. This would be due to their bone structures never developing the capacity to deal with the strains of the position.
As somebody participating in youth baseball coaching, it is of course important to follow the rules of Little League or whatever organization you are active in.
If there are no baseball pitching counts in place, it is still wise to consider the health of your players first and foremost. The amount of children that will grow up and actually pursue a career as a professional baseball pitcher is miniscule in comparison to the amount of players that can save unnecessary stresses on their arms as a child getting exercise and having fun in a youth league.
In addition, as a player becomes an older teenager and becomes serious about the game, they can work on getting their arm stronger in other ways besides in-game baseball hitting and pitching.
So follow the rules of your organization and keep the arms of your pitchers healthy by following the pitching count guidelines as shown above.
Chris Moheno has a long time passion for sports in general and for baseball coaching more specifically.
His goal is to spread the word about effective non-fluff baseball training techniques for both more experienced and young baseball players, to help them perform better during the game. Discover more about baseball training secrets on http://www.baseballtrainingsecrets.com
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