False Safety
Innings could be one pitch or 30+ so it has little to no influence on a pitcher's use,
overuse, or recovery. The intent of a coach isn’t to harm or hurt a student’s health
but there has to be a system in place that protects against over use. Innings pitched
alone doesn’t do that. To make matters worse, most pitchers normally play another
position when not pitching so they are throwing the ball even when not on the
mound. Therefore their arm gets no rest.
Tommy John Surgery on the rise
Article after article written about Tommy John surgery quote orthopaedic surgeon
after surgeon saying that over the past 10 years youth and High School players have
passed pro players getting the surgery. To illustrate the point, one such article
Youth pitchers feeling the pinch of Tommy John surgery epidemic By: Laken Litman
July 23, 2014 USA Today Quotes:
“The largest number of all those different groups, believe it or not, is high school kids,” Andrews told
USA TODAY Sports. “They outnumber the professionals. There was a tenfold increase in Tommy John at
the high school/youth level in my practice since 2000. I’m doing way more of these procedures than I
want to.” - Dr. James Andrews
This article mirrors hundreds of professional articles over the past few years bringing
attention to the fact that Tommy John surgeries in High School players and younger
have dramatically increased. All say the same thing – over use (innings & number of
pitches), not enough rest (fatigue) and poor mechanics.
Pitch limits would challenge high school baseball teams & coaches
Pitch count limits would undoubtedly affect teams in some fashion. One reason it will
be challenging for schools is that teams have to cram so many games into such a
short season. This affects cold weather states more than warm weather states.
An idea suggested that could ease the challenge is to schedule more time between
scheduled games allowing for more rest. This suggestion would either decrease the
number of games played in a season (which coaches don’t want) or lengthen the
season. The problem with lengthening the season is that might not be feasible for
teams where weather plays a big part of when they can actually start their season
and when school ends. Example:
ALABAMA
ARIZONA
OHIO
MICHIGAN
First Team Practice Allowed
Jan 26th
Feb 9th
Feb 23rd
March 9th
First Game Allowed
Feb 16th
Feb 25th
March 23rd
March 18th
It’s also a challenge when teams literally only have two, maybe three arms to get
through a season. It would be up to a coach and his staff at that point to develop as
many kids as they can. The mindset would have to be everyone is a pitcher until
they prove otherwise. Even if it’s someone who can give just one inning occasionally
– that’s one inning of pitches saved. The smaller the school, the more challenging it
may be. So the development has to start early and with proper mechanics.