KIDS AND SPORTS RADIO SHOW
XTRA SPORTS 910
Every pitch counts -- New rule means young athletes will get the rest they need between games
By: Solomon Crenshaw Jr.LITTLE LEAGUE BASEBALL
Lee Johnson recorded the balls, strikes and outs of her son Zack's Homewood youth baseball games this season. But she put more marks in the scorebook than last year as she also chronicled each pitch that was sent to the plate.
The park and travel teams on which Johnson played maintained a pitch count to help keep young players from throwing too many pitches.
''I keep the coach informed at the end of every inning where the kid stands,'' Johnson said. ''I've seen too many kids who throw too many pitches when they're young, and their muscles aren't ready for that. They wind up damaging their arm.''
Pitch counts have been standard operation for major league baseball pitchers who are making their way back from injury, or making their way up the ranks from lower-level play. Now, pitch counts have found their way into youth baseball.
Little League International this year established mandatory pitch counts for its 2.3 million players in 7,500 leagues worldwide. Boys age 7 to 18 have specific limits for each game based on their age. The number of pitches delivered in a game determines the amount of rest the player must have before pitching again.
''Little League has a rich history of pioneering baseball safety innovations,'' Stephen D. Keener, president and chief executive officer of Little League Baseball and Softball, said on its Web site. ''As the world's largest organized youth sports program, Little League is proud to take a leadership position in youth sports safety.''
Phenix City is one of the places in Alabama where Little League Baseball is sanctioned and played. John Mitchell of Phenix City Little League said injuries to a couple of players in its program made the new rule easily accepted there.
''I know last year we had two boys who really hurt their arms bad,'' he said. ''Everybody at first was a little skeptical of it, but now everybody really loves it.''
Little League limits youngsters age 10 and younger to 75 pitches a day. The limit goes to 105 pitches for 17- and 18-year-olds.
Until this year, Little League Baseball has regulated pitcher play by the innings he pitched. The Little League Web site said researchers and medical professionals in the field of sports medicine have been working to determine if the actual number of pitches thrown is a safer way to regulate pitching in youth baseball.
Little League is not as common in Alabama as other brands of youth baseball, including Dizzy Dean and Dixie Youth. There is also Metro Sports Baseball, played at eight parks in metro Birmingham.
Predominantly in Jefferson and Shelby counties, these leagues count innings pitched rather than total pitches.
Jim Dunn is the state president of the Alabama state board of Dizzy Dean Baseball. He said his board hasn't discussed pitch counts and follows the rules passed down from its national body.
''I think the problem with pitch count, in my estimation, is who's doing the counting,'' Dunn said. ''Is the other coach doing it? Do you count warm-up pitches? It would seem like it would be a nightmare.''
Some local leaders of youth baseball noted that standard scorekeeping procedures don't account for every pitch thrown. They cited foul balls after two strikes and the final strike in a strikeout.
Ray Easterling, an assistant District 4 director of Alabama Dixie Youth, said its rules basically tell a coach ''to use common sense for the age group, not to overwork a pitcher.''
Easterling noted that Dixie Youth pitchers age 9 to 12 are only allowed to pitch six innings per week. He said he didn't think a coach would have a pitcher throw 100 pitchers.
Easterling acknowledged that rule leaves open a loophole for a zealous coach and parent to get an excessive number of pitches out of a player and still be within the inning limit.
''You could easily pitch 50 pitches in two innings, especially 9- and 10 year-olds,'' he said. ''As a matter of fact, I might submit this as a rule and see what comes of it. Sometimes parents and coaches forget it's about the kids.''
Trussville, Shades Mountain, Mountain Brook, Oak Mountain, Vestavia Hills, Pell City, Hoover and Homewood play under the umbrella of Metro Baseball, which doesn't have a pitch count. Metro President Marc Mullins said there are pockets within Metro where pitch counts are done.
Homewood is one of those locations, although there were no pitch limits in the just completed season. Pitch counts were an added barometer for coaches to gauge whether a pitcher should stay on the mound.
Vestavia Hills set two levels of pitch count limits this year - one that limits pitches in a day and another for the week. Players age 9 and 10 were allowed to throw 60 pitches in a day and no more than 100 in a week.
The highest limit was for 13- and 14-year-olds, who could throw 85 pitches in a day and no more than 135 in a week ending at midnight on Sunday.
''Certainly there were people who did not think it was necessary at the beginning,'' Vestavia baseball vice president Hopson Nance said. ''I think after we've gone through the year it's been generally well received.''
Scorekeepers in Vestavia are provided a push-bottom device that is clicked for each pitch, including foul balls. Warm-up pitches were not tracked.
Nance said he wasn't aware of any elbow or shoulder injuries among pitchers in the youth baseball program, although the Vestavia community has ''had our fair share'' on the high school level.
The Vestavia baseball vice president said he's seen pitchers tire out before reaching the limits.
''You have to manage so you don't hit the weekly limit at a bad time,'' Nance said. ''In my opinion, if somebody had to come out when they're doing well, that's the price you have to pay to protect the kid's health.''
