Pitch counts at the high school level?
Pitch counts are heavily monitored at the pro level, watch any game and you'll hear the announcers start talking pitch count in a bad first inning. So why aren't pitch count's monitored by the WIAA? According to an article in the TNT, only how often a player pitches counts vs. playing time. If a high school pitcher throws 3+ innings/game, said player cannot pitch for two days. The article points out that in 2001, 17-year-old Jason Koenig appeared in five consecutive games, throwing 400+ pitches for North Mason. In his last outing, he threw 140 pitches in a complete game, suffering a torn rotator cuff and labrum, and capsule in his elbow. Koenig sued the North Mason School District, but last month a jury sided with the school district. The American Sports Medicine Institute says 17 & 18-year-old pitchers should not throw more than 105 pitches/day or 130/week. Based on the ASMI study, Little League Baseball adopted pitch counts in 2006. Worth a thought.
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| Comments (1)
Any coach at High School level and below should not only be watching how many pitches his players throw, but what type of pitches and at what age group. Players under 16 should not be throwing curve balls. There is too much strain on the tendons of the elbow to be able to practice the pitch to any point of efficiency without the potential for damage. Coaches should be teaching pitch location, then variety when the player matures. Too many young kids having Tommy John surgery.
The North Mason Coach should never be allowed near a player again for what he did to that kid. He shouldn't be sued, he should be prosecuted.