July 13 - Beginning with the 2017 season, the workload of high school pitchers will be regulated nationally by the number of pitches they throw in a game. The amendment to the rule, which previously limited pitchers based on the number of innings they threw, was announced by the National Federation of High Schools (NFHS) yesterday. The NFHS Baseball Rules Committee voted on the change at its annual meeting in Indianapolis last month.
The NFHS will allow each state to determine the exact number of pitches permitted, and the amount of rest required between outings. No immediate announcement was made by the Virginia High School League or the Virginia Independent Schools Athletic Association, which govern public and private school athletics, respectively, in the state.
"I think this has potential to be a really good thing for high school baseball and protecting pitchers," South Lakes coach Morgan Spencer said. "With the right plan in place, we can allow guys to ramp up in early months of the season while still allowing them to go deep in games as the year progresses. "It will challenge pitchers to be efficient, which I think will lead to a better brand of baseball."
Locally, an example of the new rule benefitting pitchers and rewarding efficiency occurred in 2013. That spring, Loudoun County’s Danny White threw 78 pitches in nine innings, but had to be removed from a scoreless Group AA Region II quarterfinal game against Sherando due to the VHSL rule limiting pitchers to nine innings in one day.
White likely would have been able to pitch one or two more innings in the game, which the Raiders lost, 1-0, on a walk-off home run by Sherando in the 13th inning.
One of the states with a pre-existing pitch-count rule is Alabama, which sets the maximum amount at 120 pitches in one day for varsity players. Pitchers in that state must be given three calendar days rest after throwing 76-120 pitches in one day. Alabama’s maximum for a junior varsity pitcher is 100 in a day, and its maximum for middle school pitchers is 85. Texas, Colorado and Kentucky either have or announced they will adopt similar standards, while Minnesota will limit pitchers to 105 during the regular season and 115 or 120 during the playoffs. "I'm a fan of the new rule, [I’m] just not sure how it will be enforced," Kettle Run coach Ty Thorpe said. "I'm not real sure how the VHSL will be voting on the pitching rule as to how it will be regulated and enforced. So I really don't know how it will change the game."
Added Herndon coach Mark Rueffert: "I'm glad that pitching isn't regulated by innings anymore. That didn't make sense to me. If that was an attempt to prevent injuries, then that was the wrong way to measure it.
"I like this better because, for example, whether you throw 110 pitches in three innings, seven innings or 10 innings, you still have to come out and rest the same amount of time."
Photo of Loudoun County High School's Will Schroeder by Scott Shepherd
