October 13 - American Legion Baseball yesterday announced the sites for its eight regional tournaments and its newly-adopted pitching guidelines that will go into effect in 2017.
Leesburg Post 34, which has hosted the Mid-Atlantic Regional the past two years and won the tournament last summer, will once again host the regional in each of the next two years, Legion Baseball’s National Executive Committee approved at its fall meeting in Indianapolis. The regional games will continue to be held at Fireman’s Field in Purcellville, with the dates set for Aug. 2-6, 2017, and Aug. 8-12, 2018.
The other seven host sites are Shrewsbury, MA (Northeast), Asheboro, N.C. (Southeast), New Orleans (Mid-South), Napoleon, OH (Great Lakes), Dickinson, N.D. (Central Plains), Missoula, MT (Northwest) and Denver (West). Winners of each regional advance each summer to the American Legion World Series in Shelby, N.C.
“We are extremely excited to have the opportunity to play host to the region tournament once again,” Post 34 coach Brenton Peters said. “The community really showed a ton of support for the team last year, and the competition was phenomenal. It's great to get the team another opportunity to play on the big stage and we are looking to defend our region title with absolutely everything we’ve got.”
They will look to do so while playing under new pitching guidelines that fall in line with USA Baseball’s Pitch Smart initiative, with Legion pitchers now limited based on the number of pitches they throw rather than innings pitched. The National Federation of High Schools (NFHS) has adopted similar principles for the 2016-17 school year, with state governing bodies tasked with implementing specific pitch counts and rest requirements between outings.
Pitchers at Legion’s senior level (ages 19 and under) will not be permitted to exceed 120 pitches in a day, while junior level pitchers (ages 17 and under) cannot exceed 105 pitches. The only exception will be if a pitcher hits the limit while facing a batter, in which case they will be able to finish the at-bat.
Legion pitchers will now not be permitted to make more than two appearances in a three-day period. They will be required to have one day of rest if they throw up to 45 pitches, two days of rest up to 60 pitches, three days up to 75 pitches, and over 76 pitches thrown will require four days of rest before their next outing.
“Legion Baseball prides itself on being an exemplary organization which helps young athletes grow as players and people,” national chairman Gary Stone said in a release by Legion Baseball. “Safety is always our top priority and it has become clear that the best way to keep our young pitchers safe is to enact pitch counts at all levels.”
Photo of TJ Holdredge courtesy of Leesburg American Legion Post 34 baseball
