December 8 - The Virginia High School League’s executive committee yesterday approved new guidelines that will limit prep pitchers to 110 pitches per day and require predetermined rest.
In following the National Federation of High Schools (NFHS) mandate passed last summer, the VHSL will require coaches to monitor workloads based on the number of pitches thrown beginning in 2017. The VHSL, like many states, previously limited pitchers based on the number of innings thrown, allowing up to nine innings in one day and 14 in a seven-day period.
“Pitchers need time off, especially because of travel baseball.” Riverside coach Sam Plank said. “This is a great step in the right direction.”
Pitchers will now be required to rest a certain number of days based on their workload. A pitcher who throws 101 or more pitches will need to rest at least four days; 76-100 pitches three days; 51-75 two days; and 26-50 one day. Pitchers who throw under 26 pitches can come back the next day, but are limited to 51 over the two-day period, then will be required to rest two days.
That last stipulation is of intrigue. The previous innings-based regulations required a pitcher to rest at least one day if they appeared in two innings. Now, an efficient outing could help a team playing back-to-back days.
“I believe it’s a good thing, and you can bounce a guy back on consecutive days if the pitch count stays low,” Battlefield coach Jay Burkhart said. “[The new guidelines are] for the future of these pitchers and longevity of their arm care.”
Burkhart’s opposing coach in last season’s 6A state final, Chantilly’s Kevin Ford, likes the motive behind the new regulations. How coaches and officials will monitor the pitch counts is what raises concern with the longtime Chargers coach.
“It seems like they have come up with a system that will protect kids,” Ford said. “I am a little interested in how they plan to track this during games and what they will do with disagreements on pitch counts. We play by the same rules, so there shouldn’t be an advantage to anyone, but I think it hurts those programs that develop their pitchers for the end of the year and do a good job of managing the pitcher’s arm care during the week.”
Herndon coach Mark Rueffert has similar questions.
“I think those [pitch count] numbers are fair, and make more sense than the previous method,” Rueffert said. “I’m interested to see how this information is tracked and enforced throughout the season.”
The new guidelines come at a time when elbow injuries have increased in youth and high school players across the country, and fall in line with USA Baseball’s ‘Pitch Smart’ campaign that aims to promote proper development of young pitchers.
The ‘Pitch Smart’ program recommends that pitchers ages 15-18 not exceed 100 innings in any 12-month period, and that they take a 2-3 month break from doing any throwing during the offseason. ‘Pitch Smart’ also suggests pitchers ages 15-16 not exceed 95 pitches in a day, and pitchers ages 17-18 not surpass 105.
VHSL’s new regulations come close to those, in addition to regulations that have been adopted by other states. Georgia, for example, will limit pitchers to 110 pitches during the regular season, a number that will increase to 120 during the postseason. Other small differences in Georgia’s rules include rest; an outing there of over 86 pitches requires three days of rest; 61-85 two days; 35-60 one day; and pitchers who throw under 35 can come back the next day.
“I hope we as coaches can come up with a way to administer the pitch counts game-by-game,” Burkhart said. “I’ll be waiting to hear how this will be kept with all teams. [That] is my concern.”
Photo of Loudoun County junior Will Schroeder by Scott Shepherd
