Colorado pitch count enforcement

roothog66 posted:

Here is what CHSAA put out today concerning enforcement of the new pitch count rule:

• Umpires will NOT have any input or jurisdiction in pitch counts;
• Each team is responsible for recording and posting to its MaxPreps page its pitching stats and by player (and game scores) within 24 hours of the conclusion of a game;
• It is strongly recommended that both teams periodically check with each other on the number of pitches thrown during the game;
• At the conclusion of the contest, both coaches should fill out and sign the pitching accountability form and keep a copy for reference should any questions arise following the game;
• Should any questions arise, the primary source of information will be the official scorebook, which by rule is the home team scorebook;
• The rules apply for every level team you have (varsity and sub-varsity alike);
• MaxPreps will issue a report to the CHSAA office each day with the results of the games and pitch counts.

 

Failure to complete these steps carries a major sanction. If we start out entering these for the games tomorrow and continue through the season, there should be no issues. This comes down to a coaching integrity issue and I believe that we have coaches who have only the best interests of students at heart.

Game Changer is a web-based application that can be downloaded for free and is a seamless upload to MaxPreps. They are familiar with our rules and the Baseball Committee is encouraging those looking for a technical program to help with the counts to use this stats keeping program."

 

I'm not sure what "major sanctions" means, but at least there will be accountability.

Oh Game Changer is FUN, good luck with that!  It was always interesting to see how the game was scored.  I once saw a player awarded a triple, and while it was true that he hit the ball and wound up on third base there were a few issues in between by the defense....the first being the first basemen missed the throw from SS.

Stats4Gnats posted:

FoxDad posted:

Stats - you bring up a good issue.  One that I have not found an "official" answer to.  The VHSL handbook spells out the innings pitched limitations, rest periods and punishments, but does not indicate how they are to be reported (if at all).  Feel free to google "VHSL".  The current handbook is available on the website in pdf format.

 

When I compiled the list of all pitching limitations for all NFHS member assns., I had to get into every Constitution, Bylaws, handbook, bluebook, and various other sources. What I found is, when there’s a question about such things, rather than folks like you and doing scads of droll reading, it’s easier to just make a phone call to the state assn’s business office. In your case I’d likely call Tom Dolan, Shawn Knight, Carolyn Shiffet, or Joyce Sisson. One or all of them should be able to give give ou an answer and point you to the section of the state Constitution or Bylaws where it’s at.

 

I'm guessing a coach (if he suspected a team of a violation) would have to file a complaint to VHSL and the coach of the team in question would have to "show the books" in response and if any violations found, punishments rendered.  There's nothing that I could find that indicates a coach has to a) file the official score book with VHSL or b) post it to website such as MaxPreps.

 

You’ve pretty much outlined what everyone “believes” the process is everywhere. Trouble is, it’s quite a feat to find where it’s written down.

 

That said, most game results in our region (can't speak for the more rural areas) are reported to the local papers and usually show who pitched and how many innings in addition to the box score and summary.

 

If what gets reported in your papers is the same as here and most other places, what gets reported is usually up to the person doing the reporting. IOW, except for the inning by inning score, as much or as little can be put in the paper. As far as innings, our paper wants to know the starter, any replacement, and what inning they began pitching. It’s pretty much impossible to get innings from that because you don’t know if the replacement came with no out, 1 out, or two.

It is ironic that this rule was so vaguely written in its first iteration that it actually became a small point of issue in the State Championship game in the AAA classification in 2013 when Derek Casey (UVA) relieved in the semi final and pitched 6 innings in the final.  The Great Bridge coach did not protest but there was some chatter from peanut gallery on how kosher it was.  VHSL did make an effort to clarify it following the season.

As for Colorado rules - if they miss a few pitches it is a vast improvement and will finally stop the 160 pitch fiasco's that have occurred in the past.  The record keeping will get easier and better as time goes on.  It is a good start.

We are in a testing year for tracking pitch counts here in Oregon. The state sanctioning body has added a pitch count tab to each team's page on the OSAA website. This is the same place that all sports report results, so it makes sense to track pitch counts here as well. Within 24 hours of the game, the coach must enter all players that pitched and the number of pitches. I am not clear if they have to enter info for both their team and the opposing team. There is also space on the page for the number of required days of rest and the next date the pitcher is eligible to pitch to be populated. Again, I'm not sure if that is entered by the coach or calculated by the page. Since it is not mandatory this year, it will be interesting to see how many coaches start tracking. I think our coach will track and will follow the pitch count rules closely that will be mandatory next year.

I am curious to see how this all works in Colorado this season.

As long as there is a penalty associated with exceeding pitch counts then coaches will keep each other honest.