HS new pitch count rule....working??

roothog66 posted:

I had wondered if, when the mandate came down, some state would challenge it by simply adopting a stupid rule, say a 300 pitch limit. No one did, though, which indicated to me that the vast majority now understand the need for pitch counts and the inadequacy of inning limits. There's just the question of how tight those restrictions should be. That was a pretty big step forward. 

By a BA article from Feb, Connecticut and Massachusetts hadn't implemented pitch count rules as of yet.  Funny, Connecticut has no pitch count limit, but has a days rest guideline based on # of pitches.

I like the way Nebraska has structured their rule. Prior to April 1(I think) the limit is 85 with 4 days rest. After April 1 it goes up to 110 with 5 days rest. Legion in the summer I believe is slightly different. My sons coach has always been careful with arms, especially early in the season. So far son has thrown twice, both under 80 pitches. And we do have an offseason throwing program. 

I'm mistaken on rest days. Varsity pitchers are mandated 3 days up to 85 pitches. Sub varsity 4. Up to 25 is no rest days, 26-35 1 day, 36-60 2 days, and 61-85 3 days. No more than 2 consecutive days. All pitch counts must bereported on Max Preps.  

I had an opposing coach say that the number of pitches our kid threw in a game was "criminal." And that I (we) "should be ashamed." He threw 105 that night according to that coach. Well within the limits TAPPs has in place. 

Really, we won't truly know whether they're "working" or not for a couple of years...

Go44dad posted:

roothog66 posted:

I had wondered if, when the mandate came down, some state would challenge it by simply adopting a stupid rule, say a 300 pitch limit. No one did, though, which indicated to me that the vast majority now understand the need for pitch counts and the inadequacy of inning limits. There's just the question of how tight those restrictions should be. That was a pretty big step forward. 

By a BA article from Feb, Connecticut and Massachusetts hadn't implemented pitch count rules as of yet.  Funny, Connecticut has no pitch count limit, but has a days rest guideline based on # of pitches.

Direct from CT Interscholastic Athletic Conference (CIAC) 2017 Baseball regs handout:

"6. Q - Can a pitcher throw more than 110 pitches?
A - Yes, the number of pitches thrown relates to a specific number of days of rest. In Connecticut there is NO maximum pitch count per day because we have faith in our coaches to protect and preserve the safety and welfare of the baseball athletes."

Yet the intent of the new NFHS pitch count rule is to prevent in-game arm abuse by the few bad apple coaches out there ... no real protection to CT HS pitchers on this part of the rule without a max limit of some sort included.  Hopefully, CT will revisit/modify the rule after 2017 season.

They do impose 5 days rest for a pitcher exceeding 110 pitches in a game, which is significant esp. come tournament time.

This thread is 2 years old now, and Massachusetts still doesn't have a pitch limit in high school. This kid threw 131 pitches in 7 innings.
Apparently, MA will finally set a limit of 105 next year. I guess the Archbishop Williams coach wanted to get his money's worth before the new rule goes into effect.

https://www.bostonherald.com/2...l-baseball-showdown/

One thing the pitch count has done is keep records from being set.  I looked up the record for strikeouts nationally in a season and career.  Most strikeouts in a career is 842 and a season is 366.  Not possible under today's rules I don't believe.  The only pitching ones that can be broken unless they have a pre-pitch count rule and post-pitch count rule is era.  Son is tied for 3rd all time with that unless he blows it in playoffs.

PitchingFan posted:

One thing the pitch count has done is keep records from being set.  I looked up the record for strikeouts nationally in a season and career.  Most strikeouts in a career is 842 and a season is 366.  Not possible under today's rules I don't believe.  The only pitching ones that can be broken unless they have a pre-pitch count rule and post-pitch count rule is era.  Son is tied for 3rd all time with that unless he blows it in playoffs.

Yeah. It's hard to compare high school player over the years now, especially where records are concerned. My own son wondered if he had the strikeout record for a season with 121 over 50.2 innings, but it wasn't close to Doug Brocail or Scott Elarton. Those guys threw over a 100 innings in a year. We did break it down into K/9 ip and was able to get him in the record books for best for a season and career. That stat wasn't even close.

I think you can say the same for a lot of hitting categories - hard to compare guys hitting with BBCOR to guys hitting with drop-5 bats from the 90's.

I think the pitch count rules have also made leagues and playoffs more competitive.  It was just a few years ago when a stud pitcher could march a team through the playoffs.  That's not happening anymore.

A lot of the records are due to the level of competition too. Son's team was moved to the highest classification in the state, but also to a new district. Shuffling of teams moved a few to new districts and so on. Son's new district had 4 hold over teams from the original district, all senior heavy, returning many all-district members, thought we are gonna get killed. Only one of the remaining "powers" even made playoffs. Let's just say that district MVPs/all-district kids are not created equal. Batting averages jumped 50-100 points, Ks went through the roof. It was a fun year.