Should college baseball have pitch count rules

This is a tough one.

What I do think is that if they did institute pitch counts I think they should be relatively high  120-140 ish.  And enforce 4 days of rest.  I'd hate to be forced to pull a guy in college because he reached 100 pitches in the 8th inning.  One of the things that also kills some college pitchers is the starting Friday nights game then closing Saturday.  I think you could have rules against relief appearances for anyone having x number of pitches or innings as a starter that week.

The other side of this is like my son's team's top pitcher is taking his grad year at a D1, so he basically all senior season told the coach when he was going to pitch and always against weaker competition on a weekday.

RJM,

College pitching is nothing like it was when you were a college pitcher.

All pitchers are different.  All starters will follow strict protocols on max pitch counts and days rest. Relievers have different protocols. Their training is amazing.  This is probably standard in all of the more successful programs. I can't speak for mid D1 or D2,D3  programs but I would imagine there is some abuse. I have seen a Friday night guy throw an inning on Saturday. I am sorry that is just unacceptable in my book. Maybe that's where pitch counts should be used, but to be realistic these are not future pro players.

It's son's job to keep an eye out on every pitcher during the game. The coaches usually know when whoever is pitching is ready to exit, despite pitch counts. That's as it should be. The pitcher already knows when he is coming out.

Florida took a hit about not throwing their best pitcher on the first day of conference play offs. This was coming off of a really important series against Georgia. No way was that going to happen on 4 days rest for a freshman who turned down millions to go to play in college.

I am against mandatory pitch counts because the abuse isn't as prevalent as it used to be. Or maybe it is?

It's every parents responsibility to be familiar with pitching protocols set by the coaches. I can't say what is right or wrong. We have a closer who could throw everyday but it isn't a usual thing that happens. A lot depends on how the pitcher projects.

JMO

All starters will follow strict protocols on max pitch counts and days rest.

Stop! What your son does as a pitching coach doesn’t speak for all schools.  I’ve seen pitchers this weekend going 120+ pitches. I guarantee there will be Friday and Saturday pitchers on the mound today in relief. It happens every year.

A coach would have to wrestle me for the ball when I started. I’m sure most pitchers feel this way. When I relieved in college it was different. I knew I was in for specific hitters. I heard a story (verified) one pitcher a few years ago told his coach to “Go back to the effing dugout” when the coach came out to pull him in the eighth.

It’s on the coach to show proper disgression. Not all do. Pat Casey trashing Keven Abel’s arm was only a few years ago. At the time Abel said he woukd do it again to win a CWS. They won. But how does he feel now that he’s mid 20s and he’s struggled in his comeback the minors? He went from top prospect (big money to not in the draft.

There are many pitchers that can throw 120 this time of year.  There are lots of coaches who will not sacrifice arms. The difference is that they know what they are doing.

You asked a question in your topic.

My answer is no.

Some guys can handle it, some can’t. Some can handle it until they can’t. Every pitcher is different. Only way to be certain is to use caution, even then it doesn’t always work.

Watched a kid rehab religiously from TJ. Got the clear for games to go 50 pitches or 5 innings. 20 pitches in and the 3rd inning he blew it out again.

Mine pitched 4 innings of relief in the conference tournament on Thurs. I was surprised to see him get the start in the conf final on Saturday. While we are good, we are not built for tournament play. I actually wish there were more in season tournaments so coaches could play around with pitching.

When it comes tournament time I have noticed a lot of riding starters well past their expiration point - even if the pitch count isn't all the way up.

Watching ECU vs Wake last night it's not hard to see why.

There are Pitch Smart guidelines for college-aged pitchers. They seem reasonable to me and it would be pretty rare to see these limits exceeded for a pro pitcher.

https://www.mlb.com/pitch-smar...uidelines/ages-19-22

College coaches do not always have the kids best interest in mind. It would be ideal but it doesn’t always happen. I see no reason that guidelines being rules would hurt. It takes the pressure off everyone on judgement calls, that may be wrong and ruin a career.

I've seen some pretty crazy stuff in terms of use. Some coaches are notorious for it, others are known for not doing it. I don't think having NCAA rules makes sense, as every individual situation is different. By the time you are in college you should have a sense of all of this. Not that college players are necessarily "adults" in the sense that they know what is best for them, but they should have adults around them who do, at that point.

I think in college it's more of an issue with rest between appearances than pitches in a game. UNC going to their 18yo freshman 2 days after throwing 65 pitches.

But rest assured I'm sure all the coaches and "recruiting advisors" that take to twitter vilifying travel and high school ball for overuse will certainly call out college coaches.

UConn pitcher threw 124 pitches Saturday. He’s pitching in relief Monday on one day of rest.

College coaches abuse pitchers when they need to win but have no depth.   Pitch counts probably won't work, as there are too many divergent opinions about a pitcher's max workload, but mandatory rest days would work.  If a pitcher can't be available because the rules say so, then the coach can't make an 18-year-old starter relieve on one day of rest.   In college, the player obviously can't say no to the coach, and the parent also can't be involved. I say "no" to pitch counts but yes to mandatory rest days.  BTW, changing the traditional tournament scheduling would also work, although it might not be popular.

@RJM posted:

UConn pitcher threw 124 pitches Saturday. He’s pitching in relief Monday on one day of rest.

Gage Jump threw 102 on Friday, then 51 yesterday after coming off Tommy John.  I'm sure his agent/advisor was totally puckered up.

At what age/level is it OK to allow guys to throw on short rest?

@Master P posted:

Gage Jump threw 102 on Friday, then 51 yesterday after coming off Tommy John.  I'm sure his agent/advisor was totally pucked up.

As he should be. Irresponsible.

Meanwhile, in the D3 CWS, the championship round, which was supposed to start on Wednesday, was moved up to Tuesday due to possible bad weather on Wednesday.  Thereby screwing up all the pitching.

Can you imagine if they did this in D1?

@anotherparent posted:

Can you imagine if they did this in D1?

It has been a bad weather year in men's  college baseball, D1 included.

@TerribleBPthrower posted:

At what age/level is it OK to allow guys to throw on short rest?

I don't think it's appropriate at any age.

But there are many circumstances when it often comes up and this time of year is it.

@TPM posted:

It has been a bad weather year in men's  college baseball, D1 included.

Did they move games up instead of back? The D3 CWS was supposed to have an off day before the finals.