Should Pitcher go to 3rd base after pitching?

How fast is he throwing, does his arm hurt in anyway after pitching? How many plays has he actually made at third after pitching?

Yes. Unless he has an overbearing father.

This is getting comical.

back off let the kid play

If you are concerned for your sons health say some thing.

I'm sure many, many other site member's kids played a position after pitching at that age. I know mine did so truthfully I wouldn't worry too much.

Agree with three bagger....if his arm was tired or hurt I would expect him to say something to the coach

Playing 3b no issue. Many Players play other positions besides pitch. When my son played HS ball, he pitched and caught in the same game sometimes. If you wanna play and your healthy, you just want to be out there. My son could've cared less where he played since he was able to play all nine positions. He just wanted to be in the game.

Unless he complains about his arm hurting there shouldn't be a problem. How often in 2-3 innings is he going to field and throw the ball? Maybe two or three times.

I don't see a problem. If he is hurting then he should tell the coach. If he doesn't say anything to the coach then it is on him.

I'm with the others.

If he exits the game with arm pain, that's a problem whether he plays the field or not.

He should finish pitching with his arm feeling relatively fine (maybe a little fatigued) and the few throws at third base or anywhere else shouldn't be a problem.

Thanks for the posts. The kid throws hard and has a high effort delivery. After 80-90 of these pitches I just think he needs to shut the arm down for the rest of that day. He's not in any pain after pitching just overall fatique. Thanks.

In an ideal world it would be nice if he could shut down after leaving the mound but it most high school situations it's not possible. As the others have said as long as he's not feeling any pain, tightness or any other negative feeling then he should be good to go.

Once he leaves the game and goes to 3B he needs to take a few ground balls from 1B to get his feet and move away from his pitching motion.

I guess I am the lone person believing this is not in the best interest of the kid. Throwing a good number of pitches, then having his body/arm cool down and then throwing from 3b (or worse, from the outfield as some of you suggested) makes no sense for a young arm.

My 2015 LHP also plays CF and nothing good can come from pitching 80 pitches and then throwing from CF to home later in the game...IMHO

No offense guys but what is your definition of "cooling down"? They still get warm up throws at the start of the inning so it's not like they will go three or four innings without making a throw.

I'm all in favor of protecting an arm and even error on the side of caution but as long as they feel good they will be fine.

quote:

Originally posted by GoBlue55:
I guess I am the lone person believing this is not in the best interest of the kid. Throwing a good number of pitches, then having his body/arm cool down and then throwing from 3b (or worse, from the outfield as some of you suggested) makes no sense for a young arm.

My 2015 LHP also plays CF and nothing good can come from pitching 80 pitches and then throwing from CF to home later in the game...IMHO

Just tell the coach now that you want your kid to be a PO and you will be the one strictly managing his pitch count during games. Maybe even see if you can make mound visits.

Save him the headache of a dozen parent meetings down the road.

Originally I would have said don't worry let him play. But after recently seeing a starting pitcher be placed in the outfield after going 6 innings and hearing the complaints from professional scouts about the coach doing it, I would have to say it must not be a good idea. Just my two cents.

johnj314 said: "He's not in any pain after pitching just overall fatique."

IMHO throwing with fatigue is exactly what will do damage to an arm or shoulder. It amazes me how people will go on and on about pitch count and protecting the arm, then here others say, Oh go ahead and throw after 80 or 90 game time pitches, unless you have pain NOW or tightness. This is a very tough decision. AS someone else pointed out your HS team probably needs your son at 3rd if not pitching?

What you are risking is doing damage that will not be realized until later; sometimes a year or two maybe even later. I say error on the side of caution and don't go to third or the outfield. At third you could have to crash on a bunt and throw to first possibly from an adnormal throwing position, or reaching back into a ball down the line and turning to throw to first. Think about the effort on the arm in those conditions and I say no way. I have been reading through some of the minor league transactions on Baseball America site and several indicate the cause for release from the club is that the player has spent too much time on the disabled list; now think about the question on this thread again?

quote:

Originally posted by GoBlue55:
I guess I am the lone person believing this is not in the best interest of the kid. Throwing a good number of pitches, then having his body/arm cool down and then throwing from 3b (or worse, from the outfield as some of you suggested) makes no sense for a young arm.

My 2015 LHP also plays CF and nothing good can come from pitching 80 pitches and then throwing from CF to home later in the game...IMHO

I agree with you.

quote:

Originally posted by njbb:

quote:

Originally posted by GoBlue55:
I guess I am the lone person believing this is not in the best interest of the kid. Throwing a good number of pitches, then having his body/arm cool down and then throwing from 3b (or worse, from the outfield as some of you suggested) makes no sense for a young arm.

My 2015 LHP also plays CF and nothing good can come from pitching 80 pitches and then throwing from CF to home later in the game...IMHO

I agree with you.

I do as well.

When a pitcher is done pitching that should be the end of his day. He can play another position his off day.

Ironhourse - I guess I would rather save hospital visits and opportunities for my son...didn't really imply I was seeking to replace the coach or make my so a PO.

I've seen too many coaches think they know better and take a similar attitude as yours...at the expense of a young athlete and arm.

To those who made thoughtful contributions to this thread,it is appreciated.

GoBlue55- whenever you post something here you open yourself up to both sides of opinion. I realize that and actually appreciate the differences of opinions and even the overzealous comments. Kind of keeps things in perspective...

My guys pitch and play all over the place. We are a small school. I only have a certain number of varstiy level players. If they have pitched and go to the outfield I tell the middle infielders they've got to go out farther for cut offs and I tell the OF not to uncork anything...
I'm very careful about overuse on the mound, but i do use em everywhere (except catcher...)

Those going off on a parent wondering this question must not be at games with pro scouts standing around talking about how kids arms are abused in youth. I'm going to guess they aren't thinking of the kid.

I too have heard many scouts, last night the same thing happened in our game and there must have been 20 scouts/coaches in attendance and none were impressed that the coach sent the pitcher to third on a cold rainy night after throwing 90 pitches. Our coach does it because this kid is his favorite but honestly, he's not doing him any favors as the kid has had his share of arm trouble already.

HS baseball is not about the scouts. It's about the kids playing HS baseball for their school. Everything else is secondary.

If a player feels he needs to take the bench after pitching, he should just go tell the head coach he's done.

quote:

HS baseball is not about the scouts. It's about the kids playing HS baseball for their school. Everything else is secondary.

I agree that it’s not about the scouts however I think calispaortsfans point was that people that know baseball (scouts) don’t think it’s a good idea to play another position after throwing significant pitches in a game. Sometimes I think it’s tough for a HS player to tell the coach that he’s done…especially if the pitcher is also one of the best fielders and hitters on the team.

After listening to many parents as to how the HS coaches handled theirs sons after pitching in a game I guess we were lucky. In HS our son was also a two way player (not necessarily because he wanted to be). His coach protected the pitchers as much as anyone could hope for on a team that most pitchers also were good hitters/fielders. After son finished pitching in a game he would typically come out of game or if his bat was needed went to first base. If there was a game the next day he would DH or play first base again. If his arm felt good three days or more after his pitch day he was back to MIF position but did limited throwing during infield and in between inning warm-ups. The coach always said there were only so many bullets in the arm and he should make sure they weren't used up on target practice.

Sounds like your son had a good coach jersydad.
HS is not about scouts and arms injuries aren't just about baseball.
Why would you want to have your son go through a surgery? Why would you want your son to have a nagging shoulder pain at middle age?
Arm injuries can effect recreational sports such as swimming, golf, tennis.
Damage done at a young age may not show up until yrs later.

Jerseydad, that was my point exactly!

At our school if you pitch past 50 or so you don't go back in elsewhere. What happened to the kid playing third whle he was pitching-did he come in to pitch? Our pitchers usu play other positions, but not the same day they are pitching. I would not allow my son to pitch/catch same day, and he plays both positions.Even LL has a rule prohibiting that if the kid pitches over 40 I think. The coach need to develop the other players. Tell them to practice on on and during off season more. If you have 18 kids on team and only have one or two who can play third, you need to get busy training more.

Questions:
What is the reason for this pitcher going to 3b? Is he a stronger hitter?
Is he a better infielder? How did the coach handle the HS DH rule? Was the pitcher also the DH? There are several strategies to keep the bat in the line up w/o placing this young man at 3b.

Listen to the scouts, they will either draft this player or assist to help him into a college of his choice.HS Baseball is "player development"!

When we travel to Australia for our 30 years of International Baseball, pro scouts coach the teams and a starting pitcher is "never" sent to a fielding position except 1b. Adam LaRoche [ML Nationals] switch after pitching 3 innings to 1b. His father was one our coaches for 5 years.

If you are going to pitch the 3b, then drill the replacement 3b w/ 100 ground balls per day during BP and extra infield. If you have a wet infield, one slip and "off balance" throw will end a career. "Not worth it Coach"!

Bob

Mine never played a position in HS the same day he pitched, 1b the next game or DH so his bat could get in the game.
I am not sure why some agree that it's ok after that many pitchers to play another position (except first). As Bob suggests if it is about the bat there are other ways to get into the game. If the player has potential at the next level, why chance it?

Although many HS players will not go onto the next level, those that do (especially pitchers) should take into consideration that affects of what happens game to game, year to year is accumulative.

John, this is YOUR player and YOU have to do what you feel is best for HIM. As discussed previously he has had arm issues. Yes I would be concerned, if he won't talk to the coach, let him understand the consequences.

If he is being seriously recruited as a pitcher, there may be some concerns over his use that may turn off a coach.

JMO

quote:

Originally posted by TPM:
As Bob suggests if it is about the bat there are other ways to get into the game.

What are those ways?

Take this a step further. What about playing 3rd the day after throwing 80 pitches with a high velocity pitcher?

quote:

Originally posted by daveccpa:
Take this a step further. What about playing 3rd the day after throwing 80 pitches with a high velocity pitcher?

I have seen pitchers that throw 95 but its with a fairly easy effort...I also have seen pitchers that are in the low eighties that are throwing at max effort so I guess I would look at that more than the velocity...but I'm getting off point.

I may be considered conservative but from my POV...no 3B on day after throwing 80 pitches.

My lefty has to outfield and pitch. They save 1st base for linemen.

quote:

Originally posted by ironhorse:

quote:

Originally posted by TPM:
As Bob suggests if it is about the bat there are other ways to get into the game.

What are those ways?

That would be the coaches job, wouldn't it?

Was the player pitching and hitting, was he kept in for his bat (good) or his arm (bad).

I agree with jerseydad, if the players position is primarily a pitcher and he is seeking opportunity to play at that position in college, why does he have to go in the next day for third base where he will be using his arm more than he needs to? You don't have other players who can play that position?

Keep in mind the responses here are based upon different circumstances for all. Mine was a pitcher only so that is why I responded to the question differently than someone whose son didn't pitch as much as mine did in HS and signed for college as a pitcher only.

Thanks for the responses on both sides of the issue. First, the team is thin talent wise and is currently 3-8. The bat (hits clean up) and defense are the reasons the coach puts him at third where he is the everyday starter. The kid throws hard (upper 80's), has a fairly violent delivery and will be a PO at the next level. Has lots of D1 interest although no offers yet. Has a big summer/fall ahead of big events and I don't want an injury in a unimportant HS game to screw it up...Son has talked to the coach about this and he said he'll see what he can do...

TPM, John, Ironhorse:

Question; John where does your son hit in the lineup when he plays 3b? Is he a left hitter? When he pitches is he listed as a DH? What is the BA of the your son and the replacement 3b?

With the team record of 2-6, why would the coach not prepare his "replacement" players to receive opportunities for additional AB's.

What are the State rules for the DH. Maybe he can list your son in the lineup as a P/DH.

Then when he finished his pitching "stint", he can remain in the game as DH and the new pitcher is "pitcher only".

Bob

In high school you can't list them as p/dh.

Thanks;

No DH when John's son pitches. If he is a good hitter and team needs his BAT, then bat him second and he will have on extra AB before he completes his # of pitches or have him DH and not pitch until the 4th inning and then "break" the DH and he hits as the pitcher [same position in the line-up].

This method, he does not play defense.

Bob

quote:

Originally posted by johnj314:
Thanks for the responses on both sides of the issue. First, the team is thin talent wise and is currently 3-8.

That shouldn't be your son's problem.

JMO.