Pitch counts ?

I have heard absolutely awful things about using weighted balls, both from coaches and Dr. Andrews. But, again, everyone has their own approach.

 

I have to but I think alot of people like to long toss with them.One of the things that I forgot to say was it said only throw up to 80% of your max or what you are comfortable with.Have you heard the same thing about Johnson.He does not apear to have alot of arm speed which is what you would get from throwing light balls if it is true .

 

I think weighted baseballs can be an effective training tool, but you must exercise caution with these just as you would with any other type training, or training device. I'm not sure how the baseball arrived at 5 oz., but that's what we have. I would think that the stress exerted on a little leaguer's arm from a regular baseball would be relatively greater than the stress on a high schooler's arm, and most seem to arrive at the big field fairly healthy. What if the baseball had somehow manifested itself at 6 oz., or 4.5 oz.? IMO, being that any forceful overhand movement can be the most stressful placed upon the body, a regular baseball can be considered, "weighted". Having said all this, it is still best to keep in mind that the vast majority of pitchers have attained whatever level of proficiency they have with just a 5 oz. baseball. That tells me that maybe one should pay attention first & foremost in how you throw(good mechanics), and how much you throw. also, I firmly believe that there is too much of only throwing, "in season"(you pick up the ball when the season starts, and put it down when it's over).

 

So we are talking pitch counts. Whats the latest?

We all have opinions on this. Here is my 5cents.

Pitch counts can be as much part of a teams game strategy as anything. If not, IMO they should be. Winning, competitive pitching strategies with well understood pitch counts of each individual pitcher can and are used at all levels of play.

Using a "platoon" strategy with the use of pitch counts is a thing of beauty and also leaves a team with pitchers that aren't tired and can be asked to go at any time....that is unless Bobby jr gets out there and runs his arm out cause he's mad..(sorry I digressed)

In other words they are fresh most of the time rather than on a rest schedule.

Or in another set of words; they actually build strength during the game.

This is just my opinion. I might have a lot of this wrong. However I see pitch counts as a great tool for the coach and a respite for pitchers.

9-10 Youth: 25-35 pitches
11-12 Youth: 40-50
Middle school: 45-60(careful during this time, transision for most.)
Freshmen: 50-65
Sophomore-Senior: 60-75 (This is really pushing it IMO) Seldom reaching 70.

I use these as a guide BUT it has nothing to do with how the pitcher is doing in a game. You can actually tell how a pitcher is going to do inning by inning with pitch counts.

The pitchers Ive worked with get 2-3 innings and thats it. Most of the time they are within their pitch counts.

 

Pitch Counts

The kids that I have seen have the most problems are the ones that dont throw enough and then try to throw too much. Im talking about kids that put down the glove at the end of the hs season and then dont pick it back up until the start of the next season. Or the ones that stop throwing to rest but do nothing during that period of time to strengthen the body or arm. Instead of doing some core work and band work with weight training expecially for the lower body they just take a "rest". Then its time to start throwing again and they try to get back to where they were in one week.

We start practice officially on the 11th of Feb. We scrimmage on the 16th. And our first official game is on the 26th. You should be game ready on the first official day of practice. That means Jan should be used to be getting ready to play on the 11th. The problem is some kids think the 11th is the day to start getting ready for the season. Nothing could be farther from the truth.

If you break down the year and game plan for the year it is very helpfull. Feb to May HS season. June to Aug summer season. Sept to Nov Fall season. Mid Nov to Jan 1 - shut down the throwing and work at the things that will strengthen your arm and the ability to throw harder.

The pitchers with the best arms are the ones that are in the most danger of being overused and abused starting with the youth levels. They are going to throw more and some are going to play on more than one team. The hs pitchers that throw alot of innings come into the summer season and throw alot then into the fall season and throw alot. This can take a toll on kids arms.

Our pitchers are on pitch counts during the hs season. Every kid is different as well. But there has to be some type of guidline to go on. Many of your best pitchers in hs are also some of your best posistion players and hitters. So now they are throwing 100+ pitches on Tuesday and playing SS the next day. What we do is if we have to have the kid in the field is put him at 1b or dh. Its important in my opinion to monitor the kids arms and make sure they are doing the right things between starts , before starts and after starts.

But I believe most arm injuries occur with overuse before they even to get HS. The play on Friday tourneys with the championship game on Sunday format has punished many a young players arm at a young age. I can not tell you how many times I have seen a kid throw 6 or 7 innings on Friday and then play the field the rest of the weekend and toe the hill on Sunday for a complete game on Sunday.

Some parents like to see their kid be the stud pitcher at a young age and get all the innings. Dont fall into that trap. No kid has any business throwing all these innings period muchless at the younger ages.

 

Bingo!!!..hit the nail on the proverbial head

 

College season a week away

Yesterday at the Barton College scrimmage pitch counts were being monitored very closely and it did seem to be different for each pitcher used. A couple of times the pitcher would not even finish the batter IF he had reached a set pitch count.

By the way Hunter Meekins from Manteo and Matthew Watson from Wilson Hunt really looked good as incoming freshman.

 

Something interesting I found put out by Drs Andrews and Fleisig at AMSI in Birmingham. Here's the link.

http://www.asmi.org/SportsMed/youth/PITCHCNT.PDF

 

Good place to start. Would like to see what these Drs. would say now, 12 years later. My guess their findings may not be that much different. Just greater abuses to their findings.

 

Agree with their recommendations

Im a little more conservative but I still like their recommendations. They say specifically "It not the number of innings but the pitch count."