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Who Cares
About Pitch Counts!
I hope all of you in
our extended BioForce Baseball Family Faithful are
enjoying this holiday season. I know things are
really busy around our house and at the academy.
One thing I am very
grateful for are the questions I receive from you
and others about baseball.
It keeps me thinking,
and I’ve got to believe it helps others like you out
there because if one person is wondering about a
certain subject, others have to be too.
Here’s a great
question I received recently from a Little League
coach in our local area.
“Dear Bill, Thanks for the thoughtful emails. I
am thankful and appreciative for your insight.
My query for you regards the following.
After year 2006 pilot program, Little League is
now implementing a pitch count program. Instead
of the number of innings pitched, it is now the
number of "pitches" that dictate how long a
pitcher can "stay". Don't get me wrong, I am
what you might call a conservative coach as far
as how I use my pitchers. I'm one of those guys
who likes to teach rather than win. My question
is this:
How
do you determine how many pitches each pitcher
has thrown? This is not a question of
eligibility, but of safety. Should warm-up
pitches count? (I think they should, but LL
thinks otherwise) My question(s) to you are as
follows: Do you count "warm-up" pitches?
How
do you teach a pitcher to use his warm-up
pitches? (I was taught to use the first 6 to
find my stride and release point. Then fire the
last two.)
How
would you advise the 9 to 11 year old pitchers
to warm up both on the mound and before games?
Thanks in advance, Rick S.
Great questions Rick!
My first reaction to
the rule about pitch counts was that it is great.
It’s a very good
first step in helping manage the workloads for these
kids.
And I believe some
good research might come out of this program. I hope
that someone within Little League will be monitoring
and analyzing the results.
After I thought about
it a while though, I do fear that this will be a
band-aid to a bigger problem. The problem is the
lack of education for the parents, the coaches, and
the kids on what is causing this epidemic of arm
problems.
I also think it will
change the strategy of the game.
Mark my words,
coaches will take advantage of a dominant pitcher.
Make him throw more pitches to get him out of the
game. It will make hitters less aggressive and
change the makeup of the youth game.
I know what you are
thinking, that’s what they do in the major leagues
and colleges. Make the pitcher pitch. I agree. They
should. It’s part of the game.
But most of these
youth pitchers don’t have the command of their
pitches like these high level pitchers do.
We are defeating the
purpose of the rule. These kids will pitch more
pitches in each inning. Maybe the same amount the
would in an entire game, but now in a shorter period
of time. This makes the player at even more risk.
Might even change the
strike zone a little.
How?
Well, Little League
umpires don’t like walk-a-thons.
It’s all opinion on
my part, but I’ve seen youth coaches adjust to rules
changes before. That’s there job.
To better protect our
youth baseball players, I still feel we need to
educate, educate, educate. Properly condition,
condition, condition.
We need to educate
our pitchers, coaches, and parents on better arm
health. What signs to look for with pitchers when
they are tired and at greater risk of injury.
A little side bar,
look for some pitcher weekend boot camps from
BioForce, as well as a coaches clinic.
Look for those
coaches and players clinics coming up in late
January and mid February.
Back to the topic of
what causes arm problems?
I feel there are
three factors that cause arm problems.
1) Inefficient
throwing mechanics. The body not working in an
efficient way.
2) Improper or no
conditioning for baseball.
3) Too high of a
workload and not enough rest between competitive
pitching.
Arm and/or shoulder
injuries don’t necessarily have to come from one of
these. They can occur from one, two, or all three.
I feel most pitchers
and coaches spend a lot of time working a lot of
time on the mechanics of pitching and not enough
time on the conditioning side. We also have our kids
pitching too many pitches and not getting enough
rest.
I am getting a little
off track. Let’s get back to Rick’s question.
Rick asked how you
determine how many pitches a pitcher has thrown. The
accepted unwritten rule in baseball on measuring
pitches are those that are completed during
competition.
Pre-inning warm ups,
there are rules for that. I think those rules were
written to manage the flow of the game.
Rick also asks if
warm up pitches count. Again, generally they don’t.
That is generally equal among all pitchers. The
differences between pitchers usually happen because
of game circumstances. That’s where the pitch count
management is important.
One thing people
don’t think about often enough in my opinion are the
pre-game and pre-practice warm-ups.
Most youth teams I
see get to the field, maybe run to the light pole
and back, and the kids start throwing to warm up.
Even in high school baseball. The kids need to warm
up properly and entirely before they start throwing.
I think if we take this approach, the pitcher will
be more successful and overall, throw fewer throws.
How should a kid use
his warm up pitches? I feel they should focus on the
results they are looking for as opposed to working
on mechanics too much. The eight or so warm up
pitches should get us ready for competition.
How would I advise
youth pitchers to warm up before the game?
Again, get the body
better prepared to throw. That will allow us to
throw less in the bullpen.
Establish a routine.
Use drills to develop the feel we are looking for.
Drills like those in
our More Explosive Pitcher DVD. These drills can be
used for any discipline in pitching. Not just for
working on velocity. They are a great pre-practice
and pre-game routine for not only pitchers, but all
players. Our reverse progression drills focus on
getting the body more prepared to release the ball
at the same point every time. Kind of like a golfer
starting at the contact point.
These drills will
help you get warmed up and get you in the proper
positions.
By the time you get
done with your routine, you’ll only need a few
pitches off the rubber before you enter the game.
I certainly have
rambled quite a bit on this subject.
Rick, I hope I have
answered your questions. If not, you know how to get
a question to me.
For those of you who
don’t know how to submit a question, you can do it
on the website or email us at support@bioforcebaseball.com
Happy Holidays again
from us at BioForce to all of you!
Keep training like a
champion today!
P.S. As promised, I
will be announcing the new Power Training DVD within
the next few days. Look for an email for a
pre-release special for the BioForce Family only!
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