Little League pitch counts and rest requirements
Some questions have come up regarding Little League's pitch count and rest requirements for the Spring '08 regular season, so we'll take this opportunity to offer some explanations and answer questions.
Two years ago Little League offered a pilot pitch count program to certain leagues around the country designed to protect the arm health of pitchers by limiting their participation in the game at the pitcher position, and involved moving from an "innings thrown" to a "pitches thrown" system. LCB was a participant in the pilot program and it was a success for us. We reported our results and comments back to Little League and the following Spring season (2007) the pitch count program became part of the rule book.
Little League has expanded the rules for the Spring '08 season, and because they are more detailed they require some explaining. By the way, these particular rules apply to regular season games only; tournament pitching rules are different.
The rules fall into two categories: pitch counts and rest.
Pitch counts
The rules state that pitchers cannot exceed a certain
amount of pitches thrown per game. (The rule actually uses the
phrase "pitches per day", but because we don't play doubleheaders,
for us a day equals a game. For
clarity we'll refer to it as "per game"). How many they can throw is
based on their league age, and the older the player the more pitches
he/she can throw. Here's the chart:
| League age | Max pitches per game |
| 13-16 | 95 |
| 11-12 | 85 |
| 9-10 | 75 |
| 7-8 | 50 |
Rest requirements
The rest rules are intended to complement the pitch
counts and serve to control how often a pitcher can throw. However,
not every pitcher will throw the maximum amount of pitches allowed
in a game, therefore there is a sliding scale of rest rules based on
the amount of pitches thrown. This chart applies to all players
league age 16 and younger:
| Pitches thrown | Required rest |
| 61 or more | 3 calendar days and a game |
| 41-60 | 2 calendar days and a game |
| 21-40 | 1 calendar day |
| 1-20 | no (0) calendar days |
As you see, the more a pitcher throws, the more he/she is required to rest before pitching again. What's new for this season is the game's rest requirement for 41 pitches and over. Previously that was something only found in tournament pitching rules, but has found its way into the regular season rules.
Another new addition to the pitching rules is that if a pitcher delivers one or more pitches in a game, he/she cannot play the position of catcher for the remainder of that game.
These rules have one primary purpose, and that is to protect the arm health of the players. There are too many instances where overuse of players' arms have led to injury, and in some cases permanent damage. Who's responsible for this? The blame can only be placed on managers anxious to have a competitive advantage, and parents willing to let the manager get away with it. Because of this disregard for the child's health, rules have now been put in place, and in LCB's opinion, not a moment too soon.
Who designed the pitching rules? Little League, working in conjunction with some of the foremost medical
experts, including Dr. James Andrews of the American Sports Medicine
Institute in Alabama, an authority on "Tommy John surgery".
Why are these kinds of pitching rules necessary? To protect
the arm health of the players.
My child is capable of throwing more pitches than the rules
allow. Why can't he? He or she can't because Little
League (and LCB) believe that eventually they could be injured from overuse.
Young arms need to be protected, and we're taking the long view.
What about pitchers who are playing up or down in a league not
normally in their age group? The pitching rules are designed
around an individual pitcher's league age and amount of pitches
thown, therefore it doesn't matter in what age-level league they're
playing.
Who keeps the pitch counts? Officially, it's the scorekeeper.
However, the manager is ultimately responsible for knowing how many
pitches a player has thrown and when he/she must be removed.
What if the manager and scorekeeper disagree on the pitch count?
The scorekeeper keeps the official count. A manager can and should
consult the scorekeeper often to ensure they agree, but ultimately
what gets recorded in the scorebook is the official record.
Can a pitcher exceed the maximum number of pitches allowed in a
game? Under limited circumstances, yes. The rules allow for an
at-bat to be completed by the pitcher even if he or she goes beyond
the limit. The pitcher can throw to that batter until he reaches
base, or is put out, or until the third out is made on a runner.
My league's games are spread apart with many days in between. The
game's rest requirement seems unfair in that circumstance.
Perhaps, but that's the rule.
What if the next game is rained out? Would
it still count as the pitcher's game rest? The rained-out game
does NOT qualify as the game's rest. He/she must still sit out an
actual game prior to pitching again.
What if a game is suspended because of
rain? If it's determined the game should resume and be completed
at a later time, the pitchers of record at the time the game was
halted may continue to pitch to the extent they are eligible within
the pitch count and rest rules.
Do the days of the games count when determining the calendar days
rest? No. When the rule refers to "calendar days" it means days
between games. For example, if there is a game on Tuesday and the
next game is Friday, there are 2 calendar days between those games -
Wednesday and Thursday. By the way, Sundays count as a calendar day.
Do these rules apply to tournament play? Tournament pitching
rules and similar, but not the same.
Why can't a pitcher go to catcher in the same game? The
experts feel that additional throws back to the mound or attempts to
throw out baserunners by a catcher who's already pitched in that
game adds additional stress to the player's already fatigued arm.
These rules mean a manager has to develop a lot of pitchers and
catchers, right? Well, yeah.
Resources
-
Little League 2008 Official Regulations and Playing Rules ("green
book"), Regulation VI, pp.34-36.
-
Pitching rules summary Reg. VI (.pdf)
-
Little League online pitch count resource page
