Pitching Limitation

[Jako18]

Ok, this has been a hot topic with the DM Register article and the Heelan/LeMars game. Here is an honest question. I have a Line-Up card right in front of me. It says if you pitch 9 innings in a day or two consecutive days, the ninth inning must be followed by two days of rest. The 4A games are Wed at noon, 2, 6 & 8. Then the semis are Fri at 6 & 8. Could a pitcher pitch 9 innings on Wed and come back and pitch the semis on Fri. Except for the team that plays at 8 on Wed and 8 on Fri, all pitchers would probably get 48 hours of rest. What does 2 days mean? Couldn't a coach argue that 2 days is 48 hours and that his pitcher got that rest? Serious question.

 

[acoach#5]

a) A pitcher pitches nine innings on Monday. How many days rest are required? Two calendar days rest, meaning Tuesday
and Wednesday; he may next pitch on Thursday

Change Monday to Wednesday, so he could not pitch again until Saturday. They don't go by hours, they go by calendar days.

 

[Jako18]

I do believe you are right, but where did you find that info??? On the card it says 2 days, NOT 2 calendar days. I do believe if you make that simple word change, there is no question.

 

[hawkeyepower100]

Because at rules meetings etc they say calendar days.

 

[rillo 62]

PITCHING LIMITATION RULE
A. Sixteen innings will be the maximum total number of innings a pitcher may pitch in a given week. (For purpose of reference,
Sunday through Saturday is a week.)
B. A pitcher may not pitch more than a total of nine innings in any one day or on two consecutive calendar days. The ninth
inning must be followed by two calendar days of rest. A game started on one calendar
C. If a pitcher pitches on any two consecutive days with the combined total greater than four innings, he will follow with two
day, but is not completed until the
next day, and is not a suspended game is to be considered played on the original calendar date the game started.
calendar days off for rest.
The penalty for violation of the pitching limitation rule will be forfeiture of the contest.
The pitching limitation rule and the penalty for violation is a recommendation of your Baseball Coaches Advisory
Committee.
Coaches, it is your responsibility to make certain that your pitchers are complying with the pitching limitation rule.
Obviously, umpires are aware of the rule in that the rule is outlined on your line-up card, however, you are the responsible
party to make certain that a young man does not violate the pitching limitation rule as it pertains to the number of innings he
may pitch in a given week. Keep good records. Keeping good records of number of innings pitched is certainly the key to
alleviate any difficulties with reference to violating the pitching limitation rule. It is not a difficult rule as outlined below and,
of course, your line-up cards provide space for probable pitchers, uniform number, number of eligible innings remaining in
the weeks, etc. Most of you have individuals who keep your book for you anyway, so it would not be difficult to have your
official scorer or yourself maintain these records as you move through the week as it pertains to the pitching limitation rule.
There is a number of pitching limitation examples below. Your review of these examples would be advantageous for your
thorough knowledge of the pitching limitation rule.
In summary, the pitching limitation rule is nine innings on any given day, followed with two calendar days rest. If a pitcher
pitches more than four innings, up to a maximum of nine innings, on any two consecutive calendar days, he will follow with
two calendar
NOTE: As part of the pitching limitation rule, one pitch constitutes an inning having been pitched.
days rest. The maximum number of innings a pitcher may pitch in a week is 16.
a) A pitcher pitches nine innings on Monday. How many days rest are required? Two calendar days rest, meaning Tuesday
and Wednesday; he may next pitch on Thursday.
EXAMPLES:
b) A pitcher pitches four innings Monday. How many innings can he pitch on Tuesday? He may pitch the maximum of five
innings on Tuesday followed by two calendar days rest, meaning Wednesday and Thursday. He may next pitch on Friday.
c) A pitcher pitches three innings Tuesday, two innings Wednesday. He must now follow with two calendar days rest
(Thursday and Friday). He can next pitch on Saturday.
d) A pitcher pitches nine innings on Saturday. He must now follow with two calendar days rest (Sunday and Monday). He can
next pitch on Tuesday.
e) A pitcher pitches seven innings on Tuesday. When can he pitch again? He can pitch on Wednesday for the maximum of
two innings. He must then follow with two calendar days rest, meaning Thursday and Friday. He may next pitch on
Saturday.
f) A pitcher pitches two innings Thursday and five innings on Friday. He will now follow with two calendar days of rest
(Saturday and Sunday). He can next pitch on Monday. Remember, pitching in any combination of innings greater than four
innings up to the maximum of nine innings on any two consecutive days will result in two calendar days rest; OR pitching
the maximum of nine innings in any one day requires two calendar days rest.
g) A pitcher pitches two innings Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Legal: He has pitched 12 of
his allowable 16 innings for that week.
h) A pitcher pitches one inning Tuesday and eight innings Wednesday. Legal, and he will follow with two calendar days of rest,
meaning Thursday and Friday. He can next pitch on Saturday.
i) A pitcher pitches eight innings on Monday; does not pitch on Tuesday, however, does pitch on Wednesday. How many can
he pitch on Wednesday? He can pitch the maximum of eight innings on Wednesday because those eight innings, added to
the eight innings he pitched Monday, give him his maximum of 16 innings for the week. Had he only pitched seven innings
on Monday, he could have pitched the maximum nine innings on Wednesday and reached his maximum 16 for the week.
j) A pitcher pitches six innings Wednesday; does not pitch Thursday, but does pitch on Friday. How many innings can he pitch
on Friday? Maximum of nine innings, which would give him a total of 15 innings for the week

This post was edited on 7/26 10:17 PM by rillo 62

 

[acoach#5]

It's in the spring sports manual on the IHSAA website.

 

[Parker D]

Another problem with the innings rule that can and should be fixed. If a pitcher pitches 8 on Thursday, 8 on Saturday, 8 on Monday, and 8 on Wednesday, he has legally pitched 32 innings in a week. I called Boone out of curiosity a few years ago and was told that the innings rule resets on Sunday. I asked why it resets, since it's to protect the pitcher, and was told that it would be too confusing to police and there would be too many people in violation if it didn't reset.

 

[tm3308]

Originally posted by Parker D:
Another problem with the innings rule that can and should be fixed. If a pitcher pitches 8 on Thursday, 8 on Saturday, 8 on Monday, and 8 on Wednesday, he has legally pitched 32 innings in a week. I called Boone out of curiosity a few years ago and was told that the innings rule resets on Sunday. I asked why it resets, since it's to protect the pitcher, and was told that it would be too confusing to police and there would be too many people in violation if it didn't reset.

While that's theoretically true, I'd have a hard time believing that kind of workload happens very often, if at all. For one thing, it would require 4 extra-inning games in 7 days, and the same kid pitching all of those games. Unless you've got an example of that which you can cite, I'm guessing it's a scenario not worth discussing seriously. The odds would be pretty nuts.

 

[Parker D]

Yes, it is an exaggeration of a scenario that happened when my younger brother was playing, but I used the example to show how ridiculous the rule is if it claims to protect pitchers.

What actually happened was when class 1A used to play districts and substate on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Monday, Thursday. A team that had one pitcher (he was something like 10-0 and the team was around 18-12) pitched 7 innings on Friday, Monday and Thursday, which is 21 in a calendar week. I took the rule to mean no more than 16 innings in a week, but the state told me that the innings rule reset when the new week started.

 

[hawkeyepower100]

What year did this happen? Since it has been recently tues thurs sat.

 

[Parker D]

It happened in 2002. If you look at the 2002 1A district and substate pairings on the iahsaa website, you'll see that they were still MWFM with substate on thursday.

 

[gg2224]

I appreciate the varied points of view, but I am curious. Is there evidence out there that Iowa's current limit is ineffective at preventing arm injuries for most of our HS pitchers?

I'm not against changing the rules if there is a clear problem that we need to fix. However, as I think everyone here understands, it is impossible to eliminate 100% risk for 100% of the players 100% of the time.

Could you imagine if that was our goal and we applied that approach to football? "In order to proactively limit the risk of head and neck injuries in football, and even though most players don't show signs of injury at this level of participation, linebackers may participate in only 3 quarters or 15 tackles per week."

I mean, that sounds a little crazy right? But isn't this roughly the same logic we use to protect pitchers?

I'm not speaking out against pitching limitations. I just feel the current rules seem to be effective at limiting the risk for most pitchers. Without strong evidence that shows a given change better protects pitchers, why make it?

The group might find this link interesting. Its to a website that has tried to accumulate the pitching limitation rules for each state. The document is dated April of 2012, so I don't know if it represents current rules for all states.









Pitching Limitations 04-25-2012

 

[icu81222]

From the link, SD and Vermon are the only one that follows a pitch count.

South Dakota;


The following is an alternative
1. A pitcher may not pitch more than a total of 106 pitches in any one day or 212 pitches in
any seven day period. No new inning may begin after 89 pitches.
2. Each outing shall be followed by required rest based on the following number of pitches.
The REST period begins the day after the outing.
a) 27 to 44 pitches requires one day of rest
b) 45-61 pitches requires two days of rest
c) 62-88 pitches requires three days of rest
d) 89 or more pitches requires four days of rest
3.If a pitcher pitches 26 or fewer pitches in one day, he may pitch the next day an amount
not to exceed 44 total in the two consecutive days. He must then take one day of rest.
4.Pitchers pitching 27 or more pitches in game one of double header may not pitch in game
two. (double header means two games in same day)
http://www.sdhighschoolbaseball.org/manual/2011%20SDHSBA%20Manual.pdf



Vermont



b. VPA Pitching Limitation Rule (6-1-6) regular season and tournament) is based on the
number of pitches thrown in a game. The pitch count is based on pitches thrown for strikes;
balls; foul balls; and outs. Not warm up pitches allowed before each inning or those warm
ups allowed by the umpire in case of injury or game delay. The number of pitches is based
on the level of pitching. Specific rest periods are in place when a pitcher reaches a high
threshold of pitches delivered in a day.
LEVEL PITCHES ALLOWED PER DAY
Varsity 120
JV 110
Freshmen 110
Middle Level 85
The rest periods required during the 2012 regular and tournament season are listed below:
VARSITY:
If a pitcher throws 76 or more pitches in a day, three (3) calendar days of rest must be
observed.
If a pitcher throws 51-75 pitches in a day, two (2) calendar days of rest must be observed.
If a pitcher throws 26-50 pitches in a day one (1) calendar day of rest must be observed.
If a pitcher throws 1-25 pitches in a day no calendar day of rest is required before pitching
again.
A calendar day means that if a pitcher throws 76 pitches on Tuesday that player may not
pitch again until Saturday. If they throw 76 pitches on Saturday that player may not pitch
again until Wednesday. The starting time of the game NO longer matters in the calculation
of when a pitcher is eligible to pitch again.
JV/FRESHMEN:
If a pitcher throws 66 or more pitches in a day, three (3) calendar days or rest must be
observed.
If a pitcher throws 41-65 pitches in a day, two (2) calendar days of rest must be observed.
If a pitcher throws 26-40 pitches in a day one (1) calendar day of rest must be observed.
If a pitcher throws 1-25 pitches in a day no calendar day of rest is required before pitching
again.
MIDDLE LEVEL:
If a pitcher throws 56 or more pitches in a day, three (3) calendar days or rest must be
observed.
If a pitcher throws 36-55 pitches in a day, two (2) calendar days of rest must be observed.
If a pitcher throws 20-35 pitches in a day one (1) calendar day of rest must be observed.
If a pitcher throws 1-19 pitches in a day no calendar day of rest is required before pitching
again.
A pitcher at any level who reaches the pitch count limit in the middle of an at bat will be
allowed to finish that hitter. This only applies to maximum limitations. i.e. varsity 120,
JV/Freshman 110, middle level 85.
c. VPA Pitching Limitation Procedure (6-1-6) applies to varsity, jayvee and freshman games:
Page 51) The pitch count chart is to be presented to the opposing coach BEFORE the game.
During the game pitch counts will be confirmed at the end of every half inning. Any
discrepancy will be reported to the umpire.
2) At game's conclusion, the VPA pitching form will be signed by the coaches or designated
representative.
3) Schools (Coaches/A.D.) have the responsibility to maintain this pitching chart form. A
hard copy must be available upon VPA request.