Little League pitchers

Was watching Little League World Series last night when the announcers were discussing how the little leaguers (nowadays) are basically playing baseball year round. They were discussing how (over the years) the little league hitters and fielders were all getting so much better because everyone is playing so much, many year round,,,,,,, but then the comment was made about how it was not good for the pitchers to be throwing so much.

And they're right. Was just wondering, with the travel ball explosion of the last 10-12 years especially, what are some of your thoughts about these young pitchers throwing so much year round, and what (if anything) can be done to prevent it? Would especially like to hear from some of you coaches.

Just a thought, maybe AAU, little leagues come up with tighter rules on innings pitched per week? per season maybe? Just thinking...

 

You need to shut down any pitcher (regardless of age) for at least a 2 month period (or longer) between seasons. My son had TJ surgery in 07 and the reason for the surgery, ..... he threw too much for too long and didn't give his arm the rest it needed. Don't believe the BS about curve balls and such, they weren't the problem, they just added to the problem! He & I were guilty of him playing year round for a 2-3 year period. While we watched his pitch count, iced the arm, and all that was required, (so we thought) it didn't help! This isn't me talking, this was the surgeon! Good luck!

 

PhillyDave, I agree you should shut down pitchers at some point each season,,, I "believe" the point the announcers were trying to make is that "you should shut down pitchers for MORE THAN 2 months".

Again, they were talking about players specifically hitters and fielders playing from Feb-Nov and getting so much better with all the reps,,,, they were especially saying all those reps simply were not good for the pitchers, and I agree.

So my question, how do you get LL coaches/dads to limit the innings these young kids are throwing nowadays?

 

(How many of you have seen this)

Example of abuse even today: Many youth leagues limit the number of innings a young kid can throw to 6 innings per week,,,,,, but I'm not sure if many people (even some LL coaches themselves) realize how many pitches a young kid throws, if he is forced to go all 6 innings, specially the youngens just starting out, going full count on everybody. And yet, I have seen a coach (maybe more than once) throw their best pitcher (a kid) 6 innings on Saturday and then bring him back to pitch his 6 innings for next week on Monday. This is why I don't like an inning limit rule, I wish leagues had "pitch count" limits.

Unfortunately many youth league coaches are simply interested in winning, instead of the kids health or future.

 

Did not watch the game, so I was not aware of all the details! I am glad that they were concerned about these young men's arms. Just a very sensitive subject around this house as you can imagine!

 

I understand, and I wish your son the best,,, my sons did not have arm problems as neither of them were pitchers, but being around baseball as long as I have, its still a sensitive subject with me also (if you can tell by my last post). Thanks for your comments.

 

Its going to be totally up to the parents. Many of these kids play on multiple teams simultaneously. I don't think many travelball coaches are going to find out how many innings a kid threw during the week for his rec team.
Philly Dave - my son also had TJ surgery one year ago today. He got injured his freshman college season. I have thought and thought about the why's and I have a completely different take. My son pitched ten months out of the year for many years for many teams. He NEVER had an arm injury of any kind during that time. Also during that time, his training regimen basically involved running and throwing. Thats all. When he hit the door at college, they threw him in the weight room. Five months later, he broke down. I think the dramatic change in regimen was the cause of the injury. I may be wrong, but I know my son better than anyone.

 

PUT MORE PITCHERS ON YOUR ROSTER! Have the guts to take him out when he has reached his count for the day. Even with a no/no.

 

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Man, thats a tough one. I hope he is doing better today. My thoughts are with you and your son! So far so good on our end, it's been approximately 16 months now. Still working on building the strength back into the arm. One thing they don't tell you about TJ surgery, is while the arm is completely healed within 5-6 months, and you can pitch after a year, it takes (in some cases) more than a year from that point to get all the strength back and be 100%. That's been my sons situation!

 

Pitchers

West Raleigh has implemented a mandatory pitch count / days rest for all of their leagues. Also, in 12U the curve has been outlawed ...

As mentioned previously, not only does this protect arms, it also forces coaches to develop more pitchers...and their ability to be competitve does not appear to be compromised.