Pitch count guidelines for Little Leaguers

Little League Baseball will implement a new pitch-count rule in 2007, a change organizers hope will reduce wear and tear on youngsters' arms.

Starting in 2007, the number of pitches thrown in a game will determine how long that player must rest before returning to the mound. The current system is based on innings pitched.

The new rules would bar 11- and 12-year-old players from throwing more than 85 pitches a day, with limits also varying with age.

Rest requirements would change according to the number of pitches thrown. A pitcher who tosses more than 61 in a game would need three days of rest before returning to the mound, while someone who throws between 41 and 60 pitches would need two days off.

Pitch count restrictions, based on age:

• For pitchers 17-18: 105 pitches
• For pitchers 13-16: 95 pitches
• For pitchers 11-12: 85 pitches
• For pitchers 10 and under: 75 pitches

Pitchers league ages 7 through 16 must adhere to the following rest requirements:

• If a player pitches 61 or more pitches in a day, three (3) calendar days of rest must be observed.
• If a player pitches 41-60 pitches in a day, two (2) calendar days of rest must be observed.
• If a player pitches 21-40 pitches in a day, one (1) calendar day of rest must be observed.
• If a player pitches 1-20 pitches in a day, no calendar day of rest is required before pitching again.

Pitchers league age 17-18 must adhere to the following rest requirements:

• If a player pitches 76 or more pitches in a day, three (3) calendar days of rest must be observed.
• If a player pitches 51-75 pitches in a day, two (2) calendar days of rest must be observed.
• If a player pitches 26-50 pitches in a day, one (1) calendar day of rest must be observed.
• If a player pitches 1-25 pitches in a day, no calendar day of rest is required before pitching again.

Are stride length and pitching velocity related?

As a general rule, a baseball pitcher should stride out laterally from the rubber a distance that's about 77 to 87 percent of his height. 

When, for instance, power pitcher Joel Zumaya of the Detroit Tigers pitches, he loads all his weight - 210 pounds - onto his back leg in the balance position. His next movement is where he gets his power: His leg drops straight down. His body stays relatively still. He doesn't move forward toward the plate until his left foot is about 4 to 6 inches off of the ground. Then he strides out laterally, leading with his hip and left foot (he's a righty). His head stays at the center of his body, forming a pyramid.

That's how most hard-throwing pitchers achieve optimal pitching velocity. They stride correctly -- both laterally and over a distance that's about 77 to 87 percent of their height. And their lead foot drops down from the balance point and then out before their body weight starts moving forward.

Hey, coach: Would you change a sidearm pitcher's arm slot?

Every week I get a handful of questions from baseball coaches and players interested in learning more about sidearm pitching: Is throwing sidearm good for your arm? Where can I learn more about sidearm pitching mechanics? How do you throw sidearm? Do sidearm pitchers use special pitching grips? Are there any sidearm pitching drills?

To be honest, I'm surprised sidearm pitching has such a loyal following. There are so few big league pitchers to speak of throwing sidearm that you'd think the sheer lack of sidearm pitchers at the highest levels of the game would be reason enough to suggest that it's not the "ticket" to the Show.

Scouts typically don't draft sidearm guys because they view them as high-risk players, more prone to injuries than overhand throwers. And the last thing a major league team wants to do is pay the $40,000 it costs to reconstruct a guy's shoulder.

When it comes to pitching sidearm, the reward doesn't outweigh the risks or potential medical bills. And although you tend to see a few more sidearmers at the college and professional ranks than in high school ball, they're usually not starting pitchers – and they're usually not getting serious looks by professional scouts.

That's why I don't teach it: it's a waste of time. But that's just me. Bill Chapones, a contributer to The Complete Pitcher, thought this way, too. But he doesn't anymore. Here's why:

A few years back a parent came to me and said his son was interested in pitching and he wanted my help. I said, "OK, let's see what the boys natural motion is."

I took this kid (who was a freshman in high school, 203 pounds, very strong, 6-foot-2) to the outfield and had him shag ground balls and throw them on a line to home plate (long toss).

Well, you guessed it, his natural throwing motion was 3/4-submarine to sidearm motion. Threw rockets but absolutely nocontrol from the mound. I never threw or taught sidearm/ submarine so I changed his motion to 3/4-overhand so I could teach the basics of that delivery. The kid would pitch great for two, maybey three innings and get wild, get shelled, etc.

His sophmore year he injured his shoulder and quit pitching and stayed entirely with football (a running back and wide-receiver) and got a football scholarship to college, so I guess all is well and we're all still good friends. But, I still wish I'd never tried to change his pitching motion and got help from someone who knew how to teach the basics of control and sidearm/submarine pitching mechanics.

I still wonder where he would have gone with his pitching,and I truly feel guilty of causing his pitching problems,sore arm etc. I'd never change a lad's natural pitching motion again.

What do you think? Would you change a sidearmer's motion or leave it?

How not to lose pitching velocity

Pitching places extreme stress on the throwing arm, but it's not the only thing that's involved in the pitching motion. The entire body is involved in the pitch.

Think of the body as a series of links, so that in a right-handed pitcher, such as myself, shown here, the links extend from the left foot, across the trunk, to the right hand.

In this series of links forces are transmitted and summated across segments to generate tremendous propulsive force at the distal segment, in this case the right hand as the baseball is released. In simple terms. Weight is transfered from the legs to the arm -- and on to the pitched ball.

Make sure you're not "leaking" velocity at any of the links. You do that by mastering your pitching delivery. Have you worked on your pitching mechanics today? They're the "link" to your success.

Where good pitching control comes from

I've been asked to work with a 13-year-old baseball pitcher for a WGBH-Boston TV program. We're taping tomorrow, and it'll air on PBS sometime in August 2007.

One of the areas I'll be talking about on the program is how baseball pitchers, particularly young kids, can develop control: Work on your pitching mechanics.

Throwing bullpens, throwing from flat ground, aiming to hit your throwing partner's chest are all great. But none will enable you to throw strikes more consistently if you have poor mechanics. And more times than not, throwing with poor mechanics only makes it harder to fix them.

So why not start working on your pitching mechanics today? You can never work on them enough. Even the pros, like the St. Louis Cardinals' Mark Mulder, constantly work on their pitching mechanics. That's why they have great control.