PITCH COUNT
By: Jeff TI guess I am one of the "liberals" when it comes to this issue. For me. it is simply knowing my pitchers, whether at house of AAU level; thus, it varies with the kid. Anyhow, here is what I look for:
1. Pitch count per inning and game. I keep a pitching chart that tells me #balls/strikes per batter and per inning.
2. Ball/strike ratio. One of my "signs" that a kid is close to done is a 50-50 ratio. I like to see my pitchers throwing at least 60% strikes.
3. Velocity. If my pitcher is obviously losing it, in spite of decent #'s on 1 & 2, then "its time."
I know this muddles things up, because there are no firm numbers. I think Bear has a pretty good chart for a baseline measure. It is better to go conservative, than too far. JT