Pitch Count

Craig,

I think you are right about some aspects of pitch counts and arm strength.

Several "old school" pitchers threw enormous numbers of innings. There are records of guys going 14 or 15 innings in one game or pitching both ends of a double header. There are legends of pitchers throwing precisely six pitches for a warm up before games. These guys pitched for many years and were rarely releived.

My theory is that a lot of kids have hurt their arms during games because of throwing too many pitches. That seems black and white on the surface, but it is not. Why? Because a lot of kids only throw when they go to games and have no recovery and conditioning routine between games. In other words; of course you will hurt your arm if you only throw once a week and your pitch count is 80.

If you don't beleive me, do what I did. Go out and throw BP for your local highschool team, re-live those glory days. Like me, you'll be combing your hair with your non-throwing arm for about a week :).

A few years ago, the majors were complaining that most pitchers coming up were soft tossers and junk ballers. They just weren't throwing enough as they were coming up. They never built their arms. That lead to the tendancy to nibble at the strike zone and being tentative on the mound. ANd also to very poor pitching.

A great arm does not just happen. It needs to be built and nurtured. You have to be careful with the young guys. However, like anything else, proper preperation will go a long way to preventing injuries. Proper preparation in this case is conditioning and building the arm so it can withstand the stresses of pitching.

I have my son throwing nearly every day. He dreams of pitching and we are building something, we are developing a pitching routine. Don't get me wrong, he will be monitored constantly, but I absolutely know that to a certain point, the more he throws the stronger and more resiliant his arm will be.

Can I also throw in that kids that throw more frequently tend to have better mechanics? Poor mechanics are also a primary cause of injury to young arms.

For me, the jury is still out on breaking pitches. I would not advise anyone younger than 13 trying to throw curves or sliders (especially sliders). I disagree with many coaches that TRUE change-ups (circle changes, slip pitches, palm balls, etc.) don't put stress on the arm, they certainly do! Throw as hard as youn can sometime while keeping your wrist "stiff", you will feel the twinge.

I do not, however, have an opinion about splitters and fork balls. I have an open mind about it, but everything except the grip (with slight pressure on one finger or the other) is the same as a fastball. I would love to hear from people regarding their opinions on how safe those pitches are for younger arms.

Splitter