By: Neil,
Last fall, my son got an overuse injury from pitching way too much, The previous year, he'd had no trouble going complete games, throwing 90 or more pitches. Then, suddenly, at 11 years old his tendon tightened up and his arm wouldn't straigten. We saw an orthopeodist and got x-rays, and fortunately there was no permanent damage. But there would have been, the doctor said, if I'd let him continue pitching, because that overtight tendon probably would have damaged the growth plates. The disturbing thing was, my son had no pain or soreness whatsoever. Some kids don't. So there were no warning signs, until we saw him carrying his arm half-flexed. He wasn't even aware of it. When he was 9 and 10, he didn't throw the ball hard enough to hurt his elbow. Then, at 11, two things happened: (1) his mechanics and lower-body strength improved to the point that he was throwing much harder, and (2) his bones began growing faster than his soft tissue, making the elbow more susceptible to injury. Because of this scare (and my guilt, I suppose) I started doing some research, and read everything I could get my hands on. Dick Mills is not the only one preaching pitch counts. Recommendations similar to those he uses show up time and again from various sources. The sports medicine people point out that kids are much more vulnerable to overuse injuries than are adults, and yet we (I included) often allow kids to pitch under conditions that major leaguers wouldn't tolerate. I once thought that a pro pitcher was just plain soft and pampered if he required 4 days of rest between starts. I don't think so any more. It takes that long for the body to repair after a long bout of hard throwing, even if that body is genetically gifted and superbly conditioned. Kids need more time to repair, not less, because they are growing. I know that most of you are already impatient with this speech, but plese consider the possibility that the sports medicine people and the pro coaches are in agreement on this issue for a reason. Pitchers throw better,
and with less chance of injury, when they're held to an appropriate pitch count. So what is practical? On the standard recreational league team, it's usually tough to find more than 2 or 3 pitchers who can throw strikes. But I gather that most of the teams going to these weekend tournaments are fairly select groups with many good ballplayers on them. Our team is like that. We will play two games a week this season, so it's tempting to use a two-starter rotation--our best shot at winning and the best way for me to avoid flak. But I know that we'll have a weekend tournament at the end, with the possiblity of four games in three days. So I'm going with a three-starter rotation, and cultivating the #4, #5, and #6 guys as relievers. These relievers are the kids who don't throw very hard but can throw strikes. In addition, my #1 catcher, who has a very strong, accurate arm, is learning to be a closer. This will mean that he typically will catch four inninings, spend one resting and getting loose in the bullpen, and pitch one. (I need to develop a second and a third catcher anyway.) So, early in the year, when the pitch counts are lower, my starters will probably go 3-4 innings, my relievers 1-2, and my closer 1. The starters all throw hard, so my hope is they will go through the opposing batting order once. After the hitters are tuned in to the flamethrowers, I will bring in the softer-throwing reliever, then come back with my hard-throwing closer. I'm hoping that this will disrupt the hitters' timing, of course, but it's all just hypothetical, at this point. If it works, I'll be developing 7 pitchers, with the possiblity that one of the relievers or the closer could be ready to start by the time the tournament comes around. Late in the year, when the pitch counts are higher, this system could work for a 6-game tournament, if the starters were sharp enough to average 15 or fewer pitches per inning. For one weekend, a strong, well-rested starter could probably throw 40-45 pitches on Friday and another 40-45 on Sunday
. I wouldn't want to do this every weekend, though. This plan of mine may fail utterly, and many of you may have better ideas. If so, please let me know.
Date: April 05, 1998 at 11:13