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Proposed NJ High School Pitch Count Rules

By Jim Monaghan
Baseball Health Network

Jim MonaghanIn June 2016, the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) announced a revised pitching policy that will result in new rules for pitchers beginning with the 2017 season.

Each NFHS member state association will be responsible for setting its own restrictions for high school pitchers which will set both a pitch count and a longer required rest period between mound appearances based upon pitches.

Here in New Jersey, the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) is expected to approve a proposal that a special committee recently drafted, limiting varsity baseball pitchers to a maximum of 110 pitches in a single game.

There are also new proposed per-game pitch rules stipulating mandatory rest periods.

1-30 pitches – no rest between appearances
31-50 pitches – one calendar day of rest
51-70 pitches – two calendar days of rest
71-90 pitches – three calendar days of rest
91-110 pitches – four calendar days of rest

NJ high school pitcherAdditionally, a pitcher throwing fewer than 30 pitches in a game will not be permitted to throw more than 50 pitches in two consecutive days. Pitchers will not be permitted to pitch on three consecutive days.

Previously, New Jersey high school pitchers had restrictions on how many innings they could pitch in a week, but there weren’t any specific pitch counts.

The NJSIAA is expected to make a formal announcement by February 2017.

Tagged With: Baseball Health Network, high school baseball, New Jersey high school pitch counts, NFHS, NJSIAA, pitch counts, Pitching Healthy

Tommy John Surgery Panel With BHN Members Chris Ahmad & Leo Mazzone

By Jim Monaghan
Baseball Health Network

Ed Randall’s Fans For the Cure has a very special event planned for Tuesday June 28 at 7 PM at SVA Theatre at the School for Visual Arts in Manhattan.

Tommy JohnA panel of experts will join former Major League pitcher Tommy John for a discussion about pitch counts, best practices for pitching and throwing, the importance of extended recovery periods for young athletes, and the truths and myths of Tommy John surgery.

Guests also include one-time Braves pitching coach Leo Mazzone and Yankees’ Dr. Christopher Ahmad from the Baseball Health Network, and American Sports Medicine Institue Research Director Dr. Glenn Fleisig.

Moderated by WFAN radio personality Ed Randall, all proceeds will go to Fans for the Cure.

Tickets are $50 per person in advance and $75 at the door. Click here to purchase now and reserve your seat.

Ed RandallEd Randall is well-known to baseball fans in the NY/NJ area. A long-time host of “Ed Randall’s Talking Baseball” on WFAN, Ed is the CEO and Founder of Ed Randall’s Fans for the Cure (FFTC), a 501(c)(3) charity he started in 2003 to promote prostate cancer awareness and the life-saving value of screenings and early detection.

All proceeds go to Fans for the Curea,, a charity that promotes awareness and education about prostate cancer.

Tagged With: Baseball Health Network, Dr. Christopher Ahmad, Ed Randall, Leo Mazzone, Major League Baseball, pitch counts, Tommy John Surgery, WFAN

The Latest Furor Over Pitch Counts

By Steve Hayward
Founder
Baseball Health Network

Steve Hayward photo
BHN Founder Steve Hayward
By now you’ve probably heard about the high pitcher from Pennsylvania who just recently threw 164 pitches in a nine-inning, complete game. The Twitter-verse just about exploded. ESPN’s Keith Law was particularly irate.

Today in pitcher abuse: the @TVRAIDERS sent 18-yo starter AJ Alexy out for 9 innings and 164 pitches last night. Scouts there were appalled.

— keithlaw (@keithlaw) May 6, 2016

In an article for USA Today High School Sports, Cam Wilson noted, “In a nine-inning game, 164 pitches comes out to an average of more than 18 per inning, so even if the game hadn’t gone into extra frames, Alexy still would have been on the hook for 128 pitches in the regulation seven innings per that average.”

pitch counterI don’t necessarily have a problem with the 7-inning, 128 pitches but – and this is a BIG but – only if he was conditioned to do so and it was an extremely rare occurrence. That means having the pitcher throwing progressively for a month and a half to 2 months prior to the season. That includes throwing several high intensity bullpens, up to 100 pitches in total. Those bullpen innings should have rest between each (approx. 5 minutes) and various pitch counts per inning to simulate a real game. I would also adjust his throwing routine over the next 10 days or so to give additional recovery time.

As far as the 164 pitches, that’s definitely excessive and irresponsible in my opinion. This kid may not get hurt this year but you can bet he did some significant damage that he will eventually pay for down the road. It’s our job as coaches to protect our players! Winning ANY one game should never be more important.

This stuff is common sense; unfortunately common sense is not common practice!

Tagged With: Baseball Health Network, pitch counts, Pitching Healthy

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