Pitch Count: Pitching As A Younger Player

Pitch Count: Pitching As A Younger Player

By: Frank Fraschetti

 Pitch Count:

    Pitch count when growing up is something that is taken very lightly. There are a lot of kids who throw too much when they are young and it causes arm injuries as they get older. I know when I was younger, I used to pitch every other game with no clue how many pitches I threw. I got hurt during my junior year in college and I'm sure that that had a little impact on why I was hurt. I know now in my High School baseball league there is pitch count and that is something that was put in recently for that reason. Being on a pitch count will help a young kids' career more than it will hurt.


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   Pitching back in the day:

    When talking to people my dad's age, 50-55, they always say "kids are so soft nowadays." The reason they say this is because there were no pitch counts back when they played. They tell me that if you were the pitcher you would pitch every game. It is kind of like softball. The softball pitcher is the one who pitches every single game without wondering. In baseball now, each starter has a certain day they start and it is known when they are going to start. This is one of the biggest differences in the game today. The way they keep players safe and under certain pitch counts is what helps a pitcher to be able to play over 100 games a year.  


How people think:

    So in the baseball world, there is something called travel baseball. This is when people start teams and they travel everywhere all over the country to play baseball. I did this as a young player and this is where these injuries happen the most. These coaches that are not experienced overuse these young kids and it is where the injuries start. I coach a travel team and i make sure that the kids stay under a certain amount of pitches because I know how much it can affect a kid. Also, these coaches want to win so bad at 8 years old to 14 years old that they tend to forget about the kids' futures. 


Conclusion:

    All in all, being on a pitch count at every age is very important because kid health is more important than winning a game. This is what should be stressed to these young kids and making them understand that is very helpful because there are too many situations where 12-year-old kids are getting surgery on their arms. The health and safety of kids should be more stressed more. 


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