Protecting Young Pitchers – Truth About Pitch Counts with Ken Crenshaw – Part 2

Pitch Counts – Part 2 – The Potential Reality

Here’s a look at the potential number of throws that a player can make in a weekend tournament when they’re both a position play and a pitcher:

Throws: Activity:
30-40 Pre-game Warm-ups
5 Plays a position during the game, # of throws depends on the # of balls hit to them
20-40 5 innings worth of in-between innings warm up throws as a position player
20-40 Number of warm up pitches in the bullpen
18 Number of warm-up pitches between innings – 2 innings
20-50 # of pitches thrown in the game – 2 innings

This example is based on a 7-inning game and pitching 2 innings. Total # of throws = 113 to 193 throws.

For comparison, most big league pitchers have red flags go up at around 100 pitches. These are full grown men with closed growth plates that are elite athletes that are trained to make this many throws in day. The next day, they will run and lift weights and most like, if they do throw, it will be at less than maximum intensity

Our kids, if this is a tournament, often repeat the same routine in game two without the pitching maybe but will most likely have the same schedule the following day and would probably pitch if they are one of the better pitchers. When you compare the physical strength difference alone, this is a scary set of numbers.

Lastly, some kids are playing on multiple teams and many travel teams are playing in as many tournaments as they can on almost a weekly basis.