Little League Considers Pitch Count Cap

ALLENTOWN, Pennsylvania (AP) - Alarmed by a sharp increase in youth pitching injuries, Little League is mulling a proposal that would limit the number of pitches a player can throw per week.

Little Leaguers are already limited to pitching six innings weekly - and have been since the 1940s - but there has never been any limit on the number of pitches they can throw.

With at least one study linking high pitch counts to an increased risk of shoulder and elbow injuries, league officials believe that reducing pitches thrown, regardless of innings pitched, could help lessen the strain on young arms.

"With the advent of kids playing more baseball in multiple programs, we've seen ... an increase in arm injuries as a result of what we feel is throwing too many pitches,'' Little League spokesman Lance Van Auken said Monday.

Under the proposal, players may throw a maximum of 75 to 105 pitches per day, depending on age. Rest requirements would vary with the number of pitches thrown: For example, a 12-year-old who threw more than 60 pitches in a day would require four days' rest, while one who threw only 40 pitches would need to take two days off.

The scorekeeper or other game official would record the official pitch count.

Coaches participating in a small pilot program last season said the rule change had succeeded in reducing pitch counts.

Initially skeptical because ``they want the best pitcher and they want him all the time,'' coaches came to embrace the rule change, said Don Goodman, who oversees 24 leagues in California.

"It reduced the wear and tear on the big stud,'' Goodman said, while resulting in more playing time for other pitchers on the staff.

Starting next season, any of the 7,400 chartered Little League programs worldwide may adopt the proposed rule change. Depending on feedback from the local leagues, the new regulation could be made permanent as early as 2007.