Pitching Injuries In Youth Baseball: Pitch Counts And Prevention

 Baseball is one of the safest sports available for today’s youth. However, many of the serious injuries suffered by adult baseball pitchers may have begun to develop at the youth level. One of the missions of the USA Baseball Medical & Safety Advisory Committee is to provide scientifically based information to its youth baseball members to reduce the risk of injury and maximize the younger player’s ability to perform and advance to higher levels.

The following recommendations were made for pitch counts, pitch types, pitching mechanics and physical conditioning, multiple appearances, showcases, multiple leagues, year round baseball.

Pitch Counts: Youth baseball should incorporate the practice of pitch counts like high school, college and pro baseball. The primary factors in predicting arm injuries from pitching are the total number of pitches thrown per game, week, season, and year. 

Age specific pitch count recommendations: 

9-10 year old pitchers:
50 pitches per game
75 pitches per week
1000 pitches per season
2000 pitches per year

11-12 year old pitchers:
75 pitches per game
100 pitches per week
1000 pitches per season
3000 pitches per year

13-14 year old pitchers:
75 pitches per game
125 pitches per week
1000 pitches per season
3000 pitches per year

Pitch Types: Previous studies have shown that breaking pitches such as curveballs and sliders place more stress on elbows and shoulders than fast balls. As a result, it is recommended that youth pitchers should avoid throwing these types of pitches.

Pitching Mechanics: Lab studies show that good pitchers at all levels use about the same mechanics and as a result proper instruction should be given to youth pitchers at an early age to avoid undue stress levels on elbows and shoulders.

Multiple Appearances: The practice of allowing a youth pitcher to return to the mound after having been removed earlier in a game is frowned upon.

Showcases, Multiple Leagues, Year Round Baseball: All of these participation opportunities are likely to result in throwing too many balls and the related overuse injuries to shoulders and elbows.

In My Opinion: Having served on the USA Baseball Medical And Safety Committee with Tommy Johns, I overheard him say that more kids now know his name from the so called Tommy Johns’ elbow surgery than from his days as an All Star pitcher in the major leagues. It is a sad state to see the explosion of these surgeries in youth baseball and to learn that many youth actually want this surgery as they mistakenly believe that they will some how be made even stronger then before. At the same time, I know that the media generated by the USA Baseball Medical And Safety Committee study on pitch counts is having a positive impact. My son plays in a youth league and I actually see coaches voluntarily starting to use pitch counts even though they are not mandated by the league.  John Sadler

See Report On Youth Baseball Pitching Injuries By USA Baseball Medical And Safety Committee: http://mlb.mlb.com/usa_baseball/article.jsp?story=medsafety11