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Ohio Insider: OHSAA Baseball Pitch Count Regulation Approved for 2017 Season

The OHSAA in accordance with the National Federation has implemented a new rule that is in effect for the 2017 baseball season.

To view the details from the press release, please see below.

To view the thoughts of many high school coaches throughout the state, please see below the press release.

OHSAA Baseball Pitch Count Regulation Approved for 2017

Mandate from National Federation results in change in OHSAA baseball pitching regulation

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Details for a nationally-mandated pitch count restriction in high school baseball were approved Thursday by the Ohio High School Athletic Association Board of Directors at its January meeting. Last year, the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) informed all states that they were required to have a pitch count limit instead of a regulation based on innings pitched over a certain number of days. Previously in Ohio high school baseball, a pitcher could pitch up to 10 innings in a three-day span. Each state was tasked with determining its own regulation.

The new OHSAA pitch count regulation calls for a maximum of 125 pitches permitted in a day, and contains several other details such as the number of days required between pitching appearances based on the number of pitches thrown. The regulation approved Thursday replaces OHSAA baseball regulation 1.7, which was approved last year and indicated that details for the pitch count regulation would be finalized in January.

“Our initial goal was to meet the requirement of the NFHS rule that now requires individual states to create their own pitch count limitations,” said Assistant Commissioner Jerry Snodgrass, who is the baseball administrator for the OHSAA. “After assembling a group representing the necessary stakeholders, including a member of our Sports Medicine Advisory Committee, we have met that goal. We continue to look at further ways in which these limitations will affect teams as well as providing adequate education for our coaches and those in non-school baseball.”

2017 OHSAA Baseball Pitch Count Regulation

Daily Pitch Limit: 125 pitches

Number of Days Between Pitching Appearances After Pitching:

• 1-30 Pitches: 0 days
• 31-50 Pitches: 1 day
• 51-75 Pitches: 2 days
• 76 or More Pitches: 3 days

Doubleheader Note: If a pitcher throws at least 31 pitches in a game, he may not pitch in another game that day (or the next day, per the chart above).

At Bat Completion: If the daily pitch count is reached during an at bat, a pitcher may exceed the pitch count only to finish pitching to the current batter.

Data Collection System: At the end of each contest, coaches must submit pitcher data to a designated data collection system. Schools are required to keep pitch count data on all pitchers and make the data available to the OHSAA upon request.

Regulation Violation: A team shall forfeit any victorious contest in which a player violates the pitch count regulation.

Suspended/Interrupted Games: All pitches thrown during a game that becomes suspended or interrupted (due to weather or darkness, for example) shall count toward the pitch count regulation.

Scrimmages and Previews: All pitches thrown in a scrimmage or preview shall count toward the pitch count regulation.

 

Coaches Respond to the New Rule Change

Tom Held, Defiance

PBR: Hey Coach, could you give your overall thoughts on the new OHSAA Baseball Pitch Count Regulations in 2017?
Coach: I am not a huge fan of the pitch count, but since the Fed’s made every state come up with one, I am very happy with what we have to live with. The reason for the pitch count is to protect arms. The bottom line is pitch counts are only one of many things that can cause arm problems.

PBR: What are the main positives you see coming from this change?
Coach: The main positive is protecting the pitcher that may throw 150-160 pitches in a game. This has happened in the past, as there is a very small percentage of spring HS coaches that have abuse arms.

The greatest positive I see is this could allow us to extend the season into the middle of June.

PBR: Any potential negatives you could see coming from this change?
Coach: The smaller schools are really getting hit with this pitch count rule, due to lack of numbers and pitchers. The quality of the game to could also be hit, due to not having enough pitching to play 4-6 games a week.

PBR: How might this new rule change your coaching philosophies?
Coach: This is the most exciting part of the rule. There will be more strategy each game in how you handle your staff.

 

Tim Held, Moeller

PBR: Hey Coach, could you give your overall thoughts on the new OHSAA Baseball Pitch Count Regulations in 2017?
Coach: I think the pitch count is a good step in addressing the overuse of pitchers. But the NFHS and OHSAA pitch count will only be a positive step if the pitchers are treated the same in the summer.

PBR: What are the main positives you see coming from this change?
Coach: Coaches have to know how many pitches their pitcher threw in each outing so they will have to be more aware before putting them in later that week.

PBR: Any potential negatives you could see coming from this change?
Coach: The only negative I can see is a coach thinking that their pitcher could throw 100+ pitches on Monday and then throwing him 100+ pitches on Friday. That’s legal by the rule, but there aren’t going to be many pitchers in shape to do that around the state.

PBR: How might this new rule change your coaching philosophies?
Coach: I don’t think it will change our philosophy much. Our starters typically threw one day a week and have 6-7 days off before starting again. I will have to be more aware of the pitch counts of my relievers when we have games stacked together.

 

Tom Marker, Upper Arlington

PBR: Hey Coach, could you give your overall thoughts on the new OHSAA Baseball Pitch Count Regulations in 2017?
Coach: I like the rule and think it should be implemented with high school age players, not just high school teams. With that being said, I think people get caught up in the pitch “count” as opposed to the most important part, the rest. Each kid is different and we should understand that, usually (not always), rest is the most important part. I wouldn’t ask our players to do high volume reps of a muscle group and come back the next day and do the same with the same high intensity. Too often rules are put in place because people abuse arms (I.E. Illinois High School Coach), but when a coach works with a kid and knows his arm, his training, his nutrition and has a great relationship, there should be trust that we’re putting their best interest first and foremost.

PBR: What are the main positives you see coming from this change?
Coach: I think that players will learn to be self advocates and better understand the training and rehab necessary to keep their arm in shape. They need to have a plan for keeping their arms in good shape and implement it year-round.

PBR: Any potential negatives you could see coming from this change?
Coach: I don’t see any negatives with the exception of being able to utilize a kid that you, as a coach, know can come back on ‘short rest’ to close a game late in the spring.

PBR: How might this new rule change your coaching philosophies?
Coach: This will not change my philosophy at all. I went back through last year (2016) and the previous year (2015) and found that we would’ve followed the new rule perfectly. We had a max pitch count of 109 and only one guy threw back to back days and it was actually two games of a double-header (10 pitches and 8 pitches).

 

Tom Kilgorne, Milford

PBR: Hey Coach, could you give your overall thoughts on the new OHSAA Baseball Pitch Count Regulations in 2017?
Coach: I believe the new pitch count regulations are very fair and will not present many challenges for most high school varsity teams.

PBR: What are the main positives you see coming from this change?
Coach: I believe this reinforces most high school programs existing pitching philosophy regarding pitch count and rest needed by high school pitchers.

PBR: Any potential negatives you could see coming from this change?
Coach: No negatives for most varsity teams. I do see potential challenges for smaller school varsity teams and most JV/Frosh teams that do not have 8-10 pitchers on their teams.

PBR: How might this new rule change your coaching philosophies?
Coach: The pitching changes will not affect our pitching philosophy.

 

Scott Manahan, Bishop Watterson

PBR: Hey Coach, could you give your overall thoughts on the new OHSAA Baseball Pitch Count Regulations in 2017?
Coach: I actually liked the 10 innings in 3 day pitching rule but since the state of Ohio is a member of the National Federation, we were mandated to have a pitch count rule.  The total number of pitches (125) is a very solid number for all.

PBR: What are the main positives you see coming from this change?
Coach: Safety from an athlete being overthrown. Also will benefit those programs who have a deep list of pitchers.

PBR: Any potential negatives you could see coming from this change?
Coach: This could be an issue with smaller schools as the number of pitchers in their programs are usually smaller. I am also a bit concerned of the over 30 pitch rule that makes a pitcher ineligible to pitch in a second game of a double header or has to take the next day off. Most high school kids can safely throw 31 pitches each day and stay healthy.

PBR: How might this new rule change your coaching philosophies?
Coach: It will be interesting especially when you go to the bullpen. If a school uses their starter as a closer it will be impossible to do each day. State semi's on Thursday as a starter and relieve or start on Saturday – this will not happen anymore.

 

Ray Noe, Pickerington Central

PBR: Hey Coach, could you give your overall thoughts on the new OHSAA Baseball Pitch Count Regulations in 2017?
Coach: I think the pitch count is fairly soft compared to what other states have implemented. I don’t really see a problem with the rules, but my biggest concern is how it will be reported and able to be viewed by all coaches. In addition, I’m curious what will happen when there is a discrepancy between the pitch counts amongst opposing coaches.

PBR: What are the main positives you see coming from this change?
Coach: Helps to save high school arms and hopefully avoid early injury.

PBR: Any potential negatives you could see coming from this change?
Coach: Ethics of reporting and counting accurately. In addition to how pitching totals will be shared with every single coach.  

PBR: How might this new rule change your coaching philosophies?
Coach: Have to use relievers more carefully and understand if anyone throws 31+ pitches on a given day that they will be required to have 1 day of rest.

 

Trent Dues, Vandalia Butler

PBR: Hey Coach, could you give your overall thoughts on the new OHSAA Baseball Pitch Count Regulations in 2017?
Coach: I think it will protect arms a little more than the previous rule as you could throw a lot of pitches in 10 innings if need be.

PBR: How might this new rule change your coaching philosophies?
Coach: I think it will make you have more arms and I see the biggest effect in tournament as many coaches use guys on short rest and it will be tougher to do now.

 

Gregory Pickard, Wadsworth

PBR: Hey Coach, could you give your overall thoughts on the new OHSAA Baseball Pitch Count Regulations in 2017?
Coach: I think that the new regulation is a good idea and that the state has done a good job of keeping this rule easy to understand and follow. 

PBR: What are the main positives you see coming from this change?
Coach: I think that most of the coaches in Ohio already do a great job at keeping the safety of the players as a top concern. I honestly don’t think this will change much. In my experience, most coaches already have a pretty similar standard already in place. 

PBR: Any potential negatives you could see coming from this change?
Coach: The only negative I can see is work to keep track of pitches. I’m sure with this being new, there will be some issues regarding pitch counts and recording pitches. Hopefully this doesn’t cause any problems.

PBR: How might this new rule change your coaching philosophies?
Coach: This won’t change anything with us as far as coaching philosophy goes. We already used a very similar rule to manage our pitchers. We take the safety of our players and caring for their arms very serious.

 

Bruce Cahill, Tippecanoe

PBR: Hey Coach, could you give your overall thoughts on the new OHSAA Baseball Pitch Count Regulations in 2017?
Coach: I really don’t think it will change much of what we do. We have always tried to build a pitching staff and I think we can set a rotation with relief pitchers that can carry us through the season. We did use one of our guys (Evan Ford) in a multitude of ways last year that we wouldn’t be able to do this year but everyone else will be fine under the new system.

PBR: What are the main positives you see coming from this change?
Coach: The biggest positive is that there is now a cap of 125 pitches so you won’t hear about the coach who throws their kid 160 pitches this year.

PBR: Any potential negatives you could see coming from this change?
Coach: The only negative could be in how it is monitored and as long as everyone is honest, it should work out ok.

PBR: How might this new rule change your coaching philosophies?
Coach: I think only time will tell. It could be that some of your hitters may want to work the count if you know a pitcher is approaching a number where it will require a day of rest. This is particularly true in our case where we play the same conference team on back to back days. Overall, I think it will have little effect on how we do things.

 

Shawn Sunderman, Patrick Henry

PBR: Hey Coach, could you give your overall thoughts on the new OHSAA Baseball Pitch Count Regulations in 2017?
Coach: This was an item that most coaches knew would be coming at some point with the recent emphasis on player safety.  The NFHS gave each state some time and the freedom to set their own rules state by state.  I feel that the OHSAA did a great job of seeking advice from coaches and medical personnel to work together to find common ground on this issue.

PBR: What are the main positives you see coming from this change?
Coach: Having a system that protects the player and his health is good. A vast majority of the coaches in Ohio already do this and look out for the players’ health first and foremost. This will help guide younger coaches as they start their career in protecting their players from overuse injuries.

PBR: Any potential negatives you could see coming from this change?
Coach: The biggest negative is that Ohio clearly has the shortest length of season to play of the states that surround us. There are very few off days for rest. At a small school, our pitcher also plays other important positions. Most of the time, your pitchers are your best athletes, so even with the days off from pitching, there are truly very few days off from throwing that coaches will still have to navigate.

PBR: How might this new rule change your coaching philosophies?
Coach: I do not see much of a change in how we will handle our pitching staff in this.  Only a few kids in the time I have coaches have exceeded 100 pitches in a game. The toughest part for us will be when weather delayed games are rescheduled and bunched together at the end of the season to have adequate pitching while keeping tournament staff rested and ready.

 

Mark Brunswick, Marysville

PBR: Hey Coach, could you give your overall thoughts on the new OHSAA Baseball Pitch Count Regulations in 2017?
Coach: Yes I do like the overall structure of the pitch count rule. We sort of changed it from days to numbers. I feel it really will help with managing some pitchers.

PBR: What are the main positives you see coming from this change?
Coach: Just managing of you pitchers. It puts a sense of structure into the pitcher. Also, it makes all scrimmages count toward the pitch count.

PBR: Any potential negatives you could see coming from this change?
Coach: Just at the 30 pitch limit. I don't want to see kids abused at that level.

PBR: How might this new rule change your coaching philosophies?
Coach: Now we will have to set up a bullpen plan.

 

Chris Fugitt, Hilliard Darby

PBR: Hey Coach, could you give your overall thoughts on the new OHSAA Baseball Pitch Count Regulations in 2017?
Coach: I don’t think it will have a major impact on the way we do things at Hilliard Darby

PBR: What are the main positives you see coming from this change?
Coach: Another method to make sure that coaches are not overusing pitchers.

PBR: Any potential negatives you could see coming from this change?
Coach: Not at this time.

PBR: How might this new rule change your coaching philosophies?
Coach: I don’t think it will have a major impact on the way we do things at Hilliard Darby.

 

Dave King, Sidney Lehman Catholic

PBR: Hey Coach, could you give your overall thoughts on the new OHSAA Baseball Pitch Count Regulations in 2017?
Coach: I understand why the rule is being made (saving young arms) ... but I have some reservations.

PBR: What are the main positives you see coming from this change?
Coach: Keeping a good record of pitch count on your pitchers and the proper rest for them.

PBR: Any potential negatives you could see coming from this change?
Coach: Small schools like us having enough pitching to compete daily especially the JV teams.

PBR: How might this new rule change your coaching philosophies?
Coach: Definitely will change ... especially closing games ... doubleheaders ... can’t use the same pitcher  for second game, if he goes over 31 pitches for example.