John Miller, who is playing and coaching for the Brussels Kangaroos in the Belgian 2nd Division and is a reporter for a big American newspaper, is now also the Little League Commissioner for Belgium. He is also back chronicling the 2010 season in his “Old World Pastime” column on Mister-Baseball.com for a third straight year.
One of the particularities of playing in the second division is the scarcity of good pitching. Quality arms are such a rare commodity that top teams and leagues quickly suck up anybody who can pitch. That often leaves the hurling duties in the lower divisions to a few brave souls who dig in and go late into games.
This year, on my second division Kangaroos, that ace is Jesper Nilsson, a 17-year-old Swedish right-hander. The bullpen is our third baseman Matt and me. We’re both 32, full of aches and pains and belt-high fastballs. The best option is almost always to stay with the kid. Jesper has now thrown three consecutive complete games, winning 20-5, 17-3 and, on Saturday, 4-3.
And yes, that means a lot of pitches, as many as 149. As the acting head coach and catcher of the Kangaroos, I think that is too many pitches. But I don’t think Jesper’s arm is at risk. Here’s why
- We play only once a week, and Jesper will miss some games for vacation or school reasons.
- Jesper doesn’t throw a curveball, slider or splitter. His arsenal is a 75-mph two-seam fastball and a circle changeup. He usually keeps the ball down. That’s plenty to win in the Belgian second division, a wooden-bat league without a lot of strong hitters.
- There’s no need to throw anything more than a batting-practice fastball against the bottom third of most teams’s batting orders. So that’s what we do.
- He has solid, fluid mechanics, and has not pitched much in the past.
- Belgium has a 10-run mercy rule after 7 innings.
In March, the Belgian Baseball Federation sent me to the International Little League Baseball Congress in Lexington, KY. I attended a talk by famed pitching surgeon Dr. James Andrews. He exposed the latest research on young pitchers’s arms:
There is evidence, but no conclusive proof that breaking balls hurt a young pitcher’s arm, he said. That’s why Little League Baseball does not, unlike some youth leagues, ban all curveballs.
However, what is certain, he said, is that a high volume of innings over a year and sustained pitch counts over 100 are damaging. Pitching a lot before puberty, even fastballs, is damaging, he added. There is a case for having all kids on under-13 teams pitch, thus sharing the burden and sparing the couple guys coaches rely on too much as their “aces”.
Here’s what I think. Pitching is mechanical and habitual. What you do every day matters a lot.
Throwing a bit every day, good mechanics, staying in shape, relying on fastballs and changeups during practices and games, and, yes, moderate pitch counts, keep the arm healthy.
Throwing hard for two hours several days in a row after months of rest, any pitch that requires twisting the arm, bad mechanics and excessive pitch counts do the limb bad.
Robin Roberts, the Phillies great who died last week, threw 305 career complete games, including one that went 17 innings and probably well over 200 pitches. He was able to do that, I bet, because he threw every day, mostly fastballs, and, because throwing became so habitual and effortless to him, he had flawless mechanics.
Pitch counts are a big thing, but they’re not the only thing. Otherwise, how could closers ever get arm problems?
Am I wrong about Jesper? Please expose your own theories about arm health at oldworldpastime@gmail.com
Pitch Counts are essential but misunderstood. Magic numbers (100!) are misleading. I think at the youth level, the majority of kids don’t throw enough and the minority that are elite throw too much (the “aces” you reference).
My take:
A – pitch counts should be SET specific to the individual based on the time of year and their preparation.
(i.e. if your 17 year old is working his tail off between starts, then he’s probably ok with a big pitch count once a week).
B – follow or ADJUST the pitch count based on performance.
(i.e. don’t assume that the pitch count will be met each start. Check for things like consistency of mechanics and, most telling, velocity as fatigue sets in – if your velocty is down 10mph after 75 pitches, there’s no way you have any business throwing any more…)
My two cents, I enjoyed your article, good work!
Liam