High school baseball: Pitch counts now officially a big part of prep game

Todd Genke can tell you some great stories.

How he roomed with an NL Rookie of the Year (Scott Rolen), got a pitch tattooed for a dinger by a free-swinging AL MVP (Vladimir Guerrero), and how he once struck out a five-time World Series champion and 14-time All-Star (Derek Jeter).

He also can tell you what it’s like to suffer a torn rotator cuff.

The Illinois High School Association hopes to see a reduction in pitching arm injuries like Genke’s and it believes it has taken a huge step beginning this spring by instituting a rule that limits the number of pitches that pitchers may throw in a game, how much rest is required between outings, and the number of pitches they can toss during their next appearance.

The IHSA’s rationale is that “after years of research and thoughtful discussion ... it has been determined that modifying the pitching restriction rule to reflect that the policy should be based on the number of pitches thrown is a better indication of overuse and repetition than the current method of innings pitched during a contest.”

Pitchers can throw no more than 105 pitches before being removed from the game.

“I hate to say this, but it’s like putting a Band-Aid on a big, open wound,” Genke said. “It’s a great thing to control pitch counts in the spring, but there’s no governing body or rules being followed in the summer and fall and even in the winter.”

The alarm went off

Last April, Burlington Central coach Kyle Nelson witnessed abuse firsthand. His Rockets beat Genoa-Kingston 4-3 in 10 innings. G-K’s Brady Huffman pitched nine innings and struck out 17 but threw 167 pitches. He got no decision, but his outing certainly got the attention of the IHSA.

To ensure that doesn’t happen again, and having seen other states enact pitch count rules, the IHSA’s Board of Directors approved pitching limitations that closely mirrored those that were developed by the Sports Medicine Advisory Committee and the IHSA’s Baseball Advisory Committee.

“I do think that most coaches are conscious of the pitch count and taking care of their kids,” Nelson said. “For the most part, coaches tend to give their guys good rest, and with us and our conference we pretty much know how we’re going to handle our pitching.”

Not worried about change

Area coaches don’t believe the rule is going to really affect their pitching staffs. If anything, they’ll have extra administrative work since they have to input their pitch counts online after ballgames.

“We have six guys who can throw at any given time for five or six innings,” Marmion coach Frank Chapman said. “We feel like we can set up a legitimate rotation.”

“It doesn’t change what we do too much,” Kaneland coach Brian Aversa said. “We [have] a pitch an hour [rule], so if you throw 24 pitches you need a whole 24 hours of rest, so we’re more stringent than this new rule is.”

Standards already have been in place elsewhere, including at St. Charles East. The Saints also rest their pitchers more than the new rules require.

“The smaller schools are going to be affected most, and those weeks where rainouts force you to play seven games in six days are going to be taxing,” Saints coach Len Asquini said.

Those taxing weeks could prove beneficial in that they’ll force teams to have to dig deep into their roster, perhaps leading to opportunities for kids who may not have gotten them otherwise.

“This might force coaches to throw kids that they wouldn’t normally throw,” Geneva coach Brad Wendell said. “It might give some new kids a bigger role and it’ll require more thought, coaching and developing arms from coaches.”

Aurora Central coach Sean Bieterman, who serves on the IHSA Baseball Advisory Committee, said 99 percent of coaches are doing it the right way, but there have been a handful that have put kids in dangerous situations. He hopes this rule will curtail it.

“The biggest piece of this is that there have been people who have been throwing kids beyond the limits, and they can’t be allowed to do that,” he said. “I know some people are unhappy about [the rule], but people need to know that this was a National Federation decision and stopping those few who have been excessive has to be done.”

Beyond their control by June

Unfortunately, high school coaches can only do so much. They really only have the kids under their guidance for a few months in the spring. Many of the kids then go out and throw all summer and fall, and even in the winter.

“There’s a lot of abuse that’s going on with the lessons, travel teams, showcases and these velocity programs that are getting kids to throw as hard as they can with a weighted ball,” Chapman said. “A lot of these kids’ bodies aren’t mature enough to physically be able to do these things.”

Basically, high school coaches have a little more than three months with the kids. As for the other nine months?

“Unfortunately we can’t protect the kids from what’s happening with their travel teams,” Aversa said. “I think the high school coaches know what’s in the best interest of their kids, but with these travel teams, I’ve heard of kids pitching on a Sunday and coming back on a Monday to do it again. Why would you do that?”

Genke has told his kids to play other sports in the offseason or for his pitchers to play fall ball without pitching and to have some fun playing another position and swinging the bat.

Perhaps what the IHSA also should have done, or should consider doing later, is an education campaign. This would be for more than the high school coaches, but especially for the kids, parents and the travel organizations that are mentoring players the rest of the year.

“I think a mass education campaign would be a nice step to educate the parents and kids, especially for all of these summer travel teams and showcases,” Nelson said. “I think the pitch count is going to alleviate some of the things we’ve seen, but I think more education would be helpful so people understand the risks and what could happen if you’re throwing too much.”

Repercussions of the rule change

What will be interesting to monitor is how this affects the way the game is played.

Will coaches eliminate starters per se and switch to bullpen platoons? Will pitchers be even more aggressive since non-strikes will quickly add to the pitch count? Will pitchers try to blow away hitters on 0-2 and 1-2 counts rather than try to get them to chase? Will hitters look to take more pitches or will they jump on them, knowing pitchers will be trying to get ahead now more than ever? Will umpires be calling a bigger zone, cognizant of the rule change? Will teams drop nonconference games and JV games to save pitchers for more important conference games?

“It’ll be interesting,” Asquini said. “You might see some changes to the offensive approach from teams and some different pitching philosophies on how guys go after guys.”

Wendell said throwing strikes has always been important, but now it’s crucial.

“Guys know that the longer they throw strikes, the longer they’re going to stay in games,” he said. “I think that has always been the case, but it’s even more so now.”

Chapman said the days of falling behind 3-0, following with two sliders for strikes and then getting the out on the next pitch will have to end.

“You may be getting the out but that’s no longer feasible,” he said. “When you get ahead you’re going to have to do a better job setting up pitches and not wasting one by throwing at eye level.”

Injuries are never going away

Will this rule eliminate all arm injuries? Don’t count on it.

Regardless of counting pitches and ensuring proper rest between outings, pitchers are still going to get hurt. Pitch counts may help, but they’re not the cure. Throwing a baseball puts unnatural stress on the shoulder joints and the elbow, and many kids also have horrible mechanics. Injuries are quite common and many require major surgery.

Is that shocking? Not really. Tommy John surgeries have ripped through high school arms faster than an Aroldis Chapman fastball. In fact, a 2015 study by the American Orthopedic Society for Sports Medicine reported that nearly 57 percent of Tommy John elbow reconstruction surgeries between 2007-2011 were performed on kids between the ages of 15 to 19.

Wes Benjamin (St. Charles East), Casey Crosby (Kaneland), Zach Hirsch (St. Charles North), Andy Honiotes (Geneva) and Tim Tarter (Marmion) are some of the finest pitchers the area has recently seen and all five went under the knife for Tommy John surgery.

All also were able to return to the hill in college or the pros, and Crosby even had a cup of joe in the majors.

“Even if you have good mechanics, if you’re overused, you’re still in danger, and injuries are part of pitching,” said Batavia alum and pitching coach Brian Krolikowski, the Kane County Chronicle Player of the Year in 2009.

Krolikowski’s career was plagued by injuries, including to his pitching shoulder and elbow.

“Honestly, my injuries were more from lack of care and lifting for football. My larger muscles overran my smaller ones ... so I didn’t have the right range of motion,” he said. “Now guys are doing a better job with arm care and band work. That’s why you’re seeing guys throwing 100 in the majors now.”

Krolikowski works with young players as the Batavia Youth Baseball travel program instructor. If kids are pitching with poor mechanics and throwing curveballs before high school, by the time they’re freshmen their throwing arm often is like jelly. He wants to put an end to that. He’s looking to prepare them so they’re not entering high school with a damaged wing.

“There are youth coaches that have kids throwing curveballs and they still feel fine one or two days later so the coach thinks it’s OK, but then they’re feeling it one or two years later with injuries,” Krolikowski said. “They need to think of the long-term effect. So I preach mechanics and extension. The kids have to learn how to work their bodies, and once they get into high school we can start teaching them how to throw curveballs.”

Batavia alum Jordan Coffey has had three shoulder surgeries and one Tommy John surgery. He’s now the pitching coach for NAIA Indiana Wesleyan.

“I think something like a pitch count is one of the ways to minimize some of the risks for injuries,” he said. “But some guys still are going to hurt. Then, look at someone like Greg Maddux who pitched for over 20 years and never went on the disabled list (he actually finally did in 2002 with four Cy Young awards already to his name).

“The injuries happen more often to guys with poor mechanics and there also are guys who are predisposed because of their personal anatomy. That’s what they found with how the bones were structured in my shoulder so I was susceptible to injury.”

Coffey said some coaches tinker with kids too much, taking a cookie-cutter approach, which is unfair and unsafe since each kid is physically different.

“You still see a lot of kids with stiff high school motions trying to get balance and then they throw as hard as they can and which leads to more injuries,” he said. “It doesn’t matter how many pitches you’re throwing if you’re not throwing the right way for your body.”

How will this all play out?

Finally, a question that many coaches continue to ask is, “What happens if a team breaks the pitch count rule?”

That answer remains elusive.

Surprisingly, umpires will not be involved in any capacity. If asked about such a controversy, umpires have been instructed to respond with something like, “I have no authority to comment or rule on administering violations of the pitch count rule. This is an issue that you two coaches need to work out between yourselves.”

Hey, coach, can I get your digits? Is The Count from “Sesame Street” looking for work? Teams are hiring. Are there any mathematicians in the stands?

Things could get quite interesting.

By the numbers

Pitches thrown  Days of rest

0-30  0

31-45  1

46-60  2

61-75  3

76-105  4