Virginia District 16 Little League
serving Loudoun and Fauquier counties
Pitch Count
Beginning with the 2007 season, Little League has instituted a pitch count rule. They maintain a resource page at http://www.littleleague.org/media/Pitch_Count_Resource_Page.asp with information about these rules.
Basics
The basic pitch count rules are this:
- A pitcher league age 11 or 12 can throw only 85 pitches in a day. A pitcher league age 9 or 10 can throw 75 pitches per day. A pitcher league age 7 or 8 can throw only 50 pitches per day.
- A pitcher that reaches their limit may continue pitching to the same batter, but cannot start pitching to another batter.
- Rest requirements:
- If a player pitches 61 or more pitches in a day, three (3) calendar days of rest, plus one game, must be observed. (I.e., a pitcher that pitches 75 pitches on Monday cannot pitch again until Friday, and then only if the team played at least one game on Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday.)
- If a player pitches 41 - 60 pitches in a day, two (2) calendar days of rest, plus one game, must be observed.
- If a player pitches 21 - 40 pitches in a day, one (1) calendar days of rest must be observed.
- If a player pitches 1-20 pitches in a day, no (0) calendar day of rest must be observed.
- A pitcher may not pitch in more than 1 game in a day.
- A pitcher who delivers one or more pitches in a game cannot play the position of catcher for the remainder of that day.
- To walk the batter, the pitcher must throw 4 balls. There is no "automatic" intentional walk.
- There are no more limits regarding innings per calendar week, number of 12-year-old pitchers in a week, number of innings pitched by 12-year-olds in a week, or number of pitchers in a single game.
Tracking Pitch Count
Obviously, one of the big concerns with these changes is who will count the pitches and how.
Little League requires that the local league designate one person at each game as the "official pitch count recorder." The leagues in our district have indicated that they plan to have the official scorekeeper at each game assume this responsibility. Since our leagues use the home book as the official book during the regular season, that means that the home team skorekeeper now has an additional duty.
Keeping track of the pitch count means watching each pitch, counting balls, strikes, and foul balls, and being able to report the total count to each manager and/or the umpire when asked. That may mean keeping a more detailed scorebook than the volunteers are used to keeping, but it does not have to mean a lot more work.
Little League has spoken with several scorebook manufacturers that have added a tally section for tracking pitch count in a separate section on each page of the scorebook itself. Or you could download a separate tally sheet or create your own (e.g., Baseball Game Pitch Log).
Another possibility is to keep track in the scorebook, while keeping track of the count, runners, etc. On the plus side, you have most of the information you need to calculate the pitch count already. On the down side, there's a lot going on in a small box, and it can be daunting if you aren't comfortable with keeping a scorebook already. Also, you have to add the running total of pitches up on the fly. If you need some help with what you need to track and how to track it, please see our score keeping tutorial.
Tracking Pitcher Eligibility
District 16 recommends that each league adopt an eligibility form, similar to the affidavits that are used during the tournament. The forms should be brought to the pre-game conference at home plate and shared with the other team. That makes it easy and clear for everyone to know who is eligible to pitch and who is not. Little League has a downloadable Pitching Eligibility Form that leagues can use, or you could easily design and distribute your own.
Need Help?
District 16 is committed to making sure all of our leagues are enforcing the pitch count rules without undue work for their volunteers. Our goal is for all the managers, players, and volunteers to know and understand the rules. Come tournament time, we'd like everyone to be comfortable so the focus remains on the game and not on rules.
If you have any further questions about the pitch count rules or if you need help organizing methods for tracking pitches, tracking eligibility, or scorekeeping, please contact the District Administrator at Lsmith0758@aol.com, or any of the other staff members listed on the District 16 web site.