The IHSA Board of Directors approved a 105-pitch count limit Monday as part of a series of pitching regulations aimed at reducing overuse injuries among Illinois high school pitchers.
The approved limit is the same as the maximum pitch-count recommendation for 17 to 18-year-olds in the Pitch Smart guidelines, which were announced in 2014 by Major League Baseball in conjunction with a team of medical professionals.
The number is also lower than what the IHSA’s baseball advisory committee had recommended in August: 115. Dr. Preston Wolin, a member of the IHSA’s sports medicine advisory committee and an adviser to the baseball advisory committee, said the IHSA’s sports medicine advisory committee favored 105.
“There was internal discussion at the IHSA,” Wolin said. “They decided in light of the Pitch Smart guidelines, they felt more comfortable with the 105.”
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The new pitching regulations, which go into effect in 2017, also addressed scenarios in which the home and away teams report different pitch count numbers during games. If discrepancies arise, the teams are required to split the difference between the reported pitch numbers.
As part of the rules guidelines, the IHSA’s sports medicine advisory committee said in a statement that it encouraged coaches to “carefully consider using pitchers at other key positions (catcher, shortstop, outfield) either just prior to or immediately following a pitching appearance since these positions may require players to make repeated throws at maximum effort.”
Many coaches and doctors contacted by Pioneer Press about the pitch-count rules in recent months agreed that limiting the number of pitches in high school is only a partial solution to the overall arm-injury problem in an era when many athletes play nearly year-round in club baseball and at college-identification showcases.
Craig Anderson, the IHSA’s executive director, addressed that issue in the release announcing the new rules.
“Ultimately, the high school season encompasses a short window,” he said. “We hope that youth and travel baseball organizations will follow our lead to help protect these pitchers and their arms.”
Monday’s release also noted that the IHSA is developing a process for schools to submit their pitch counts through its IHSA.org website, and reporting violations would be reviewed on an individual basis.
“I think it’s a major step,” Wolin said. “I think this makes baseball safer in the state of Illinois.”
Dan Shalin is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
Twitter @Pioneer_Press