Almost three million youngsters from all around the world compete in youth leagues operated through the Williamsport, Pennsylvania, Little League organization. In the past, Little League rules limit a pitcher's innings, but not the number of pitches.

The pitch limits should vary by age:

• 10 and under, 75 pitches.
• 11 and 12, 85 pitches.
• 13 through 16, 95 pitches.
• 17 and 18, 105 pitches.

Upon reaching the above limits, the pitcher finishes throwing to that batter; thereafter, he is relieved.

In addition, any player under 16 who throws more than 60 pitches

• must wait three days between starts;
• a pitcher who throws from 41 to 60 must wait two days;
• anyone who throws from 21 to 40 pitches must wait one day.

"The people in Williamsport cannot travel to every Little League game," writes Doug Abrams, a law professor at the University of Missouri who writes about youth sports. "Will there be some cheating? Of course. But most parents and coaches don't want to go out and hurt the kids."
 

Alarming number of arm injuries to young pitchers

Us old timers living around Terre Haute, Indiana, in the 60's remember a Little Leaguer by the name of Tommy John, who later became a famous major leaguer.

The procedure, commonly known as Tommy John surgery, was named after him. The procedure was first performed on Tommy in 1974. Since then, that surgery has become so reliable, with a success rate of 80 to 85 percent, that it has prolonged the careers of hundreds of major leaguers.

I was alarmed by reading a recent article in the New York Times calling attention to a growing number of youngsters, of the high school age, having this procedure performed on the elbow.

"Several leading orthopedists say there are some troubling aspects to the procedure."

1. The procedure is becoming more commonplace among teenage pitchers who are injuring their arms through overuse at what surgeons call an alarming rate.
2. The surgery’s reliability has spawned misconceptions that a healthy arm can be enlivened by the surgery and that the procedure will increase an injured pitcher’s velocity, making him better than ever.

According to the Times article, "The success of the surgery, and the resulting myths, are prompting young pitchers with marginal injuries, or overly optimistic assessments of their talent, to push for Tommy John surgery when they might not have in the past, doctors said."

Since reading this article, I'm inclined to believe we should take a hard look at pitch counts. Varied by ages, I would recommend:

• 10 and under, 50 pitches.
• 11 and 12, 70 pitches.
• 13 through 16, 80 pitches.
• 17 and 18, 90 pitches.

In addition, any player under 16 who throws more than 50 pitches

• must wait three days between starts;
• a pitcher who throws from 31 to 50 must wait two days;
• anyone who throws from 21 to 30 pitches must wait one day.