Unaccounted for Pitch Volume Among Adolescent Baseball Pitchers During a Travel Baseball Season

Abstract

Objective: The primary aim was to compare differences in live game pitch counts (LGPCs) with all pitch counts (APCs) over the course of a youth baseball season. Design: Prospective longitudinal study. Setting: Midwest youth travel baseball. Participants: Ten male baseball players part of a youth baseball travel team. Variables: Demographic data, pitch counts (practice, game, warm-up, and bullpen), innings pitched, and recommended rest days. Main Outcome Measures: Live pitch counts compared with APCs and the relationship to recommended rest days. Results: During the season, 7866 pitches were recorded among 9 pitchers. By using the LGPC method alone, 42.5% of the pitches were unaccounted for. When considering age-specific rest days suggested by Pitch Smart Guidelines (PSGs), there were 104 rest days unaccounted for by using the live game pitch method. Conclusion: There is a high number of unaccounted for pitches and an underestimation of rest days per outing when using live game methods. Revisions to the PSGs that include all pitches should be considered to accurately reflect pitching volume, which may be associated with the rising rate of injuries among these athletes.