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

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.