Coaches adjust to new rules
Weather, injuries throw wrenches into pitch counting
In the final analysis, a couple consensuses were reached: The rule was in kids’ best interests, which can’t be a bad thing. And regardless of a lack of legislation in the past, teams weren’t running their guys into the ground before this year. File photo
After most of the first year under the National Federation of State High School Associations’ pitch-count rules, how did area baseball coaches deal with it? They managed.
And they managed.
Area coaches found they had to pay closer attention to things than they thought they would have to, based mostly on the two things that can cripple a pitching staff, both out of everyone’s control: weather and injuries.
With the federation limiting how much pitchers could throw in games and over various periods of time, coaches became managers more than ever, needing to plan ahead for the next day or the rest of a week, keeping in mind a pitcher might not be available the next day when in prior years he would have.
“You have a tendency to maybe leave a pitcher out there a little longer than usual because your staff may be depleted,” Norton coach Rod Swartz said. “This could make higher-scoring games or coaches developing more players to pitch to eat up innings.”
The answer to the new regulations in nearly every case was developing depth. Some schools already had it. Brunswick coach Grant Relic said he had 10 guys he was comfortable rolling out to the mound. That made it easy to keep arms fresh and ready.
Others didn’t have that luxury, so counting pitches became about more than just saving arms, but saving eligibility.
“I am more aware when using relievers just because staying under the 30 he can come back the next day,” Buckeye coach Steve Wright said, noting the number after which a pitcher has to sit at least one day. “So when I go to the bullpen, that’s when I mostly keep an eye on pitches, so I stay under those numbers so I know when I can use them again later in the week.”
Like every northeast Ohio spring, this one started out a mish-mash of cold and rain with just enough dry days mixed in to let most teams get in a decent amount of games. Then May hit, temperatures dropped and rain wreaked havoc with schedules.
Usually that just means athletic directors have to scramble. This year it was baseball coaches, whose teams were staring at consecutive six-game weeks in May, including sectional games. All of a sudden tracking pitches became extra significant.
“When you are catching a bunch of rainouts, it is a non-factor,” Highland coach Jay Grissom said. “But, when those games get backed up it has proven to be challenging at times – pulling guys so they are available when you may need them next. We had a number of injuries to our staff and this process has definitely made us have to be creative during some of our games.”
Ultimately, though, there were few surprises.
Of 12 Post coverage-area coaches who responded to midseason inquiries, none had issues in terms of not having enough available arms.
At least not at the varsity level. Junior varsity and freshman teams typically don’t have as many players to begin with, let alone pitchers.
They can, though, sometimes have about as many games as their varsity counterparts. That’s when the juggling act started for many.
“I feel like JV and freshman is where it is most affected because they are struggling more due to lack of pitching depth and walking batters,” Buckeye’s Wright said.
Injuries are the ultimate bugaboo where pitch counts are concerned. Black River this year lost two of its top three pitchers for the year, leaving an already thin staff depleted.
“At times we’ve had to piece together games with three to five pitchers so they can be available the next day,” Black River coach Jake Wright said.
In the final analysis, a couple consensuses were reached: The rule was in kids’ best interests, which can’t be a bad thing. And regardless of a lack of legislation in the past, teams weren’t running their guys into the ground before this year.
“I will say that we have discussed the topic much more than in the past when trying to decide who to throw and when, but I don’t think it has played much of a factor,” Wadsworth coach Greg Pickard said. “It is something to be aware of during games. I wouldn’t say it really changed anything with how we handle our pitchers.”
And they managed.
Area coaches found they had to pay closer attention to things than they thought they would have to, based mostly on the two things that can cripple a pitching staff, both out of everyone’s control: weather and injuries.
With the federation limiting how much pitchers could throw in games and over various periods of time, coaches became managers more than ever, needing to plan ahead for the next day or the rest of a week, keeping in mind a pitcher might not be available the next day when in prior years he would have.
“You have a tendency to maybe leave a pitcher out there a little longer than usual because your staff may be depleted,” Norton coach Rod Swartz said. “This could make higher-scoring games or coaches developing more players to pitch to eat up innings.”
The answer to the new regulations in nearly every case was developing depth. Some schools already had it. Brunswick coach Grant Relic said he had 10 guys he was comfortable rolling out to the mound. That made it easy to keep arms fresh and ready.
Others didn’t have that luxury, so counting pitches became about more than just saving arms, but saving eligibility.
“I am more aware when using relievers just because staying under the 30 he can come back the next day,” Buckeye coach Steve Wright said, noting the number after which a pitcher has to sit at least one day. “So when I go to the bullpen, that’s when I mostly keep an eye on pitches, so I stay under those numbers so I know when I can use them again later in the week.”
Like every northeast Ohio spring, this one started out a mish-mash of cold and rain with just enough dry days mixed in to let most teams get in a decent amount of games. Then May hit, temperatures dropped and rain wreaked havoc with schedules.
Usually that just means athletic directors have to scramble. This year it was baseball coaches, whose teams were staring at consecutive six-game weeks in May, including sectional games. All of a sudden tracking pitches became extra significant.
“When you are catching a bunch of rainouts, it is a non-factor,” Highland coach Jay Grissom said. “But, when those games get backed up it has proven to be challenging at times – pulling guys so they are available when you may need them next. We had a number of injuries to our staff and this process has definitely made us have to be creative during some of our games.”
Ultimately, though, there were few surprises.
Of 12 Post coverage-area coaches who responded to midseason inquiries, none had issues in terms of not having enough available arms.
At least not at the varsity level. Junior varsity and freshman teams typically don’t have as many players to begin with, let alone pitchers.
They can, though, sometimes have about as many games as their varsity counterparts. That’s when the juggling act started for many.
“I feel like JV and freshman is where it is most affected because they are struggling more due to lack of pitching depth and walking batters,” Buckeye’s Wright said.
Injuries are the ultimate bugaboo where pitch counts are concerned. Black River this year lost two of its top three pitchers for the year, leaving an already thin staff depleted.
“At times we’ve had to piece together games with three to five pitchers so they can be available the next day,” Black River coach Jake Wright said.
In the final analysis, a couple consensuses were reached: The rule was in kids’ best interests, which can’t be a bad thing. And regardless of a lack of legislation in the past, teams weren’t running their guys into the ground before this year.
“I will say that we have discussed the topic much more than in the past when trying to decide who to throw and when, but I don’t think it has played much of a factor,” Wadsworth coach Greg Pickard said. “It is something to be aware of during games. I wouldn’t say it really changed anything with how we handle our pitchers.”