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Pitch Count rules/enforcement


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Swift justice. (Well, there is no justice for Penn-- they are still eliminated.)

The IHSAA still needs to do much better in order to proactively stop these violations from occurring... and the Northridge Coach is clearly not a Math teacher.

What's the point in having the Official Scorer keep track of Pitch Counts if they don't have the power to enforce the rule? In basketball, fouls are recorded by the Official Scorer & announced by the PA & on the scoreboard. They don't rely on each team to correctly track the number of fouls & then "self-report" when one of their players commits a 5th foul.

So let's start with the Regional games on June 1st -- after the bottom of every inning, the PA announcer should give the Pitch Count totals for every pitcher as recorded by the Official Scorer. If a pitcher reaches the maximum, the Official Scorer should instruct the PA announcer to stop the game because a pitching change is required-- just like a basketball player who fouls out. 

 

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Here were Enfield's Sectional stats:

TH 5/23 - 5-4W vs Elk Central - 2IP, 0H, 0R, 4K, 2W, Save (28 pitches)

SAT 5/25 - 10-6W vs Warsaw - 1.2IP, 0H, 1R, 0ER, 3K, 1W, Win in relief (29 pitches)

M 5/27 - 2-0W vs Penn - 6.2IP, 2H, 0R, 12K, 6W, Win (123 pitches)

 

With Enfield's suspension from the Regional semifinal, Mishawaka doesn't have to get past Penn (who spanked them 10-0 recently) & doesn't have to face Northfield's ace either.

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I attended the LaPorte Regional & saw Northridge lose to Mishawaka 7-0. The Cavemen avenged 2 losses to Northridge during the season.

A sportswriter on Twitter stated that Enfield was allowed to watch the game from the bleachers but Coach Brabender had to stay inside LPHS during the game. Maybe he did a cool Breakfast Club angry dance. 

Image result for breakfast club emilio estevez dance

 

 

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11 hours ago, slice60 said:

I attended the LaPorte Regional & saw Northridge lose to Mishawaka 7-0. The Cavemen avenged 2 losses to Northridge during the season.

A sportswriter on Twitter stated that Enfield was allowed to watch the game from the bleachers but Coach Brabender had to stay inside LPHS during the game. Maybe he did a cool Breakfast Club angry dance. 

Image result for breakfast club emilio estevez dance

 

 

I was there as well, curious what happened with half of the rosters Laporte provided. 

Northridge players were replaced by Penn's roster on many of the handouts.  Thankfully I was one of the few I spoke to that got a correct copy.

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9 hours ago, NRRaider2001 said:

I was there as well, curious what happened with half of the rosters Laporte provided. 

Northridge players were replaced by Penn's roster on many of the handouts.  Thankfully I was one of the few I spoke to that got a correct copy.

Yes, the "bad programs" were discovered shortly before the 1st game started. Corrected programs were printed.

Baseball is a crazy game. Mishawaka struggled at the end of the season-- lots of errors & runs allowed. Then the tourney started-- 3 runs allowed in 5 games, including shutouts over Plymouth, Northridge & Lake Central. 

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Mishawaka is leading a charmed life...good draw in Sectional, didn't have to play Penn or face Northridge's ace in Regional semis, didn't have to face #1 Crown Point in regional finals due to Lake Central's upset.

But now they must beat a really good Hamilton SE team & their pair of D-1 pitchers.

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On 5/28/2019 at 12:21 AM, slice60 said:

Yep, it happened again. How can the Northridge Coach not know the Pitch Count rules??? They have been in place for several years now.

What will the IHSAA do???

 

https://www.elkharttruth.com/sports/high_school/the-thrill-of-victory/article_167e5d15-c25d-50c1-9a5e-420aeedc88c2.html

I could be mistaken but I'm pretty sure that the rule is that you have 120 pitches. If you face a batter with 119, you may finish the hitter.

It's the IHSAA's fault for putting coaches in this situation to exploit this rule.

If I'm a coach, I go to my senior pitcher and say, "Here's the deal. We're gonna win this game with you on the bump, but you'll be suspended in the next round of the tournament. You in?"

It's truly sad that the tournament is drastically influenced by these pitch count rules.

Enforce them in the regular season, let the best team win in the tournament.

Plenty of older guys I knew threw 140 some pitches in a tournament run, went on to play college baseball, grew up to be great employees, husbands, fathers, coaches, etc and wouldn't change it for the world.

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Yes, that is the rule. The Northridge pitcher had thrown 112 pitches heading into the 7th. 1st batter was retired on 5 pitches--117. 2nd batter was also retired on 5 pitches-- that put him at 122. According to the Pitch Count rule, that pitcher must be replaced at that time.

Instead, he threw 1 pitch to the 3rd batter of the inning. At that point, the Penn Coach stopped the game to discuss the situation with the umpires (who have no responsibility for tracking or enforcing this rule) & the northridge Coach. Apparently, the Northridge Coach was convinced that the rule had been broken with that 123rd pitch so he brought in a reliever to finish that batter & end the game.   

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I heard through the grapevine that IHSAA Asst Commissioner Robert Faulkens (who is in charge of Baseball) attended the LaPorte Regional this past Saturday. During a discussion about the Pitch Count rule & the role of the Official Scorer during tournament games, a sportswriter offered an idea to announce when a pitcher reaches 100 pitches so that everybody knows & to avoid violations. Faulkens flatly told him they're not going to do that.

Why? I have no idea.

I guess the IHSAA must enjoy having a rule in place that is relatively easy to break (by accident or on purpose) which causes controversy.

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  • 2 weeks later...

So if the tournament "solution" to breaking the 120 Pitch limit is a 1-game suspension for the Head Coach & Pitcher., what happens if a Coach decides to keep his Senior ace in there for 130, 140, 150 pitches in a State Championship game that goes into extra innings?

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  • 7 months later...

Finally...

https://ihsaa.org/Portals/0/ihsaa/documents/about ihsaa/minutes/2019-20/011620.pdf?ver=2020-01-20-155604-767

Proposal #5: the IHSBCA requests that each tournament host site (sectional through state finals) have a person designated to track the pitch count for both teams in each scheduled contest.

This position will keep written or digital records and communicate with the coaches and umpires each inning to confirm pitch counts for both teams. This position will also mandate (through the umpire / crew chief) the removal of a pitcher once their pitch count limit has been exhausted. The head coach will certify the availability of each pitcher prior to the start of each tournament level; records will be kept throughout the tournament to track pitch counts; ensure proper rest is observed; and, at no time, allow an ineligible pitcher to enter the game or remain in the game. These records will be available to member school head coaches, athletic directors, principals, and IHSAA personnel upon request.

A motion for approval was made by Jim Brown; seconded by Martin Brown; motion approved 15-4 with Chris Conley, Chad Gilbert, Victor Bush and Ed Gilliland opposed.

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 5/6/2019 at 8:37 AM, Coach_K said:

I think the issue with the pitch count is all players are assumed to be the exact same.  No two athletes are the same, therefore one athlete could throw 70 pitches and be fine, whereas another might throw 50 and be gassed.  

We also have to take into account the different travel teams that these kids are on.  Softball use to have a rule where you could not play travel ball while in season! (This might still be a rule the softball coach at my former school who was a travel coach told me.) Imagine that a sport being proactive and putting the athletes health in front of money for travel sports!

Their "travel team" has no bearing on the high school baseball season. HS kids aren't allowed to have contact with their travel team from the time HS tryouts start in early March until their HS season ends. 

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1 hour ago, Proud Papa said:

Their "travel team" has no bearing on the high school baseball season. HS kids aren't allowed to have contact with their travel team from the time HS tryouts start in early March until their HS season ends. 

Admittedly, I do not know very much about travel baseball, so you point is taken. 

Can you also answer me this question: What restrictions are put on travel baseball after the season is over?  I am not trying to be an @$$.  I do not know.  Is it up to the coach?  Is there more oversight? 

I would love more information so I am more knowledgeable about more sports.  Thanks.

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