PSAL Institutes Pitch Count Rule

The Public Schools Athletic League announced a new rule this week designed to help young baseball players' health and safety on the diamond.

The league has decided to institute a pitch-count limit for junior varsity and varsity baseball players to ensure that no athlete is overworked.

For junior varsity players, the count will be 90 pitches. Varsity players will get 105 pitches. Any pitcher in the middle of a count will be allowed to finish the at bat of the batter they're currently facing.

For the PSAL, the move is designed to prevent long-term injuries, something that's not been a problem for the league, but has long been a concern.

"We want our students to participate in high school sports and lead healthy, active lifestyles," said PSAL Deputy Chancellor of Operations Kathleen Grimm. "At the same time, we want to prevent long-term injuries and we believe limiting pitch counts will achieve this and at the same time keep the sport competitive. The safety of our students is a top priority."

The pitch count rule was instituted after parents and some New York City Council members insisted that the league investigate pitch counts.

In addition to the hard cap on pitches, there will be a mandatory rest period once the limit is reached. Depending on whether the athlete is varsity or junior varsity, and how many pitches they threw, the rest period could be anything from 1 to 4 consecutive days. The higher the pitch count, the longer the player is required to rest.

Forest Hills High School baseball coach Marty Finkelstein said he thinks the pitch counts are a good idea, but the mandatory rest is the thing that will really save arms.

"If a kid throws 105 pitches they shouldn't pick up a baseball the next day," he said. "There's a lot of factors at work here, and things have to be done a certain way. A player's health has to come first."

Finkelstein said that he thinks it will take a couple years for the new rule to really become second nature to coaches, and of course, there will be those who try to take advantage.

"I just hope it doesn't end up interfering with the game," he said. "A high percentage of coaches will do it the right way, but you're going to have teams that all of a sudden start taking a lot of pitches."

The number was ratified by athletic physicians at Bellevue Hospital and the NYU Hospital for Joint Diseases, Department of Orthopaedics.

"It's not so much keeping track of pitches, but keeping our kids on track towards a healthy and safe future," Councilman Peter Vallone, D-Astoria, said.

The announcement was made Wednesday afternoon at Long Island City High School, with several local officials and PSAL officers present.