Pitch counts in softball?

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Feb 28, 2015
307
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Heatbox
I totaled up my DD2 total amount of pitches this weekend. We have 3 pitchers. 1 is hurt, so the other 2 are getting all the innings. DD2 threw in 4 games of the 6 we played this weekend. Pitch count total was 268 pitches. Then I figured there was pitches for start of inning warmups, usually throws 4, so there is about another 64 pitches. Then pre game pitches and relief warm ups are another 80 or so. Well over 400 for the weekend. I hope 3rd pitcher gets back soon. We have seen girls at all ages throw the whole weekend sometimes. Some of these tourneys have you playing 4 or 5 or 6 games on Sunday.
 
Jun 12, 2015
3,848
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Very interesting. I going to bookmark this to reread when I start feeling like my dd isn't getting enough pitching time.
 

JAD

Feb 20, 2012
8,231
38
Georgia
One of the best things about iScore or GameChanger is they tell you how many pitches have been thrown. With my DD I have found that once she becomes fatigued her pitching motion starts to break down, and bad mechanics can lead to injury.
 
May 17, 2012
2,804
113
Can lead to injury. Maybe. We think.

All ancedotal and no real facts in the article. Any repetitive motion can lead to injury, sport or no sport. The question is can we quantify it and make meaningful change? I am not so sure.

There aren't enough pitchers to institute a pitch count. I just can't pull my RF in to pitch an inning (like you can in baseball).

There aren't enough teachers of correct mechanics to infer any data if we did have it. Let's get the ladies pitching correctly first and then let's look at pitch count.

First step is to eliminate the dragging of the push foot rule.
 
Jun 12, 2015
3,848
83
One of the best things about iScore or GameChanger is they tell you how many pitches have been thrown. With my DD I have found that once she becomes fatigued her pitching motion starts to break down, and bad mechanics can lead to injury.
I like that too. Mine is at a max of 67 in a day since she only ever pitches one game (not counting warm up). One game was just 34 total pitches (go girl).
 
Sep 30, 2013
415
0
Can lead to injury. Maybe. We think.

All ancedotal and no real facts in the article. Any repetitive motion can lead to injury, sport or no sport. The question is can we quantify it and make meaningful change? I am not so sure.

There aren't enough pitchers to institute a pitch count. I just can't pull my RF in to pitch an inning (like you can in baseball).

There aren't enough teachers of correct mechanics to infer any data if we did have it. Let's get the ladies pitching correctly first and then let's look at pitch count.

First step is to eliminate the dragging of the push foot rule.

I didn’t post the article to argue, especially since I’m a baseball not softball guy. But I think the article does raise an issue that should be looked at. Too much of any repetitive action can and will eventually cause injury. What I don’t understand is why anyone wouldn’t want investigation into possible causes of injury.

I also don’t understand why you say there aren’t enough pitchers to institute a pitch count. Unless I’m wrong, every FPS team has at least 1 pitcher, and there are a boatload of FPS teams in the world. I also don’t understand why a RF can’t be pulled in to pitch(like in baseball). I’m certainly not a FPS rules expert, but I never heard of a rule that says players can’t change fielding positions.

How do you know there aren’t enough teachers of correct mechanics to infer any data if we did have it. How many good teachers and how much data does one need to make valid conclusions?

Your statement: Let's get the ladies pitching correctly first and then let's look at pitch count is one that was being screamed from the rafters when baseball pitch counts began getting discussed and still is. Fortunately waiting for something as impossible to happen as getting pitchers to use correct mechanics didn’t happen. The same reason that hasn’t happened in baseball is the same reason it won’t happen in FPS. There is no universally accepted definition of correct mechanics!

There are bits and pieces that are generally accepted as correct, but pitchers are all different to some degree, so one size will never fit all, nor should it. Who would want to watch either a BB or SB game where every pitcher was exactly the same?
 

marriard

Not lost - just no idea where I am
Oct 2, 2011
4,312
113
Florida
I also don’t understand why a RF can’t be pulled in to pitch(like in baseball). I’m certainly not a FPS rules expert, but I never heard of a rule that says players can’t change fielding positions.

No rule against it, it is just the softball pitch is a learned motion, not a natural throwing motion. I believe Wasserman once said that a baseball pitch it is just throwing with perfect mechanics and no time limit or something similar.

Our RF can't throw the ball over the plate using a fastpitch motion. Not a chance - and she (and many of her teammates) have tried over the years. Just not them.

My DD played her first baseball game a season or so ago. She pitched in her first game having never done it before even in practice and was able to throw strikes. It is just throwing. Was it the mechanics you would want from a baseball pitcher? Probably not - however she could throw it well enough to keep the game moving and get batters out without it becoming a walk fest.
 
May 13, 2012
599
18
We could kill some complaints and create new complaints with some type of pitch count rule. A count rule would require multiple pitchers per team. Now fewer pitchers available reduces # of TB teams creating better teams as some complain about watered-down tournaments/teams. Now fewer complaints about circle time as most pitchers on said team would be used to get thru tourny if they go deep into tourny. New complaint "We never last long enough for DD to get innings". In all seriousness I do think something is needed to prevent teams from a girl throwing 5-7+ games over a day or two in a tourny since some coaches and or parents lack the common sense to prevent or stop it.
 
Sep 29, 2014
2,421
113
Wow gotta understand the basics...thinking you can just pull in your RF to pitch have you even been around the game (softball) you said you are a baseball guy but I would assume you have some ties to softball, but any girl who has never pitched in the circle and it just does not work, it would take days just to get them to not have the umpire call illegal pitches, weeks to get them to actually not walk the entire line up, then months to have a hope of them consistently throwing the ball around the plate. In baseball any player can come in and throw the ball around the plate.

So since you said you are a baseball guy ask yourself this question how many pitchers do you know or have you heard of that have had problems with their throwing arm now ask yourself how many softball pitchers you have heard of with arm problems, the percentage just does not even come close to being comparable and given the softball pitchers pitch more innings if the theory held you would expect more softball pitcher with arm issues.
 

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