Pitching Inning/End of Game Question

This is somewhat of a quirky question, so bare with me.

In our youth baseball/softball program local rules, particularly for baseball (though some coaches use this for softball) in playoffs, we have what we call a "rest rule" - whatever a pitcher pitches for innings, they must rest before being eligible again (whether over 1 or consecutive games). So for a 6 inning game, if I pitch innings 1-2-3-4, I would have to sit for innings 5-6 and 1-2 before I could pitch again. We do not go by pitch counts as we are not sanctioned and it has not been proposed before (though from rumblings I hear, it may be brought up again next season).

Additionally we follow the rule that if a pitcher pitches 6 consecutive innings, they must rest 6 consecutive (assuming they pitch a full game).

My question. Last night I had an extra inning game (7 innings). Pitcher A threw innings 1-2-3-4, then Pitcher B threw innings 5-6-7. An assistant coach (the father of Pitcher B) asked me after the game if Pitcher B can start the next game because they have not reached their 6th consecutive inning. My assumption was that once the game ends, the innings for the pitcher (no different from a pitch count) ends, and they would be required to rest 3 innings before being eligible again. I have not found this ANYWHERE in the LL Baseball/Softball Rulebook, so I wanted to ask those knowledgable about what should be done.

a.) Rest the pitcher for the 3 innings they pitched.
b.) Allow the pitcher the remaining 3 innings they have, which would require they sit innings 4-5-6 of the next game.

So it doesn't matter if the pitcher throws 4 innings of 3 up, 3 down, or goes full count every batter? That's silly.

You can say that, and I can't say you're wrong. Unfortunately the league is not exactly led by highly-energetic individuals, so whatever policies that can be enforced that apply the least effort to manage are generally the policies implemented. I just need to know if the end of the game signals the end of a pitch count/pitcher's time on the plate.

If your rules are unclear look to the page 14.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...kBknosJgnOKRaQ_fQ&sig2=Y-j51ZAyfkXxH-RHtGbb3w

7 or more innings they need a days rest.

gdc03120 said:

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Yeah you are not going to find this in the LL rule book because your local league has put in place their own local rule.

Local rules are going to be ruled on locally. You would need to talk to whoever runs your league for a ruling because no one else can interpret the rule or its intended meaning outside those who put it in place.

That's what I was somewhat worried about. Common sense (when available) says when the game stops, the pitcher's time pitching stops. But this coach argues that since they were never removed from the mound before the game was over, they should still be eligible for their remaining 3 innings before they have to be pulled. That's what I'm pulling what little hair I have out over.

I have no problem with inning rules instead of pitch count especially for baseball. In your case the rules don't make any sense. However, I would read the rules that if the game ends your innings end. So your pitcher needs to sit out the first 3 innings of next game.

grcsftbll said:

So it doesn't matter if the pitcher throws 4 innings of 3 up, 3 down, or goes full count every batter? That's silly.

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A lot of leagues still use innings instead of pitch counts.

Our leaque does, it is easy to keep track of and avoids a lot of confusion.

Sounds like a great way to penalize efficient pitchers while leaving the ones that can't pitch to languish in the circle for way too many pitches. Who comes up with this crap? Arbitrary pitch counts are bad enough, but this takes it to another level.