From Staff Reports
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The University Interscholastic League’s legislative committee will review and possibly vote on a recommendation to institute a pitch count for all high school baseball players.
The committee, which meets Oct. 16-17, received a recommendation from the UIL’s medical advisory committee that all high school pitchers be limited to 110 pitches per outing, and that, if they reach that limit, they must have at least four days of rest.
The maximum pitch count for middle school, which is seventh- and eighth-grade, will be 85. Also, the recommendation does not apply to softball.
Pitchers who throw between 0-30 times in one game will not need any days of rest, according to the proposal, while those throwing 31-45 must have one day off, with 46-65 pitches requiring two days of rest and 66-85 requiring three days off. The four-day rest requirement begins once a player reaches 86 pitches.
During the regular season, a pitch-count total will be determined after a single-game appearance, and warm-up throws will not be counted against it.
Also, during a doubleheader, the pitch count may be split between games, and the total pitches after the second game will determine the amount of rest required.
Pitch-count rules also will be enforced during the postseason.
The medical committee’s recommendation, along with potential legislative committee action, comes after the National Federation of State High School Associations required that pitch counts be instituted during the 2016-’17 school year.
