PITCH COUNTS AND FASTBALLS

Tough pitch, tender arms: Specialists caution on Little Leaguers throwing curveballs (Stan Grossfeld, 8/21/2003, Boston Globe)

The throwing motion required to make a ball curve puts added stress on the elbow as pitchers try to snap the arm down to give the ball the added necessary spin. That motion can cause cartilage damage and the condition known as Little League elbow.

"The kids do have softer tissue in their elbows that damages more easily," Micheli said.

Many major league pitchers now wish they had waited to start throwing fancy pitches.

"I was probably 13 or 14 when I started throwing breaking balls," Red Sox pitcher Pedro Martinez said as he sat in front of his locker at Fenway, occasionally glancing at the Little League World Series on the clubhouse TV. "You don't develop the velocity you have to develop if you start too early. [My arm] used to get more sore than normal. It's not good for young kids because you might hurt your elbow."

Martinez, who has won three Cy Young Awards for being the league's best pitcher, even stopped throwing curveballs for a while in his career. "I quit throwing breaking balls," he said. "Then I learned again after a certain time in the minor leagues."

Dr. James Andrews, who has treated many professional pitchers at the American Sports Medicine Institute in Birmingham, Ala., recommends that kids learn to throw a curveball "when they begin to shave. At that point, their maturity is such that it can best handle the stress."

A study last year by the American Sports Medicine Institute showed that another factor in arm injuries to younger players was the amount of pitches thrown -- regardless of the type. The study recommended that players 11 and 12 years old -- the ages for Little Leaguers -- throw only 75 pitches per game and no more than 100 per week, 1,000 per season, and 3,000 per year.

Little League rules regulate the number of times a pitcher may throw in a week, but not the number of pitches. Some other youth leagues such as the Bay State Baseball Tournament of Champions, which has competition in the 11-12 age group, "strongly discourage" the use of curveballs.

This all applies not just to little kids but to most pitchers until they're in their later 20s. Even minor and major leaguers should be limited to 100 pitches until they're older, which in itself forces them to throw more fastballs (in order to get outs more efficiently). Posted by Orrin Judd at August 21, 2003 10:55 AM