Have to give the VHSL credit for getting something in place but is it the right protocol? Me personally, I don't think they got it right as a lot of pitches could be thrown in a 7-9 inning game and especially in a 7 day period with a max of 14 innings.
Should there be a pitch count limit or should it be a combo of both of pitch count and innings pitched?
IMHO, here is a great example, Tuesday night's Reg'l qtr-final game at Sheando high school which had Loudoun Valley taking on the Warriors.
Loudoun Valley's pitcher Danny White threw just 78 pitches while maintaining a perfect game for 9 innings but the new VHSL rules states he must come out after 9 innings of competition ... should of he came out the game?
On the flip side, with the Warriors of Sherando, the Entsminger kid went 9 innings with 130 pitches ... I don't think anyone is going to dispute that his day was done on the bump.
The innings pitched rule, from what I gather, the VHSL has no really concrete way of enforcing or even monitoring the rule which is asinine with today's technology there is a simple solution of creating an online form where coaches/AD's enter the info on a daily basis and the spreadsheet could be view by all. I've heard from a friend who stated that their school system said the coaches could monitor local media sports pages to see who pitched. Again, unbelievable that VHSL puts in a new rule but really has no way of monitoring or enforcing the rule. From my perspective this is not a difficult task
So what would be the perfect rule for pitchers within the VHSL and how should it be monitored/enforced?
VHSL Baseball Pitching Regulations
For the purposes of this rule, delivery of one pitch constitutes having pitched in one inning.
A pitcher may pitch in a maximum of nine innings in one day but not more than fourteen innings in any seven day consecutive period.
If a pitcher pitches in one inning for four consecutive days that pitcher shall have one calendar day of rest from competition pitching beginning with the day following the fourth consecutive day a pitch is thrown.
If a pitcher pitches in two or three innings in one day that pitcher shall have one calendar day of rest from competition pitching beginning with the day following the first day a pitch is thrown.
If a pitcher pitches four to seven innings in one day that pitcher shall have two calendar days of rest from competition pitching beginning with the day following the first day a pitch is thrown. Further restrictions regarding this section include:
After two days of rest a pitcher may pitch a maximum of two innings. After three days of rest a pitcher may pitch a maximum of three innings. After four days of rest a pitcher may pitch to the limit of the rule.
If a pitcher pitches in eight or nine innings in one day that pitcher shall have three calendar days of rest
from competition pitching beginning with the day following the first day a pitch is thrown.
After three days of rest a pitcher may pitch a maximum of two innings.After four days of rest a pitcher may pitch a maximum of three innings.After five days of rest a pitcher may pitch to the limit of the rule.
This limitation applies to regular season as well as post season play.
Penalty
Violation of this rule constitutes use of an ineligible and forfeiture of any games in which such violation occurs. Additionally use of an ineligible carries a $100 fine for the offending school.
This post was edited on 5/30 5:26 AM by Coach Milburn
This post was edited on 5/30 6:27 AM by Coach Milburn
Should there be a pitch count limit or should it be a combo of both of pitch count and innings pitched?
IMHO, here is a great example, Tuesday night's Reg'l qtr-final game at Sheando high school which had Loudoun Valley taking on the Warriors.
Loudoun Valley's pitcher Danny White threw just 78 pitches while maintaining a perfect game for 9 innings but the new VHSL rules states he must come out after 9 innings of competition ... should of he came out the game?
On the flip side, with the Warriors of Sherando, the Entsminger kid went 9 innings with 130 pitches ... I don't think anyone is going to dispute that his day was done on the bump.
The innings pitched rule, from what I gather, the VHSL has no really concrete way of enforcing or even monitoring the rule which is asinine with today's technology there is a simple solution of creating an online form where coaches/AD's enter the info on a daily basis and the spreadsheet could be view by all. I've heard from a friend who stated that their school system said the coaches could monitor local media sports pages to see who pitched. Again, unbelievable that VHSL puts in a new rule but really has no way of monitoring or enforcing the rule. From my perspective this is not a difficult task
So what would be the perfect rule for pitchers within the VHSL and how should it be monitored/enforced?
VHSL Baseball Pitching Regulations
For the purposes of this rule, delivery of one pitch constitutes having pitched in one inning.
A pitcher may pitch in a maximum of nine innings in one day but not more than fourteen innings in any seven day consecutive period.
If a pitcher pitches in one inning for four consecutive days that pitcher shall have one calendar day of rest from competition pitching beginning with the day following the fourth consecutive day a pitch is thrown.
If a pitcher pitches in two or three innings in one day that pitcher shall have one calendar day of rest from competition pitching beginning with the day following the first day a pitch is thrown.
If a pitcher pitches four to seven innings in one day that pitcher shall have two calendar days of rest from competition pitching beginning with the day following the first day a pitch is thrown. Further restrictions regarding this section include:
After two days of rest a pitcher may pitch a maximum of two innings. After three days of rest a pitcher may pitch a maximum of three innings. After four days of rest a pitcher may pitch to the limit of the rule.
If a pitcher pitches in eight or nine innings in one day that pitcher shall have three calendar days of rest
from competition pitching beginning with the day following the first day a pitch is thrown.
After three days of rest a pitcher may pitch a maximum of two innings.After four days of rest a pitcher may pitch a maximum of three innings.After five days of rest a pitcher may pitch to the limit of the rule.
This limitation applies to regular season as well as post season play.
Penalty
Violation of this rule constitutes use of an ineligible and forfeiture of any games in which such violation occurs. Additionally use of an ineligible carries a $100 fine for the offending school.
This post was edited on 5/30 5:26 AM by Coach Milburn
This post was edited on 5/30 6:27 AM by Coach Milburn
