How Much Baseball Is Too Much?

The certainty of hazards in the world of sports is inevitable but can be avoided or limited. Injuries can affect the career of any sportsman, no matter the talent they possess, especially for a young player. Sometimes these injuries can be self-inflicted playing for too many hours pushes the body to a breakpoint. Baseball is a game that requires throwing power and energy. So is there a point where playing too much baseball is dangerous?. Let’s learn about ‘How Much Baseball Is Too Much?’.

How Much Baseball Is Too Much?

Playing too much baseball can cause overuse injuries in young athletes. There are amounts of pitches a young athlete shouldn’t exceed, or else might be exposing themselves to injuries. But as they grow older, the number of pitches he/she can throw per game increases, but there are still limits to these throws even as they grow older.

Age Grade and Pitches

Sports is one of the attractions of children as they grow up. Most times they would want to focus on one sport, and baseball is one of the frequent stops, even children as young as 7 years old get involved in practices and games.

But focusing on one sport from a young age can cause overuse injuries, and in baseball, it is a high risk due to pitching and throwing. However, there are baseball regulations, especially concerning pitches. These regulations are made to also help protect athletes from injuries that can stop their career progress, some of them being monitoring pitch counts, and giving adequate rest to players.

Pitch Counts

Ages 7-8 years have a pitch limit of 50, ages 9 & 10 years have a limit of 75 pitches, 11-12 years old have a limit of 85 pitches, 13-16 years old, 95 pitches, and 17-18 years old have a limit of 105 pitches. Also, children or young athletes shouldn’t play both catcher and pitcher in the same game, because both positions demand a lot of throwing repetitions.

Rest between Games

A study shows that if a child pitches competitively for more than eight months in a year, they expose themselves to a higher risk of injuries. A player throwing with fatigue in their arm also exposes themselves to injuries.

The number of throws a young player makes in a game can determine the time, level, and amount of rest they need.

This is a basic guide to a rest schedule for young athletes in Baseball:

1. 7-8 Years Old:

If a young player throws between one to twenty pitches in a game, they are eligible to play another game the next day, without rest, with the same range of pitches. If he/she throws 21-35 pitches in a game, then one day’s rest is compulsory. If 36-50 pitches are thrown in a game, then a 2-day rest break is needed.

2. 9-14 Years Old:

If a young player throws between one to twenty pitches in a game, they are eligible to play another game the next day, without rest, with the same range of pitches. If they throw 21-35 pitches in a single game, then one day rest is needed. If 36-50 pitches are thrown in a single game, then a 2-day rest break is needed. If they throw 51-65 pitches, then a 3-day rest is required. If they exceed the 65-pitch mark, then a 4-day of rest is needed.

3. 15-16 Years Old:

If your young player throws 1 to 30 pitches in a game, they can play the next day without rest. If they throw 31-45 pitches in a game, then they would need a day rest. If they throw 46 to 60 pitches in a game that would equate to a 2-day rest break. If they throw 61 to 75 pitches in one game, then a 3-day rest is needed. A 76+ pitch throw would require a 4-day of a rest break.

4. 17-18 Years Old:

If your young player throws 1 to 30 pitches in a game, they can play the next day without rest. If they throw 31 to 45 pitches in a game, then they need a day’s rest. If they throw 46 to 60 pitches in a game that would equate to a 2-day rest break. If they throw 61 to 80 pitches in one game, then a 3-day rest is required. An 81+ pitch throw would require a 4-day of a rest break.

5. 19-22 Years Old:

If your young player throws 1 to 30 pitches in a game, they can play the next day without rest. If they throw 31 to 45 pitches in a game, they would need a day rest. If they throw 46 to 60 pitches in a game that would equate to a 2-day rest break. If they throw 61 to 75 pitches in one game, then a 3-day rest is required. Throwing between 81-105 requires a 4-day rest. A 106+ pitch throw would mean five days of a rest break.

Generally, in a year, young athletes are advised to take 2-4 months of rest to help manage their performances to remain injury-free and stay away from competitive pitching in this period.

Conclusion

Injuries sometimes are self-inflicted, and it has become a worrying part of youth baseball, and the best way to fight against it is to pitch smart. You do not have to overwork yourself and be exposed to career-ending injuries when you can play a longer career by playing smart.