North Cook News

The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) pushed back a vote on proposed baseball  pitch-count limits at its October meeting.

The vote now will be held Dec. 12 after the board holds a series of annual meetings that are not open to the public.

The IHSA conducts the meetings to keep principals up to date on rules and proposed changes. Principals at IHSA member schools are required to attend the meetings each year. 

In August, the IHSA baseball advisory committee made a series of recommendations to the board, which was scheduled to vote Oct. 12. To become a rule, the board has to pass the recommendations by a simple majority.

"I like the fact that there will be a pitch limit, but think it will not be without its issues," Lake Park High School baseball coach Don Colucci told North Cook News.

  And what are those issues?

"It remains to be seen how the pitches will be logged and how an opposing coach will be able to track which pitchers are available or unavailable to pitch on any given day. Ultimately, we all want our players to be healthy," Colucci said.

In attendance at the August meeting was Dr. Preston Wolin, director and founder of the Center for Athletic Medicine in Chicago, who helped draft some of the proposed rule changes, along with area coaches.

"This meeting was not only extremely gratifying, but really historic for the players, parents, coaches and administrators,’’ Wolin said.

Wolin said Illinois has gone above and beyond any other state in the nation when it comes to pitch counts.

"The proposed rules also provide a weekly cap on the number of pitches throw," Wolin said. "The reason this is important is that while many of the models used by other states protect the pitcher, there is a potential for overuse by throwing the pitcher on multiple consecutive days, even at the allowable number of pitches."

If passed, the recommendations will become rules beginning with the 2017 season.

"I think these recommendations are going to make the game safer and more enjoyable,’’ Wolin said. "The cooperation of the baseball coaches in coming up with these limits was outstanding. Everyone in that room was committed to the safety of our young pitchers. That dedication is being translated into our pitch-count limits in the State of Illinois.’’

One high school coach who does not have a problem with the recommendations wishes the committee would go a little further.

"The biggest issue is not guys being abused during the high school season,’’ Glenbard North coach Rich Smelko said. "One of the biggest issues are guys being abused pitching on summer travel ball teams. Pitchers are going to one-day showcases where they have not thrown for a lengthy period of time.

Colucci agreed.

"I suspect that playing year-round baseball, attending year-round showcases and playing for multiple teams are major contributing factors to injuries. I am unsure how these can be addressed by the IHSA," Colucci said.

Here is a schedule of the town hall meetings. http://ihsa.org/documents/forms/2016-17/16-17TMPRM%20Final.pdf.

Here is the pitch count proposal: www.ihsa.org/documents/ba/2016-17/Pitch%20Count%20Proposal.pdf.