What is the maximum # of pitches should a 16 year old pitcher throw in a game? (He broke his collarbone twice)
462788
Look at it from a practical point of view ... He has to be able to throw without pain during the game, warm ups and after he cools down. \n\nHave you had him throw simulated games to see where his tolerance is? Start by simulating an inning or two ... have him throw in sets of 8  and then intervals of four ... (Eight pitches to four batters) have him sit down for 8 to 10 minutes between sets, this will let the muscles and connective tissue rest ... check range of motion before you let him take the mound. Any pain, discoloration, swelling or lack of control tells you something.\n\nAnd remind the future Rodger Clements that it's about longevity not just the next at bat ...
892367
COMING FROM A FORMER PITCHER MYSELF...I WOULD SAY IT DOESNT MATTER WHAT U THROW..IT MATTERS THAT U HAVE CONTROL AND CAN VARY YOUR SPEEDS.  U HAVE TO BE ABLE TO THROW INSIDE AND OUTSIDE FOR STRIKES...KEEP BATTERS ON THEIR TOES.  AS FAR AS BEST PITCHES I CAN ONLY SAY WHAT WORKED FOR ME BECAUSE YOU MAY BE ABLE TO MASTER OTHER PITCHES, BUT I THREW A 4 AND 2 SEAM, CHANGEUP, AND A KNUCKLECURVE.
850938
Work on your spares. If you make all your spares and throw one double a game you can average 200. You don't need to throw a lot of strikes to have a high average.
438809
http://www.qcbaseball.com/index.html\n\nthis is a pretty good informational site.  basically the most important thing would be proper mechanics.  teching a kid proper mechanics and them struggling would be more beneficial long term than just letting them throw and doing better.  without proper mechanics, kids will end up getting hurt.
471311
Throwing a curve can rip apart your tendons when done wrong.  But at a young age there is no right way to do it.  Sure they will be dominant because no young kids can hit a curve, but it will destroy their arm later in life.  A guy I used to play with was a great pitcher at a young age, but he started throwing a curve and by the time we hit high school he couldn't throw faster than 70mph.  Which was slower than what he threw back then. \n\nThere is a kind of curve ball, though it doesn't have as much sideways movement, it is virtually harmless.  Hold the ball like you would a slider and when you throw instead of your hand being horizontal, keep your palm facing you, don't snap your wrist, just start like that, and follow through like that.  It will drop like it's dropping off of a table.
452413
"Walks and Hits per Innings Pitched.  This means the average number of people the pitcher allows on base through a hit or walk per inning.  It is the best indicator (along with ERA) of how good a pitcher is, not wins.\n\nAnything below 1.000 is awesome.  Anything between 1.000 and 1.500 is very good.  Anything above that starts getting worse the higher you go up.\n\nImagine having a 2.000 WHIP.  This means that you allow at least 2 people on base per inning.  This translates into the possibililty of a lot of runs for the opposing team.
1007260
^^..^^\nroger clemens does not typically throw 20 pitches a game.\n\nhe throws fastball and splitter mostly.\na pitch not mentioned yet is the palm ball, which he throws sometimes and acts as a changeup.\ni've also seen him throw a breaking ball this year in the minors, which is new.
167219
Well, depending how theoretical you want to get.  There is an unenforced rule that a pitcher must throw a pitch within 20 seconds or a ball will be called.  He could do that 4 times, and a player would walk.  Then he could pick the player off.  The player would be out with 0 pitches.  Repeat 23 or 26 times, and you have a complete game without throwing a pitch.\n\nThe fact that the rule is not enforced is one problem with the scenario.  A player can also be out for changing which batter's box he stands in while the pitcher is ready to pitch.  So throw a few of those in there for variety's sake, and you get to 0 another way.
356007
This depends on a lot of things...  Do you have quick feet, quick release, strong arm, and are your pitcher holding the runner so that you even have a chance at throwing the runner out.\n\nThe first thing to work on is your arm strength. Make sure you are doing a lot of long toss. You can work with another catcher or pitcher. You can also do some tube work to work on overall strength for your arm and shoulder.\n\nMy favorite drill is the 1,2,3 Rapid Fire Drill. You will need a pitcher, 1st basemen, 2nd basemen, 3rd basemen.  Pitcher will need three balls and stand about 30 - 40 feet away. Pitcher throws first ball as you recieve first ball, drive your left knee downward and toward first base, rotate upper body to first base. Using a short snap throw, deiver the throw to firstbase.\n\nQuickly recover to receiving position... pitcher throws ball number two.  Throw to second base using a jump pivot, jab step, or rock and fire method.  \n\nQuickly recover to receiving position... pitcher throws third ball. Throw to third remmeber to work on a right footed drop step to clear right handed batters.\n\nDo this five or six times a practice.\n\nAnother good drill is "Quick Hands Drill"\nTwo catchers line up about 15-20 feet apart facing one another. The catcher receiving the throw gets into ready position with glove extended and throwing hand positioned behind the glove hand or against chest in a relaxed manner. \n\nYour partner initiates by throwing the ball. As the ball contacts the glove the throwing hand immediately covers the ball while the fingers find the seam.\n\nUsing "short" arm action, the ball is brought back under the chin while the front shoulder closes. Hands break, and the ball is brought straight back to the throwing position.  Without hesitating throw the ball back to the other catcher who has assumed the ready position. THis should be done about 15-20 throws each. DON'T USE YOUR FEET!  THIS IS JUST TO ISOLATE UPPERBODY THROWING MECHANICS.
405210
whatever you can throw effectively. if you know how to control all those pitches, use all of them.
1022857
Evaluate your lineup and player attributes. Place the best contact hitters and speed runners near the top of the lineup and play small ball to score runs early. Be aggressive on the bases and try to steal often. Most pitchers won't expect it, or might make a bad throw to the base, either way you advance the runners. Teach the hitters to work the count and take pitches. Most pitchers will not get the ball over the plate everytime. You can get more walks and increase the pitch count on the opposition which will force them to go to the bullpen. Play the outfield deep so they can run toward the ball if it is hit shallow, it is much harder to run backwards and catch a pop fly. Teach pitchers two good pitches and make them stick with it. A decent breaking ball in would very difficult for most 16 yr old hitters to make contact with. Even if the breaking ball ends up in the dirt , they will swing. I could be more specific if you gave more detail on the team's weaknesses.
1079144
actually its all in your mechanics... after managing for 15 years the kids now adults that had the best mechanics threw with the highest velocity.... BUT EVERY PITCHER PLAYS LONG TOSS....THAT IS THE MOST EFFECTIVE WAY TO BUILD ARM STRENGTH..... ESPECIALLY ON YOUR DAYS OFF plus your release and leg work is a big factor also.. but remember the best pitchers arent the fastest ones... they are the ones that can place the pitches where they need too.... IE Greg Maddux..... another word of advice.... hand work is important also dont forget to hide the ball as long as possible... this gives the batter less time to see what pitch your throwing... I could go on and on about weight training.... etc... but I think you get the idea...
502317
A few reasons. 1). The five man rotation which cuts down a pitcher's starts to around 30-32 games a season. Up until the start of the 162 game era, pitchers could routinely pitch 38-40+ games a year. Cy Young started 906 games in his 20+ years as a pitcher. 2). To protect their multi-million $ investments, teams "baby" their pitchers so they rarely pitch on less than 3-4 days rest or throw in between starts. Which leads to 3). More time on the DL (and less starts) because they don't throw as much to build up arm strength and brings us to 4).The pitch count. You think Warren Spahn was ever pulled after throwing 110 pitches? Which gave birth to 5). The advent of the middle relief specialists. You can thank Tony LaRussa for bringing in a left handed reliever in the 7th to face one batter. Go 8 innings with the lead and you control your chance to win. Get pulled in the 6th or 7th and you leave it to a guy who couldn't cut it as a starter. A 20 game winner used to be the gold standard. Now it's 15. Who said today's players are much better than the players from the past?
334125
I'm not quite sure of the question, but, In JV softball I got a high of 6 strikeouts pitching for half the game.  That was the best thing I can remember from way back then.
640834
well, the average number of pitches per ball is 7 pitches. So with about 200 pitches in a game, there are 1400 balls used per game. 1400 x 162 games in a season is 86800. That is a rough estimate.
277205
In little league you only need one pitch.  That is a fastball.  Forget about the ohters.  The real art to being a successful little league pitcher is to throw strikes.  If you can throw 2 strikes out of every 3 pitches then you will do great.
1171428
Hmm  I don't think anyone has yet hit the newly built box adjacent of the batter.  And I think the construction included special tempered glass/plastic?  I am not sure.  Did hear something about it on the news, but got distracted by the kids fighting.  However, I hope that the player would not be responsible.  At least I am hoping.  He has no control of where he hits the ball.  And you are talking about the the home field of the Cubs.  And they definitely have no control this year.  However, I am sure the ball club would consider taking care of it.  Would you offer to pay for the broken window that you hit a ball into?