New pitch count limits applauded by some, ripped by others

It seemed like an ordinary pitch in an ordinary game that April day in 2012.

The Bergen Catholic sophomore did not think much of it, even as he felt his arm “tighten up.” He then threw a fastball that just wasn't right.

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His velocity suddenly had vanished. Soon his control was gone.

Apreda battled through that third inning against Paramus Catholic and into the fourth, before being knocked out of the game and into the unknown.

“The next day, I couldn’t throw the ball five feet,” said Apreda, who threw in the 85-87 mph range and was expected to be the Crusaders' ace that year. “I didn’t want to face it. I'd never been hurt. I thought I was indestructible. …

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“But even days later, I couldn’t throw it more than 20 feet. That’s when I knew I had to go get it checked out.”

Another young pitcher had hurt his arm. Apreda underwent Tommy John surgery three weeks later.

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In an effort to reduce the mounting number of arm surgeries among high school athletes, the National Federation of State High School Associations recently mandated pitch-count limits, effective for the 2017 season. The restrictions will replace the innings-limit policy utilized in past seasons.

The NFHS has charged every state’s high school athletic governing body to formulate its own specific restrictions.

New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association officials met Thursday to begin devising its much-anticipated “magic number” and corresponding rest days as well as how these pitch counts will be monitored, according to assistant director Larry White. 

The plan is expected to be finalized by early November at the latest, White said.

It will come too late for pitchers like Apreda. Almost 57 percent of Tommy John surgeries from 2007 to 2011 were performed on 15-to-19-year-olds, a 2015 study conducted by the American Orthopedic Society for Sports Medicine revealed.

However, pinpointing exactly why a ligament tore or cartilage shredded is difficult to determine in the age of specialization, experts say. The summer showcase circuit, club ball and fall ball – nearly all of which are unregulated – take a significant toll on young arms. Some athletes now pitch competitively eight or nine months of the year or pitch for multiple teams at once. 

Poor mechanics and improper training regiments also can inflict as much damage as high pitch counts and inning totals. 

“My doctor didn’t have a particular reason for why mine happened,” said Apreda, 20, who bounced around junior colleges across the country following his graduation from Bergen Catholic before choosing Benedictine University in Mesa, Ariz. He underwent a second elbow surgery during his freshman year in college due to complications from his initial Tommy John procedure. 

“Was I overused? No, I don’t believe I was. Did I play multiple positions? Yes. Could that have been the reason? I don’t know.”

The stakes are high for young athletes and their coaches and high school programs.

Finding quality pitching can be vexing, especially for small school staffs.

“I’m very interested to see what those numbers are,” said Waldwick coach Frank Clark, who guided his program to the Group 1 state final last season with a 10-man staff – a high number for a small school. “We really monitor our pitch counts already, so I don’t know if it will have that big of a bearing on us.

“Our main goal every year is to try to develop as many players as possible to give us options on the mound.”

Many have applauded the new regulations. Yet they also have staunch critics, including legendary pitching coach Leo Mazzone.

His laid-back southern drawl quickly filled with anger when the topic was raised.

The guru responsible for developing some of the best major league pitching staffs in the 1990s and 2000s with the Atlanta Braves vehemently opposes the new restrictions.

Mazzone, 67, believes pitchers should throw more – not less – but do so intelligently. It was the philosophy that Hall of Famers such as Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and John Smoltz applied under his guidance.

“The bottom line is this: Pitchers at that age need to be throwing more often, with less exertion,” said Mazzone, whose tenure with the Braves included a 14-year run of division titles and a championship in 1995. “Everyone is so enamored with how hard kids throw now. Youngsters see this guy throwing 88, this guy throwing 90, and getting scholarships and signing professionally.

“To them, they’re thinking they need to hit a certain number on the [radar] gun. And in trying to get there, they are tearing apart their arms. It’s not pitch counts.”

Mazzone is not alone in his beliefs.

“Honestly, I hate what they’re doing with baseball now with these pitch counts,” Apreda said. “These things depend on the kid. …

"I’ve learned a lot of things since that injury that I wish I knew back then. I wasn’t doing the things the right way to keep myself ready or keep myself healthy. Going to a pitch count isn’t going to solve the problem.”

Northern Highlands rising senior Zack Dreznin, one of North Jersey’s top pitchers last season, has mixed feelings on the new policy.

He has not suffered any major injuries.

“It could be a good thing so kids aren’t overthrowing in high school,” he said, “but there’s a lot more to getting injured than just a pitch count. It’s about their mechanics. It’s the way a pitcher trains. It isn’t all just about pitch count.”

Dreznin surpassed the 100-pitch mark in Northern Highlands’ 7-2 win over Ocean City in the Group 3 state final. He admitted there was “no way” he was coming out of that game – but future pitch-count restrictions will prevent pitchers and coaches from making that decision.

Mazzone contends that poor coaching and misguided philosophies inflict more damage than high pitch counts. He argues that coaches who cannot recognize when to remove a starter without a pitch count “shouldn’t coach.”

“Kids need to learn how to pitch,” Mazzone said. “Youngsters now are throwing 87 miles per hour, and you’ve got coaches saying they’ve got to hit 91-92 to raise their signability. Maybe Maddux and Glavine wouldn’t be going to the Hall of Fame if that was the case with them coming up.”

Mahwah pitching coach Doug Cinnella, who pitched in the minor leagues for seven seasons and reached Class AAA, is another critic.

“I think this is a knee-jerk reaction,” said the former Orioles, Expos and Mets farmhand who threw two professional no-hitters in 1986 on high pitch counts. “There’s a lot of individual approaches for every pitcher. They’re all different. And to have a blanket pitch count is a joke. It’s too much regulation on something that doesn’t need it.

“Youth and travel baseball is where it’s needed. You see there are more injuries with kids between the ages 13-18, but it’s not coming from high school baseball. Kids are being abused at younger ages and most travel coaches are only concerned with winning games. By the time they get to high school, a lot of them already probably have micro-tears and other issues.”

Rob Kaminsky, the former St. Joseph ace and the St. Louis Cardinals’ 2013 first-round pick, is a strong supporter of the new policy.

The left-hander, now pitching for Class AA Akron, a Cleveland Indians’ affiliate, called the change “a good step.”

“Seeing high school coaches let kids throw 100-plus pitches on short rest is borderline abuse,” Kaminsky said. “You don’t see that even happen in the minor leagues. It’s something that should be addressed, and quite frankly, should have been addressed years ago.

“These are kids. Coaches should put kids’ health before winning a state title.”

While uncertain about the policy, Dreznin shuts down his arm immediately following summer ball in July and “won’t pick up a baseball until around January,” he said.

“A pitching motion is probably the most unhealthy movement in all of sports,” Dreznin said. “And throwing that much, nine months out of the year is too much if you want to stay healthy.”

The forthcoming NJSIAA regulations probably will impact how New Jersey teams operate on the mound – and even at the plate. Pitchers, knowing they are on a pitch count, will be forced to look for quick outs and throw more strikes, particularly when ahead in counts.

“No more nibbling,” Clark said. “They’re going to have to go after batters, be aggressive and locate.”

A pitch-count mandate also could impact teams’ offensive approaches, particularly when facing an opponent’s ace. The higher they push his pitch count, the sooner he will have to exit.

“At the plate, there’s going to be times when teams are preaching patience, for sure,” Clark said. “It’s all going to be very interesting.”