Baseball

With the youth baseball season right around the corner, parents and coaches need to become familiar with the new  Little League Baseball rules on pitch count limits, rest requirements, and other rule changes for spring 2010.  In its continuing effort to reduce the number of shoulder and elbow injuries suffered by pitchers in youth baseball, Little League Baseball has added extra days for pitchers and lowered the threshold for pitches triggering extra days off between pitching appearances.  

In 2007, Little League Baseball dropped its decades-old pitching rules - which limited pitchers age 12 and under to six innings per week and six innings per game, with the number of innings increasing for older age groups in favor of rules based on pitch count, with the number of allowable pitches based on the pitcher's age and with specific rest periods between pitching appearances when a pitcher reaches higher thresholds of pitches delivered in a day.  Revised rules go into effect for the spring 2010 baseball season.

Baseball requires more protective equipment than many sports.  To play baseball, each team needs baseballs, bats, batting helmets, and bases, and each player, of course, needs a glove.

Each year, almost 500,000 baseball-related injuries are treated in hospitals, doctors' offices, clinics, ambulatory surgery centers and hospital emergency rooms. Many are preventable or could be reduced in severity if simple steps are taken.

Most arm injuries suffere by pitchers in youth baseball are not the result of a single traumatic event.  Instead, injuries are believed to be due to overuse: the cumulative effect  of microscopic trauma from the repetitive act of pitching itself.  Overuse occurs throughout the course of a single game, season, or year in the developing baseball player. Here are some expert tips on reducing the risk of baseball pitching injuries from overuse, poor pitching mechanics, and/or poor conditioning.

To reduce the risks that your child will be injured playing youth, middle school or high school baseball, the American Academy of Pediatrics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Consumer Product Safety Commission, American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, and other sports and health organizations recommend the following...

Since 2007, Little League Baseball® and Little League Softball® have
mandated the use by all leagues of bases that disengage their anchor
(e.g. "safety-release bases"). If your child is playing for another baseball or softball
national organization you may want to check with them, as this rule
pertains only to Little League Baseball® and Little League Softball®.

Regardless of the youth baseball program in which your child participates, make sure it uses breakaway bases. If they don't, do your best to encourage their use, since a large percentage of baseball injuries occur during sliding and can be prevented by use of safety-release bases.

Each player should have his or her own glove and should take the time to find one that is comfortable and fits well. Players, especially younger ones, should choose a smaller rather than larger glove, because a larger glove is more difficult to open and close quickly.

Bats must be made completely from either wood or aluminum. Older, more competitive teams/leagues may not permit the use of aluminum but, until recently, this was fairly rare until the players reached the collegiate level.