Norris Throws 150 pitches in Non-Elimination Game

[TennTech1]

Was Will Craig not well rested?

[slacker]

Will has not pitched in conference tourney

[bambisnightmare]

This is not a witch hunt. It is a wake up call. Edwards did not think this through. Jeff Reed would have never have let Daniel throw that many pitches after throwing 34 2 days earlier. I believe that Edwards let his desire to win override his protection of the player that was given to him. The fact that he was a college coach should mean that he would know better. There is no way that a college coach would pitch a player 180 pitches plus 9 innings of warmup pitches in 3 days.

We tell our teenagers to know what they will do before they are in situations so that they make good decisions. I hope all coaches will read this and know that this is not an accepted practice in high school athletics. I hope Edwards will realize that he put Daniel's arm at risk for a win. There is not a high school game, even a state championship, that is worth putting a player's health at risk.

I suggest you read about arm injuries and all the specialists will say that there needs to be pitch counts to protect the players. Daniel is a competitor and would never pull himself. That is why we pay adult coaches to make those tough decisions.

What if there is permanent damage? Is a no-hitter game against Crockett worth that?

First off how many pitches did he throw? Did he throw 146??? 150??? 200??? 200+???? There is a difference between 146 and 200. Some facts need to be clarified here. 2nd how is this not an accepted practice in high school sports??? You play to win the game. I bet the coach knows a little more about his pitchers health and conditioning than you do slacker. if you want to coach a team go get a degree, get certified, and apply for a job. then you can pull pitchers whenever you want to.

[johnson2]

Johnson City Press article says he threw between 130-140 pitches. How does anybody know that "Edwards didn't think it through" ? Were you in the dugout asking Dino how he felt after he came off the field each inning? Do you know how many times he has thrown over 100 pitches in a game this year? Or how many poles he runs for conditioning? Until I am there everyday, watching his conditioning and charting his bullpens, how can I know how to handle him better than the guys at SH? The answer is I can't. No one is more qualified to make that decision than the people who are giving so many hours a week to helping those guys get better. Look at Dino's quote in the paper to know how he felt, "I was starting to feel it in my calf. My arm feels great. I feel like I could go out there and throw again right now.” Both coaches and several fans I have talked to said they thought Dino's velocity was the best they had ever seen it. That is a testament of how well Edwards and the coaching staff have taken care of him and brought him along to this point.

[slacker]

He threw 146 today and 34 Saturday. Added together that means 180. I will do the math for you. I have coached and would never pitch a kid that many in one game or two games in 3 days. Sounds like you are Edwards or one of those guys who does not care about kid's health. I just think this is about kid's health. it is situations like this that are going to lead to a pitch count being placed in high school baseball.

[FHSstr8cash]

Here's an idea.. pitch better, that way you don't have to throw 146 pitches in a game. Didn't someone on here say he had 9 BB and 3 HBPs???? That's not very good for the "best 2011 prospect in the nation", especially in a high school game. Oh well, he'll be fine, it's not like his arm is going to fall off just because of one game. Let's be realistic here..

[slacker]

You're right Farragut. As I have said, this is not a bash of Edwards but a wake-up call to all coaches that they have the health of high school young men in their accountibility. Parents intrust their young men to these grown men to take care of them. I have never seen anything bad from Edwards until last night. I have heard good things about him and believe he is a good man who made a bad decision in the moment. I hope he and others will learn from this lesson.

[Tennesseesportsfan]

You know whats the intriguing part here? 15 years ago this conversation wouldn't have come up. I threw 7 innings on a Monday then threw 7 more on a Thursday back in the day. No counters, no nothing. I just thought that was what had to be done. I agree that 146 may be a stretch because I'd figure his fatigue would become the big factor and his location would struggle. I agree that what one can do, others can't. That statement is totally true. We have grown into this "pitch count" culture. It's gotten into the minds of everyone and everyone believes it, so our mind worries trouble. I had a elbow & shoulder specialist tell me that. It's more about physical conditioning than anything.

 

I don't know this kid or coach, but sounds like a little coaching witch hunt here.

 

 

At one time we had no running water, rode horses and had one room classrooms. Come on man, it's called medical advancement. You find one doc that says this is fine for a kids arm, enlighten the rest of us and give us his name. Is it in the kids best interest to throw that many pitches? ABSOLUTELY NOT.

 

I don't know the coach , kid or anyone involved. If this kid is as good as what I have read he needs to tell the coach ," no thats enough". This kid is going to get a payday, if his arm survives high school.

[hilltop]

Here's an idea.. pitch better, that way you don't have to throw 146 pitches in a game. Didn't someone on here say he had 9 BB and 3 HBPs???? That's not very good for the "best 2011 prospect in the nation", especially in a high school game. Oh well, he'll be fine, it's not like his arm is going to fall off just because of one game. Let's be realistic here..

 

To his credit the umpire was squeezing him. He had 7 walks in the first three innings. After Edwards had the catcher Fair raise the target a little things settled down. Crockett is a very good hitting team and Crockett coach Hagy even said their approach was going to be to get him into a high pitch count by taking a lot of pitches. 18 strikeouts and no hits in 7 innings tells me there weren't a whole lot of swings by Crockett during the game.

Pitch better? C'mon man, this isn't the majors. If the coach made a bad decision, fair enough let him know, but lets not start bashing a kid who actually had a pretty good game. His first pitch was 93, and he 96 several times, I even heard he hit 97 once last night. He is a special talent.

[dadtimesfive]

Thunderstorms rolled in to Paducah, Kentucky late last night and officials suspended play in the top of the eighth inning. Play resumed this morning at 10AM and the RedHawks held on for the victory.

 

The delay seemed to have no effect on RedHawks junior pitcher Travis Garcia. The Nolensville native pitched the complete game for the victory on a whopping 192 total pitches.

 

This was an article from out local paper about our local college Martin Methodist. Now thats alot of pitches.

[cbg]

Ask any pitching coach with a MLB organization and they will tell you anything close to 150 pitches in one game for any high school athlete is crazy. This is the type of thing that gives both high school and college coaches a bad reputation. I can just imagine what Dr. James Andrews or Dr. Frank Jobe would have to say about something this stupid!!!!

[richt19]

I looked on the internet to see what professionals say about pitch counts for high school pitches.

I could not find any articles where professionals said that it was okay for high school kids to pitch 150

pitches in a game. I did find many that thought it could be a career ending experience.

 

From the following article:

http://www.timesdaily.com/article/20100 ... -too-much-

 

“area coaches say they try not to allow their pitchers to exceed 120 pitches.”

 

“Mike Russell, a scout for the Detroit Tigers , said there are several factors involved in deciding when a pitcher should be removed from a game. “It's not always the number of pitches, but how tough an outing a kid has," Russell said. "A pitcher can throw 70 pitches and work his butt off because he's been in a stretch all game as opposed to throwing 85 or 90 pitches that are relatively stress free. Each situation is different."

 

Russell, though, said high school players should be generally be limited to no more than 100 pitches per outing.

 

“ I think 120 pitches is excessive when you are dealing with 15-, 16- and 17-year-old pitchers," he said. "That's why so many kids are shut down when they get to pro ball. We have to rehabilitate their arms when they get into pro ball. “

 

"I've talked with Dr. James Andrews and his No. 1 recommendation is to take two months off and not even pick up a baseball," Langston said. "Resting between starts is also very important. My biggest problem is not a kid throwing 100 pitches, but a kid throwing 70 pitches on Monday and 70 more on Thursday. That's just not enough time for the arm to recover."

 

Or this articles:

 

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/prepsp ... count.html

http://www.coybl.org/Users/Organization ... juries.pdf

http://www.worldwidebaseballprospects.c ... terson.php

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/h ... rms29.html

 

And there were many more that echoed the above.......