Most leagues base their rest rules on innings pitched but as we all know an inning can be anything from 3 pitches to several dozen. The better measure is pitch count - and every outing, no matter how short, requires some recovery time.

Special Notice: In August 2006, Little League became the first youth league to announce a switch from innings pitched to pitch count. Each of the ASMI chats below has been updated with columns to reflect the LL rules. You will notice that Little League has not been as strict as the ASMI first recommended. For the record, no 11 y.o. we coach would ever be allowed to pitch 85 pitches; we are reluctant to let a 15 y.o. pitch 95. We are also concerned that no mention was made of ambient temperature, pitching when it's 65F (18C) is different than at 85F (30C) .

Here's what the ASMI has determined is safest (and what Little League allows)...

Suggested Pitch Counts
Age	Max. pitches/game	Max. games/week	LL pitches/day
8-10	52	2	75
11-12	68	2	85
13-14	76	2	95
15-16	91	2	95
17-18	106	2	105

Suggested Recovery Days
Age	1 day rest after	2 days after	3 days after	4 days after
8-10	21 pitches	34	43	51
11-12	27	35	55	58
13-14	30	36	56	70
15-16	25	38	62	77
17-18	27	45	62	89

Once you reach a certain number of pitches, you need this much rest/recovery time.

Little League Recovery Days
Age	1 day rest after	2 days after	3 days after	4 days after
7-16	21-40	41-60	61 or more
17-18	26-50	51-75	76 or more

WebBall has no explanation as to why LL thinks a 7 year old and 16 year old recover equally well. We also don't know why anyone thinks a 12 year old needs only 2 days recovery after 58 pitches vs 4 days on the original ASMI chart above.


The debate on Pitch Count will likely continue for years. Tell us what you think now. Vote in our Nose 2 Nose survey on Pitch Count.