Survey of pitchers and pitches in Niigata junior-high baseball games

Abstract

In the baseball world, there is currently considerable discussion about the prevention of pitching obstacles by limiting the number of balls and innings regardless of age. Junior high school students are in a development stage, and their physical balance is likely to change substantially. This study investigated number of pitchers and pitches in official and practice baseball games of junior high schools. We surveyed 298 teams belonging to the Niigata Junior High School Physical Culture Association. The survey period was divided into two periods (the first half and the second half). The first half was from March to July 2019 and the second half was from July to November 2019. As a result, the average num- ber of pitches per game was 1.68±0.73 in the first half of the official game, 1.89±0.77 in the second half, 2.16±0.97 in the first half of the practice game, and 2.23±0.94 in the second half. Official games had significantly fewer pitchers per match than practice games in both terms. The percentage of pitchers who completed games was 46.6% in the official game in the first half, 25.7% in the practice game, 32.9% in the official game in the second half, and 19.7% in the practice game. Compared with official games, practice games also had a sig- nificantly lower percentage of pitchers who completed games. Official games had an aver- age of 92.1±24.3 pitches in the first term and 89.9±20.6 pitches in the second. Further research is needed to identify factors that can reduce average participating-pitcher num- bers per game, considering the number of team members and their skills. In addition, the medical basis of guidelines for optimal pitch counts should be clarified.