Introduced the restriction of the number of balls at “Elementary School Koshien” for the first time on August 19 at 14:28
In order to prevent the pitcher from being injured by throwing too much, the rule that limits the number of pitches per day to 70 has been introduced for the first time in the national tournament to determine the best softball baseball for elementary school students in Japan.
This tournament, which was also called “Elementary School Koshien”, started on the 19th when 51 teams from across the country participated, to prevent injury to the shoulders and elbows caused by throwing too much. Rules have been established to limit the ball
However, batters who start pitching before reaching 70 balls can throw until the batting is over even after 70 balls are reached.
On the 19th, in the first game held at Jingu Stadium, the team from Kanagawa Prefecture and the team from Yamaguchi Prefecture faced each other, and the pitcher's “throwing pitch” was displayed on the electronic bulletin board on the back screen.
The Kanagawa team reached 67 pitches with 5 starting pitchers and changed from the next inning, and the starting pitcher of Yamaguchi team reached 70 in the middle of the batter who greeted one out seven times. So, after taking out the batter, it was replaced.
According to the All Japan Soft Baseball Federation, the average number of pitches of each team in the national tournament over the past five years is about 100 balls per game, and 53% of the games that one pitcher threw out to the end. about it. The Federation will continue to take data to verify the effectiveness of the new rules.
Toyo Munakata, managing director of the All-Japan Softball Baseball Federation, said, “I want to make the tournament a priority on the health of children. Based on the restrictions on the number of balls, we will consider rules and continue to play baseball for a long time with a healthy body I wanted to do it. "
Limiting the number of balls
The team manager of Kanagawa Prefecture said, “I think it's best for children to continue playing baseball until they reach junior high school, high school, and beyond. Since two games are played, I think that the burden on children can be further reduced if the schedule is also considered. "
In addition, the team manager of Yamaguchi Prefecture said, “Preventing injury is the top priority. However, if there are not many senior students, it will be necessary to throw them to lower students, and it will be difficult to manage. I have to study it. "
The 6th grader of the starting pitcher who threw 67 balls five times and got off the mound said, “I am a little complicated because I want to finish and close myself,” and “I am practicing with the intention of throwing strikes. , Today, I tried to play in the strike zone to reduce the number of pitches. "