High school baseball ball number limit "within 500 balls in one week" expert meeting report

High school baseball ball number limit “within 500 balls per week” expert meeting report November 5th 19:32

An expert meeting of the Takano Ren = Japan High School Baseball Federation, which considers measures to reduce the burden on high school baseball pitchers, such as limiting the number of balls, was held on the 5th, and the pitch of one pitcher from Senbatsu High School Baseball next spring will be within 500 per week. We compiled a proposal to restrict to The introduction of the ball limit will be officially decided at the Takano Ren's board meeting held at the end of this month.

Takanoren's expert meeting to consider introducing a ball number limit was held in April with the participation of university researchers, doctors and external experts, and the final meeting was held in Nishi-ku, Osaka on the 5th. It was

At the conference, we confirmed the proposed limit on the number of balls shown in the discussion in September, and the pitch of one pitcher was 500 per week for competitions at Koshien and local tournaments after the Senbatsu High School Baseball next spring. We have compiled a report that is limited to the ball.

The upper limit of 500 balls or less is based on the recommendation of the Japanese Society of Clinical Sports Medicine, which is said to increase the risk of injury if thrown any more. Trial period without penalties for 3 years to prepare a period for each team to prepare. It was made.

In addition, the introduction of full rest days more than one day a week from avoiding 3 consecutive battles and normal practice was included.

The expert meeting will be finalized on the 20th of this month.

Professor Takanobu Nakajima, Keio University, who served as chairman, said, “It used to be a good story for players to be messed up and keep throwing, but that was not the time. Ayumu. It ’s important how you move to the next step in a three-year trial. ”

After receiving the report, Takano Ren will formally decide to introduce a ball number limit from next spring at the board meeting on 29th of this month.

No restrictions applicable

Few pitchers have thrown over the limit of 500 balls per person in Koshien over the past few years, and this report is aimed at reducing overthrowing.

Last summer at Koshien, Akita's gold-footed agriculture pitcher Yoshida Terusei. I threw 881 balls in 6 games and climbed to 592 in 1 week from the 2nd round. However, since the team that cultivates multiple pitchers has been increasing recently, pitcher Yoshida is the only pitcher who has exceeded this limit in Koshien in the spring and summer since the tie-break was introduced last year.

The pitcher Shimizu Taisei of Osaka's Fukushosha High School who threw the largest number of balls in the summer Koshien, however, stayed at a maximum of 350 balls in a week because of the pitcher.

Also, Ishikawa Seiryo High School pitcher Yoshinobu Okugawa, who won the runner-up in this tournament, did not climb in the quarterfinals, and so on.

The voice that questioned the effect

It seems that there are no cases where the limit of the number of balls compiled this time will be exceeded unless Ace keeps throwing alone, and there are also voices questioning the effect.

However, in high school baseball, not only teams with multiple pitchers but also small teams with only one pitcher participate, so there is a current situation where strict pitching restrictions cannot be applied for each game.

In light of this situation, the Council of Experts has set a minimum rule of 500 balls per week, which is said to increase the risk of injury if thrown further.

It is not enough as a countermeasure, but by introducing the restriction of the number of balls for the first time, it will not be thrown more than necessary in training, making a correct form to train multiple pitchers and preventing injury to leaders and players of each team This may increase awareness of injury prevention.

In addition, the experts' meeting is also calling for efforts such as relaxing the schedule of local conferences to the Takano Ren in each prefecture, and this report is expected to promote injuries from various angles.

The impact on small schools

The impact on small teams that cannot secure multiple pitchers has become an issue for the introduction of the restriction on the number of balls, but in many local tournaments aiming for summer Koshien, if you win to the semi-final, this restriction will be It seems that there is a possibility of exceeding.

The average number of pitches per game played by national high school baseball players this summer was about 135. If a pitcher throws 4 or more games per week for a condition of 500 balls or less per week, the possibility of exceeding the limit will increase.

If you look at the local tournaments in the summer, it seems that if you win to the semi-finals in many tournaments, it will be possible to fight more than 4 games per week.

In addition, depending on the region where there are many participating schools, there are cases where four games are played in one week even after the fourth round or quarter-finals, so the influence is inevitable.

Regarding this, an opinion was given at the meeting of experts, saying that just because it is a small team does not mean you can throw it alone.

For this reason, we have set up a preparation period for small teams to train multiple pitchers by limiting the number of balls for a three-year trial period without penalties.

On the other hand, the experts' meeting is also requesting the Takano Ren of each prefecture to relax the schedule so that there is a gap between local games.

Past consecutive throwing cases

In the spring and summer of Koshien, there were many pitchers who threw away long innings by themselves, and they called for debate.

At the Koshien in the summer of 1998, pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka of Kanagawa Yokohama High School threw 250 balls by himself in the quarter finals with PL Academy in Osaka. The semi-final was a mid-game match, but in the final it was a no-hit no-run and threw 782 balls throughout the tournament.

In the summer of 2006, Koshien, who was the leader of Waseda business in West Tokyo, was pitched by Mr. Yuki Saito, who was almost alone from the first round. I won the throw with the big pitcher. Saito pitched 69 innings at this tournament, throwing 948 balls, and was the most recorded in one tournament.

Even in Sembatsu High School, all four games up to the semi-final were completed, including the 13th extension of the second round in which the pitcher Satomi Anjo of Ehime in the spring of 2013 became the first round. I got off the mound six times. Anhui pitcher who threw 772 balls in this tournament, then hurt his elbow and could not participate in Koshien the following year.

And at the Koshien last summer, which was the 100th anniversary tournament, Akita's gold-footed agriculture pitcher Yoshida Teruhisa threw out five games from the first round to the semi-finals alone, but he was driven in the final, I got off the board 5 times. The pitch of Yoshida pitchers at this tournament reached 881.

These past cases will all be exceeded when applied to the limit of 500 balls per person per week.

Waseda Baseball Club Director “Important for Baseball”

Satoru Komiyama, director of Waseda University Baseball Club, who is a member of the Council of Experts, said, “Since there is a difference in the ability of the players, there is a danger of drawing a line uniformly, but several years by clarifying what Takano Ren will do Later, I think it will be absolutely the trend of everyone to prevent breakdowns based on a common understanding, which is important for the baseball world. ”

Also, regarding the influence of a small team that cannot secure multiple pitchers, “I think it's hard to limit the number of balls, but thinking about what to do with that is what I think is the correct form of high school baseball as part of education. And it makes sense to put a stone on victory supremacy. "

President of the baseball association medical science "If the message is transmitted to the lower generation"

Dr. Mikihiko Watanabe, a member of the Council of Experts and chairman of the All Japan Baseball Association Medical Sciences Division, said, “Determining the upper limit of the number of pitches will have a certain degree of suppression. In the future, it will be necessary to examine whether it is good or not, and make it suitable for the style of Japanese baseball. -I just hope you can get it. "

Past burden reduction measures

In the spring and summer of Koshien, various rules have been introduced to reduce the burden on players.

One of them is the rules for extended draws. Initially, there was no limit on the number of times that can be extended in the spring and summer of Koshien, and the match between Aichi Chukyo Commercial and Hyogo Akashi Junior High held at the Koshien in the summer of Showa 8 lasted 25 times, the longest in the history of the tournament.

After the war, one pitcher continued to throw long innings, and since the summer of 1958 the extension was limited to 18 times, and if the game is not settled, there will be a provision to rematch. It was.

Furthermore, Daisuke Matsuzaka, a pitcher from Yokohama High School, threw 17 times by himself in the quarter-finals at Koshien in the summer of 1998, and the 250 balls were thrown in one game. Has been reduced to 15 times.

In addition, measures were taken to ensure that there is a match interval, and a “rest day” was set for one day from the Koshien in the summer of 2013, where there is no match between the quarter-finals and the semi-finals. became.

From the summer Koshien, the number of “rest days” has been increased by one more day and has been set up between the semi-finals and the finals.

In addition, from last year, a tie-break was introduced to start the attack with 13 runners in place to make it easier to finalize the game. The first tie-break was held at Koshien in the first round of Koshien last summer, asahikawa university high school in north Hokkaido and Sakucho Seigaku high school in Nagano, and the game ended in 14th extension.