By Michael Letendre  

Bristol Senior American Legion baseball coach Jerry LaPenta isn’t a big fan of the current pitch count rules that the state of Connecticut has to abide by. 

This is not a new concept as LaPenta has been extremely vocal about this subject over the years.  

And this is coming from a guy who was extremely successful at Lewis Mills High School under then coach Spec Monico. 

“When I was in high school, every game was nine innings,” said LaPenta. “And there weren’t any pitch counts. Guys were going 130 or 140 pitches, and no one was hitting.” 

Has that much changed since 1980 (or so)? 

Just the logic of 105 pitches gets tricky, especially at the American Legion Senior level. 

The pitch count rule, when it was instituted, seemed like a reasonable one because there were a few coaches who would leave a youngster out on the mound without any regard, watching the overwhelmed pitcher struggle to get through a seven inning game. 

So a rule had to be set in place to limit such tomfoolery. 

And if a kid was forced to fire 150 fastballs down the pike, a pitch-count would help prevent a youngster from getting hurt or injured. 

But times are different now because ‘back in the day’ or whatnot, any given high school pitcher of the 1970s and early 80s would throw three times a week. 

Even with all that action on the hill, how many kids were getting hurt back then? 

The answer was very few.  

“Guys were [just] pitching,” said LaPenta of his time in high school. “They weren’t maxing out every pitch. They pitch, take a little off, put a little on. You can pitch nine innings if you pitch like that. And the thing is, I don’t remember anyone getting an arm injury.”  

That’s why this 105-pitch count rule is more than a little unfair at the Senior level. 

That 105-pitch count, which at one point was honored to the letter – meaning once a chucker hit that magic mark, even in the middle of an at-bat, that pitcher would have to immediately leave the game – had huge drawbacks. 

That 105 limit burned a Bristol opponent or two along the way over the years. 

Nowadays, you’re allowed to finish the batter and go over the 105 barrier without being penalized. 

But it’s simply not about tossing the ball to the catcher over and over again.

More than throws to the plate

What about all the warm-up time for pitchers before each inning? 

That’s upwards of an extra 56 pitches if the chucker can make it into the seventh stanza. 

How about all the throwovers to first and second base via pickoff attempts? 

Those numbers add up as well. 

If your pitcher can make it for seven innings, chucks all those warm-up pitches and then makes 15 pickoff attempts over a single game, that adds up to 176 times a pitcher threw a ball with a speedy motion. 

So why not allow that pitcher 120 or 125 pitches? 

What’s the difference there? 

It’s hardly any difference in the overall schemes of things. 

Plus, if you were like Bristol this past season, you had several 19-year old’s pitching that did not play collegiately before the summer campaign. 

They’ve rested the entire time between the summer months. 

So why limit studs like Bristol’s Roberto Cruz and Matt Beaucar who were rested coming into the season?

And what about a standout like Dylan Woodsome, tossing off-speed stuff that did not tax his arm? 

His shoulder popped out at Simsbury only because of a slide [and interference by the pitcher] into third base, not because of his time on the hill. 

That pitch count needs to be boosted up to be sure. 

Or American Legion baseball simply go back to counting the actual innings pitched and limit those outings per week. 

They could make it 10 or 12 innings a week because a 19-year-old doesn’t need to have five days off between 105-count pitching stints. 

Good coaching won’t hurt the players on the mound 

That previous statement seems a bit basic but it’s the truth. 

And even on winning programs, such as Bristol’s 1974 Northeast Regional Champions under head coach George Synott, Post 2 had several pitchers in the mix but never taxed its squad. 

What about Bristol’s Walt Freitag – one of the team’s best pitchers on Bristol’s squad that season? 

Over his first 14 games, he went a sterling 9-1 — carrying a healthy 2.05 ERA. 

But in those appearances, he threw an average of 5.6 innings-per-game as Synott never abused his rotation. 

And what happened when those state tournament games became nine inning, tensioned filled affair? 

Some of those kids for the program went the distance. 

That’s what happened Post 2 clinched its 1974 Connecticut State Championship in a 10-5 victory over Bridgeport. 

Former Bristol Eastern standout Mike Beaudoin allowed 12 hits and six walks over his amazing complete game effort. 

That combination of hits and walks probably kept him on the mound a bit longer but he didn’t hurt himself over nine tough innings of action. 

He used his intelligence, guile, and wits to post eight strikeouts to snare the win. 

And after moving to 6-1 off the win, he came back to pitch another day. 

What’s changed since those times? 

Absolutely nothing has changed and speaking of change, how about amend those pitch count rules for the 2023 summer season.   

“Guys would pitch nine innings, and no one would say anything,” said LaPenta. “You’d go home, put a little ice on [your arm] and ‘I’m good to go.’”  

Back to wood bats in 2023? 

Even if the current pitch counts stay in place, LaPenta feels that Connecticut American Legion baseball will be going back to wooden bats very soon. 

Aluminum bats have driven up the scoring in Connecticut play this season which extends a pitcher out on the mound. 

Some sort of concession will have to be made if pitch counts remain in place next summer.  

“I think next year, Legion baseball is going to have to go back to wood [bats] just for pitch count and arm issues because the aluminum bats, the games are much longer,” said LaPenta. “The pitch counts are much higher, and teams just don’t have the pitching [arms] for it. With wood, you can have shorter games and lower pitch counts.” 

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