Should Pitching Junk be banned in Little League Baseball

[SADDADDY]

after watching the Little League World series they mentioned that the League President is looking into banning Pitchers from throwing Junk (Curve balls, Sliders etc..) due to the fact a lot of young players are hurting themselfs by doing so

I myself when 12 use to throw alot of junk, and really never had any problem, I know of a few that it hurt them years later

so do you think setting a age limit on what age they can start using these pitches is a good idea? me personally I think if a child is big enough and is over the age of 12 they should be allowed to throw any number of pitches they want

[reylamb]

Yes, ban curve balls from LL basesball. While we are at it, 90 pitch max per game also. 140+ pitches in one game is ridiculous.

At the age of these l'leaguers their tendons in their elbows have just not fully developed yet. Throwing curve balls this young will lead to a world of problems later in their careers if they continue pitching. Factor in that at this age, and with most of these coaches, they have not yet been taught the proper form to throw curve balls.

I'm with Rey on this one.......

You get a 11-12 year old throwin' "JUNK" and it increases their odds of arm problems......

Also the pitch count couldn't hurt either........Limit them to only a certain number of pitches.....

[HuntinRebel3]

Originally Posted by HT2

I'm with Rey on this one.......

You get a 11-12 year old throwin' "JUNK" and it increases their odds of arm problems......

Also the pitch count couldn't hurt either........Limit them to only a certain number of pitches.....

I have coached enought baseball and seen too many coaches ruin a kid's arm with all the breaking pitches they were calling. It's a shame.

[No. GA. Mt. Man]

Up here they couldn't throw junk until 13 years old and IMO that's still young. On pitch counts we always limited the number of inning a kid could pitch in a week and they couldn't pitch on back to back days.

[kcausey]

I grew up playing AABC ball. We started pitching when we were 7 years old, started leading off at 11, and that's when full fledged baseball started. As a pitcher, with a lot of talent, i was instructed by Leo Mazzone himself to throw a curve w/ my wrist only. I did this, and mastered a knuckleball by age 12, and was very successful.
I started throwing a true curveball and slider at 14 years old. By 16, i had an 89mph fastball, spiltfinger changeup that varied 5-15mph from my fastball, slow dropping curve at about 67-68mph, slider at 83-84mph, and a nice, 89mph two finger cut-fastball. I never had any arm trouble.
Like my parents, this should be regulated in the home IMO........worry about your child's talent when he/she is old enough to be recognized and bloom so to speak. As far as "JUNK"..........depends on the definition....if junk is off-speed stuff, knuckleball's, tailing fastball's, then it should be aloud. But, plain and simple, a kid will throw what works unless HE is convinced other wise. A good, hard throwing 12 yr old pitcher, will be un-hittable in decent rec-ball.usually no junk is needed...however, at the LLWS, things are different and Parents, Coaches, and whomever is involved should be instructed to look out for a child's best interest.

I was offered 5 scholarships out of Highschool to pitch,2 were div 1 schools, and was recruited by a Pirates' scout, offer wasn't good enough for me. I had some personal issues that killed the scholarships, mainly the fact it was more politicing than anything. I was set up to walk-on at ABAC...then my wildlife Technology courses labored me into 19 hours a week...i knew i couldn't play and pass....it was either-or........so i decided school was #1, because i knew being right handed and only throwing 89mph, i couldn't be a millionaire, commanding 6 pitches or not. All this being said, i did some ligament damage two months ago in my right elbow......throwing a dadgum biodegradable out the window of a freight train.