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Rule Changes for 2008
Little League International has made some rule changes for
2008 that everyone needs to be aware of. We will give you more detailed
information of theses changes as the season approaches. For detailed information
on all of the rules implemented by Little League International, visit their
website at littleleague.org.
2008 Little League International Rule Changes
1. Baseball Pitcher Eligibility
The pitch count rules were put into effect in 2007. This year
these rules have been further refined. The reason for the rules is try to
prevent injure and reduce stress on young arms. These rules will apply to all
leagues. The new pitch count rules for 2008 are as follows:
- In all divisions, in order to intentially walk a batter the pitcher must
throw 4 pitches. These pitches are counted in the pitch count.
- For 7 - 8 year olds, pitchers may throw a maximum of 50 pitches.
- Another huge change is that a player that pitches in a game may not play
catcher for the remainder of that day.
- The fourth rule change is that a pitcher who throws over 40 pitches must
observe the required number of days rest, and will not be eligible to pitch in
the next game. In other words, a pitcher cannot pitch in consecutive games, if
he pitches over 40 pitches in a game.
The number of pitches a
pitcher can throw in a game is determined by his age. These numbers have not
changed except for the addition of a 7 - 8 year old limit. For easy reference,
the pitch count limit are as follows:
|
League
Age |
Pitch
Limit |
|
17
- 18 |
105
pitches per day |
|
13
- 16 |
95
pitches per day |
|
11
- 12 |
85
pitches per day |
|
9
- 10 |
75
pitches per day |
|
7
- 8 |
50
pitches per day |
Note: If a pitcher reaches his limit while pitching to
batter, he may continue pitching to that batter until the batter is put out or
reaches base.
For pitchers league age 16 and under, the following rest
requirement must be
adhered to:
|
Pitches
Per Day |
Rest
Period |
|
61
or more pitches |
3
calendar days |
|
41
- 60 pitches per day |
2
calendar days |
|
21
-40 |
1
calendar day |
|
1
- 20 |
0
calendar days |
For pitchers league age 17 and 18, the following rest
requirement must be
adhered to:
|
Pitches
Per Day |
Rest
Period |
|
76
or more pitches |
3
calendar days |
|
51
- 75 pitches per day |
2
calendar days |
|
26
-50 |
1
calendar day |
|
1
- 25 |
0
calendar days |
2. 12 Year Old Must Be Drafted Into The Majors
All 12 Year olds must be drafted into the Major League unless
an agreement is reached by the child, parents, and the local board.
 The Use of Non-Wood
Bats
January 25, 2007
Dear Little League
Volunteers,
The Youth Committee of USA
Baseball today issued the statement below regarding non-wood bats.
Little League International is a
member, along with other youth organizations, of USA Baseball. Little League
also holds a seat on the USA Baseball Board of Directors.
USA Baseball often coordinates
research that affects all youth baseball organizations. For example, USA
Baseball was instrumental in the recent change to the league age determination
date by all youth baseball organizations.
USA Baseball, the National
Governing Body (NGB) for the sport of baseball as designated by the Amateur
Sports Act of 1978, recently held a meeting of its National Youth Membership,
and on behalf of the following organizations has released the following
statement:
American Amateur Baseball Congress
(AABC)
American Legion Baseball
Dixie Baseball
Little League Baseball, Inc.
Babe Ruth Baseball
PONY Baseball
National Amateur Baseball
Federation (NABF)
National Baseball Congress / Hap
Dumont Baseball
Amateur Athletic Union (AAU)
United States Sports Specialties
Association (USSSA)
National Police Athletic League
(PAL)
T-Ball USA
PERCEPTION: Aluminum bats
are more dangerous than wood bats.
The National Consumer Product Safety Commission studied this issue
and concluded in 2002 that there is no evidence to suggest that aluminum bats
pose any greater risk than wood bats. Multiple amateur baseball governing
bodies, including the NCAA, National High School Federation, Little League
International, PONY, et al, all track safety statistics and have concluded that
aluminum bats do not pose a safety risk. PERCEPTION: Balls come off
aluminum bats faster than wood.
Since 2003, all bats are required
to meet the ¡°Bat Exit Speed Ratio¡± (BESR) performance limitation, which ensures
that aluminum bats do not hit the ball any harder than the best wood bats.
PERCEPTION: Injuries from
aluminum bats are more severe than with wood bats.
Two out of the three deaths from a
batted ball in the last decade came from wood bats. Dr. Frederick Mueller,
Director of the National Center for Catastrophic Sports Injury Research, has
indicated from his studies that catastrophic injuries from wood bats may be more
frequent than aluminum bats.
PERCEPTION: The
BrownUniversity study proves that aluminum bats hit
the ball harder than wood bats.
This study is irrelevant by
today¡¯s standards. All of the bats used in the Brown study would not be allowed
to be used today, because they do not meet the BESR standard.
PERCEPTION: The use of
aluminum bats places children at an unacceptable risk of
injury.
A study from the National Center
for Catastrophic Sports Injury Research shows that there have been only 15
catastrophic batted ball injuries to pitchers out of more than 9,500,000 high
school and college participants since 1982.
During the last five years a
number of states, individual organizations, city councils, and others have
proposed the banning of metal baseball bats on a number of different
levels. These actions have typically been in reaction to a catastrophic injury
as opposed to being based on creditable injury data or research. In May of 2002
the Consumer Product Safety Commission stated, ¡°The Commission is not aware of
any information that injuries produced by balls batted with non-wood bats are
more severe than those involving wood bats¡±. This statement was true in 2002 and
it is true in 2007.
The Medical/Safety Advisory
Committee of USA Baseball was initiated due to the lack of injury data needed to
make decisions affecting the safety of baseball participants. Prior to 2005
there has not been significant research comparing injuries to baseball pitchers
from metal bats versus wood bats. In 2005 the USA Baseball Medical/Safety
Committee initiated a three year research project comparing line drive baseball
injuries to pitchers from metal bats and wood bats. Metal bat injury data were
taken from the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Injury
Surveillance System and wood bat injury data collected from college summer
leagues (NCAA recognized college summer league teams all use wood
bats).
After two years (2005 and 2006) of
collecting batted ball injury data to the pitcher from 93 NCAA college baseball
teams and 246 college summer league teams there have only been 17 injuries to
NCAA college pitchers and 15 injuries to college summer league pitchers. Only 32
injuries after 331,821 balls were hit into play (Balls hit into play are
calculated by taking the number of at bats and subtracting strike outs and bases
on balls). The injuries in the summer leagues were more severe than the NCAA
injuries. One-third of the summer league injuries involved the head and face as
opposed to none in the NCAA. The third year of the study will be completed in
2007.
What this data does indicate is
that injuries to the pitcher from batted balls are very rare and can happen
while using metal or wood bats. There is no data to indicate that the few
catastrophic injuries to baseball pitchers from metal bats would not have
happened if the batter was using a wood bat. Before any sport makes rule
changes, equipment changes, or other changes related to the safety of the
participants, it is imperative that these changes are based on reliable injury
data and not anecdotal information.
More information on this subject
is available at these links:
http://www.littleleague.org/media/bats.asp
http://www.littleleague.org/rules/2005bathelmetrulechanges.asp
http://www.littleleague.org/media/InjuredPitcherStats.pdf
-----
Sincerely,
Little League
International
P.O. Box 3485
539 US Route 15 Hwy
Williamsport,
PA 17701-0485
Phone: 570-326-1921
Fax: 570-326-1074
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