Pitch counts and rest requirements

Some questions have come up regarding NKCA's pitch count and rest requirements for use during the regular season, so we'll take this opportunity to offer some explanations and answer questions.

The rules fall into two categories: pitch counts and rest.

Pitch counts
The rules state that pitchers cannot exceed a certain amount of pitches thrown per day. How many they can throw is based on their biological age, and the older the player the more pitches he/she can throw. Here's the chart:

Rest requirements
The rest rules are intended to complement the pitch counts and serve to control how often a pitcher can throw. However, not every pitcher will throw the maximum amount of pitches allowed in a game, therefore there is a sliding scale of rest rules based on the amount of pitches thrown.

This chart applies to all players age 14 and younger:

This chart applies to all players age 15-18

As you see, the more a pitcher throws, the more he/she is required to rest before pitching again.

Another new addition to the pitching rules is that the catcher is prohibited from pitching if he/she has caught in (4) four or more innings.

These rules have one primary purpose, and that is to protect the arm health of the players. There are too many instances where overuse of players' arms have led to injury, and in some cases permanent damage. Who's responsible for this? The blame can only be placed on managers anxious to have a competitive advantage, and parents willing to let the manager get away with it. Because of this disregard for the child's health, rules have now been put in place.