Characteristics Associated With Noncompliance of Current Pitch Smart Guidelines in High School Baseball Pitchers Throughout the United States

Brandon J Erickson; Eric N Bowman; Christopher Camp; Michael T Freehill; Matthew V Smith; Nicholas Serio; Hiroaki Ishikawa; Karch Smith; Peter N Chalmers

doi:10.1177/23259671231199085

Characteristics Associated With Noncompliance of Current Pitch Smart Guidelines in High School Baseball Pitchers Throughout the United States

Orthop J Sports Med. 2023 Sep 26;11(9):23259671231199085. doi: 10.1177/23259671231199085. eCollection 2023 Sep.

Authors

Brandon J Erickson^{1

2}, Eric N Bowman³, Christopher Camp⁴, Michael T Freehill⁵, Matthew V Smith⁶, Nicholas Serio⁷, Hiroaki Ishikawa⁸, Karch Smith⁸, Peter N Chalmers⁸

Affiliations

¹ Rothman Institute, New York, New York, USA.
² New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, New York, USA.
³ Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, USA.
⁴ Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USA.
⁵ Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Stanford University, Palo Alto, California, USA.
⁶ Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Washington University in Saint Louis, Missouri, USA.
⁷ Athletes Warehouse, Pleasantville, New York, USA.
⁸ Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.

Abstract

Background: Although pitch count and rest guidelines have been promoted for youth and adolescent baseball players for nearly 2 decades, compliance with guidelines remains poorly understood.

Purpose/hypothesis: The purpose of this study was to determine the frequency of compliance with Major League Baseball (MLB) Pitch Smart guidelines as well as the association between compliance and range of motion (ROM), strength, velocity, injury, and pitcher utilization. It was hypothesized that pitchers in violation of current recommendations would have increased strength, velocity, and injury.

Study design: Case-control study; Level of evidence, 3.

Methods: This was a prospective, multicenter study of 115 high school pitchers throughout the United States. Pitchers were surveyed about their compliance with current off-season, rest-related guidelines, and history of injury. During the preseason, pitchers underwent standardized physical examinations, and pitch velocity was measured. Pitch counts were collected during the baseball season that followed. Dynamometer strength testing of shoulder forward flexion, and external rotation as well as grip strength was recorded. We compared pitchers who were compliant with recommendations with those who were noncompliant using Student t and Mann-Whitney U tests.

Results: Based on preseason data, 84% of pitchers had violated current Pitch Smart guidelines. During the season, 14% had at least 1 violation of the Pitch Smart guidelines. Across both the preseason survey and in-season pitch counts, 89% of players had at least 1 violation of the Pitch Smart guidelines. While there were no significant differences in ROM or strength, the noncompliant group had higher maximum pitch velocity than the compliant group (74 ± 8 vs 69 ± 5 mph [119 ± 13 vs 111 ± 8 kph], respectively; P = .009). Players' self-reported velocity differed significantly from the direct measurement, for both peak velocity (80 ± 6 vs 73 ± 8 mph [129 ± 9 vs 117 ± 13 kph], respectively; P < .001) and mean velocity (73 ± 8 vs 53 ± 27 mph [117 ± 13 vs 85 ± 43 kph], respectively; P < .001).

Conclusion: Most high school pitchers were not fully compliant with current Pitch Smart guidelines, and they tended to overestimate their peak velocity by 7 mph (11 kph). Pitchers who threw with greater velocity were at higher risk for violating Pitch Smart recommendations.

Keywords: baseball; guidelines; injury; overhead throwing; pitch count; pitching; shoulder; youth.