Pitch Count Calculator

Pitch Smart pitch count chart

Pitch Smart is the set of pitching guidelines from Major League Baseball and USA Baseball for ages 7 through 22. Each age group has a daily maximum, and the number of pitches thrown sets how many calendar days of rest come next. Pitch Smart also says no pitcher should pitch in games three days in a row, whatever the counts were, and no one should pitch in more than one game in a day.

Little League pitch count rules

Little League Baseball uses league age, which is a player's age on August 31 of the current year, and its divisions stop at league age 16. League ages 13 through 16 share a 95-pitch daily max, but rest follows the younger table through league age 14 and the older table at 15 and 16. Little League never allows a pitcher to pitch three days in a row. A pitcher who reaches his daily limit while facing a batter may finish that batter, and his rest is set by his count when he threw the first pitch to his last batter. These are the regular-season rules; tournament play has a few differences, and local leagues can be stricter.

How rest days are counted

Rest days are full calendar days, and the day he pitched doesn't count. So the first day he can pitch again is the game date plus the rest days plus one. Little League's own example: a 12 year old who throws 70 pitches on Monday needs four days of rest, so he can't pitch Thursday but can pitch Saturday. A count that needs zero rest days means he can pitch the next day, but never on a third day in a row.

What a pitch count can't tell you

Research has linked overuse and pitching while tired to elbow and shoulder injuries in young pitchers, and pitch counts are the simplest guardrail against both. But a count only limits how many pitches he throws. How hard each pitch is on his arm depends a lot on his delivery: when the legs, hips, and trunk do their share, the arm carries less of the load. And pitches for every team count, travel ball included, even when a league's rules don't track them. Any arm pain means no pitching, whatever the count says. See a doctor if it hurts. Never trade a healthy arm for a number.

Common questions

How many days of rest does a pitcher need after 50 pitches?

Two calendar days at every age under Pitch Smart and Little League. Through age 14 (league age 14 in Little League), 36 to 50 pitches means two days. From 15 up, 46 to 60 pitches means two days. A pitcher who throws 50 on Monday can pitch again Thursday.

What is the pitch count limit for a 12 year old?

85 pitches in a day, under Pitch Smart at age 12 and under Little League at league age 12 (his age on August 31). At that count he needs four calendar days of rest, because anything from 66 pitches up carries the four-day requirement at ages 9 through 14.

Can a pitcher pitch two days in a row?

Only if his first outing was short enough to need no rest: 1 to 20 pitches through age 14, or 1 to 30 pitches from 15 up (league age in Little League). Neither Pitch Smart nor Little League allows pitching on three days in a row, no matter how low the counts were.

Does the day he pitched count as a rest day?

No. Rest days are the full calendar days after the game. Two days of rest after pitching on Monday means Tuesday and Wednesday off, and he can pitch again Thursday.

Do Little League pitch counts include travel ball?

Little League's rules only cover Little League games, so pitches for a travel team aren't counted against them. His arm counts them all. Add up every team's pitches and plan rest around the total.

What happens if he reaches the limit in the middle of a batter?

Little League lets him finish that batter, and his rest is set by his count when he threw the first pitch to that batter. Pitch Smart doesn't make that exception, so count every pitch he threw. This calculator counts every pitch for both and tells you when Little League's batter rule could lower the rest.

Does my son's high school follow Pitch Smart?

Not necessarily. Every state high school association sets its own pitch count rules, and they differ from Pitch Smart and from each other. Check your state association's rules for games. Pitch Smart's numbers for ages 15 to 18 are a sound guide for everything else he throws.

Pitch counts guard against overuse. Mechanics shape what each pitch costs his arm.

A coach-reviewed video evaluation shows whether his delivery is spreading the work across his legs, hips, and trunk or asking his arm to carry it. Free, from one short phone video.