MOOSIC – High school baseball will switch from innings limitations to pitch counts in time for the 2017 season.
Former Major League Baseball all-star pitcher Andy Ashby urged local high school and youth coaches to go beyond the restrictions of the pitch counts to protect young arms during a presentation Feb. 11 at the first RailRiders University Coaches Clinic at PNC Field.
Ashby, who sponsors the Pittston Area-Wyoming Area high school rivalry game each spring, underwent three surgeries on his throwing elbow in four years late in his career. His concern, however, is for how many young pitchers need similar work.
“We need to protect these kids so they’re not 16 years old having Tommy John,” Ashby said of the reconstructive elbow surgery named after one of the first professional pitchers to famously return from it.
It was a theme Ashby came back to often while sharing in a pitching presentation with Gary Ruby, who spent 30 years in professional baseball as a pitching coach and coordinator.
“I understand you want to win, but you never know what that kind might become 5-6 years down the road,” Ashby said.
The former Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Baron, who became a part owner of the Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders in October, said the route to help a pitcher ultimately achieve his potential is building a sound approach to pitching, rather than adding new pitches too early.
Both Ruby and Ashby stressed building a base in a fundamentally sound and balanced wind-up and learning control, then command – accurately moving the ball around the strike zone – before worrying about throwing breaking balls.
The group of about 125 coaches was reminded that building proper throwing techniques is important for all baseball players, not just those who pitch.
That can start from the moment youngsters are playing catch to loosen up before more structured drills at a practice.
“You’ve got to have a purpose when you play catch,” Ashby said. “If you have kids 7-8 years old, their attention span is not that long, so the time you have with these kids you really have to emphasize what they’re trying to get out of it.
“What are you throwing to? Throw to the chest or throw to the head. Have a point where you feel the ball release out of your hand with a target, so that you know you’re throwing the ball where you want to.”
Once players can throw the ball where they want to, pitching becomes a possibility.
“That’s the main thing with pitching, throwing the ball where you want do,” Ashby said. “As they get older, their mind frame is already locked in to do that. As they go through the stages of baseball and start throwing curveballs and changeups, they have an idea of where their hand needs to be to get the ball going in the strike zone.”
Instead of being concerned over getting ball to break before a young, growing arm is ready for that stress, Ashby suggested just concentrating on control.
“Young kids need to go out and enjoy the game,” Ashby said. “One way to enjoy the game is throwing strikes.”
Ruby described the proper progression of throwing to start the day to safely build arms. Both pitching experts reminded coaches to check grips and other basics as their players are playing catch.
“If you do not have the right mechanics, you will not control the baseball,” Ruby said. “You have to have a solid base and a solid delivery if you plan on controlling the baseball.”
Ruby, from Lackawanna County, and Ashby, who lives in Jenkins Township, were joined by former Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankee Russ Canzler, a Hazleton Area graduate.
