TIM MORSE: High school baseball going to be interesting this spring

If you hang around this business long enough, you will see some crazy things happen. There are some things that wow you, then some things that leave you scratching your head.

I will never forget the first round of the Georgia High School Association’s state baseball playoffs two years ago. A team from the metro Atlanta-area strolled into Lee County and played the Trojans. After Lee County took the first game of the best-of-three series, this team brought in its pitcher (who had caught the full seven innings of Game1) and he took the hill.

He was masterful, helping his team beat Lee County in the second game, forcing a decisive third game the next day. This pitcher threw more than 150 pitches in Game 2, far too many even though the weather was warm and it was early May.

The following day, this team tried a different pitcher, but after Lee County lit him up, the coach went back to the same pitcher who had thrown more than 150 pitches the previous night.

And the kid threw five more innings and at least 100 more pitches.

I’m not a math whiz, but that, my friends, was at least 250 pitches in a 24-hour span. I remember thinking that pitchers’ arm had to be about to fall off.

That won’t happen anymore because, if you follow the news, the Georgia High School Association adopted a pitch-count rule starting this spring. This is the most radical rule adopted for high school baseball in quite some time, and it will affect every high school team in some shape, form or fashion.

If a pitcher throws 86 or more pitches, he must take three days off. Pitchers throwing 61 to 85 pitches will have to take two days off.

Meanwhile, no rest will be required for pitchers throwing 35 or less pitches, but if a pitcher throws on back-to-back days, he would have to take a day off.

I’m all for safety, and I applaud the GHSA for taking a stand. But, as usual, the way they did is concerning to me — no trial period, no easing the high school coaches into it — just bam, head-first into it, going full speed.

After the GHSA passed the motion last fall, one of the biggest concerns among coaches was how the pitch counts were going to be monitored.

Enter the Pitch Count Monitor.

This person will be tasked with keeping up with each pitch a pitcher throws. They will be paid (albeit less) than a traditional game umpire, $29.50 per varsity game, $25.50 for each non-varsity game.

I spoke with Lee County coach Brandon Brock last week, and he shared his thoughts that echo what many other coaches around the state are thinking. In addition to paying umps for games, teams will have to pay more to have someone chart pitches, who will deliver them to the umpiring association. Somewhere, those totals will be entered into the GHSA’s MIS system by 9 a.m. the following day.

“I think we figured up something like $1,500 that we’re paying (PCMs) for our ninth-grade, junior varsity and varsity teams,” Brock said. “We’re fortunate that we can absorb that, but there will be some schools that can’t.”

Those some schools who are going to struggle with these PCM fees are small, rural schools that struggle just to make a baseball budget.

It’s going to be interesting to see how all of this plays out in the spring.