Little League pitch count rules

Little League counts pitches, not innings. Every baseball division from 7–8 up to 17–18 has a daily limit, set by the pitcher's league age, and every outing earns a number of calendar days of rest before the player may pitch again. The count is kept for each game by an official pitch count recorder, and the two managers check it against each other's numbers as the game goes on.

The limit is a hard stop with one exception. A pitcher who reaches the daily limit while facing a batter may finish that batter: they come out when the batter reaches base, is put out, or the third out ends the half-inning. The same rule applies to rest. If a pitcher crosses into a longer rest band during an at-bat and comes out before throwing to the next batter, the rest is set by the band they were in when that at-bat started.

Rest is counted in calendar days, not hours. A pitcher who throws 40 pitches on Saturday needs two days of rest, so the first day they may pitch again is Tuesday. A short outing of 20 pitches or fewer needs no rest at all, which is why many managers use a reliever for one batter or one inning.

Pitching also limits catching. A player who throws 41 or more pitches in a game may not catch for the rest of that day, and a player who catches four or more innings may not pitch that day. Managers who plan a game's pitchers and catchers together avoid finding this out in the fourth inning.

League age, not birthday age, sets the limit. Little League baseball uses a player's age on August 31 of the season's year, so most 12-year-olds play the season at league age 12 even after a birthday in May.

How it plays out in a game

• An 11-year-old reaches 85 pitches on a 1-2 count. They finish that batter, then come out.
• A 10-year-old throws 50 pitches on Saturday: two days of rest, so the earliest they pitch again is Tuesday.
• A starter throws 45 pitches and moves to catcher in the fourth inning. That is not allowed: 41 or more pitches rules out catching for the rest of the day.
• A 16-year-old throws 70 pitches: three days of rest, since ages 15–18 rest on a higher scale than 14 and under.

Put it on a card: Pitching charts.

Set up for this rule

The free pitch count tracker counts every pitcher's pitches against these limits and shows the rest each one will need. It opens on league ages 11–12; pick your age group at the top. To keep the count on paper, a printed pitching chart gives the scorekeeper a row per pitcher.

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