Throwing Their Dreams Away
To protect pitchers' arms, major-league managers usually restrict the number of pitches they can throw in a single game. But, as Tom Wyrwich of the Seattle Times shows in "Former High School Pitcher Hopes Rules Are Changed to Protect Young Arms," high school coaches rarely take such precautions, and overworked high school pitchers often suffer career-threatening injuries. Here is how Wyrwich begins his outstanding story:
No way. Jason Koenig was not leaving this game.
On a crisp, spring evening, with the sun fading toward the Olympic Mountains behind home plate, Koenig's baseball career at North Mason High School reached its peak — only moments before it disappeared.
For nine innings, Koenig went pitch-for-pitch with Yelm, the state's top-ranked Class 3A team, and two future pro prospects. He had no plans to take himself out.
Not after the fifth, when, while batting, a pitch drilled him so hard in the back he couldn't swing two innings later.
Not after the top of the seventh, after throwing 97 pitches — on one day of rest after a relief appearance.
Not after the top of the eighth, when his mother, Beth, grasped the chain-link fence behind the dugout and told coach Jay Hultberg, "Jay, he's at 117 pitches. He's done."
Not even after the 132nd pitch, which landed past the scoreboard in left field for a three-run home run.
Koenig threw 140 pitches in nine innings on April 27, 2001.
He never recorded another out. Instead, he joined the rapidly expanding ranks of adolescent pitchers who need arm surgery.
Many thanks to Kate Martin for recommending this story.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/highschoolsports/2004379811_youngarms29.html