New Rule Guards Against Pitchers Reaching Their Limit : Baseball: CIF hopes to protect players from overwork, and possible abuse, by restricting the number of appearances and outs in a week.

Southern Section baseball history is jammed with one-pitcher teams that reached the finals.

Last spring, Saugus High School’s Roger Salkeld pitched 32 1/3 of his team’s 36 1/3 playoff innings, but his season ended on a ninth-inning wild pitch that allowed Kennedy to win the 3-A title game, 1-0.

The season before, Eric Brooks pitched in 31 of La Mirada’s 35 playoff innings, winning all five games and leading the Matadores to the 3-A title with an 8-4 victory over El Toro.

But under a California Interscholastic Federation rule, which took effect this spring, Salkeld, Brooks and others like them have been put on ice.

The CIF hopes to put an end to such high use or, as some would call it, “abuse,” of young throwing arms.

For the first time, there is a limit on the number of appearances and outs a pitcher can be a part of in a Monday-through-Saturday week.

This season, pitchers are allowed only three appearances and a total of 30 outs a week.

Games that start, but are rained out also count toward the limit. But if a pitcher is involved in a double or triple play that pushes his total over 30, he isn’t penalized. Violation of the rule results in an automatic forfeit of the game.

“There are two reasons for (the rule),” Southern Section Administrator Bill Clark said. “There is the safety point of view. Then there is also the question of who really has the best team.

“Is it the team with the best pitcher and eight other guys that can get a run or two? Or is it the team with the best depth?”

For the most part, coaches seem pleased with the rule and agree that seldom is there a case when a coach would intentionally overwork a pitcher.

“It’s not because of a majority of the coaches that the rule was passed,” Mater Dei Coach Bob Ickes said. “It was a minority that forced some kind of rule to be applied.”

The state rule, which was introduced by a Southern Section subcommittee, was put into effect because of a directive from the National Federation of State High School Athletic Assns.

Two years ago, that organization asked the states to work toward getting a rule on the books for the 1990 season. The Southern Section came up with the proposal, and it was adopted by California last year.

There have been only two reported violations, and both came because the coaches were not aware of the rule.

In a Pacific Coast League game between Woodbridge and Laguna Hills March 30, Woodbridge pitcher Trent Zappen pitched 10 2/3 innings, before Laguna Hills won, 3-2.

“The umpire and I had no idea about the rule,” Woodbridge Coach Johnny Ceballos said. “But if it’s to protect the kids then I’ll go along with it . . . I honestly don’t think they (the Southern Section) did a good job of telling us about it. Half the umpires know about it and half don’t. I went around and asked the umpires.”

Camarillo had to forfeit a 4-2 victory over Chatsworth in the championship game of the Westside tournament in March because a Camarillo pitcher went over the 30-out limit as well.

Despite the violations, most coaches say the rule is generous because teams normally play only two games a week during league season. Problems will occur during the playoffs and tournaments, coaches say.

In the playoffs, coaches no longer will be able to use one pitcher. To win a championship, teams have to win five games in two-plus weeks, starting on a Friday.

El Dorado won the major division title last spring as Coach Steve Gullotti divided up his innings between three pitchers--Pete Janicki, Jay Hassell and Matt Luke.

“It will now take at least two pitchers to win the title,” Gullotti said. “Even with two it will be hard unless they’re studs . . . In the playoffs, you want the really competitive kids who want the ball, but sometimes kids say their arm doesn’t hurt when it does and they get hurt. This rule will cut down on that.”

During tournaments, teams can play as many as five games in a week, which means several more pitchers than normal are needed.

“Tournaments were hard on everybody,” Villa Park Coach Dave Ochoa said. “You can go along with a No. 1 and a No. 2 guy, but then suddenly you will need more pitching and there are guys you haven’t used all year on the mound.”

Ochoa, like several coaches, says the best way to control arm abuse is by limiting the number of pitches thrown. But the coaches are also quick to note that it is impossible to keep track of how many pitches are thrown.

“You’d love to see it as the number of pitches,” La Quinta Coach Dave Demarest said. “But there is no way to report it or keep track of your opponents. What they are doing now is the best way.”

While the rule is meant to protect kids from overuse, Villa Park pitcher Todd Blyleven, a senior right-hander, misses the chance to pitch more.

“It affects me a lot,” he said. “I pitch during the winter, so my arm is pretty strong. I could throw a lot more than 30 outs a week. There are guys who don’t throw during the winter, they play football or basketball. Some of them come out late for baseball and try to throw too much too soon. That can really mess up their arms.

“The rule really protects them. I think you’ll see fewer arm injuries because of the limit.”

Tustin Coach Vince Brown sees the rule as positive overall, but finds a problem with it.

Although expected to use more pitchers, teams are not allowed any more time in the preseason to get more players ready to pitch.

Teams are allowed to practice only 50 minutes in the sixth period during the year until 14 days before the season, then practice can continue after school.

“We just don’t have time to get everything done in that short of time,” Brown said. “You want to work with all your pitchers but there are many other things to get done to start a season, and with this rule you have guys pitching that haven’t even thrown in practice.”

After a while, pitching staffs on high school teams will start to get bigger, too.

“It gives more kids a chance and that’s always good,” San Clemente Coach Joe Miller said. “You will have to just work more with the pitchers and work harder at developing them.”

THE RULE

Here’s the new California Interscholastic Federation rule that limits the number of outs and appearances by a high school pitcher:

No high school pitcher may throw more than 30 outs or make more than three appearances in a calendar week (Monday through Saturday) through the season. The following also will apply:

1. Innings pitched in a no game (i.e. rainout, power failure, umpires failing to show) shall count toward the total.

2. If the 30th out involves a double or triple play, the team will not be penalized.

3. An appearance is defined as a pitcher throwing at least one pitch.

4. Violation constitutes forfeit of the game.