Baseball: Japanese high school ball gets its 1st pitch limits

Japan's complex relationship with marathon pitching performances will get a new look next spring, when the Niigata Prefectural High School Baseball Federation revealed Saturday it will institute the first pitch limits in Japanese high school ball.Epic high school pitching performances are the stuff of legend in Japan, but high pitch counts are commonly believed to put pitchers' elbows and shoulders at risk. This year, Japan's national high school federation sought to combat the problem by instituting a tiebreak system starting from the 13th inning to reduce the chances of extreme pitch coun…READ FULL ARTICLE