The complete guide to Little League International pitch count regulations — daily limits, mandatory rest requirements, catcher eligibility, and what happens if you get it wrong. Everything you need to know before you write the lineup card.
Pitch count violations can be protested. If a pitcher exceeds their daily limit or does not receive required rest, the opposing team may protest the game. A upheld protest can overturn the result — even a win. The manager is responsible, not the scorekeeper.
Little League International sets daily pitch limits by age group. These are hard limits — a pitcher must be removed once they reach their limit, even mid-batter (see the mid-batter rule).
| Division | Ages | Daily Limit |
|---|---|---|
| Majors | 11–12 | 85 pitches |
| Intermediate (50/70) | 11–13 | 85 pitches |
| Junior | 12–14 | 85 pitches |
| Minor (AAA) | 9–12 | 75 pitches |
| Minor (AA) | 7–12 | 50 pitches |
| Little League Baseball (Majors 9–10) | 9–10 | 75 pitches |
| Tee Ball | 4–7 | N/A |
A pitcher may not pitch in more than one game per day, regardless of pitch count. If a pitcher throws even one pitch in a game, that counts as their game for the day.
This is the table every coach should have memorized — or better yet, tracked automatically. Rest days are calendar days, not game days. A pitcher who throws 67 pitches on Saturday needs 4 calendar days of rest, meaning the earliest they can pitch again is Thursday.
| Pitches Thrown | Rest Required | Earliest Next Appearance |
|---|---|---|
| 1 – 20 | 0 calendar days | Next day |
| 21 – 35 | 1 calendar day | 2 days later |
| 36 – 50 | 2 calendar days | 3 days later |
| 51 – 65 | 3 calendar days | 4 days later |
| 66 – 85 | 4 calendar days | 5 days later |
Example: A pitcher throws 72 pitches on a Monday. They require 4 calendar days of rest — Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday. The earliest they can pitch again is Saturday.
Rest requirements apply to all pitchers age 14 and under, regardless of division. This is a Little League International regulation, not a local league rule that can be waived.
This is the most frequently overlooked rule in youth baseball. The regulation is straightforward:
A catcher who catches 4 or more innings in a game cannot pitch on that same calendar day.
Key points coaches get wrong:
If a pitcher reaches their daily limit while facing a batter, they may finish that at-bat. Once that batter's plate appearance is complete — whether it results in a hit, out, walk, or any other outcome — the pitcher must be removed immediately.
This rule exists to prevent managers from gaming pitch counts mid-at-bat. The batter in progress when the limit is reached is the final batter for that pitcher.
No pitcher may pitch on three consecutive calendar days, under any circumstances.
This applies even if a pitcher threw only 1 pitch on each of the first two days and technically has 0 days of mandatory rest. Three consecutive days is a hard limit with no exceptions.
In practice: if your pitcher threw 1 pitch on Monday and 1 pitch on Tuesday, they cannot pitch Wednesday regardless of their rest requirement being 0 days.
No. In Little League Majors and above, once a pitcher is removed from the mound, they cannot return as a pitcher in that game. This is different from the "return to pitch" rule in some lower divisions. Once they're done pitching, they're done pitching.
Yes. Rest day requirements apply in all Little League play, including tournament and All-Star games. Regular season and tournament pitch counts are tracked independently — a pitcher doesn't carry regular season rest requirements into tournament play — but within the tournament itself, the same rules apply.
The manager is responsible. Not the scorekeeper, not the opposing team, not the umpire. If a violation occurs because the scorekeeper made an error, the manager is still accountable. Know your counts at all times.
The home team's official scorekeeper's count is used as the reference. If there's a dispute, notify the umpire immediately — don't wait until after the game. A protest filed after the game is much harder to adjudicate than one raised in real time.
Yes. Local leagues may adopt more restrictive pitch count rules than Little League International's regulations, but they cannot be more permissive. If your local league has stricter limits, those take precedence.
No. Rest requirements are based on pitches thrown, not game outcome or innings completed. A pitcher who throws 70 pitches in a game their team wins by walk-off in the 4th inning still requires 4 calendar days of rest.
Pitch count violations happen because managers lose track during the heat of the game. Here's how to stay clean:
Dugout's pitch count tracker imports your GameChanger data and automatically calculates rest requirements for every pitcher on your roster. You see at a glance who is available, who needs rest, and how many pitches each pitcher has available before their next threshold — all before you write the lineup card.
Dugout tracks pitch counts, rest requirements, and catcher eligibility automatically — so you can focus on coaching, not counting.
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