Why the pitch count is needed now.

The pitch count is a relatively new thing. By new I mean it wasn't an issue before the 1980's. So, what was it that made the pitch count something to value?

I believe the answer is two fold.

The first reason that pitch counts are needed is the idea of the radar gun. As soon as pitchers velocity began getting "gunned" pitchers started throwing harder. The reason was they finally had something that could measure what they were doing. This caused some overthrowing and some arm issues, I believe.

The other major reason that a pitch count has become standard operating procedure is that agents exist. Agents must protect their commodity. In so doing, they have created a convenient way of doing so with the pitch count. The less pitches a pitcher throws, the less chance of injury. The less chance of injury, the better chance the agent takes his percentage. Before the "agent age" no one really looked out for the individual player.

As far as amateur players, they better hope they don't get "gun" happy. It's one thing to train with a gun to monitor velocity. But, this should be closely monitored as you don't want a player simply throwing for velocity without proper supervision. Also, you want to make sure that pitcher's have some good guidance from parents and coaches alike.