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By Jim Caltagirone
For the Mirror
It didn't take long for alarm bells to sound nationwide when a Stanford pitcher exceeded 150 pitches in an early June contest.
The pitch count seemed to contradict the oft-cited maxim that athlete health and safety is the first of all priorities, at all levels.
Granted, the stakes for Stanford were high.
Starter Quinn Matthews took the mound with his team staring down elimination in game two of the NCAA Super Regional against Texas.
A move to the bullpen would have seemed likely with the Cardinal leading, 5-3, after seven innings, and 8-3 going into the bottom of the ninth, especially with the pitch count rising.
But Cardinal coach David Esquer stayed with Matthews, the Pac-12 Pitcher of the Year, through the final out.
As social media erupted over the 156 pitches thrown by Matthews, Esquer said, "Before people pass judgment, they don't know what we know."
The coach explained that his ace had been trained to reach a pitch count of 125 on a weekly basis.
"He did go above that, but we took into account that he wasn't cranking off a majority of sliders and fastballs," Esquer said. "He was probably throwing a majority of changeups, and we thought that lowered the stress of the pitch count."
It has been more than two decades since a major league pitcher threw as many pitches as Matthews.
Any judgment call that pushes the envelope on what the human body can withstand is going to invite common sense, public perception and the law of averages into the conversation.
Based on a recent rule change involving kickoffs, the NFL seems to have reached the point of take no chances when it comes to player safety.
The new rule, which will be re-evaluated after one year, states that a team's possession will begin at its 25-yard line when a player for that team fair catches a kickoff or safety behind the team's 25-yard line.
The expectation is that implementation of the new rule will result in a 15 percent drop in the concussion rate on kickoffs.
The precautionary measures that are taken today to ensure the health and wellness of athletes are the products of enlightened thought, revolutionary equipment design and advancements in medical research.
Because of its full-contact nature, football is typically at the forefront of discussions on safety protocols in sport.
The recent news that hockey Hall of Famer Henri Richard had stage 3 chronic traumatic encephalopathy at the time of his death in March 2020 emphasizes the need for ongoing assessments of injury risks in each sport and consideration of possible interventions.
CTE has been defined as "a progressive and fatal brain disease associated with repeated traumatic brain injuries."
Helmets were not mandatory when Richard starred on 11 Stanley Cup championship teams in Montreal.
"We have to understand, whatever the sport, a hit to the head is not a good thing," said Hall of Fame goalie Ken Dryden, who played on two Cup teams with Richard.
Identifying injury risks is sometimes easier than mitigating them.
Soccer players around the world continue to head the ball and mixed martial artists perfect their ground-and-pound technique.
MLB and the NBA got it right when they addressed blocking the plate and instituted the flagrant fouls, respectively.
Proof that adopting a proactive approach now eliminates the need for a lot of explaining later.
Jim Caltagirone resides in Altoona. He is a regular contributor to Voice of the Fan.