Research-backed
Why We Built Bullpen Boss This Way
We didn’t just make up the rules in the app. Everything is based on real research that
shows how to keep young arms healthy and how to know which pitchers are actually the
best.
1. Why We Protect Arms So Carefully
Pitching too much is the #1 cause of arm injuries in youth baseball. A big national
study found that kids who pitched on back-to-back days, played on multiple teams at
the same time, or pitched more than 8 months a year were much more likely to have arm
pain and get hurt.
That’s why Bullpen Boss tracks every pitch and tells you exactly how many days of
rest your pitchers need based on their age.
Source:
MLB Pitch Smart Guidelines (based on the 2014 Yang study)
2. Why We Rank Pitchers Using K%-BB%
Not every pitcher who throws hard is actually good at preventing runs. The single
best way to tell how good a pitcher really is (even with limited games) is to look at
how many strikeouts they get compared to how many walks they give up.
This number (called K% minus BB%) is the most reliable way to know which pitchers are
actually dominating hitters and which ones are just getting lucky (especially during
youth travel games where defense is often unreliable).
That’s why after you rank your pitchers yourself, the app uses this number to make
smart recommendations, helping you plan your pitching staff for the weekend, make the
right changes during games, and win more tournaments.
Source:
FanGraphs research on pitching stats
3. The Problem We’re Trying to Fix
Even though these guidelines have been around for years, most teams are still not
following them. One study found that over 90% of teams in tournaments were breaking
the rules, mostly by not giving their pitchers enough rest between games.
Bullpen Boss was built to fix exactly that problem.
Source:
Greiner et al., 2021, Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine
