One of the other posters mentioned that you’ve been throwing all arm, and I see this as a major problem. When a pitcher does that—throws with just the arm—he’s letting himself in for big trouble, not to mention potentionally serious injury to said extremity. What you need to do, and right away, is get your whole body into the action—work on driving off the lower half of the body, using the legs, the hips and the torso in rapid-fire sequence to generate the power behind your pitches. When you do this the energy travels through that lower half up to your shoulder and arm in one continuous motion, and in the process this will take a lot of pressure off them. Your arm will feel as if it’s just going along for the ride, and you’ll get better control of all your pitches—not just the heater. I learned to do this many decades ago by watching the Yankees’ Big Three in action and seeing just how they used their lower half. Another point—you say the ball is always going in the dirt. You just might have the beginnings of a good splitter, and if you can get the hang of that pitch you could have a nasty weapon at your disposal. You might think about your arm slot—possibly change that, throw somewhere between 3/4 and sidearm, and for Pete’s sake, DON’T OVERTHROW—too many fireballers tend to do that! Abpve all—relax. Think about the guy at the plate and how you’re going to get him out. And don’t forget to follow through—finish your pitches. 8)
