Yeah, I didn't mention doing it consistently, but I have struck out my fair share in the street! My kid plays A LOT of baseball. When i pitch to him in the batting cage, I work him with the off-speed breaking stuff that he faces from kids his age. I can throw a fastball, but I am done for a week after. BEST of luck with your surgery and recovery.
Lol. After I load softballs into a pitching machine for 14 girls (80 or so pitches each) I am done for a month! The roundhouse motion before loading the ball to emulate a pitcher just kills my shoulder and all surrounding muscles.
How is it possible for a softball pitcher to pitch every day or even twice a day? A baseball pitcher is done for 4 or 5 days after throwning 100 or so pitches. A few years ago an LSU softball pitcher pitched 3 complete games in one day in the Softball World Series. Wouldn't something like that do permanent damage to her arm?
It's about managing the arm leading in to this part of the season. The last few weeks of the regular season, the #1's typically don't pitch much, certainly not a full game. By the time the get to the final 8, you don't often see more than 1, maybe 2 ladies per team doing the pitching. They do ice the shoulder and elbow. The overhand motion is much worse than roundhouse in terms of joint stress. And with baseball pitching, mostly speed kills. In softball speed can kill but spin and location can be equally effective. So, mid-range speed can win if you hit your spots.