I don't really have a particular motive behind sharing this, nor do I know if it'll be beneficial at all. But I wanted to share it directly with the people of the HSBBWeb because I feel a connection with all of you and felt the need to speak about it.
As most of you know, I've been keeping a blog documenting my TJ surgery recovery process, the link to which can be found at the bottom of this post. However, I wanted to share this at a more personal level than just providing everyone here with a standard link like I have been recently.
Today was the first day that I was cleared to throw a live simulated game against batters. When I called down to the Andrews Institute on Tuesday, the instructions I received were simple: "Throw like its a game. Get guys out, use all your pitches. Make it as realistic as possible."
I ended up throwing a simulated two-inning game, which came out to 32 pitches (the protocol called for 30, hopefully the 2 extra won't be too cumbersome).
In the first inning, I induced a groundout to 2B then a flyout to CF. I then gave up a hard hit line drive single into CF, followed by another groundout to 2B on a 3-2 count.
In the second inning, I started off with a groundout to shortstop. Then I gave up a bloop single into RF, which was hit pretty softly. Then I induced a slow groundball to 3B, which was enough for a force at second but not for a double play. Then I gave up yet another line drive base hit into CF, and then followed that up by getting a flyout to LF.
The final line: 2 IP, 0 R, 3 H, 0 BB, 0 K. 13 pitches in the 1st inning, 19 in the 2nd.
Overall, I felt as though I had excellent control of my four-seam fastball and average control of my two-seam. One of the base hits up the middle was on a two-seam that ran back over and caught too much of the plate. My curveball had good bite to it but I had trouble with my release point and ended up throwing several of them in the dirt. My changeup was located pretty well but I didn't sense as though I had a great feel of it coming out of my hand as it sort of floated to home plate instead of having late downward action like I'd prefer.
I came out of the throwing session satisfied overall. I know that I still have a lot to work on- and I'm certainly not ready to pitch in a game- but considering it was the first time I've seen a live hitter since surgery I would rate it as a successful outing.
I usually attempt to make sure that every one of my posts here have some purpose, but to be honest the main reason for me to share this was just to share it. I'm pretty excited about the progress and wanted everyone here to hear about it because so many of you have been incredibly supportive throughout the process.
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