Sidearm

It should NEVER hurt. In fact, if your arm is properly conditioned, it should rarely be sore. Side-arm action can result in good movement but changing your release point at your age (2007 grad?) is dicey. Why? If you have a decent high 3/4's arm slot you will throw more strikes.

...If it ain't broke why fix it?

To get movement on your fastball, experiment with grips and stuff. Now I throw from a 3/4 arm slot, and that helps, but I always have. Side arm is tough on the arm. Submarine isn't as bad... even thugh it hurts me to watch it. Not because it's bad, just hard to do.

what if i only threw some pitches from the side and some from 3/4? kinda like bronson arroyo.

I am not a fan of differing release points. It's just too hard to perfect one.

Different release points for different pitches might tip off batters who know you.

You can throw more than one pitch, and to more than one location, from different arm slots.

ck07, you can use different arm slots. It does give you more variety with which to keep the batter off balance. However, it obviously requires much more work to maintain command in two arm slots as compared to one.

As long as you don't supinate, which many (most?) pitchers tend to do when throwing sidearm, there is no added stress from throwing sidearm.

Think through this carefully, weighing the pros and cons.

quote:

Originally posted by canadiankid07:
I am really starting to consider pitching sidearm lately.
<snip>
Now the biggest reason is beacuse i can throw a distgusting sinker that tails and a slider that can move. my fastball doesnt really change much so im not sure what to do.

You may be interested in Chad Bradford's story and his transition from over-the-top,
to side-arm, to MLB submariner.

Bradford is now with the Orioles earning $3M+ a year. He is known for having scraped
his knuckles on the ground while pitching. He was a kid that loved baseball but had
little talent until he dropped his arm slot. It still was a long time before many
people took notice.

You can hear an interview with Bradford on the 4/9/2007 Baseball Channel TV podcast
which you can find here: http://mlb.mlb.com/feed/podcast/mlbradio.xml

The book "Moneyball" by Michael Lewis tells the full Bradford story.

You can see a photo gallery and some video on Bradford's roster page here:
http://baltimore.orioles.mlb.com/team/player.jsp?player_id=136268

Have you reached a decision yet canadiankid07?