Baseball pitch
In
baseball
, a
cut fastball
or
cutter
is a type of
fastball
that breaks toward the
pitcher
's glove-hand side, as it reaches
home plate
.
[1]
This pitch is somewhere between a
slider
and a
four-seam fastball
, as it is usually thrown faster than a slider but with more movement than a typical fastball.
[1]
Some pitchers use a cutter to prevent hitters from expecting their regular fastballs. A common technique for throwing a cutter is to use a four-seam fastball grip with the baseball set slightly off center in the hand.
[2]
A batter hitting a cutter pitch often achieves only soft contact and an easy out due to the pitch's movement keeping the ball away from the bat's
sweet spot
. The cutter is typically 2?5 mph slower than a pitcher's four-seam fastball. In 2010, the average pitch classified as a cutter by
PITCHf/x
thrown by a right-handed pitcher was 88.6 mph; the average two-seamer was 90.97 mph.
[3]
Professional practitioners
[
edit
]
The
New York Yankees
' former closer
Mariano Rivera
, one of the foremost practitioners of the cutter,
[1]
made the pitch famous after the mid-1990s, though the pitch itself has been around since at least the 1950s.
[4]
When the cut fastball is pitched skillfully at speed, particularly against the opposite hand batter (that is, a right-handed pitcher facing a left-handed hitter), the pitch can crack and split a hitter's bat, hence the pitch's occasional nickname of "the buzzsaw". Batter
Ryan Klesko
, then of the
Atlanta Braves
, broke three bats in a single plate appearance during the
1999 World Series
while facing Rivera. To deal with this problem a few
switch hitters
batted right-handed against the right-handed Rivera?that is, on the "wrong" side, as switch hitters generally bat from the same side of the plate as the pitcher's glove hand.
[5]
In
2011
,
Dan Haren
led all major league starting pitchers with nearly 48% of his pitches classified by PITCHf/x as cutters.
Roy Halladay
was close behind at 45%.
[6]
Other pitchers who rely (or relied) heavily on a cut fastball include
Jon Lester
,
James Shields
,
Josh Tomlin
,
Will Harris
,
Mark Melancon
,
Jaime Garcia
,
Wade Miley
,
David Robertson
,
Jerry Reuss
,
Andy Pettitte
,
Emmanuel Clase
, and
Corbin Burnes
.
[7]
[8]
[9]
Over the course of
Kenley Jansen
's career from (2010?present)
[10]
he has thrown his cutter 85.1% of the time, second only to Rivera at 87.2% among pitchers with at least 30 innings during that time period.
[11]
Popularity and limitations
[
edit
]
The cutter grew in popularity as certain pitchers, including
Dan Haren
, looked to compensate for loss of speed in their four-seam fastball.
[1]
Braves third baseman
Chipper Jones
attributed the increased dominance of pitchers from 2010?2011 to a more prolific use of the cutter, as did
Cleveland Indians
pitcher
Chris Perez
.
[12]
[13]
By 2011, it was commonly being called the "pitch
du jour
" in the baseball press.
[7]
[14]
Some pushback has developed against (overuse of) the pitch, due to concerns that a pitcher overusing the cutter could develop arm fatigue.
[15]
Baltimore Orioles
General Manager
Dan Duquette
instructed prized prospect
Dylan Bundy
not to throw the pitch in the minor leagues, believing its use could make Bundy's fastball and
curve
less effective.
[16]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
d
Chen, Albert (June 13, 2011).
"This Is The Game Changer"
.
Sports Illustrated
. Retrieved
2015-08-01
.
- ^
Ellis, Steven.
"Pitching Grips"
.
thecompletepitcher.com
. Archived from
the original
on 2021-12-16
. Retrieved
2018-09-03
.
- ^
"League Average PITCHf/x Data ? TexasLeaguers.com"
. Texas Leaguers. Archived from
the original
on 27 May 2012
. Retrieved
29 May
2012
.
- ^
Verducci, Tom
(2009-10-05).
"Mariano Saves"
.
Sports Illustrated
. Retrieved
2009-09-30
.
- ^
Kepner, Tyler (2004-03-23).
"For Yankees and Rivera, It's Case Closed"
.
The New York Times
. Retrieved
2007-07-25
.
- ^
"Pitch Type Statistics (2011)"
.
Fangraphs
. Retrieved
15 August
2013
.
- ^
a
b
Christensen, Joe (June 22, 2011).
"Curve now takes a back seat to other breaking pitches"
.
Star Tribune
. Retrieved
20 August
2012
.
- ^
Curry, Jack (June 6, 2012).
"Andy Pettitte enjoying a renaissance"
. YES Network
. Retrieved
20 August
2012
.
- ^
Kepner, Tyler (October 29, 2013).
"Lester Again Makes World Series His Moment"
.
The New York Times
. Retrieved
29 October
2013
.
- ^
"Kenley Jansen - Stats - Pitching | FanGraphs Baseball"
.
www.fangraphs.com
. Retrieved
2020-11-25
.
- ^
"Major League Leaderboards ≫ 2020 ≫ Relievers ≫ 16 | FanGraphs Baseball"
.
www.fangraphs.com
. Retrieved
2020-11-25
.
- ^
Olney, Buster.
Cutting into the action
.
ESPN
. 9 May 2011. Retrieved 2 July 2011.
- ^
Manoloff, Dennis.
From atop the AL Central, Cleveland Indians ponder baseball's shrinking 2011 offense
.
The Plain Dealer
. 15 May 2011. Retrieved 2 July 2011.
- ^
Rogers, Phil (April 21, 2012).
"Phil Rogers: Ditching cut fastball for slider points Chicago White Sox's Philip Humber in right direction"
.
Chicago Tribune
. Retrieved
20 August
2012
.
- ^
McCalvy, Adam (March 22, 2012).
"The cutter: Hottest pitch in baseball spreading"
.
MLB.com
. Retrieved
19 September
2012
.
- ^
Melewski, Steve (August 16, 2012).
"Dan Duquette on O's pitching philosophy: 'We don't like the cutter'
"
. MASNSports.com
. Retrieved
20 August
2012
.