Cut fastball
In baseball, a cutter, or cut fastball, is a type of fastball which breaks slightly toward the pitcher's glove side as it reaches home plate.[1] This pitch is somewhere between a slider and a fastball, as it is usually thrown faster than a slider but with more motion than a typical fastball.[1] Some pitchers use a cutter as a way to prevent hitters from expecting their regular fastballs. A common technique used to throw a cutter is to use a four-seam fastball grip with the baseball set slightly off center in the hand. When a batter is able to hit a cutter pitch, it often results in a ground ball leading to an easy out.[citation needed] 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 four-seamer was 92.1 mph.[2]
Professional practitioners
The New York Yankees' closer Mariano Rivera, one of the foremost practitioners of the cutter,[1] made the pitch famous, though the pitch itself has been around since at least the 1950s. [3]
When the cut fastball is working correctly, mainly against opposite-handed batters (e.g., 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." Ryan Klesko, then of the Atlanta Braves, broke three bats in a single plate appearance during the 1999 World Series while facing Mariano Rivera. A few switch hitters have even been known to bat right-handed against the right-handed Rivera (the "wrong" side; switch hitters generally bat from the side of home plate opposite to the pitcher's throwing hand).[4][5]
Braves third baseman Chipper Jones attributed the increased dominance of pitchers from 2010–2011 to a more prolific use of the pitch, as did Cleveland Indians pitcher Chris Perez.[6][7] In 2010, Roy Halladay threw a cutter 34.2% of the time, the highest rate among major league starters.[8]
References
- ^ a b c Chen, Albert (June 13, 2011). "This Is The Game Changer: Is the cut fastball a magic pitch? It stymies hitters, revives pitchers' careers (hello, Dan Haren) and has helped shift the game's balance from plate to mound. The cutter: It's not just for Mariano anymore". SI.com. Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 2011-06-09.
- ^ "League Average PITCHf/x Data - TexasLeaguers.com". Texas Leaguers. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
- ^ Verducci, Tom (2009-10-05). "Mariano Saves". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 2009-09-30.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Kepner, Tyler (2004-03-23). "For Yankees and Rivera, It's Case Closed". The New York Times. Retrieved 2007-07-25.
- ^ "AL East". Sporting News. 2005-07-08. Retrieved 2007-08-23.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Major League Leaderboards >> 2008 >> Pitches >> Pitch Type Statistics. FanGraphs Baseball. Retrieved 2 July 2011.
External links
- This Is The Game Changer. A Sports Illustrated article on the cut fastball.