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]
A cut fastball grip from The Day Book in Chicago who credited the pitch to Christy Mathewson.
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]
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]
^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.
January 01, 1970
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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 An animated diagram of a cutter Contents 1 Professional practitioners 2 Popularity and limitations 3 See also 4 ReferencesProfessional practitioners edit nbsp A cut fastball grip from The Day Book in Chicago who credited the pitch to Christy Mathewson 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 editThe 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 nbsp Baseball portalReferences 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 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Cut fastball amp oldid 1218740650, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
