Glossary

Cutter

A cutter, or cut fastball, is a baseball pitch thrown almost as hard as the fastball that moves a few inches to the pitcher's glove side just before the plate, to break the batter's bat or get weak contact.

The pitcher throws the cutter with fastball arm speed and a grip turned slightly off center, so the ball leaves the hand with a little side spin. It travels like a fastball and moves late, only a few inches, toward the glove side. The batter swings at a fastball and hits it off the end of the bat or in on the hands.

It is a contact pitch more than a strikeout pitch. Thrown in on an opposite-handed batter it saws off the bat for a soft ground ball or a broken bat; thrown away from a same-handed batter it gets the end of the bat. Because it is so close to the fastball in speed, the batter has almost no time to tell them apart, and a pitcher with both can work the same side of the plate with each.

As a sign it needs its own call so the catcher sets up for the late movement. On a pitch calling card it sits next to the fastball, and the location beside it matters more than for most pitches: in on the hands or away, almost never over the middle.

When to call it

In on the hands of an opposite-handed hitter for a ground ball, with a double play in order.
Away from a same-handed batter who has been pulling the fastball.
A count the pitcher needs a strike in, since the cutter is thrown in the zone more often than a breaking ball.

Put it on a card: Pitch calling cards.

Sample wristband and cheat sheet

Sample cutter wristband card in a wristband: a numbered grid of signs with the Fastball and Cutter signs highlighted — A wristband card with the Fastball and Cutter signs in color. The coach calls a row and a number, and the player reads the play in that cell.

Sample cutter cheat sheet in a wristband: the key to the wristband's abbreviations, including Fastball and Cutter — The cheat sheet for the same wristband: what each abbreviation on the card means.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is it called a cutter?

Because the ball cuts: it moves sharply to one side in the last few feet, like a fastball cut off its straight line. It is short for cut fastball.

Is the cutter a breaking ball?

Most coaches count it as a fastball, because it is thrown with fastball arm speed and only a few miles an hour slower. Its movement is small and late, closer to a fastball's than to a slider's.

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