cutter

Good Q Trick Daddy,
I would say about 10 to 15 percent of the time but I kinda need some more opinions. I consider it a junk pitch only because it should be used alot unless it is dominating like Mariano Rivera's. Just my humble opinion though .

A cutter is a FB with a different grip. There isn't an exact percentage you should throw it. You could throw it all game if you'd like. It's just a different variation of the FB.

Rather than think about specific percentages for certain pitches, you may want to change your mental approach to pitch strategy.

Pitchers can keep batters off balance by changing speed, location, movement (e.g., grip), angles. They can use deception or variation.

Deception - The pitcher at times should use deception. E.g., follow an inside two seam with an inside sinker. It appears to be the same pitch coming in. But it will drop more as it approaches the plate. The batter is more likely to swing over the top. Or an outside fastball followed by an outside changeup. Again, the pitch appears to be the same, but the different speed will throw off the batter.

Variation - The pitcher can vary from pitch to pitch. E.g., work the batter inside, then outside.

This is one part of pitch strategy. Another part is reading the batter.

Is the batter too close to the plate? Bust him inside with a fastaball. Then perhaps follow with something outside.

Too far off the plate? Work the outside corner until he moves up on the plate. Then bust him inside with a fastball.

Batter looks nervous, perhaps timid? Inside heat to remind him he is timid (as Don Drysdale once said). Then perhaps work him away.

Does the batter hit with a closed stance? Again, work him inside, perhaps with a fastball angled in on his hands.

Does the batter use an open stance? Work him away, he won't be able to do anything with it.

An uppercut swinger? Pitch him up & in.

Has he chased a high pitch? Give him another on the inside, about 2-3" above the top of the zone. He will chase it all day long, but he won't be able to do anything with it.

A really hard swinger? How about a first pitch changeup to throw him off balance.

Behind on his swing? Stay with the heat, but change grips and location.

Ahead on his swing? Changeup time. Then mix it up.

Read the batter. Determine his tendencies, weaknesses & strengths.

The pitcher must never become predictable. On any count. He needs to be confident throwing a changeup on the first pitch or on a full count.

0-2? For sure nothing sweet, but maybe not a waste pitch either. For some batters, the offspeed makes sense. For others, the inside fastball about 2-3" above the top of the zone will be impossible to lay off. Could be a fastball on the outside corner.

Keep batters off balance.

You also need to think some about the particular situation and the particular catcher.

Good luck.

Pitching Strategies are as varied as the number of pitchers who take the mound everyday day.

But the are certain undeniable rules of thumb that every pitcher should be aware of.

The batter has natural weaknesses in his swing that is created by way the bones and muscles in the hands and wrist function for every human being.

With a LHB it is important to note that there can be a natural loop in the swing created by the way the arms, wrist, and hands function while swinging the bat. This tendency to loop the swing creates two areas that athe LHB has trouble with, the high inside pitch and the low outside pitch. It is also important to remember that the power zones for the LHB is the lower inside, and the high outside corner. An area that can be used to get a "K" is the FB pitch just above the belt moving into his hands. Very difficult for the LHB to control that pitch.

For the RHB the areas of "batter's weakness" are the high outside and the low inside zones. The power zone for the RHB is the lower outside half, and and the upper inside half. Try to stay away from the power zone areas when you have two strikes on a batter.

In example my son was cruising along in relief, shut down a good team and was in the bottom of the ninth with two outs, score 3-2 in our favor. The count was 1-2 with a man on second on an error, and coach called for a pitch on the lower outside half of the plate. My son told me he tried three times to shake the call off because he knew it was the wrong location in that situation. Finally he gave in and threw a fb right on the outside corner at the knees, catcher later said it would have hit the glove dead-on instead it went for a HR...game over we lost. Later the coach asked if the pitch would have hit the spot, but who cares at that point, it was the wrong call.

I want to tell you something else you would be surprised how many times I've asked coaches who call the pitches to describe the batters natural weakness and they haven't got a clue what you're talking about.

There is something else that can be used to help your pitchers set up the batter. It's called the high-low-no count system.

High count = FB On count means the fb is called on fb counts like 2-0, 3-0, 2-1, 3-1

Low count = FB Off count the fb call is off and that means on fb counts the breaking ball, or off-speed pitch is thrown on fb counts.

No count = ON-Off count that means the call is alternated between fb on count and off count.

Catchers can manage the game when this system is employed.

The cutter can be a great pitch......if you are a lefty and can get it in on right handers fists you can be effective........

RR......I would be careful about what you consider "undeniable rules of thumb"......those may be undeniable for you, but not for everyone. One example is when you say that the high outside part of the zone is a "natural weakness" for right handed hitters. A pitch in the high outside part of the strike zone is dangerous against any good hitter. A good hitter can take that pitch oppo for extra bases or out of the park, and can do much damage with one swing of the bat.

Where did you get this info about natural weaknesses and strengths that you make out to be universal truths? I would like to read that leterature.

way more opinions then i expected. its good though. THANKS

Coach Grateful said:
Where did you get this info about natural weaknesses and strengths that you make out to be universal truths? I would like to read that leterature.
*************************************************

I take absolutely no credit for the information. I got it from Coach Spanky McFarland of James Madison University.

Please call Coach Spanky McFarland at James Madison University, its in his book "Coaching Pitcher's" I'm sure he will be more than willing to explain it to you.

Watching my son utilize the instruction by Coach McFarland is the anecdotal evidence that confirms to me he is right, and has made me a true believer in the McFarland methods.

My son have achieved a certain amount fo success using coach McFarlands pitching instruction which I read and memorized and taught to my son with other knowledge I brought to the training sessions.

But Coach McFarland should be the guy that gives you the scoop, he has the credibility to back up the information. I'm just a dad.

.

I read Spanky's book about fifteen years ago; I'll have to dig it up again. I have always had tremendous respect for him.

I still say that if a pitcher is pithing up in the zone, he better miss in rather than away; it is a dangerous area.......away and down is much safer than away and up.

quote:

Originally posted by TrickDaddy:
way more opinions then i expected. its good though. THANKS

Kind of like taking a dring out of a firehose, eh?

quote:

Originally posted by grateful:
I still say that if a pitcher is pithing up in the zone, he better miss in rather than away; it is a dangerous area.......away and down is much safer than away and up.

Absolutely in agreement.

A fastball at the letters angled in on the fists can get a lot of popups. A fastball on the inside and a few inches above the top of the zone can generate some really nice breezes.

With the vast majority of hitters I have seen, the outside fastball at the top of the zone is liable to give the pitcher a good case of whiplash.

BTW:
I have Spanky's book and would recommend that the young pitcher read the book in its entirety to keep everything in context.

What is interesting to me is the skepticism displayed by most coaches when the information is provided with reasonable explanation and its advice is ignored.

I've seen that happen in baseball so much, especially at the college level. But because of Spanky's book I make it a certainty to watch the location of pitches that are thrown by pitcher's based upon Spanky's advice.

In almost in no uncertain terms Spanky's instructions hold true based upon the results of what happens when pitcher's throw a pitch in a batter's power zone versus a pitch thrown in a zone that is a batter's natural weakness.

If you don't believe me watch a week of MLB baseball and watch the pitch locations based upon Spanky's advice and then come back and report what you see.

Remember: GENERAL RULE OF THUMB according to Spanky

RightHandedBatter
WEAKNESS = down and in - toward the back foot and up and away - letter high slightly off the plate

STRENGTH = upper inside half and lower outside half


LeftHandedBatter
WEAKNESS = up and in - above the hands and down and away - slightly off the plate

STRENGTH = lower inside half and upper outside half

Ramrod.....

I am not being skeptical of Spanky's theories.....but now you have said that a right hander's natural weak area is up and away "slightly off the plate"......whereas previously you wrote that "For the RHB the areas of 'batters weakness' are the high outside and the low inside zones." I intrepreted your initial statement as being in the strike zone, but your most recent statement was that it is "slightly off the plate."

You have also changed your wording from "undeniable rules of thumb" to "general rules of thumb." When one teaches, those are two very different phrases.

If we can get pitchers to make batters swing at pitches slightly off the plate, our pitchers will be successful, of course.

I am not arguing with you or Sparky, but those are two different statements that you have written.

Now as you are watching MLB games, watch how many pitches in the strike zone, high on the outer half, are hit for base hits AND even extra bases.

Grateful

As I was previously writing the post I was watching the SF Giants vs Florida Marlins and noting the locations as the SFG's Henessey was pitching versus the Marlins A.J. Burnett. A.J. Burnett's locations were more in keeping with the weakness vs strength locations identified by Spanky. He won...Henessey's was like the moth being drawn to the flame, constantly tempting fate...he lost.

I must admit I'm not always exacting in my adjectives as I don't consider these writings as part of a testimony for scrutiny before a Grand Jury, for review of inconsistencies.

I'm more concerned abou the larger point of the discussion not some detailed minutia that may add value but is not the point being made.

The pitching zones in baseball are well known. The outer half of a zone includes the areas slightly off the plate...one ball width wide.

It doesn't matter to me whether you want to include the entire zone of the outer half, to be more accurate. The results with a probability-for-greater success using the batters zones as described by Spanky for strengths and weakness of a batter, remain as he states them in his illustrated book "Coaching Pitchers".

No big deal, RR......I agree that pitching zones in baseball are well known, and they differ with each individual batter.....that is why there are scouting reports on batters. If all of their strong/weak zones were in the same place then there would be no need to keep hitting charts of individual hitters......and as I was watching the Royals vs. the Tigers today, I saw the game winning hit, an opposite gap double in the ninth inning by Omar Infante, a RHB, on a fastball belly button high on the outer half of the strike zone.

These prove nothing, as each of us can provide anecdotal evidence supporting our theories.

Again, I respect Coach McFarland tremendously. That doesn't mean that other pitching coaches are not to be learned from.

Grateful said:
...that is why there are scouting reports on batters. If all of their strong/weak zones were in the same place then there would be no need to keep hitting charts of individual hitters......
************************************************

There isn't a coach or player that would disagree with the point made in your post...

I think that Spanky was simply trying to make the point that every batter has a dominant-hand. If the dominant-hand is on top the swing will have a downward track, if the dominant hand is on the bottom the swing will have an upward track or loop.

He postulates that some LHB have a dominant-right-hand. And likewise, some RHB have a dominant-right-hand. The dominant theory can be used to accomplish two very important things.

If a LHB is a dominant-right-handed batter he could have a very large loop in his swing. The pitcher can assess the batters swing early in the count and make adjustments accordingly.

Similarly a Right-Handed-Batter with a dominant right hand can have difficulty reaching the high-outside pitch.

This knowledge of hand-dominance can give a pitcher some advantages when he is on the mound and doesn't know anything about the batter he is pitching to. It can provide him with two advantages.

First it can give the pitcher one additional tool to move the edge of advantage over to the pitcher's side of the competition. And two, to give a pitcher a means or method to provide a strategy when the pitcher knows nothing about the batter.

In short, it can provide a "safe harbor" in the sea of possible strategies.

You can read his own version of this under the sub-title Dominant-Hand Theory on page 78 of his book.

He ends by saying

"When a pitcher doesn't know anything about the opposing team, he can pitch according to the dominant-hand theory, pitching left-handers up-and-in and low-and-away and pitching right-handers low-and-in and up-and-away."
Source Coaching Pitchers, by Joe "Spanky McFarland", Leisure press, Chicago, Illinois, 1990

On page 80 see Table 4.4 Pitching to Hitter Weaknesses
It covers Hitter habits, gives the Out Pitch and the Setup Pitch.