|
Home
|
Pitching Grip: How to Throw a Cut Fastball |
 The cutter really acts as two pitches in one – slider and
fastball – The ball has a fastball rotation, around 60 feet it cuts. For a right handed pitcher it cuts into a
left handed batter. Just opposite for a
left handed pitcher.
The grip on the cut fastball is similar to that of a regular
four-seam fastball. Grip it like you do
a four-seam and bring your thumb up the inside of the ball. (with your fastball grip, remember your thumb is on the bottom of the ball with thumb and middle
finger splitting the baseball in half) The cutter is like throwing an off of
center fastball. The index and middle
fingers are close together. Throw it
like a fastball.
The purpose of throwing the cut fastball is to make the
hitter hit the ball without connecting with the fat part of the bat and giving
it a good ride. The hitter will see a
fastball and will not expect the ball to move.
Cut Fastball Tip#1: Make sure you don’t place the ball deep
into your palm. All pitches eventually
leave your fingertips, but you want to keep the ball moving quickly like your
fastball.
Cut Fastball Tip #2: Like a lot of off-speed pitches, this
pitch takes awhile to get used to. You
will experiment with different amounts of pressure on the ball to get a feel of
what is going to work best for you. But
if you don’t ever get used to it it’s okay.
Remember, you only need three great pitches to become successful.
|
|
|