A split-finger fastball or splitter is an off-speed pitch in baseball that initially looks like a fastball from the batters perspective, but then drops suddenly. Derived from the forkball, it is aptly named because the pitcher puts the index and middle finger on different sides of the ball. [1]
The splitter grew out of a much older pitch, the forkball, which was first used in the major leagues in the 1920s. [2] The modern splitter is often credited to baseball coach Fred Martin, who threw the pitch in the minor leagues as a changeup of sorts. When a young Bruce Sutter returned from surgery to find his fastball had lost velocity, Martin taught Sutter the pitch. [3] Sutter's success as a closer helped popularize the pitch.
Another early proponent of the splitter was Roger Craig, a pitcher-turned-manager, in the 1980s. He taught it to a number of pitchers on the teams he coached, the Detroit Tigers and San Francisco Giants. [2] Longtime player and manager Mike Scioscia called the splitter "the pitch of the '80s." [1]
The splitter eventually lost popularity in MLB after concerns arose that extensive use of the pitch could rob pitchers of fastball speed [4] and increase injury risk [5] Several major league teams discourage pitching prospects from throwing or learning the pitch. [1] In 2011, only 15 starting pitchers used it as part of their regular repertoire. [6] Splitter usage has begun to see a resurgence in the 2020s, with little research indicating support for the increased injury risk, and the MLB success of Japanese splitter-throwers from NPB, where the splitter has long been a primary pitch, as key factors. [5]
The split-finger grip is similar to the forkball grip. However, the forkball is held further back and wider between the fingers and is usually thrown with a wrist flip that makes it slower than the splitter. [7] The split-finger is often recommended as an alternative to breaking pitches to young players because of its simplicity and the significantly reduced risk of injury.
An off-speed pitch, the splitter is generally thrown slower than the pitcher's fastball. According to PITCHf/x, the average four-seam fastball from a right-handed pitcher in 2010 was 92 mph, whereas the average splitter was 85 mph and the average changeup 83 mph. [8]
The motion of a split-finger pitch is similar to the outlawed spitball and at one time the pitch was known as the "dry spitter". When thrown, the pitcher must emphasize the downward pull of the pitch at the end of his motion. Thrusting the hand and forearm downward causes reduced backspin relative to a fastball, thus giving the appearance of "drop off the table" movement from the pitch. When thrown correctly, the split-finger's apparent last-second drop causes many batters to hit the top half of the baseball, thereby inducing a ground ball. The split-finger fastball is a very effective pitch with runners on base; a common tactic is using the split-finger to cause the batter to hit into a double play.
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Bruce Sutter, a Hall of Fame inductee, was a dominant closer in the 1970s and '80s and made heavy use of the split-finger pitch. He won the 1979 Cy Young and became the only National League pitcher to lead the league in saves 5 times.
The split-finger was a dominant pitch for Ron Darling on the 1986 World Champion New York Mets staff.
David Cone was famous for his splitter, used most often in the middle and later part of his career. A major strikeout pitch for him, Cone would throw it harder like a fastball to get swinging strikes. He also was very effective in throwing it slower, using it as a changeup to throw off hitters' timing. Jack Morris learned the pitch from Roger Craig in 1980, and it became an effective "out" pitch for the Tigers' hurler. Mike Scott also learned the pitch from Craig after the 1984 season, and it turned his career around. He won the 1986 NL Cy Young award and posted a league-leading 306 strikeouts.
Randy Johnson developed a splitter later in his career after losing some of his fastball velocity.
Roger Clemens developed a splitter later in his career as well, using it frequently as a strikeout pitch. [9]
John Smoltz and Curt Schilling were also pitchers from the 1990s and early 2000s who used the splitter as a key pitch in their arsenals.
Probably one of the best splitters, if not the best pitches, is used by Kevin Gausman of the Toronto Blue Jays.
Detroit Tigers pitcher Casey Mize uses a hard splitter with excellent control as his strikeout pitch. [10]
Pittsburgh Pirates reliever Aroldis Chapman also developed a splitter toward the tail end of his age 32 season. He threw the pitch about 12% of the time in April 2021, generating an 85.7% strikeout rate and a -6.7 run value/100 — one of the most effective pitches in his arsenal and in the major leagues as a whole. [11]
Cincinnati Reds reliever Fernando Cruz uses the splitter as his strikeout pitch.
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the pitcher is assigned the number 1. The pitcher is often considered the most important player on the defensive side of the game, and as such is situated at the right end of the defensive spectrum. There are many different types of pitchers, such as the starting pitcher, relief pitcher, middle reliever, lefty specialist, setup man, and the closer.
The fastball is the most common type of pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball and softball. Its distinctive feature is its high speed. "Power pitchers," such as former major leaguers Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, relied on the speed, often exceeding 100mph, and movement of their fastballs to prevent the ball from being hit. As an alternative to the fastball, pitchers can put more movement on slower thrown balls, or throw them towards the inside or outside of home plate where batters cannot easily reach it.
The forkball is a type of pitch in baseball. Related to the split-finger fastball, the forkball is held between the first two fingers and thrown hard, snapping the wrist. Due to its movement being similar to that of a spitball, the pitch is often called the "dry spitter".
A changeup is a type of pitch in baseball and fastpitch softball.
In baseball, a starting pitcher or starter is the first pitcher in the game for each team. A pitcher is credited with a game started if they throw the first pitch to the opponent's first batter of a game. Starting pitchers are expected to pitch for a significant portion of the game, although their ability to do this depends on many factors, including effectiveness, stamina, health, and strategy.
Howard Bruce Sutter was an American professional baseball pitcher who played 12 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) between 1976 and 1988. He was one of the sport's dominant relievers in the late 1970s and early 1980s, making effective use of the split-finger fastball. A six-time All-Star and 1982 World Series champion, Sutter recorded a 2.83 career earned run average and 300 saves, the third-most in MLB history at the time of his retirement. Sutter won the National League's (NL) Cy Young Award in 1979 as its top pitcher, and won the NL Rolaids Relief Man Award four times. He became the only pitcher to lead the NL in saves five times.
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In baseball, a circle changeup or circle change is a pitch thrown with a grip that includes a circle formation, hence the name circle changeup. The circle is formed by making a circle with the index finger, holding the thumb at the bottom of the ball parallel to the middle finger and holding the ball far out in the hand. The ball is thrown turning the palm out.
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. 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. 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. 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.
In baseball, an off-speed pitch is a pitch thrown at a slower speed than a fastball. Breaking balls and changeups are the two most common types of off-speed pitches. Very slow pitches which require the batter to provide most of the power on contact through bat speed are known as "junk" and include the knuckleball and the Eephus pitch, a sort of extreme changeup. The specific goals of off-speed pitches may vary, but in general they are used to disrupt the batter's timing, thereby lessening his chances of hitting the ball solidly or at all. Virtually all professional pitchers have at least one off-speed pitch in their repertoire. Despite the fact that most of these pitches break in some way, batters are sometimes able to anticipate them due to hints that the pitcher gives, such as changes in arm angle, arm speed, or placement of fingers.
The shuuto (シュート) or shootball is a baseball pitch. It is commonly thrown by right-handed Japanese pitchers such as Hiroki Kuroda, Noboru Akiyama, Kenjiro Kawasaki, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Yu Darvish and Masumi Kuwata. The most renowned shuuto pitcher in history was Masaji Hiramatsu, whose famous pitch was dubbed the razorshuuto because it seemed to "cut the air" when thrown.
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In baseball, the vulcan changeup pitch is a type of changeup; it closely resembles a forkball and split-finger fastball. It is a variation of the circle changeup, and when mastered can be extremely effective. Much like a forkball, the vulcan is gripped between two fingers on the hand, but rather than the middle and index finger as with the forkball or split-finger fastball, it sits in between the middle and ring fingers to make a v-shape when releasing to the catcher. It is thrown with fastball arm speed but by pronating the hand by turning the thumb down, to get good downward movement on it.
The fosh, fosh ball, foshball, or fosh change is a seldom used pitch in Major League Baseball described as "a cross between a split-fingered pitch and a straight change-up". It is designed to fool a batter expecting a fastball to have to contend with a slower pitch. The pitch has a grip like a fastball, but the index and middle fingers are spread slightly across the baseball, and the ring and little finger wrap around the side of the ball. If thrown properly, it has characteristics like a breaking change-up or an off-speed split-finger fastball.
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