If we had a Sunday game and we were off on Monday and didnt play again until Tuesday night, hed knock on my clubhouse office door and say, 'Skipper, if you need me in the seventh, Ill come in and finish it off for you. Hed do that every Sunday and hed finish it out for me. .mHQYb header.mlb-header .header__nav-top__button-menu{-webkit-flex:0 0 auto;-ms-flex:0 0 auto;flex:0 0 auto;}/*!sc*/ Sutter posted a 1.38 ERA and 1.031 WHIP with 65 strikeouts in 64 innings in 1974 split between Key West and Double-A Midland, had a similarly good year in Midland in 1975 and after seven dominant games in Triple-A in 1976, was promoted to the Cubs, where he made his MLB debut in garbage time in the ninth inning of a 14-2 loss to the Reds May 9, 1976. .ebrWqN:-moz-loading{color:#f3f3f3;}/*!sc*/ A straight curve requires mastery of my beginners curveball, because many of the same principles that apply to both grips. .mHQYb header.mlb-header .header__nav-top [class$='button-menu--icon'] span{background-color:#ffffff;}/*!sc*/ .mHQYb header.mlb-header .header__nav-top__nav-container__revenue{display:none;}/*!sc*/ People are . Bruce and I spent a lot of time together, and I was as close to him as any teammate I ever played with, said Kaat, who spent seven decades in and around Major League Baseball as a player, coach and broadcaster. The arm action on this pitch is a little abbreviated at the end. .mHQYb .p-search__list--multiple-type .p-search-item--team + .p-search-item--player:before{border-top:1px solid #ddd;content:'Players';left:10px;right:10px;}/*!sc*/ But as the years wore on and more pitchers adopted the splitter, it started to become apparent that it could have significant consequences. Cardinals third baseman Terry Pendleton threw home for a force at the plate, but then St. Louis catcher Glenn Brummers throw to first was wild and the winning run scored. .mHQYb header.mlb-header .header__subnav__item,.mHQYb header.mlb-header .header__subnav__group-title{display:block;padding:10px;width:100%;-webkit-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid;word-wrap:break-word;word-break:break-word;}/*!sc*/ A six-time All-Star, Sutter led the National League in saves for five years and won the 1979 Cy Young Award. Sutter and the split-fingered fastball -- a pitch he learned from Cubs Minor League instructor Fred Martin following an arm surgery in 1973 -- became forever linked in the history of the game. .mHQYb .p-search-item__container:hover{background-color:#e6f2ff75;color:#333333;}/*!sc*/ As it turned out, it proved to be one of the difference-making moves that helped St. Louis win it all in '82. .mHQYb header.mlb-header.mlb-header .header__nav-side__nav-item--parent[aria-expanded='true'] .header__nav-side__nav-item--inner::after{display:inline-block;}/*!sc*/ hr{box-sizing:content-box;height:0;overflow:visible;}/*!sc*/ .huJzbO{margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto;}/*!sc*/ A splitter is generally only slightly faster than a changeup. data-styled.g10[id="buttonstyle__Label-sc-vlv7w5-0"]{content:"iwXciG,"}/*!sc*/ Instead of releasing him, Chicago sent Sutter to the minor leagues to rehabilitate his arm. But if you throw the fastball overhand with enough force, it will appear to rise because it's not dropping as much as the batter's brain thinks it should. .mHQYb header.mlb-header.mlb-header--side-nav-open .header__nav-side{display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;}/*!sc*/ A pitcher throws a splitter by gripping the ball with his two fingers "split" on opposite sides of the ball. .mHQYb header.mlb-header .header__nav-top__nav-container__primary{display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;width:100%;padding:0px;}/*!sc*/ .mHQYb header.mlb-header .header__nav-side{display:none;-webkit-align-items:stretch;-webkit-box-align:stretch;-ms-flex-align:stretch;align-items:stretch;width:100%;height:calc(100vh - 56px);position:relative;overflow:hidden;z-index:99992;top:0;}/*!sc*/ Kaat said he and Sutter talked often during their two-year stint together in St. Louis about the split-fingered fastball, and how it saved the latters career. Bruce Sutter's Splitter down in the zone Chris Sales/Finest Haders Slider Roberto Osuna/D. body.article .ad-top-container{background-color:#f3f3f3;padding:8px 0;min-height:66px;}/*!sc*/ .mHQYb header.mlb-header .header__nav-top__nav-container__primary.resizing{overflow-y:hidden;}/*!sc*/ Bruce Sutters entire career can be boiled down to about an inch of white leather and red stitching. In 1984, though, the Cubs would get revenge, of a sort, when Ryne Sandberg famously hit two homers off Sutter in what would become known as The Sandberg Game. Here are both those home runs: Watch the way Sutter takes the new baseball in his glove after the second homer (at about :42 into the video). .ezZJVn{background:transparent;border:0;color:#000000;font-family:"proxima-nova","open Sans","Helvetica","Arial",sans-serif;font-size:1rem;margin:0;padding:0;position:absolute;right:35px;top:60%;-webkit-transform:translateY(-50%);-ms-transform:translateY(-50%);transform:translateY(-50%);white-space:nowrap;}/*!sc*/ Odds & lines subject to change. .blUWSx .share-button__close{top:6px;left:5px;}/*!sc*/ button,input{overflow:visible;}/*!sc*/ data-styled.g162[id="Styles__NewsletterOptinContainer-sc-10yslsy-0"]{content:"sczZi,"}/*!sc*/ .hUHmCp > article .ad-top-right-container,.hUHmCp > article .ad-bottom-right-container{position:relative;margin-bottom:64px;min-height:250px;}/*!sc*/ .fvEQJr{bottom:0;left:0;position:absolute;right:0;top:0;}/*!sc*/ Anyone can read what you share. He was a true pioneer in the game, changing the role of the late inning reliever.. data-styled.g115[id="sc-global-cDsONp1"]{content:"sc-global-cDsONp1,"}/*!sc*/ Avoid any twisting of the wrist upon release. Former Cubs closer and Hall of Famer Bruce Sutter has died, Cubs 4, Padres 0: The first Spring Training no-hitter in Cubs history. Using the pitch that replicated a fastball before dropping out of the strike zone, Sutter racked up 31 saves in his first full season in 1977, 27 more in 78 and 37 in 79 with a 2.22 ERA to beat out Joe Niekro for the Cy Young Award. The Baseball Hall of Fame said Bruce Sutter died in Cartersville, Georgia. pitch is generally not thrown for strikes, but to coax a swing and miss. The Chicago White Sox and the pitching coach Don Cooper say it is all about throwing it with the proper technique. Not every team in the league is shying away from the splitter. .eJdqRG a{color:#057AFF;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;}/*!sc*/ .epHHrr iframe{max-width:100%;}/*!sc*/ A six-time All-Star, Sutter led the National League in saves for five years and won the 1979 Cy Young Award. He gave up two hits and a walk, but induced a double play and escaped the inning without allowing a run. It's a variation of my beginners curveball and my knuckle curveball. 2010 was a good year health-wise for splitter-throwing pitchers. .groqnz.markdown.youtube,.groqnz.photo figcaption.youtube,.groqnz.oembed .social-embed.youtube{padding:0;}/*!sc*/ .mHQYb header.mlb-header .header__nav-top__button{background:none;border:none;padding:0 16px 0 0;font-size:14px;font-weight:bold;display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;}/*!sc*/ .mHQYb .mlb-header__login-menu--open{display:block;left:auto;opacity:1;}/*!sc*/ @media (min-width:1024px){.mHQYb header.mlb-header .header__nav-top__secondary-logos{width:100%;-webkit-order:-1;-ms-flex-order:-1;order:-1;}.mHQYb header.mlb-header .header__nav-top__nav-container{-webkit-order:0;-ms-flex-order:0;order:0;-webkit-flex-basis:80%;-ms-flex-preferred-size:80%;flex-basis:80%;}}/*!sc*/ The average DL stint for splitter throwers is 77 days and the median is 74 days. After his retirement, he focused on raising his family. .mHQYb header.mlb-header .header__nav-top__button:hover{cursor:pointer;}/*!sc*/ .hHLkAw input{position:relative;font-size:15px;line-height:32px;color:#444444;font-weight:400;height:32px;padding:0 8px;width:100%;background-color:#ffffff;border-radius:5px;border:1px solid #444444;font-family:"proxima-nova","open Sans","Helvetica","Arial",sans-serif;}/*!sc*/ The Baseball Hall of Fame said Bruce Sutter died in Cartersville, Georgia. .mHQYb header.mlb-header .header__nav-top__nav-item--spotlight:hover .header__nav-top__nav-item__text{color:#ffffff;}/*!sc*/ The two pitches are gripped in almost the same way, except a splitter is generally held with more ease and placed toward the top of the fingers. @font-face{font-family:'proxima-nova';src:url('https://www.mlbstatic.com/mlb.com/fonts/proxima-nova-bold-italic.woff2') format('woff2'),url('https://www.mlbstatic.com/mlb.com/fonts/proxima-nova-bold-italic.woff') format('woff');font-weight:700;font-style:italic;font-display:fallback;}/*!sc*/ Theres not much video of Sutter that survives from that time, but here he is striking out Jim Rice in the 1979 All-Star Game. data-styled.g143[id="Styles__SocialContainer-sc-1h38xz1-0"]{content:"blLcNM,"}/*!sc*/ I always felt like he was a brother. @media (min-width:1024px){.blLcNM .content{grid-column:1 / span 8;}.blLcNM .content .share-btn{-webkit-align-self:flex-end;-ms-flex-item-align:end;align-self:flex-end;margin-bottom:16px;top:0;}}/*!sc*/ Children generally can't throw split-finger fastballs because their hands aren't big enough. Many pitching coaches and minor-league instructors are urging their younger prospects to focus on the straight changeup over the splitter, even though it is not quite as effective. He went to his first baseball game at age two. data-styled.g144[id="Styles__StickyHeaderContainer-sc-1wye7kw-0"]{content:"ggWmAj,"}/*!sc*/ .mHQYb header.mlb-header.mlb-header--side-nav-open .header__nav-top .header__nav-top__button-menu--icon span:nth-child(2){-webkit-transform:rotate(45deg);-ms-transform:rotate(45deg);transform:rotate(45deg);}/*!sc*/ a{background-color:transparent;}/*!sc*/ window.globalState = {"tracking_title":"Major League Baseball","lang":"en"} Sutter recently was diagnosed with cancer and died in hospice. Philadelphias Roy Halladay, the Angels Dan Haren and Bostons Jonathan Papelbon are among the pitchers who still have it in their arsenals, but concerns about the strain it can put on a pitchers arm are prompting some teams to ban their prospects from throwing it. Another somewhat lesser-known bit of Cubs revenge against Sutter came in the final game of the 1984 season, after the Cubs had clinched the NL East title. .mHQYb body.side-nav-open{position:fixed;overflow:hidden;overscroll-behavior:none;touch-action:none;}/*!sc*/ Sutter had five outstanding seasons for the Cubs, but eventually his success led to an arbitration award deemed too expensive for the sclerotic Wrigley ownership regime, and he was traded to the Cardinals. .mHQYb .p-search-item__container--sm{font-size:12px;height:30px;min-width:150px;}/*!sc*/ Another more advanced variation of the curveball is the knuckle curveball (sometimes called a spike curve). .mHQYb header.mlb-header .header__subnav--teams__team{width:100%;display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-webkit-box-pack:start;-webkit-justify-content:flex-start;-ms-flex-pack:start;justify-content:flex-start;-webkit-align-items:center;-webkit-box-align:center;-ms-flex-align:center;align-items:center;}/*!sc*/ And instead of leverage coming from behind the top of the baseball (as a four-seam fastball), leverage on a curve comes from the front of the baseball. main{display:block;}/*!sc*/ .mHQYb header.mlb-header .header__nav-top .header__nav-top__button-menu--icon span:nth-child(4){top:16px;}/*!sc*/ During his career, he fought through devastating elbow and shoulder injuries and underwent three surgeries, yet retained his calm demeanor and ability to stay poised under pressure as he became the first pitcher to lead the National League in saves five times. But in early development, no.. It is for sale at a price of $ .99. Still, it doesn't appear that pitchers who are throwing a splitter are at a higher risk of injury than pitchers who do not. Sutters legacy will forever live on in the split-fingered fastball, which has since become a prominent pitch at every level. A split-finger fastball is thrown with the same arm-action of a regular fastball, but the pitcher's index and middle finger are spread wide to cradle the ball.