Mariano Rivera Cutter: The Mechanics of His Signature Pitch | The New York Times

[@Johnkoth]

He is not 1 of the most dominant closers in history. He is the most dominant. Leads MLB in saves and in games finished all time. 652 and 952 Very low ERA. (Lowest Career ERA for a reliever) 2.21 (10 Starts included) Great save converting percentage. Most durable closer ever.

[@mickeydrago9401]

Chapman has a 2.18 ERA, gotcha ;) but NO WAY could/would he keep up that pace until he is 43, the age Mariano retired... Mariano's post season pitching, maybe the best ever, 8-1 win/loss, .70 ERA, most saves BY FAR, 42

[@mickeydrago9401]

An argument can easily be made against Rivera as to best closer, if only for one or two seasons: subjectivebaseball.blogspot.com/2010/12/top-10-closer-seasons.html so he CLEARLY never had the best closer seasons of all time, maybe a few of the top 20 but not the top 5 or so, he is listed at number 5 in this article but clearly by other metrics he should be pushed down compared to at least a few of the top ten below number 5 spot...

[@dimensionzvader5453]

Mickey Drago Kimbrel has a 1.98 career era, gotcha too, lol But like you said, rivera is better. I am still giving the crown to rivera

[@Johnkoth]

Kimbrel still pitches. His ERA will go up

[@rogeliopitti7120]

@@mickeydrago9401 The name of the game is regularity. Rivera reliabilty was based in his regularity!!!.... He hadn't the the best fastball or the best curveball or the best slider. And probably he wasn't the best pitcher o closer. But at the end in the clutch, his cutter is coming and you know it, but you also know the final history........Turn off!

[@LordArrack1]

Do you wanna know how good he was? He pitched during the entire steroids era and made all these P.E.D. monsters look like little leaguers

[@timbogym9038]

You say era as if it ever ended

[@CanadaMMA]

And while the yankees had some very good teams, they were always horrible defensively. The fact Rivera was that good with Jeter playing short, and WIlliams in centrefield, was incredible.

[@hzzn]

@@CanadaMMA They also had some of the worse second base and left field defense of all time during that period. They were only good at third, first and right.

[@CanadaMMA]

@@hzzn 2001.... tell me a really good defensive shortstop doesn't get to that bloop single. Or at least gets close. Jeter was tough as nails, and could make the "heads up play" no problem. He just wasn't very good at getting to ground balls. Put him at 2nd, or LF, and he wins multiple MVP awards. His bat was that good.

[@Joseph-lz5er]

That is because he used steroids too lol.

[@snickerbars4129]

That graphics got me glued till the end even thought I have no idea about baseball and it's different pitches.

[@fffastway100]

dayum. sometimes you just gotta shake your head and feel fortunate to have seen a great closer like this in your lifetime

[@dannymacias6840]

Even more fortunate to hear enter the sandman and watch him bust out of the bullpen towards the mound in the 9th, in yankee stadium in person

[@jeebs9]

I love that we can breakdown one of my favorite pitches with 3D models.

[@tscat68]

I could take him yard any day of the week.

[@homiefromfl]

I'm sure you could take him _to_ your hard any day of the week...

[@iamhungey12345]

@@tscat68 Not in your dreams kid.

[@bluesman273]

Even though I've been a Red Sox fan for 40 years and despise just about every Yankee ever, I have nothing but the utmost respect for Mariano. He is such a great pitcher and a good person (as far as I know). Thank you for producing this video. Very informative and so well done. I wish all KZbin videos were more like this.

[@danielhoward4566]

I don't like Red Sox players so yeah.

[@MrAquinas1]

How can any baseball fan not love Yogi Berra?

[@weeyum99]

He's so good he can pitch 2000 balls at the same time

[@FodderMoosie]

Something about that made me VERY uneasy.

[@joshuaong5503]

2009. Let's be accurate.

[@FodderMoosie]

2019, now! Wait, I've lost the plot.

[@SirTylerGolf]

It's 1300, can't you idiots listen

[@iamhungey12345]

@Eric Lee Not really, Jensen isn't Rivera for one thing. There are pitchers who uses cutters and they worked fine for them, Mo would have been fine too in his best years.

[@jaredholloman5300]

100% positive they mixed up the spins of the fastball and cutter. A ball with perfect backspin is going to go in a straight line...it's called a 4-seam fastball.

[@Brian-js6me]

they did

[@thebeastmaster3453]

This, I was like “tf” when I saw the graphic

[@Hogman3100]

I agree that they got the spin animations wrong, however a 4 seam fastball doesnt look like the cutter animation. The seams arent going to be parallel to the ground. It looks more like a brownish, reddish blur to the batter since its axis of rotation is at an angle

[@todd.goslin6190]

Neither one were cutters.

[@evanwu9428]

I went to go check the comments about this when I looked at the spins of the ball.

[@stevenscalici3470]

And as a NYer and Yankee fan, I consider myself blessed to have seen Mariano pitch for over 15 years…he was my favorite Yankee.

[@michaelfadian]

I was in Yankee Stadium in July of 1995 and he was the starting pitcher and got the win. Little did I know at 10 years old how lucky I was to be able too see the greatest reliever of all time start a game before anyone even knew who he was.

[@nicksedar7338]

Noice

[@moequity134]

The greatest closer in the history of the game. Period. The "scatter" balls they showed from 2009...I had to laugh. That's just amazing. Simply amazing.

[@charlesking3384]

That was one of the coolest videos on baseball I’ve ever seen

[@pevensielavere22]

Mariano Rivera is my favorite baseball player. I miss seeing him pitch. He's also a great man. Much love, #42!

[@theoldbk5419]

It’s not just the movement, it’s how the ball absolutely explodes to the plate. You can’t even anticipate the speed because he throws in such a smooth effortless way. It’s crazy, I’ve seen catcher videos showing how hard it explodes out of his hand!!! And then you add the movement, unstoppable

[@Frip36]

Best graphics for understanding pitches. I wish NYT would do this sort of video as a tutorial to understand the different types of pitches in baseball, e.g. fastball, cutter, slider, etc.

[@Raikaze]

his cutter is like a scary movie you know its coming but it still gets you. thats the big difference hitters can hit other pitchers cutter, but mo is just a sick sick man. how can they not hit something they know is coming..its like getting the answers for a test and still failing.

[@chris-hayes]

How did I only discover this video now. Great explanation and visuals.

[@georgeramirez2099]

Same here man

[@Rectitude4U]

Great video.

[@shinystuffff]

I hate the Yankees, but I respect the hell out of Rivera. That magical right hand signed an autograph for me this past Friday. Thanks, Mo.

[@danielhoward4566]

You are just another hater, admit it.

[@kieferonline]

Excellent graphics in this video! One of the best pitching videos I've ever seen on KZbin. This is 13 years after the video was published!

[@drkoala]

Those graphics were amazing. Graham Roberts, Shan Carter and Joe Ward did an amazing job. I’m a huge fan of Kirk Goldsberry’s visualizations of basketball. These baseball graphics really made everything incredibly clear.

[@WorldWarThree]

The last part was the most important. It's all about keeping the ball off the good part of the bat. Mariano was a master at it.

[@apriori7]

Like the guy said in the vid, that easy, fluid delivery of his only made matters worse for hitters. I remember watching him pitch on tv (late 90's) and he made it look so effortless to hit 96-97 on the radar gun. Can't imagine how tough it would be to make contact with that thing...

[@MexicanWorkEthic]

A very sweet and concise video that shows how two pitches, the fastball and cut-fastball, differ. Well done.

[@soarinskies1105]

If you really wanna know how he managed to get away with just throwing 1 pitch for 20 straight years, allow me to explain. Mariano Rivera had a cutter that he had mastered to a T, to the point where he could change the grip he had on it at will to make it break how he wanted it to break, all while altering the speeds he threw it at, and all while making virtually 0 mistakes, and still controlling the strike zone with the same consistency. This basically meant that although Mario was throwing the same pitch every single time against every single batter, the different grips and changing speeds, made it seem like he was throwing 100 different pitches when he was up there on the mound due to the fact that he could alter the speed and break of each pitch at will, all while keeping the same arm motion. Hitters knew the cutter was coming every single time. Despite knowing this for over 20 years, almost nobody outside a few hitters some of whom were future hall of famers like Miguel Cabrera, could hit it. Even when a hitter managed to hit it, the natural break of the cutter literally cut bats in two resulting in weak contact, and an easy out. That’s why he’s the greatest closer who ever lived.

[@iamhungey12345]

He didn't have just one pitch, keep in mind his cutter didn't come in until 1997 and it was 1998 where he starts making it a part of his arsenals.

[@greengate3d]

Thoroughly enjoyable! GREAT work!!!

[@Eidenhoek]

1:55 was NOT ready.

[@Pinkster1974]

He got it in on Gonzalez, who blooped it over the infield. It was a good pitch, and was hit the best one can hope for. You're right. Sometimes they hit it.

[@maria2623]

If infield had not been in (for a potential bunt) , that bloop might been a double play. Not Mo's fault.

[@us-Bahn]

Bases were loaded. Mo’s fault.

[@12345balla12345]

Even David Ortiz said Rivera was in his top 5 best and hardest to get a hit of off pitchers.

[@jwsgilliland9630]

What a really fun and informative way to look at it, more of these videos please

[@steviesoprano]

Keep in mind that this happens all within half a second. So for all you haters, baseball is extremely hard.

[@Rexx01]

It's a peace of cake for cricketer with some practice if reaction time is just .5 second! In cricket ball is very hard plus we don't technically have .5 second's.. plus ball swing in both direction.. inswing, out swing and even reverse swing! Not only that there are spinners too!

[@thehamburgler3570]

Dheeraj mishra the mlb used to try and convert cricket players who were studs out in India and wherever else they could find them. They all didn’t make it out of the minor league system except for one who started a game or 2 with the padres I believe but didn’t have much success and subsequently got sent back down to the minors

[@heartt4994]

.3-.4 of a second 👍🏻

[@idontgotnothin]

I wish it was half a second, that would be easy

[@email16v]

Haha...you can make any game hard junior. I'm a ten time world champ in checkers. I even take water breaks, wear my rally cap, eat sunflower seeds and chew tobacco. 9 innings can wear a brother out. Waaaaah

[@jplaybgaming3361]

Please . Make another video like this 😭 .. I like the explanation and the animated pitch 😍

[@terraLiquidus]

I could listen to this guy break down pitches all day.

[@caseystengel3120]

Greatest pitching video of all time. Mariano’s signature cutter does NOT have gyro spin.

[@ronn1751]

Nothing you can say….. Absolute killer of a closer. Everyone knew what was coming. He just threw it up there and said “ here it is , try and hit it “ The word “ amazing “ gets thrown around for any little reason. Rivera truly was Amazing to watch.

[@chrisjaybecker]

Edgar Martinez was perhaps the only hitter who could hit Rivera on a regular basis. So much so that Rivera lobbied harder than any other player for Edgar's HOF induction, which showed Rivera's graciousness and class.

[@tonyfired]

His record is 11 saves in 12 opportunities in world series that is sick he is almost perfect

[@webstedge1099]

The one save he DIDN'T get-ended up costing the Yankees a championship the ONE time that they most needed another one. He took the 'L' after getting walked-off by luis gonzalez. 9 year old me watched that one in my living room. I still cannot look at that picture of Rivera trudging off the field with the Arizona players dancing in the background.

[@ivory1696]

Webstedge1099 -- I remember that. One of the greatest moments in baseball. Luis Gonzales blooper single .

[@iamhungey12345]

Yeah remember it was a bloop hit that barely made it past the infield which is generally the best one can hope for when batting against Mo. It happens. The throwing error he made was probably the bigger factor, he made the right decision trying to go for two but unfortunately the throw was way off.

[@Jiltedin2007]

Mariano Rivera was the best in his trade! Coming from a Red Sox Fan. Starting Next Season while the number 42 is retired AT EVERY BALLPARK in respect of Jackie Robinson breaking the Color Barrier in Baseball, Yankee Stadium should put the name RIVERA over the number 42 retired so that everyone can see that number being put there for "The Sandman".

[@BoranTheki]

Jiltedin2007 Or just have two 42s, one for Robinson and one for Rivera. I don't see how they could not acknowledge Rivera in that way.

[@BoranTheki]

Jiltedin2007 The only thing about retiring 42 for every team is no one may voluntarily wear 42 out of respect for Robinson, but now everyone is forced to wear it on April 15th. I kinda don't like it.

[@incyphe]

This needs more views. A lot of work went into producing this video!

[@4EdGibbon]

He is…hands down the best reliever of all time. An astonishing postseason ERA of 0.77…representing the equivalent of 15.5 games pitched, allowing a total of two (2!!!) round-trippers; or one every 7+ games.

[@thehoep]

One of the most dominant closers? HE IS THE MOST DOMINANT

[@sysmg]

Saw this on NYTimes.com . It's an awesome depiction of why he's so great!

[@DoItLive03]

great video. the only thing is when they show the spin at 1:03. They cutter and fastball are switched. They show the cutter spinning like a fastball and a fastball spinning like a cutter.

[@albagubra1923]

he is a once in a lifetime pitcher...the greatest!!

[@mousepad1123]

right off the bat, first sentence, i'm already a little upset with this report: One of the most dominant closers in history? let the numbers speak for themselves. even the most hardened boston fan would have no problem saying he is THE MOST DOMINANT closer in history. period. finite. okay, now i'll listen to the rest of that this guy has to say. just needed to put that out there.

[@onebadunixninja]

Watching the screen get red and blotchy gave me flashbacks to playing Wolfenstein. Help. Me.

[@inutero10]

One pitch beast. That cutter had to be impossible to deal with.

[@GoochMcDoober1]

I wish they did this with more pitchers and their best pitches.

[@jcck1976]

From Puerto Caimito en La Chorrera Panama. a true legend ! I wonder if with the help of videos like this other pitchers can try to duplicate his dominance...

[@Jeff_Pryce]

The four most unstoppable moves in all of sports were: Kareem’s Skyhook, the fadeaway jump shot from Kobe and Michael Jordan, and Mariano Rivera’s cut fastball. You know what’s coming, you can see it coming, yet there’s nothing you can do to stop it. Unbelievable. 🙇‍♀️ 🙇‍♂️ 🙇

[@Pstfix]

This was an awesome clip!

[@idn]

Wow... not a huge baseball fan but this was very cool. Well done New York Times!

[@jamecpa10]

this is a god gift , thanks mariano from panama god bless panama and usa ciao

[@crazyoldbastard]

poetry in motion

[@stryker94]

This is very informative. Thank you!!

[@kingofrunescapepking]

Sadly, that only blown save being a loss in game 7 in 2001

[@-PlayMaker-]

This was a genuinely great video

[@NunYa953]

Finally a graphic in baseball that's useful

[@Bearnoats]

i like throwing the corners. its just the best way to make a batter swing

[@glutenfreegam3r177]

Awesome video mate!

[@luisgerardodelagarza3320]

Apaga y vámonos! Una leyenda el panameño 🇵🇦

[@HeretikErik]

From 2007 to retirement, Rivera threw the Cutter almost 99% of the time against lefties. I'm not exaggerating that. It was literally 2,582 outta 2,614 pitches were cutters thrown to lefties. 1 dominant pitch that hitters could do almost nothing against.

[@ContrastWithSepiaPrince]

Regardless of starters and relievers, Rivera is one of the greatest overall pitchers, period.

[@andrewc0m3r]

this video is really awesome. yeah the cutter and fastball seam movements were mixed up but overall the video was really good. great job.

[@Whyinem]

One of the best to ever do it!

[@1964robw]

Amazing Graphics.

[@kingsojo]

The best! Got to see him pitch in 08

[@dzanier]

I don't see how you can make that comment and be serious. He's been the MVP of the WS and LCS and saved more playoff games than anyone ever. Plus, he had a 33 innings scoreless streak in postseason play. He was human. So was Eckersley and many others, as well as every fucking closer those peckerhead Red Sox have ever had.

[@wutangklan5084]

I’m far from a Yankees fan but there’s no doubt that Rivera is the greatest closer of all time.

[@TheCymbalProject]

This is a really interesting breakdown.

[@louderthangod]

Fantastic video...really well covered.

[@MrER28]

Mariano doesn't put any presure on the ball with his fingers; he does it with his wrist. You can check video of this right here on KZbin. Mariano himself explains it. Just type in mariano rivera, pedro martinez, randy johnson and click on the pedro martinez picture.

[@tomrochin]

outstanding video.

[@benkerstetter897]

Great video man

[@mixumup1]

I wish i could see more videos like this

[@dzanier]

It was a good pitch. I'm a Yankee fan. I'm gonna miss him.

[@matthewimi]

Closer extraordinaire! I had the unique privilege of actually watching him play

[@Ozzie12]

Wow great video!

[@Chris_Adams88]

I am Not saying Mariano is the greatest Baseball Player ever But i will say That he is Deserving of his unanimous H.O.F Induction

[@hr1meg]

Who ever made the claim that Mariano is the greatest baseball player ever? He is the greatest reliever ever.

[@footballer10k86]

wow good stuff

[@oxyosbourne525]

Awesome video. Very informative.

[@karamazovkid71]

excellent commentary by flaherty

[@jaimedelgado7529]

how do they chose starters vs closers ? is it just based on stamina? or are there other factors

[@empollon2000]

Wow! Very informative!

[@strike8816]

Has 1:10 there been an inversion? the rotation of the center ball is that of a fast ball, on the left that of the cutter ?

[@bigsquatch125]

That was awesome

[@peteyprimo7173]

That is insane accuracy

[@sunnyjasaiwala9207]

Really Great video ...

[@hokagegaming165]

This is sawamura no. 7 pitch

[@AllForeOneGolf]

You summed up your own statement with that last sentence. Congrats.

[@aaaaaaaaaaaahelp2470]

Imagine being In the batters box and seeing this come towards you 1:54

[@lechampiones]

this is so great!

[@melpl1706]

one of the most?or the the best?

[@bouncingsoul777]

Awesome video

[@alconamx]

Great graphics

[@gregorygoss417]

Thanks for pointing that out. It was confusing.

[@iamamish]

How can the spin on the cutter be the same as the fastball, yet have different movement? I understand the spin may be hard to read, but it doesn't follow from that alone that it is the same spin. The only other possibility I can see is that the different pitches perform differently based on the orientation of the seams, but with that type of pitch movement, I'd think there would have to be some asymmetry in the spin.

[@fernandover9538]

AWESOME !!! " MO" THE PANAMA FOR THE WORLD ...

[@3X0SK3L3TON]

mariano ''gonna shut you down'' rivera

[@BOMB3RJAKKK]

NICE BREAKDOWN BRO