Mariano Rivera is best known for throwing a cutter, also called a cut fastball. The pitch resembles a four-seam fastball out of his hand but makes sharp, late lateral movement as it approaches the plate. That subtle break caused hitters to make weak contact and famously shattered many bats.
Rivera used the pitch to dominate as the New York Yankees’ closer, often relying on it so heavily that opponents knew it was coming and still struggled to hit it. His cutter moved toward the hands of many left-handed hitters, taking the sweet spot away while preserving fastball velocity. Its consistency, control, and late movement made it one of baseball’s most celebrated pitches.
Rivera spent all 19 of his major-league seasons with the Yankees, recorded 652 saves, won five World Series titles, and became the first unanimous Baseball Hall of Fame selection in 2019. The cutter existed before Rivera, so he did not invent it; rather, he perfected it and made the pitch famous. His entrance song, "Enter Sandman," is another part of his legacy, but it was the cutter that defined his pitching.