Cutoffs

The cutoff man is an infielder that moves as a target directly into the path of a ball that is thrown from the outfield to the catcher at home base. This situation occurs when the ball is batted to any outfield location, and on the hit a lead runner seeks to advance all the way to home base. Some teams choose to assign the home base cutoff responsibilities to different infielders, such as the pitcher, first baseman or third baseman. We will keep it simple. The first baseman will be our only home base cutoff man.

To become the cutoff, the first baseman runs to the cutoff zone and positions himself in a direct line between home base and the fielder making the outfield throw. He will be located about 40 feet in front of the catcher.

With runners in scoring position, or when there is a runner on first base and the batter gets an extra-base hit, the first baseman should react by moving into the cutoff position. The cutoff position for home base is approximately 40 feet in front of home plate in a direct line between the point of the outfield throw and the catcher. The first baseman should wave his arms and holler, "Hit me! hit me! hit me!" to give the outfielder or relay man an obvious target. The throw should be directed at the cutoff's chest.

The first priority on this play is to nail the runner at home base. If the throw from the outfielder is strong and accurate and will reach the catcher in time to make the tag on the runner, the cutoff man will let the throw go through. If the throw is off line, short, or soft, the cutoff man automatically cuts the throw, and then makes a snap relay throw to the catcher. If the catcher thinks the throw will be too late for him to slap a tag on the runner at home base, he will direct the first baseman to cutoff the throw.

The diagram shows the cutoff play movements for a ball that has been hit into deep left-center field with the lead runner beginning at first base. The shortstop is the relay man. The first baseman sprints to the left of the mound, where he is properly aligned for the throw. The cutoff play will be at home or third base. Note the pitcher is prepared to back up at either third or home.

If a tag play can be made on a trailing runner at another base, the catcher shouts the base number at which a play can be made. For example, if the lead runner is already scoring and the batter is attempting to advance to second base on the throw from the outfield to home plate, the catcher shouts "2" to indicate that a play can be made on the batter at 2nd base. Clear communication between the catcher and the first baseman is essential on all home base cutoff plays.

In addition to the cutoff play at home base, we will also use a cutoff play to defend against runners advancing from first base to third base on a normal base hit to right field or center field. In this situation, the shortstop will be the cutoff man. When the ball is batted for a single into right or center field, there can either be runners at first and third base, or a lead runner at first base only.

The diagram below shows the movements of the players involved. Because the second baseman can see that the ball is hit to normal depth in right field, no relay man is needed. He sprints to cover 2nd base. The shorstop moves into position in direct alignment between the right fielder and the third baseman. He waves his arms at the right fielder to signal that he is the target for the throw. The right fielder throws through to third base by hitting the shortstop chest high with a strong accurate throw.

With a runner on first base, or runners at the corners (first and third base), the batter hits a ball to right field or to center field. The shortstop cutoff play applies in this situation, and the shortstop moves immediately to a cutoff position between the outfielder and third base.

With the play in front of him, the shortstop can let the throw go through, cut off an errant throw and relay it to third base, or cut the throw and make a play on the batter seeking to advance to second base on the throw in from the outfield. The cutoff play is the same for a single that is hit into center field, except the shortstop will make a different alignment. With the shortstop as an alert cutoff, there will be opportunities to put a runner out at third, second, or even first base. Keys to getting an out with this play are alertness and effective communication between the middle fielders.