Many pitchers use both pitches. And now that they have different names, the catcher can even call for the one he wants.

This trend hasn’t ended yet. There are a lot of varieties, for example, of the “cut fastball.” Some cutters move one way, some another. At some point some standout pitcher is going to have two usable versions, and he’ll want to rename them.

After all, the catcher can’t call the pitch if he can’t name the pitch.

(Much of the historical details here come from “The Neyer⁄James Guide to Pitchers,” a 2004 book by Rob Neyer and Bill James that attempts to catalog the pitches thrown by every significant major league pitcher.)

Edward Thoma is a Free Press staff writer. He is at 344-6377 or at ethoma@mankatofreepress.com. He also has a baseball blog at www.mankatofreepress.com/ethomabaseball