Q&A: Hillcats pitcher Jake Cuffman

By Andy Bitter

Published: July 13, 2008

You are from Butler, Pa., about 35 minutes away from Pittsburgh. I assume you were always a Pirates fan? Always was. Steelers fan first, though. I was a quarterback and a punter in high school, all-conference in both. I had signed with Marshall to go play baseball and when I signed, they asked me to go play football too. The coach there (Bob Pruett) called and said, “If you’re coming here, you might as well give us a shot too.”

Is it Pennsylvania law to be a football fan? It’s just kind of ingrained. I love the Steelers. It feels like you have a brother that’s on the team. It’s unbelievable. I went to three or four games last year. I went to a playoff game. I feel with Heinz Field, they could play the Steelers games here and they’d sell it out. So I think they felt they could build whatever kind of stadium they want, and they were going to fill it every Sunday.

What was it like being drafted by the Pirates? It was pretty cool. I had heard from a lot of teams. I knew I wasn’t going to go as a top-five (round) guy because I hadn’t thrown very much in high school. We only played 16 games and I only pitched four of them. It’s just the way it worked out. We had four preseason games and 16 regular season games and we had like a 4-12 record, so we didn’t have playoffs. Every game that I threw, there were about 12 to 15 scouts there to watch me throw. So most teams said, “We’re going to look at you after the 10th round.” It was either going to be Pittsburgh or Cleveland.

What persuaded you to sign instead of going to Marshall? For one thing, the Pirates are taking care of my education. Whenever I want to go back to school, it’s waiting for me. And that’s something I want to do anyways. But, I don’t know, just the Pirates talking to me and saying, “Just go for it.” They thought I’d be a better pro pitcher than a college pitcher, and that’s probably true, but I’m still kind of ironing things out here.

How long have you known big leaguer Matt Clement? I’ve been working with Matt since I was about 12. He lives right by me. Where he lives now, he’s about a half mile away from me. And he’s building a house about 500 yards from me. So we’ve actually become real good friends. He’s 33, I’m 22.  It’s kind of funny because we’re the same type of guy. He’s going to have his days where if he’s on, he’s unhittable. And he has his days where he’s wild, just like me. I have days when I’m wild and I can’t throw strikes, but I have days where I’m on and I’m pretty good. So it’s pretty neat having a guy like that around. He’s more of a friend than someone who’s a baseball player.

Your pitches have all sorts of natural movement to them, which can be a good and bad thing. How tough is that to handle? For one thing, I don’t throw slow. My fastball’s usually 90 to 93 (mph), and I throw sinkers, so sometimes they go this way and sometimes they go that way. It’s just one of those things where some of these guys have to go in and out to get outs. I just have to throw the ball down the middle. And some days aren’t that easy. Obviously I have a lot of walks right now, but to be honest with you, I’m getting a lot better. Some guys it takes them time to figure out what they’re doing, and I think I’m one of those guys. You kind of have to be like a cornerback (in football) and have a short-term memory. After I release it and catch the ball, the last one’s over.

If you could make one rule change in the game, what would it be? If I could change one thing, I would have the umpires call the high strike more, because I don’t think the high strike is called enough in baseball. It’s just the belt. Sometimes the strike zone, and I’m not saying this because I walk a lot of guys, but sometimes it feels like the strike zone is like throwing a ball through a Pringles can. And I’m not saying call the low strike. Just call the high strike.