Now that the happy homecoming side of Andrew McCutchen agreeing to return to the Pittsburgh Pirates has commenced, there is talk that it could provide the perfect ending.
The 36-year-old outfielder has a golden opportunity to end his major-league career with the team that drafted him and the city where he became a five-time All-Star who won the 2013 NL MVP, four Silver Sluggers and Gold Glove and Roberto Clemente awards.
McCutchen is within reach of multiple milestones this season, from his 2,000th hit and 1,000th walk to his 400th double and 300th home run, and the chance to do so before an adoring Pirates fan base only adds to his allure as a gate attraction at PNC Park.
That makes the move a no-brainer, on multiple levels. First and foremost, it allows the Pirates to right a wrong. In trading McCutchen to the San Francisco Giants in January 2018, the Pirates’ front office executives cited the business of baseball but vastly underestimated the sentimental side of the sport.
As much as the Pirates preached that it was a good baseball move, one that returned Bryan Reynolds and international bonus pool space that allowed for the signing of prospect Ji Hwan Bae, it did as much damage by tearing both the hearts and hope out of their fan base.
After leading the Pirates out of the darkness of two decades of losing seasons and to three consecutive postseason appearances, McCutchen should have become the first Pirates player to spend his entire career with the franchise since Willie Stargell, one of four Hall of Famers with a statue outside the ballpark.
Neil Walker, the former Pirates second baseman and now a color analyst on AT&T SportsNet broadcasts, spoke with McCutchen on Friday and shared that his former teammate was “incredibly happy to be back.”
“As you know about baseball, a lot of times you’re a victim of circumstance,” said Walker, a Pine-Richland graduate who was sent to the New York Mets in December 2015. “The writing was on the wall for me when it was my time to get traded. Andrew was in a very different situation. There wasn’t animosity — I never heard words come out of his mouth — but for him and me, we all wanted to be Pirates for a lifetime.”
So McCutchen’s return ends one era of acrimony while perhaps preceding another. Pirates fans can dream about watching an outfield of McCutchen and Reynolds flanking Bae as a convincing sign of a lopsided trade with the Giants. Given that Reynolds has requested a trade, there is a skeptical side that wonders whether McCutchen’s signing was a preemptive strike to soften the blow of a potential deal to come involving the 2021 All-Star outfielder.
For now, the focus is on the feel-good part. Once the face of the franchise, like Ben Roethlisberger for the Steelers and Sidney Crosby for the Penguins, the Pirates have never found a willing or suitable replacement for McCutchen since his departure.
“Let’s face it: ‘Cutch’ is Pittsburgh royalty. He’s Roethlisberger. He’s Crosby,” Walker said. “The fact that he’s 36 years old and can play at a high level is something that’s important for this organization right now. He’s going to rub off. … He’s the epitome of a Pittsburgher. He’s embraced that through his family and being with the organization. It wouldn’t surprise me if people start to show up in hordes to watch him play.”
It shouldn’t surprise anyone, which brings us back to the business side. The average attendance during McCutchen’s nine seasons with the Pirates from 2009-17 was 25,501, topping out at 30,847 a game in the 94-win season in 2015. Those numbers have dipped to 18,316 in 2018, 18,412 in 2019 and 15,524 last year (fans weren’t allowed at games in the 2020 pandemic season and attendance was limited in 2021).
Even when wearing another team’s uniform — and he earned $73.25 million while wearing those of the Giants, New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies and Milwaukee Brewers the past five years — McCutchen remained a draw on par with fireworks nights.
His first game back with the Giants in May 2018 brought 34,720 to PNC Park. The Pirates-Brewers game this past July 2 drew the seventh-largest crowd (26,505) of the season. McCutchen’s impact on Pirates season-ticket sales alone should justify his one-year, $5 million contract.
After back-to-back 100-loss seasons, McCutchen’s return brings optimism that the Pirates could turn a corner. Although McCutchen no longer plays at an All-Star level, he remains a productive player.
The Pirates value his career .369 on-base percentage, which overshadows a batting average that slipped to .237 with Milwaukee last season. McCutchen’s 25 doubles, 69 RBIs and 57 walks for the Brewers all would have led the Pirates, and his 17 home runs would have been tied for third on the team.
“When you look at the numbers between his on-base skills and his power, he’s a professional hitter. Always has been,” Walker said. “So he’s going to give you good at-bats.”
At this stage of his 15-year career, McCutchen is better suited for right field than center or left and to appear in more games as a designated hitter. But he knows how to take care of his body and how to play through pain. Aside from the 2019 season, when he tore the ACL in his left knee and played only 59 games, McCutchen has appeared in 87.7% of his team’s games since turning 30.
All of that makes McCutchen a good fit for these Pirates, as much for his experience as for his bat. His veteran presence and leadership in the clubhouse could take some pressure off Reynolds and Hayes, much the same way first baseman/DH Carlos Santana could do for middle infielders Oneil Cruz and Rodolfo Castro and left-hander Rich Hill for starting pitchers Mitch Keller, JT Brubaker and Roansy Contreras.
“He’s excited to come back,” Walker said of McCutchen. “He’s looking forward to the opportunity to help usher in this next wave of young players coming up through the organization. It’s a great signing, not just for him and for the Pirates but for the fans in the city of Pittsburgh.”
McCutchen returning to the Pirates is a reunion many thought might never happen. Whether this will serve as a storybook season for Cutch in what could be the final year of his career remains to be seen, but this is an encore that deserves a standing ovation.
