For the first time in his career, Andrew McCutchen will not play in the gold and black of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Instead, he will wear the orange and black of the Giants after being traded to San Francisco on Monday.
“There was a bit of excitement. There was a bit of anticipation,” McCutchen said on Tolbert & Lund Thursday afternoon. “I would be lying if I said I wasn’t sad at the same time. Spent the last nine years of my career on one team, so there’s a lot of different emotions. I’m really excited for me and my family. I’m excited to get to San Francisco, meet with my teammates, meet the fans.”
What Buster Posey, Madison Bumgarner and Brandon Crawford are to the Giants, McCutchen was to the Pirates. He was their homegrown talent, drafted No. 11 overall by Pittsburgh in the 2005 MLB Draft, and following his debut in 2009, he went on to become the face of their franchise after nine years with the organization. From 2011-2015, McCutchen was a five-time All-Star, finished in the top of MVP voting four times, and took home the award in 2013, after batting .317 with 21 home runs.
McCutchen was with Pittsburgh in the best of times, helping them to their first playoff appearance since 1992 in 2013, and the hardest of times, picking up the pieces after two consecutive losses in the NL Wild Card game.
“You think about the things that happened in the past and there are actually somethings that hurt, but I cherish the moments I did have and the relationships I did make, the fans and the people I did meet,” McCutchen said. “It was all well-worth it, but I understand that at the end of the day it’s a business. Now I’m somewhere where they want me, they tried to get me and they got me here. I’m a Giant now and I’m excited about that.”
To listen to the full interview check out the podcast below, and start from the beginning for McCutchen on leaving Pittsburgh.