He walked across the Clemente Bridge and he named his son Steel.
He was a first round draft pick, a homegrown talent, and an MVP the year the Pirates broke a 21-year playoff drought.
Put simply, Andrew McCutchen was baseball in the city of Pittsburgh.
Much like Evan Longoria, who was the face of the Tampa Bay Rays, McCutchen was the prodigal son for a franchise that hasn’t enjoyed much recent baseball success. That’s why it stings –for the city, the player, the team and the fan base– that McCutchen will no longer wear the black and gold.
On Monday morning, the nine-year Major League veteran published a lengthy farewell tribute to the city of Pittsburgh on The Players’ Tribune. McCutchen’s piece detailed his final game at PNC Park, what it meant to wear the Pirates uniform and how he felt in the immediate aftermath of his trade to San Francisco. A heartfelt piece loaded down with emotion, McCutchen explained the shock he felt when Pirates’ general manager Neal Huntington gave him the call he never wanted to receive.
“I can’t even explain what a wild feeling that was, and still is,” McCutchen wrote. “It’s like, one minute I was just hanging out…. and my biggest worry was if my son would fall asleep for his afternoon nap. And then the next, it was like, my life as I knew it wouldn’t ever be the same.”
While the majority of McCutchen’s piece was dedicated toward his time in Pittsburgh, the Giants’ new right fielder did convey a genuine and honest sense of excitement for the road ahead. After spending every inning of his Major League career with the Pirates, McCutchen is now a San Francisco Giant.
“But at the same time: Andrew McCutchen, San Francisco Giant? I’m EXCITED about that,” McCutchen wrote. “That’s not me doing p.r. for anyone. That’s just … genuine and real. I’m excited for this journey. Like — anyone who knows me, knows that I’m not just a baseball player. I’m also a fan. And any fan — anyone who loves and follows this game? You’ve been watching what the Giants have been doing for the last decade … in awe. This is an organization that is all about winning talent, and all about winning culture. And that’s what I’m about, too. So to say this is a good fit … it’s an understatement, man. For me to get traded to San Francisco — the fit is perfect.”
With Spring Training set to start in a little more than three weeks, McCutchen will have to get acclimated to his new home on the fly. While the change will surely be difficult, McCutchen sounds eager to impress the Giants’ fan base.