CF McCutchen voted Pirates MVP by media

From staff and wire reports
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/
Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Center fielder Andrew McCutchen is the winner of the Roberto Clemente Award, which is presented annually to the top Pirates player of that season.

McCutchen received seven of a possible nine first-place votes in balloting by members of the Baseball Writers Association of America. First baseman/outfielder Garrett Jones edged pitcher Ross Ohlendorf by one-half vote for second place.

McCutchen joins second baseman Tony Womack as the only rookie to win the award, which is named for the late Hall of Fame outfielder. Womack shared the 1997 award with first baseman Kevin Young.

The Pirates didn't recall McCutchen from Triple-A Indianapolis until they traded Nate McLouth — the 2008 Clemente winner — to the Atlanta Braves on June 3. McCutchen went on to hit .286 with 12 homers, 54 RBIs and 22 stolen bases in 108 games.

Jones, a late June callup, batted .293 with 21 homers and 44 RBIs in 82 games. Ohlendorf was the only starting pitcher to stay with the Pirates all season who had a winning record, going 11-10 with a 3.92 ERA in 29 starts.


• Pirates games on FSN Pittsburgh drew a Nielsen rating of 3.25 that was higher than the regional sports network ratings for 11 other major league clubs, according to SportsBusiness Journal.

Although the Pirates lost 99 games during a record-setting 17th consecutive losing season, their ratings were higher than those for the Royals, Orioles, Astros, Indians, Mets, Rangers, White Sox, Dodgers, Angels, Athletics and Nationals.

The Pirates' ratings were up 18.2 percent from 2008 and the average number of households watching, 38,000, was up 18.8 percent. By comparison, Dodgers games on FS Prime Ticket drew a rating of 2.15, but the average number of households watching was 122,000, according to the publication.

The Nationals had the lowest rating (0.60 on MASN/MASN2) and households (14,000) of any team in the majors, SportsBusiness Journal reported.

The rating is the percentage of all homes with TVs, whether or not they are in use.


DIGITS

1 — Player on the Pirates who finished with more RBI than leadoff man Andrew McCutchen's 54 (Andy LaRoche, 64).

3 — Rank of McCutchen among National League leadoff men in RBI. He finished behind only Jimmy Rollins (71) and Felipe Lopez (55).