January 16, 2018
Every baseball fan, on some level, dreams of a hypothetical world where they have the power to affect their favorite sport.
"If I was the Diamondbacks GM, I'd trade all my best prospects for Manny Machado." Or, "If I was commissioner, I would ban the DH from baseball." Or, "If I owned the Cardinals, I would retire Adam Wainwright's number the moment he retires."
That sort of thing. Fans love talking about it, as they should. Conversations like that are fun. They allow fans to connect with their favorite sport. And baseball writers do that, too, as we try and figure out what trades make sense, what free-agent matchups fit. It's only natural.
One of the conversations that comes up pretty regularly is this: If you were a team owner starting a franchise from scratch, who's the one current player you would build your team around? I've had only one answer to that question for several years now: Andrew McCutchen.
I would build my franchise around Andrew McCutchen, a person who is everything a baseball fan could possibly hope for in a superstar. I feel confident that Pirates fans realize how special McCutchen was, how much he impacted that franchise and that city.
He was an MVP on the field, and an even bigger superstar away from the ballpark. McCutchen embraced the legacy left by Roberto Clemente (he even won MLB's Clemente Award in 2015). McCutchen, who grew up in Fort Meade, Fla., embraced the passion of a Pittsburgh fan base desperate for a winning ballclub. McCutchen embraced the essence of the identity of that region — he named his firstborn “Steel,” for crying out loud. McCutchen embraced the idea of being a role model to baseball-loving kids everywhere.
Most baseball fans live their entire lives and never get the chance to root for a homegrown guy like McCutchen. He never gave Pirates fans any reason to be anything other than proud to call him their own, because McCutchen understood what it meant to represent his team and his community. I can't think of McCutchen and Pittsburgh fans without thinking back to that one interaction with a couple of young Pirates fans in the outfield stands in 2015.
The list of those types of connections in baseball right now is short: Joey Votto in Cincinnati, Francisco Lindor in Cleveland, Clayton Kershaw in Los Angeles and Jose Altuve in Houston, to name a few. McCutchen was Pirates baseball. And the truth is this: Even though he's wearing a Giants uniform now, McCutchen is still Pirates baseball.
The Pirates took him 11th overall in the 2005 draft, and he tantalized the fanbase with his talent as he marched through the minor leagues, even as he worked hard on his shortcomings as a young player. When he arrived in the majors in 2009, the franchise hadn't finished even .500 in 16 seasons. McCutchen just got better every year as he learned how to thrive in the bigs — a 2.3 rWAR as a rookie, a 3.8 rWAR in 2010 and a 5.7 rWAR in 2011.
He knew something special was building in Pittsburgh, and he signed a six-year, $51.5 million deal with the Pirates during spring training 2012. That deal bought out his final three years of arbitration — avoiding the animosity often bred by that exercise — and his first two years of free agency, with an option to buy out the third (the 2018 season).
And you know what he did after signing that financial-future-securing deal? McCutchen proved himself worthy. That's a pattern that repeated itself over and over during his nine MLB seasons with the Pirates.
He finished third in the 2012 NL MVP voting, hitting 31 home runs to go with a .327 average, .953 OPS and 7.0 rWAR, and the Pirates won 79 games that year, their highest total since 1997. And then you know what he did? He won the NL MVP in 2013, posting an 8.1 rWAR, with a .317 average, 21 homers, 27 stolen bases and a .911 OPS, helping the Pirates to 94 wins and their first playoff berth since the Barry Bonds era.
In 2014, McCutchen finished third in the NL MVP and the Pirates again claimed a wild-card spot. In 2015, McCutchen finished fifth in the NL MVP voting and Pittsburgh won 98 games, a victory total that was almost unfathomable when the franchise was mired in its two-decade slump. Heck, in 2009-10, the Pirates won a TOTAL of 119 games over two seasons.
None of this happens without McCutchen. None of it.
He never wanted to leave, but he's suiting up for San Francisco in 2018. His legacy in Pittsburgh is secure, regardless where he finishes his career. He's set to become a free agent after this season, which is why the Pirates traded him now.
McCutchen is in the conversation for the greatest Pirates of all-time, along with Clemente, Honus Wagner, Willie Stargell, Paul Waner, Ralph Kiner and Barry Bonds. With a strong second half to his career — he turned 31 in October — a spot in Cooperstown, at baseball's Hall of Fame, is a possibility.
You can bet he'll prove himself worthy.
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