The choice was clear. The Pittsburgh Pirates had to re-sign Andrew McCutchen this off-season. The message sent by the organization in making this roster move is vital to their fan base.
Success hinges on leadership. With all winning baseball clubs, that success could be traced back to one individual in the clubhouse: the man others in time of doubt or fear can approach for reassurance.
McCutchen’s signing in December for a one-year contract, which the former National League MVP has now done for a third consecutive season, confirms that the Pirates have their leader back in uniform. Now, heading into his 17th MLB season (12th with Pittsburgh), aside from trotting out to the play center field for a handful of games over the past couple of seasons and being manager Derek Shelton’s favorite designated hitter, McCutchen is a welcomed link with veteran and rookies alike.
From his corner cubicle in Pittsburgh’s PNC Park, and at similar perches on the road in visiting clubhouses, the five-time All-Star has an ideal view of his fellow Pirates. He is a proven leader by example.
With a bulging resume of accomplishments including 300-plus home runs, 2,000-plus hits, and 1,000-plus RBIs, the former 2005 first-round draft pick by the Pirates has all the credibility needed to have captive audiences with whoever and whenever he should see fit. Unofficially, McCutchen has morphed into a quasi coach, friend, mentor, a shoulder to cry on if necessary, and big brother, according to one of his former teammates.
Few know and understand the value of keeping McCutchen, 38, in Pittsburgh black and gold colors than Neil Walker. Like McCutchen, Walker was selected as a top draft pick (one year earlier than McCutchen in 2005). They were teammates in Double-A and Triple-A ball, and they both were called up to the Pirates for the first time during the 2009 season. For their first seven MLB seasons, McCutchen and Walker shared and starred in the Pirates’ lineup card. They grew up in baseball together.
Speaking with The Epoch Times on Saturday, Walker is among those excited to have his friend and longtime teammate remaining in the Pirates’ fold.
“It’s cool guys get the opportunity to continue their career where they want. ‘Cutch’ has been here for a long time. The Pirates typically have a younger roster. Being a veteran player, he'll help usher in the next generation of Pirates,” he said.
Walker, a second-generation Pirate, looks back to the successful Pittsburgh clubs of the 1990s. His earliest recollections of those teams included Barry Bonds, Bobby Bonilla, and Andy Van Slyke. All three stars logged at least a half dozen seasons with the Pirates. McCutchen has doubled their time spent in the “Steel City.”
“I certainly would put Andrew in that same boat with them,” says Walker of his former teammates’ importance to the club. “[McCutchen] has embraced this city. He’s the symbol of being the Pirates’ leader. Not the most vocal of leaders, and that’s not a bad thing. When ‘Cutch’ does say something, he is always very thoughtful.”
Now entering his fourth season as a member of the Pirates broadcast team, Walker has a unique view of his former teammate continuing on as a productive player. At age 38, Walker is impressed at what McCutchen has been able to do on the field. He is convinced, that if McCutchen so chooses, he can play into his 40s. When the two were coming up the Pirates’ minor league system in Altoona and Indianapolis, Walker recalls thinking that even at a very young age, McCutchen was special.
“In his prime ‘Cutch’ was a five-tool player,” declares Walker, who was part of the 2013 Pittsburgh club when McCutchen won the National League MVP Award. “He stole bases, hit home runs, and played good defense. I tip my cap to him. The first year that I played with him, I was 20 and ‘Cutch’ was 19. His eye for the ball was on another level. Nothing surprises me anymore about him. Last season, I was lucky enough to be in the booth, in Philadelphia, when he hit his 300th home run. That was special.”
Armed with a closet loaded with Silver Slugger bats, Rawlings Gold Gloves, a World Baseball Classic gold medal, and a Roberto Clemente Award, McCutchen now has several outstanding young candidates who can learn from him, as he did from such veterans as Jack Wilson and Craig Monroe. Oneil Cruz, Nick Gonzales, Jared Triolo, and Billy Cook are younger players who should benefit the most from observing how McCutchen goes about his business.
Whatever happens on the field this season, beginning with spring training next month in Bradenton, Fla., all eyes in the dugout and clubhouse look to McCutchen to bridge the gap with management.
The City of Pittsburgh has always looked to a leader, a symbol of sports to look at as “the guy”—the one leading the charge. Over the last 20 years, Sidney Crosby has led the NHL Pittsburgh Penguins. Beginning in 2004, with the NFL Steelers, Ben Roethlisberger for 18 seasons was the quarterback that brought two Super Bowl victories to the city. Since making his Pirates MLB debut in 2009, interrupted for five seasons playing for four other MLB clubs, McCutchen has become “the guy” for the Pirates.
A once in a generational athlete, McCutchen is the baseball gift that keeps on giving for the Pirates on the field, to the fans, and to Greater Pittsburgh as a whole. “Cutch is Clutch” is more than a supportive slogan for the popular player, it’s a necessity for the future of Pirates baseball.
