"I truly believe this was a baseball city": Andrew McCutchen dreams of glory days, aims to lead Pirates' renaissance [Exclusive]

Andrew McCutchen is a bit of a Pittsburgh baseball historian after spending ten seasons of his 15-year career with the Pirates.

McCutchen understands that the Pirates have a storied history, winning five World Series and boasting some of the greatest players in the game’s history such as Honus Wagner, Paul and Lloyd Waner, Roberto Clemente, Willie Stargell, and Barry Bonds. However, the problem is that much of that history is now ancient history.

The Pirates haven’t won a division title since 1992 or been to the World Series since 1979 when they defeated the Baltimore Orioles. Furthermore, the franchise has had just four winning seasons in the last 31 years while falling far behind the NFL’s Steelers and NHL’s Penguins in the Pittsburgh professional sports pecking order.

McCutchen, though, doesn’t think it has to be this way for the Pittsburgh Pirates forever. The 37-year-old designated hitter/outfielder dreams of returning the franchise to prominence for the second time in his career.

“I truly believe this was a baseball city before it was a hockey or football city,” McCutchen said. “Nothing against the Pens or the Steelers. Great teams. Great franchises. But history has it. I believe that everyone looked at the Pirates at one point. It would be nice for us to be able to build that back up again.”

Lived through the hard times

McCutchen understands what hard times are like in Pittsburgh. He made his major-league debut in 2009 and the Pirates had a 57-105 record the next season.

The Pirates then finished under .500 again for three straight seasons from 2010-12. That pushed their streak of losing seasons to 16 in a row, the longest ever in North American major professional sports history.

Thanks in large part to a group of young core players, the Pirates broke through in 2013 with a winning season and the first of three consecutive postseason berths. For a least a few years, Pittsburgh went crazy about Pittsburgh.

McCutchen, who was the National League MVP in 2013, still has fond memories of the run that started more than a decade ago.

“I saw what it was like here,” McCutchen said. “I know how the fans were. I know the excitement level. It was a lot of fun to bring winning baseball back to Pittsburgh. It was great to see people talking about and being excited about the Pirates. It was just a great thing to be part of something that brought people so much joy.”

Hope for the future

While the Pirates’ success now seems so long ago, McCutchen believes the Pirates are in a position to start winning again.

Last season, the Pirates went 76-86, which was a 14-win improvement over 2022. They also did not finish in last place in the NL Central for the first time since 2018.

That uptick gives McCutchen hope along with the success the Arizona Diamondbacks had last season. The Diamondbacks weren’t expected to contend but got into the postseason with an 84-78 record and upset the Milwaukee Brewers, the Los Angeles Dodgers, and the Philadelphia Phillies in the NL playoffs before losing to the Texas Rangers in the World Series.

The Pirates won just eight fewer games than the Diamondbacks.

“Look at where they ended up,” McCutchen said. “Who had ‘em there? Nobody. I can’t say nobody. I’m sure some people, especially within that organization, that’s what they believed in. They were able to do that. I say all that to say, ‘Why couldn’t that be us? Why couldn’t we be in that position?’ I see us being similar to them.

We’re not a team that’s going to slug and out-slug people. But if you play good defense, pitch when you need to pitch, make the pitches when you need to make them, do the job, get guys over, move ‘em, get ‘em in, play small ball, you can win the game.”

McCutchen also sees another core group of players starting to form that is reminiscent of those 2013-15 teams. Left fielder Bryan Reynolds and third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes anchor a lineup that should also include ultra-talented shortstop Oneil Cruz, slugging center fielder Jack Suwinski, and dynamic second baseman Liover Peguero.

Right-hander Mitch Keller has emerged as the Pirates’ top starting pitcher and closer David Bednar has been selected for the past two All-Star Games.

Signs of progress

McCutchen returned to the Pirates last season in free agency, five years after being traded to the San Francisco Giants in 2018. He also made stops with the New York Yankees, Phillies, and Milwaukee Brewers before coming back to his adopted hometown.

The Pirates broke to a 20-8 start and were one of the biggest surprises in the major leagues before faltering. However, they finished the season with 18 wins in 31 games while giving opportunities to many young players.

McCutchen wasn’t around for the final weeks after sustaining a partially torn left Achilles while running out a double on Sept. 4. However, he was still around the team and saw growth in the Pirates as they played a big role in helping eliminate two division rivals, the Chicago Cubs and Cincinnati Reds, from playoff contention.

The Pirates finished the season with the youngest roster in the major leagues.

“Being that this was a very young team, I think they could have gone in the opposite direction,” McCutchen said. “It would have been accepted amongst peers and other people. They would have had excuses for them. It’s a young team, got a lot of callups. You can use all those excuses, but these guys decided to commit and fight, and they went out in a good way.

“And that’s what I saw when I was just sitting back watching. I’m like, ‘Man, this is why I’m here. This is why I came back. This is what I see.’”

High hopes for 2024

McCutchen decided to return to the Pirates for the upcoming season on the same terms as last year – one year and $5 million.

Part of the allure is McCutchen, his wife, and three children – with a fourth on the way – make Pittsburgh their permanent home. A native of Fort Meade, Fla., McCutchen met his wife during his first stint with the Pirates.

However, the Pirates believe McCutchen can still be a contributor on the field, not just being a veteran sage in a young clubhouse. He hit .256/.378/.397 with 12 home runs and 11 stolen bases in 112 games last season and is fully recovered from the Achilles injury.

“I think it’s important to emphasize that the conversation last offseason with Andrew is the same conversation this offseason,” Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said. “He doesn't want to be a Pirate to be a hood ornament. He wants to be a Pirate because he wants to be a part of the team win more games and help us get to that more competitive stage as quickly as he can. That's his sole focus at this point in his career.”

The veteran slugger doesn’t just want the Pirates to be competitive, though. He has never played in a World Series and realizes there aren’t likely many more seasons to get there.

“My goal isn’t playoffs,” McCutchen said. “My goal is a championship. That’s why we play. At least that’s why I would think that’s why we play. I want a championship. The playoffs would be great. Being .500 would be great. But the ultimate goal is that.”