Andrew Mc-Clutchen For History
Update: McCutchen reached the milestone of 2,000 hits with a single off Mets pitcher Carlos Carrasco on June 11, 2023
The Pittsburgh Pirates have been turning heads as one of the better teams to come out of the NL Central this year and this is in no small part to some of the transactions that happened over the past offseason. One, in particular, has brought the fans back to their screens to witness the return of a king.
Andrew McCutchen
Joe Sargent/MLB Photos (Getty Images)
McCutchen was the one face you never wanted to see up at the plate wearing black and yellow. Even in his exile years with the Giants, Yankees, Phillies, and Brewers, when people think of the Pirates, they’ll think of him or Will Craig depending on who you ask.
His signing with the Pirates back in January was seen as similar to the Albert Pujols signing last year as a nostalgic spin. Bring the face of the franchise back, get a couple of extra tickets sold, and watch the Pirates go.
The result?
While far from his prime, he has collected eight home runs with 23 runs batted in, hitting for a solid .261 average. Along with those numbers are 50 base hits. This sets him back two hits from 2,000 in his career, a number only 289 hitters have reached. To put that into perspective, there have been 318 officially recognized no-hitters since the 1870s. Quite an accomplishment for what has become a great career for McCutchen. He’ll be looking to join the ranks with some of the greatest Pirates hitters including Roberto Clemente, Honus Wagner, and Willie Stargell.
(Jared Wickerham/Getty Images)
Yet, I doubt that is on his mind. His team is currently fighting for first place in the NL Central and will be interesting to see if “Cutch” and his teammates can keep this spark of chaos going.
Also of note, three other players are in contention for 2,000 hits. Freddie Freeman at 1,985, Jose Altuve at 1,947, and Evan Longoria at 1,906. Good luck to them as well.
