On Thursday, Starling Marte made his return to PNC Park. Stepping up to bat in the first inning, he got a short tribute video and a round of applause from an announced club of less than 4,200. He waved back to the crowd before stepping into the box.
It was nice, but it was overshadowed by the returns Joe Musgrove and Trevor Williams got this year. Only fitting for one of the most underappreciated Pirates ever.
In his time with the Pirates, from 2012 to 2019, Marte ranked 13th among National League position players in rWAR (28.5). That was more Matt Carpenter (28 WAR), Yadier Molina (25.8) and Ryan Braun (20.8), all of whom played more games than him over those eight years. He was an All-Star, a two-time Gold Glove winner and consistently one of the best all-around outfielders in the game.
He never got the recognition he deserved while in Pittsburgh. Not just nationally, but locally.
People would focus on a mistake more than a good play. A time where they thought he could have run harder, rather than the stolen bases or times he took an extra bag. (He created just as many runs via base running over his career as Andy Van Slyke in over 100 fewer games, according to Baseball-Reference.) No matter what he did, the bad always was in the forefront.
That was wrong.
The criticisms from Marte ultimately stemmed from one main point: He wasn’t Andrew McCutchen. He wasn’t as good as McCutchen when No. 22 was in Pittsburgh, and once McCutchen was traded, Marte couldn’t fill his shoes. He was just a consistent impact player and one of the best at his position for over half a decade.
He deserved more recognition when he was here. Hopefully he’s getting that overdue praise with the Marlins.
YOUR TURN: Was Marte underrated/overhated in Pittsburgh?
