The first thing Andrew McCutchen brought up after gazing at PNC Park's field Saturday was the grass. Even after snow and cold temperatures for most of the week, the surface looked good to him. Perfect for some base hits up the middle.
Some changes are coming to the park. A new scoreboard is being installed. The outfield walls were being rehabbed for new ads.
And perhaps the most important change is that it's home again. McCutchen stayed in Pittsburgh after being traded to the Giants in 2018 and through his five years away. The club and its former face of the franchise reunited earlier this month in what was an almost necessary homecoming. Not just because he can help the team, but because McCutchen sometimes couldn't stand to look at the place where he became the toast of Pittsburgh.
"I passed this place a lot over the years because I live here," McCutchen told reporters at the ballpark Saturday. "There were times where I would drive by it, and I couldn’t look at it, because I couldn’t be there. There were times where it was difficult to know that I live here but I don’t play here. Now I don’t have to worry about that this year. I can look at it and now, ‘Shoot, I’m gonna be going back there during the season.’ I get to be able to enjoy that again."
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McCutchen was at PNC Park Saturday for two reasons. The first was to take part in a baseball and softball equipment drive that will be sent to youth in the Dominican Republic and Venezuela. The second was take part in a season ticket holder meet and greet. Over 1,900 fans attended with McCutchen being the main draw.
It was clear that a five year absence hasn't effected the relationship between the city and McCutchen.
"Seeing that smile on a person’s face, knowing what that smile means and not having to say anything, as opposed to what it used to be, where I might see someone and talk to ‘em, they might say, ‘We miss you here, or, ‘Good luck wherever you’re gonna be,’ " McCutchen said. "It’s not having that conversation anymore. It’s more, they know I’m here. A lot of times you don’t even have to have conversations. It’s more of a head nod and a smile. We both have an understanding of it. It’s nice. It’s good to know that. It’s good for the fans, the people of Pittsburgh to know that. It’s more than having a distant memory of me talking to them about when I was here last. It’s more like, ‘Man, I can’t wait for the season to roll around.’ "
And if there is one thing that should be guaranteed ahead of the 2023 season, it's that the reaction McCutchen gets at the home opener on April 7 is going to be memorable. He's gotten teases of it the last couple years coming home as a member of the Giants, Phillies and Brewers.
He says he hasn't thought about what that reaction is going to be when he steps on the field again as a Pirate. But come on. We all know it's going to be a great reception.
"Fans have been great, regardless, every time I come here," McCutchen said. "I don't expect it to be any different. They've been so receptive to me coming in every single day... I hit a double and they clap. It's still nice to get that. I'm sure it's gonna be great, but they've always been great every time I've been here."
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McCutchen is Pittsburgh sports royalty not just because he was an MVP in his time with the Pirates. It's because after two decades of losing, he led the charge to make the Pirates a playoff team again. Those trips to the playoffs may not have resulted in a ring, but it was undeniable that from 2013-2015, the Pirates were one of the best teams in baseball.
In the press conference to announce the signing last week, McCutchen said this wasn't a farewell tour. He was coming back to help the ball club win.
Baseball can be easily romanticized, but the idea of him winning again in Pittsburgh would be an all-time great story.
"It would mean the world, not with [just] me, but it would mean the world to the fan base as well," McCutchen said about what it would mean to win here. "The fans here, they don’t want to see another 20 years of losing... They don’t want that to happen. I don’t want that to happen either. I do feel within that clubhouse, there’s a good group of guys out there and in that clubhouse. Great talents. It’s just a matter of belief of that and going out there on the field and doing it."
During his first conversations with the front office and Derek Shelton, McCutchen brought up how he believed in the direction the team was heading in. He acknowledges the team is going to have to do the little things right consistently to win, but he saw them do it first hand while with the Brewers last season.
"We couldn't beat them," he answered. "Couldn't beat them. I was on a good team. Poised to make it to the playoffs. Poised to win the division. That didn't pan out, and part of the reason it didn't is because we didn't beat that ball club over there. Couldn't beat 'em."
The Brewers missed out on a wild card by just one game last year. Their performance against the Pirates played a role in that, losing six of their final eight matchups against the Pirates, including being swept on the road in August.
"I was watching them score them in, [and thought] it's a good ball club. If they weren't good, they wouldn't beat us," McCutchen continued. "That's why I didn't believe in the 100 losses. People can look at the record and say, 'oh they lost 100 games,' but I don't believe in that. Just because it says that doesn't mean they're a 100 loss ball club. I truly believe that they're not. If that was the case, they wouldn't beat us."
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It wasn't until this year that McCutchen felt even ok coming back to PNC Park as a visitor. Those rounds of applause were always appreciated, but being away from his city and team? It may have impacted his love of the game.
"I'm sure it did affect me in some way, shape or form," McCutchen said. "I had a newborn son when I left here. I didn't know what to expect. I had never been on another ball cub. When you look at all those things, you have a short amount of time to process it. I'm sure it does mess with your brain, whatever else. But to me, I'm like, 'I'm fine, I'm blessed,' knowing deep down I'm probably not. You have to do what you have to do to accept the reality of what's happening to you. You have to go out, accept it and play your best ball. I'm sure it had some effect, and you feel those effects when you first come back."
McCutchen always knew he wanted to return to the Pirates. And while he has downplayed it a bit in his return, he has a legacy with the organization, one that could potentially be a bit tarnished if he was to come back and struggle.
That's not on his mind.
"I have nothing to prove," McCutchen said. "I don’t have anything to prove to anyone. I’m here because I know that I can still play the ballgame and that ballclub and that front office, they believe that. I don’t need to put more pressure on myself. I never have and I never will. I’m out there and I’m enjoying myself... There’s no legacy to protect; just show up and do what I’ve always done. Everything else will take care of itself."
