ANDREW MCCUTCHEN is back in Pittsburgh.
by Aubrey Bruce, For New Pittsburgh Courier
There are many athletes that become synonymous with various cities that they play in. During this era of team-jumping and money-only-equaling loyalty, oftentimes for financial reasons a player may not be with a franchise long enough to become loyal. It can also be said for some that the only team logo that inspires commitment from a few individuals and their agents is the photos of dead presidents.
However, the epitome of what it means to be a true Pittsburgher first and a loyal Pittsburgh Pirate second can never, should never, will never be lost on Andrew Stefan McCutchen. McCutchen gave Pittsburgh the ultimate honor when he named his firstborn son; Steel Stefan McCutchen after his birth on November 27, 2017. This is a living and breathing testimony to Pittsburgh PA. that came directly from the loins of Andrew McCutchen. McCutchen could have gone on the usual ego trip and honored himself by naming his son Andrew Stefan McCutchen Jr. Instead, he chose to honor the city and the team that provided him with a good living and the means to take care of himself and his family.
Andrew McCutchen was born on October 10, 1986, in Fort Meade, Florida, yet he has developed and maintained loyalty to a city located more than 1,000 miles from his birthplace. The same cannot be said for his boss, Pirates owner Bob Nutting. Nutting was born on March 29, 1962, in Wheeling, West Virginia, located just an hour from Pittsburgh. Bob Nutting has come nowhere near being as loyal to the city of Steel and the Pirates fans as Andrew McCutchen.
After he was signed by the Bucs in 2005, he was promoted from the minors to the big leagues in 2009. He went on to become a five-time All-Star and the 2013 National League MVP. He became one of the marquee Pirates that most of us surmised would not have been traded in the immediate future because he once represented one-third of a Pirates outfield that had been projected to be not only one of the Pirates’ greatest outfields but one of the greatest MLB outfields of all-time.
The following is an excerpt from an article that Rob Biertempfel posted on triblive.com on March 1, 2014. “Excitement about the Pirates’ Dream Outfield of McCutchen, Marte and Polanco hasn’t reached Beatlemania proportions … but it’s building. ‘We’re a small-market team, but they are big-market players,’ said Rene Gayo, the scout who signed Marte in 2007 and Polanco in 2009 for a total of $235,000. ‘Those guys are prototype players: They can run, hit and field,’ Gayo said. ‘To have Marte and Polanco out there on either side of the National League MVP, that’s a blessing for the Pirates. That’s a hell of an outfield.’ In just his fifth season, McCutchen, 27, was the runaway winner of the MVP award after batting .317 with a .911 on-base plus slugging percentage. The center fielder is a three-time All-Star who owns two Silver Sluggers and a Gold Glove.”
The Pirates’ 2023 re-signing of Andrew McCutchen is a misnomer. This transaction is merely a false gesture of benevolence regarding the temporary reunion of Andrew McCutchen with the Pirates. McCutchen was signed by the Kevin McClatchy ownership group in 2005 as a part of the new Pittsburgh Pirates foundation; two years before the Bob Nutting surgical group came in and placed the body of the Pittsburgh Pirates on the “dis-operating” table and began dismembering the team. Bob Nutting and his financial “goons” traded in their fiscal scalpels for hacksaws, amputating the potential of the Pirates’ bright and prosperous future just for a few funky dollars.
There aren’t any authentic nostalgic or heartfelt reasons for Bob Nutting to bring Andrew McCutchen back “home.” This is purely an insidious, devious stunt and marketing ploy by Nutting and the Pirates’ “dis-ownership” to increase attendance. Not increasing the attendance of African Americans because less than 10 percent of Blacks even attend Pirates games. Now, let us go “back to the future.”…Newsflash, January 20, 2023: The Pittsburgh Pirates signed Andrew McCutchen back to the team. The team did not disclose financial terms, but the Associated Press reported: “The one-year deal to be worth $5 million.” Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 also reported that; “the outfielder and the team had agreed to a one-year deal to bring the fan-favorite back.”
Hear ye, hear ye, ladies and gents, can the words “fan favorite” translate to “cha-ching?” Bob Nutting has baited and switched the City of Pittsburgh since 2007 and in the process has poisoned the hopes of the Pirates faithful. Be ye ever so cautious. The “D-Con” rodent control poison is not hidden inside the cheese. The poison is the cheese. Bob Nutting, the Pied Piper of Major League Baseball, doesn’t have to travel far to lead Pirates fans to drown in the “river of mediocrity” because it will always just be a stone’s throw away.
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