'What if?': At 37, Andrew McCutchen reflects on place among Pirates' all-time greats

Andrew McCutchen can become annoyed easily by the mere mention of milestones, as the Pittsburgh Pirates designated hitter has made it clear that he’s more interested in chasing championships than career numbers.

McCutchen also is a husband and father of four, so he’s quick to add that being a baseball player is what he does, not who he is. But McCutchen also realizes where he ranks among those who did what he does, and every milestone he reaches is a reminder of what could have been.

The latest accomplishment came on an RBI double at Arizona on Friday night, as McCutchen recorded his 1,638th hit with the Pirates to move into a tie with Fred Clarke for 10th place in franchise history. Prior to that, the Pirates had the distinction of being the only team in baseball whose top 10 hits leaders were all Hall of Famers.

Keeping company with Hall of Famers is nothing new for McCutchen, who needs to score 15 runs to pass another, Arky Vaughan (936), for 10th place. McCutchen now ranks among the top 10 Pirates in games (10th, 1,546), at-bats (10th, 5,754), stolen bases (10th, 185) and RBIs (seventh, 796) and in the top five in extra-base hits (fifth, 597), walks (fifth, 805), home runs (fourth, 228) and strikeouts (second, 1,235).

And yet it brings him less satisfaction than you would imagine.

“I can’t help but think about what it would have meant ... more if I had been here my whole career,” McCutchen told TribLive this week. “That’s the part that’s a tough pill to swallow because I see these numbers and I hit these milestones in Pirates history and I’m like, ‘That’s nice, but what if, man? What if?’ ”

If McCutchen has regret, it’s that he’s played for four other teams in his 16-year career. The Pirates traded him in January 2018 to the San Francisco Giants, who dealt him that summer to the New York Yankees. He signed free-agent contracts with the Philadelphia Phillies for three years and Milwaukee Brewers for one season before returning to the Pirates in January 2023.

So McCutchen can’t help but wonder where he would rank in Pirates history, not only statistically but in the pantheon of franchise greats such as Honus Wagner, Roberto Clemente, Willie Stargell and Paul Waner.

“Top 10 is one thing, but we could be talking top five, you know?” McCutchen said. “It’s cool to be in that company when I think about that because I haven’t been here my whole career — the majority of, yeah, but not my whole career — so I have five years of my life where I was elsewhere.”

Here's a crazy thing to think about with Andrew McCutchen entering the Pittsburgh Pirates top ten hits list. The order of that top ten hasn't changed since Willie Stargell passed Bill Mazeroski in September of 1978. The Pirates have had the same top ten for nearly 46 full years

— John Dreker (@JohnDreker) July 27, 2024

If McCutchen had spent his entire 16-year career with the Pirates, his 2,123 hits would rank eighth, his 2,095 games would rank seventh, his 1,073 RBIs and 786 extra-base hits would rank fifth, his 312 home runs would rank second and his 1,102 walks would have passed Stargell for the most in franchise history. McCutchen wouldn’t catch Stargell in homers (475), extra-base hits (937) or RBIs (1,540) or Clemente (3,000), Wagner (2,970) or Waner (2,868) in hits.

The career milestones became a major storyline for McCutchen last season, when he recorded his 2,000th hit, 1,000th walk and 400th double but finished one home run shy of his 300th. Pirates team historian Jim Trdinich, who spent three decades handling the club’s media relations, keeps track of McCutchen’s milestones. Much to McCutchen’s delight and dismay, Trdinich provides updates every time he closes in on another mark of distinction.

Andrew McCutchen on being one HR away from No. 300 for his career, a sore subject for the Pirates great. pic.twitter.com/Authsls6ng

— Kevin Gorman (@KevinGormanPGH) August 23, 2023

Great @TribLIVE @TribSports graphic by @MikePalmMedia charting Andrew McCutchen’s 299 career home runs.

300 game: Pirates star Andrew McCutchen starts season sitting 1 home run shy of milestone
https://t.co/BMmx3KicCY
(Via TribLive) pic.twitter.com/gt98JrMaYE

— Kevin Gorman (@KevinGormanPGH) March 28, 2024

Perhaps the biggest came when McCutchen hit his 300th homer in April. He became one of 13 players in major-league history with at least 2,000 hits, 300 home runs, 400 doubles, 45 triples and 200 stolen bases. Eight of those players are in the Hall of Fame, though McCutchen’s numbers more closely resemble those of a Steve Finley — 2,548 hits, 304 homers, 449 doubles, 124 triples and 320 stolen bases — than they do a Hank Aaron or Willie Mays.

“It’s cool when you get to see yourself in that department,” McCutchen said, “with the longevity you’ve created and the success you’ve been able to have thus far.”

McCutchen insists his motivation for continuing to play — and play for the Pirates, in particular — has nothing to do with numbers. At age 37, McCutchen is well aware he’s in the twilight of his career. But he’s also adamant this isn’t a farewell tour. He plans to continue playing beyond this season, especially if the Pirates can become a playoff contender, to have a chance to lead the Pirates to their first World Series title since 1979.

“What motivates me is feeling like I can play more,” McCutchen said. “It’s not necessarily the fact of playing more to hit or reach milestones. It’s playing more because I feel like I can still compete, and I feel like there’s something at the table to offer when I’m in that lineup.

“When we lose games, I say, ‘That’s on me.’ If I didn’t feel like I had anything to offer to the game, I wouldn’t feel that way. Opportunities and situations come up, we lose a close game, and I go, ‘Dang, man, if I come through in that situation, it’s a different ballgame.’ So, for me, I have more to offer. I also feel like when I’m at my best, we have success as a team. That motivates me to want to keep going. It also motivates me to want to be better. Even at 37, there’s ways to be better.”

After manager Jim Leyland was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame last Sunday, it’s fair to wonder whether McCutchen could be the next Pirate enshrined in Cooperstown. He knows it’s a long shot at the moment, especially because of one omission McCutchen hopes eventually is included.

“Maybe not for the Pirates because he wasn’t here for his whole career, but Bonds should be in there,” McCutchen said of baseball’s all-time home runs leader. “Obviously, if he were to be in the Hall of Fame, it would be as a Giant.”

But the move from everyday outfielder to designated hitter could prolong McCutchen’s career, even if he’s likely come up short on traditional Hall of Fame benchmarks such as 3,000 hits and 500 home runs. McCutchen tied recent inductee Joe Mauer with 2,123 hits and is only four hits behind another player with a plaque, Mike Piazza. McCutchen has 13 100-hit seasons, and another 100 would move him into the top 200 all-time, ahead of Joe DiMaggio. The inductions of Harold Baines, Scott Rolen and Todd Helton and the focus on on-base percentage, OPS and career Wins Above Replacement have changed that conversation.

“Guys are getting in that hadn’t gotten in before. They’re starting to realize the game has changed, and you can’t put the game of baseball in one box,” McCutchen said. “There’s a lot of stuff that’s changing. This guy who got in, you can’t compare his numbers to the guy back in the ’70s. It’s harder. If it continues to do that, maybe I would have that opportunity. But I also don’t know …

“A few good years just isn’t enough. Being good individually isn’t enough. You’ve got to win, too, I think. That has a lot to do with it. If we’re able to do that, too — it would be cool to win a championship — maybe then we could talk a little bit. Obviously, there are some people in the Hall of Fame who didn’t win a World Series, but it definitely changes things if you’re able to.”

Whether he belongs on the Pirates’ Mount Rushmore — representing their four greatest players — is another annoyance to McCutchen, though for a different reason. Because of his five seasons spent elsewhere, McCutchen knows his Pirates career numbers won’t stack up against those of Wagner, Stargell, Clemente or Waner but also believes it’s unfair to compare players from different eras.

“The game is … different. And sometimes we get stuck in a baseball sports world comparing an Andrew McCutchen to an Honus Wagner,” McCutchen said. “You can’t do that. It’s two different eras of baseball. So if you put me in this decade’s Mount Rushmore, that makes sense to me. But all-time, it wouldn’t make sense.

“It’s two eras. You might have a 25-year-old who might put me on it because I’m all he’s seen most of his life. Then you have a guy who’s been around who saw Clemente and Stargell and even (Dave) Parker. When they see these guys, it’s hard for them to look at me and say I’m a part of that. It’s whatever you grew up around, really, or if you have a really good understanding of the game of baseball and how it’s evolved and changed over time.”

One place McCutchen doesn’t have to worry about being included is the Pirates Hall of Fame. Trdinich, who is in charge of the Pirates’ Hall, calls McCutchen’s eventual inclusion a “slam dunk.” By the time McCutchen concludes his career, he should rank in the top 10, if not top five, in every major offensive category in franchise history.

“Now, towards the end of his career, he’s been more reflective looking at his numbers,” Trdinich said of McCutchen. “He understand the history and where his place is in Pirates history. The names we can go through — and I enjoy this, doing the milestones, seeing where he ranks not only with Pirates but all-time. To have seen his whole career and be lucky enough to be with the Pirates, we’re watching greatness in our own era. We’re witnessing greatness every time he steps on the field.”