Andrew McCutchen played nine seasons in Pittsburgh, becoming the face of the franchise as they contended for the first time in decades and winning an MVP in 2013. This past offseason, with the Pirates lapsing into another rebuild mode and his contract nearing its end, McCutchen was traded to the Giants, where he’s put up decent numbers to start the year.
Tonight, McCutchen made his first appearance in Pittsburgh as a member of another team, and the PNC Park crowd was more than ready for it.
Andrew McCutchen’s return to Pittsburgh: pic.twitter.com/UuSOrjXXA3
— Alex Pavlovic (@PavlovicNBCS) May 11, 2018
That’s an electric ovation, and a deserved one. McCutchen was a pivotal part of the team that broke the Pirates 20-year streak of below .500 baseball, and he was even part of one of the more memorable fan interactions in recent memory, which is what I’ll always remember him for:
McCutchen struck out, but that’s not really the point. Just a really cool moment.
Update: Even in Game 2 of the Giants-Pirates series on Saturday night, McCutchen got a massive ovation from the fans at PNC Park. The ovation went on for about a minute with Pirates catcher Francisco Cervelli walking away again to let McCutchen have his moment. Here’s a 30-second sample of the very cool scene:
