| Andrew McCutchen | |
|---|---|
| Pittsburgh Pirates – No. 22 | |
| Center fielder | |
| Born: October 10, 1986 Fort Meade, Florida |
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| Bats: Right | Throws: Right |
| MLB debut | |
| June 4, 2009 for the Pittsburgh Pirates | |
| Career statistics (through 2011 Season) |
|
| Batting average | .276 |
| Home runs | 51 |
| Runs | 255 |
| Runs batted in | 199 |
| Stolen bases | 78 |
| Teams | |
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| Career highlights and awards | |
Andrew Stefan McCutchen (born October 10, 1986) is an American professional baseball outfielder with the Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League Baseball.
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During McCutchen's senior year at Fort Meade High School in Fort Meade, Florida in 2004 he batted .474 with 8 Home runs, 40 RBI, 45 stolen bases, and only 5 strikeouts. He also played football and ran track.
McCutchen, who had signed with the University of Florida, was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates 11th overall in the 2005 Major League Baseball Draft and signed with the Pirates instead of going to Florida. He started for the South Atlantic League's All-Star team in 2006, his first full season as a professional.[1] At the end of that year, the Pirates named him the organization's Minor League Player of the Year.[2]
On June 3, 2009, after the Pirates traded starting center fielder Nate McLouth to the Atlanta Braves, McCutchen was called up to the majors for the first time. He made his debut the next day, playing the now vacant center field spot and batting leadoff against the New York Mets. He singled in his first career at-bat, off starter Mike Pelfrey. He ended the day with two singles, an RBI, three runs scored and a stolen base in four at bats.[3] He recorded his first career four-hit game five days later, against McLouth and the Braves, in a 7-6 Pirates loss. Two of his hits were triples, making him the first Pirate with two triples in a game since Tike Redman accomplished the feat in 2003.[4]
On June 17, 2009, McCutchen hit his first career home run off of Francisco Liriano of the Minnesota Twins, a two-run shot in the 3rd inning. He recorded a second hit as well, marking a hit in 11 of his first 13 major league games, with six of those games featuring multiple hits. On June 25, 2009, he had his first career walk-off hit, off Cleveland Indians closer Matt Herges. Teammates Jack Wilson and Eric Hinske both singled prior to McCutchen, who then hit a bloop single to left to score Wilson for the winning run. "He's an impressive looking young player. He really is." said then Indians manager Eric Wedge.[5]
On August 1, 2009, against the Washington Nationals he went 4-for-5 with three home runs and six RBI. He hit a solo home run in the 1st inning to lead off the game against Nationals starter Craig Stammen, a two-run shot in the 4th inning off reliever Tyler Clippard and then a three-run homer in the 6th off Logan Kensing. He fell a grand slam short of a home run cycle. He became the 10th Pirates player ever to hit three home runs in a single game, and the first one to do it during his rookie year.[6] "It was just one of those days," said McCutchen. "It was one of those days where everything worked, everything went your way. You got your pitches, and I was able to hit them, I was able to get them out. It's just a day that I know I won't forget." [7]
He flashed a different side to his game 10 days later against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field, stealing a career-high three bases in a game. While stealing off three different Rockies pitchers, he swiped third base twice, drew three walks and scored three times in a 7-3 Pirates victory. "I had more opportunities to run tonight," he said. "You have that chance when you are on base a lot. I was on base and got good jumps." [8]
He hit his first walk-off home run on August 25, 2009, off Brad Lidge of the Philadelphia Phillies.
He finished his rookie season with a .286 batting average, 12 home runs, 54 runs batted in, and 22 stolen bases in 108 games.
McCutchen was named the Baseball America Rookie of the Year for 2009 on October 16, 2009.[9] He finished fourth in the voting for the National League Rookie of the Year Award.[10]
McCutchen began the 2010 season as the Pirates' every day center fielder as a major hope for the team going forward, with praise coming from all over the league. "He's an All-Star. This year, probably," said Atlanta Braves manager Bobby Cox. "Hitting. Running. Defense. Throwing. He's got it all. He catches the ball like Andruw Jones did when he was 19. You can't hit a ball [past him] out there. He's got lightning in that bat too."[11]
He posted a career day against the Chicago Cubs on May 14, 2010, going 5-for-5 with five runs scored in a 10-7 Pirates win. Teammate Garrett Jones also recorded five hits, making McCutchen and Jones the first Pirate duo since Hall of Fame inductee Willie Stargell and Bob Robertson accomplished the feat in 1970. "I guess we were just kind of competing against each other," McCutchen said, laughing. "I don't know. I'd get a hit, he'd get a hit. He'd hit a homer, I'd hit a homer."[12] McCutchen finished the month of May with career-best numbers, hitting .327 with a .901 OPS, which drew comparisons with Tampa Bay Rays All-Star Carl Crawford. Due to his speed and ability to rack up extra-base hits, McCutchen's wins above the average of +4.5 place him in elite company as one of the best center-fielders in baseball.[13]
McCutchen was, however, not named to the 2010 Major League Baseball All-Star Team. Instead, pitcher Evan Meek was awarded the honor of being the Pirates representative, although Meek himself stated that McCutchen was "very deserving" and should have gone as well.[14]
After hitting .226 in August, McCutchen batted .326 with 22 runs and 17 RBIs in September. He also recorded 12 multi-hit games from September 3-October 3. McCutchen, an "on-base machine" for the Pirates, said about the changes from August to September, "Honestly, I don't think I'm doing anything any different right now. You swing, and the ball finds a hole. That's it. That's the game of baseball."[15] He finished his second professional season hitting .286 once more while adding 94 runs, 16 home runs, 56 RBIs and 33 stolen bases.
During the Saturday night game on July 9, 2011, it was announced that McCutchen would take the place of injured Ryan Braun as a member of the National League All-Star team at the 2011 Major League Baseball All-Star Game in Phoenix. The announcement was shown on the PNC Park scoreboard, and McCutchen left the dugout to tip his hat to the cheering fans.[16] On August 30, 2011, McCutchen hit a ninth inning homer against the Houston Astros to become the eighth Pirates player to record at least 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases in one season. He was the first Pirate to accomplish the feat since former Pirates center fielder Nate McLouth in 2008. ."[17] After a disappointing month of September, McCutchen finished the season with a .259 batting average and team highs of 23 homeruns, 23 stolen bases, 89 RBIs, and 87 runs. He was nominated as the Pirates' representative for the Hank Aaron Award.[18]