• McCutchen comes from Fort Meade, Florida, a phosphate mining town of 5,000 people in the center of the state, about 70 miles east of St. Petersburg. He didn't have a lot of coaching before signing with the Pirates.

• Andrew always wanted to be a Major Leaguer. "I was probably 5 years old when I first started playing T-ball and I knew then that playing in the big leagues is what I wanted to do," McCutchen said. "We'd watch the Atlanta Braves play on TV all the time back when a lot of their games were on TBS. I'd watch those games when I was a little kid and I'd be fascinated.

  "I always felt this is where I was going to be and I've always prided myself on being the best I could possibly be. I have high standards for myself, and I expect to reach them."

• Andrew's father, Lorenzo, was a youth minister at the non-denominational church where Andrew sang in the choir, Lorenzo has served as the consummate role model for his son. He grew up in Fort Meade, played college football at Carson-Newman College in Tennessee, married his high school sweetheart (who played volleyball just down the road at Polk Community College), and settled back in his hometown.

  Andrew credits his father for instilling in him the character and determination that have not only helped him seize his potential, but also serve as the foundation of a makeup that scouts universally grade as above average.

  It never mattered that Lo, his dad, had just finished an overnight shift at the mines, smelling of phosphate with arms caked in mud. Barely able to stay awake, Lo would take his son's small hand an lead him into the early-morning Central Florida sun, out to the open field behind the trailers.

  Lo would carry with him a paper bag filled with Wiffle balls, or sometimes fishing corks wrapped in electrical tape to make them round. Andrew carried a long broomstick handle. The way Lo saw it, drills with balls that quivered through the air unpredictably were good for the boy's hand-eye coordination. On a real field, the baseballs would look big as cantaloupes. The youngster attacked each pitch that his daddy fired with that stick.

  This was football country, and Lo had known many talented young men with dreams of playing for the Gators or 'Noles who ended up working the mines and the orange groves. Lo was one of those dreamers once, a star running back in high school. Now the dream was passed on to his son. (Albert Chen - Sports Illustrated - 9/8/2014)

• Andrew's mother, Trina, was 16 when she found out she was pregnant. It was crushing. When she told her parents the news, she could see the disappointment on her mother's face. Lo, 17, was by her side, just as scared as Trina. He was the star running back at Fort Meade High and hoped to play in college; Trina was a volleyball star who already had a scholarship to play at Polk Community College.

  After Andrew was born, Trina went to Polk, and the baby was left with Trina's mom and sister during the day. After two years, Trina's time at Polk was up, and while her friends and teammates moved on to bigger schools, she "hit a low point. It was like, what could I do next? I couldn't afford college with a child. I had to grow up really fast."

  Lo went to Carson-Newman College in Jefferson City, Tennessee, and redshirted his freshman year. Football was his love, but deep down he knew what he had to do: Lo's father had abandoned him when he was young, and he had told himself he wouldn't do the same.

  "I had to grow up, make some decisions," Lo says. "And the decision was to come home."

  So Trina and Lo both found themselves in Fort Meade. Trina decided that there was no one better to teach Andrew to be a man than his father. And so Lorenzo McCutchen and Petrina Swan were married on August 1, 1992. That day they made a pact: They were going to raise this child right, with all the work and all the love that would be required.

  They moved into a trailer park in Bartow, 10 miles north of Fort Meade, and Trina got a job as a data entry clerk at the Fort Meade sheriff's department for about $7 an hour. Lo juggled three jobs: He was the assistant manager at Fort Meade's grocery store, he fried chicken at Junior Foods down the street, and at night he bounced from one phosphate mine to another. (Albert Chen - Sports Illustrated - 9/8/2014)

• Fort Meade High didn't make the high school baseball playoffs, going 8-14 with a schedule that saw the team struggle against teams from higher classifications. And Andrew graduated with a 3.8 grade point average.

  One scout from a Major League team asked his high school coach, "I want to know something bad about Andrew McCutchen." The coach was stumped.

  "Well, there was this time he missed practice," coach said. "Why?" said the scout. "His truck broke down on the highway."

• It capped a remarkable career at a school that is best known for its football tradition. Fort Meade captured its first state football title this year, finally taking the prize in its fifth trip to the state finals in the previous six years.

  McCutchen was a standout wide receiver before he injured his knee, tearing both the ACL and MCL in the open field on a rainy night his sophomore season. It was an injury that made him reflect on his priorities. This was, after all, a player who batted .507 as an eighth grader.

  McCutchen decided the risk of playing football wasn't worth sacrificing his baseball ambition. While he was recovering from knee surgery.

• In 2004, McCutchen's senior year at Fort Meade High School in Central Florida, he batted .474 with 8 home runs, 40 RBI, 45 stolen bases, and only 4 strikeouts.

  He also played football and ran track. McCutchen was one of the top football recruits in the state of Florida but opted for a career in baseball. He was also a part of a state title winning 4 x 100 meter relay his freshman year of high school.

• Size shouldn't be a factor when it comes to Andrew. He doesn't expect his size to keep him from reaching the big leagues either.

  "I'm not the only small guy out there," said McCutchen. "There are plenty of people who play in the big leagues who are as big as I am. I'm sure as I get stronger and develop, I'll develop into a bigger player. That's kind of scary thinking about that.

  "My parents taught me ever since I was little to always be a humble person," said McCutchen. "The Lord God blessed me with all of these talents and all of these abilities. He can also easily take them away."

• Andrew's first job was as a bank custodian.

• In 2005, Andrew got drafted by the Pirates (see Transactions below). 

• Before 2006 spring training, McCutchen was rated the second-best prospect in the Pirates organization by Baseball America. And in the spring of 2007, they rated Andrew as the #1 prospect in the Pittsburgh farm system. And he was back at #1 in the Pirates organization in the spring of 2008.

  In the winter before 2009 spring training, the magazine had Andrew at second best in the Pittsburgh farm system, behind only Pedro Alvarez.

• During 2006 spring training, Pirates manager Jim Tracy described McCutchen as: "Instinctive. Poised. For a kid of his age, he's off the charts. He's going to be a good Major League player someday, a really good Major League player."

• Andrew didn't get tired at the end of the 2006 season, and he believes it is because he gets his rest and eats right.

  "It's a big advantage to know how to cook," McCutchen said. "Our family has always eaten healthy, but being out on my own for the first time, I can still make things that are good for me. I don't fall into any bad habits of eating fast food all the time."  (John Perrotto-Beaver Valley Times-September 2006)

• During 2007 spring training with the Pirates, McCutchen was in 18 games, hitting .308 average (16 for 52), sixth-highest among those Pirates with at least 30 at-bats. But he was still sent to minor league camp.

• He has leadership ability. And his teammates pull for Andrew because he is such a good guy. He has the personality to be both a fan favorite and a leader. He has a warm smile and a good sense of humor off the field. On the field, he plays with great joy but is also a fierce competitor who takes losing and personal failure to heart.  (John Perrotto-Baseball America-10/28/09)

• During the 2008 season with Indianapolis, McCutchen reached base in 27 consecutive games, thanks in part to a 13-game hitting streak.

• "I want to be consistent," Andrew said. "I believe consistency is something all big leaguers have, and that it's something that keeps some players away from the big leagues.

  "Even if the hits aren't there, I want to have productive at-bats, draw walks, steal bases and score runs. Even if you don't have a hit, you can have a productive day," McCutchen said.

• Andrew is thankful to have the occupation he has. "I have to pray before my games because God is the one who got me in the position that I'm in now. I have to thank Him for that," McCutchen said.

• Andrew says his favorite restaurant is Texas de Brazil, a chain of Brazilian-style steakhouses.

  For music, he likes rap (especially Lil Wayne), R&B, and gospel. 

  McCutchen says he would like to meet Eddie Murphy.

• He doesn't drink alcohol at all.

• In 2009, McCutchen showed great maturity in his rookie season with the Pirates as he was called up from Triple-A Indianapolis on June 4 and given the difficult task of replacing center fielder Nate McLouth, who had been traded to Atlanta the night before. In 2008, McLouth had won the Gold Glove award and played in his first All-Star Game.

  "He wasn't awed by the big leagues," Doumit told ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick. "He was up for four months and there was never a time where he struggled for an extended period. He didn't play like a rookie. He played like a 10-year veteran."

  McCutchen also showed the ability to come through in the clutch, particularly on Aug. 25 against Philadelphia when he stepped to the plate against closer in the bottom of the ninth inning with the game tied 4-4, none out and teammate Brandon Moss on second base. After misplaying Shane Victorino's line drive in the top of the ninth that enabled the Phillies to tie the game, McCutchen was just looking to hit a ball to right side to advance Moss to third but instead drove a 96-mph fastball into the right-center field seats for a game-winning two-run home run.

  "It was the perfect at-bat," Pirates general manager Neal Huntington said. "He did the right thing mechanically and mentally, and he miss-hit the ball and won the game with a home run. That sounds silly to say, but he was trying to hit a line drive to the gap, and he was under it by a shade, and it left the ballpark."

• McCutchen developed a close friendship with fellow outfielder Lastings Milledge after he was acquired from the Nationals in a trade during the 2009 season. Both players were first-round draft picks as high school seniors in Florida. Milledge was selected by the Mets in 2003 from Lakewood Ranch High School in Bradenton; and McCutchen taken by the Pirates in 2005 from Fort Meade High School.

  "I'm glad to see that they finally came together," McCutchen's father, Lorenzo, told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Chuck Finder during spring training in 2010. "Because when Andrew was coming up, they always called him 'the young Milledge,' that kind of stuff. For them to come together, and here they are playing together, is is something."

• In 2010, McCutchen had clearly assumed a leadership by the time spring training began, even though he had just four months of Major League experience.

  "Andrew goes about his business the absolute way you want people to," Pirates GM Neal Huntington said. "So, he should be a good influence on anybody."

  McCutchen's father was not surprised to see his son quickly become a player his teammates looked up to.

  "Andrew has always been mature for his age," Lorenzo McCutchen said. "He knows that this is his destiny. We tried to prepare for it as much as we could. He's walking in it right now.

  "For one thing, I had a cousin who was a professional football player, and he didn't do all the right things. Matter of fact, he ended up on drugs and all that stuff. So we always told Andrew: 'Make sure you don't end up this way. Do right and stay humble.' So far, he's doing that."

• On May 14, 2010, Pirates manager John Russell, who isn't prone to hyperbole, had praise for McCutchen after he went 5-for-5 with five runs scored against the Cubs.

  "He's so dynamic," Russell said. "Not just talent-wise. He's got a great head on his shoulders. He handles adversity well. He handles success very well. He's a very level-headed young man. That's why I talk about him being a very dynamic player in all facets, it's not just one or two things, or how he plays. It's everything about him."

• Tigers manager Jim Leyland joined the large group of McCutchen admirers. Leyland was the Pirates' manager from 1986 to 1996 and still lives in Pittsburgh.

  "He's going to be a superstar, no question about it," Leyland said. "He's one of the more exciting young players in baseball. He can fly. He's got power. Nice to build around a center fielder like that. He's a franchise player."  (Chuck Finder-Pittsburgh Post-Gazette-6/13/10)

• If it were up to the students at Linton Middle School in Penn Hills, Pa., there would be little doubt who is the Pirates' "Face of the Franchise." During a winter caravan stop there in January 2011, Ross Ohlendorf got noisy applause. There were claps and whoops when Evan Meek was introduced. The cheers got even louder when Andrew took a bow. But the crowd of 700 fifth-graders and sixth-graders saved its loudest, longest screams for ... the Pirate Parrot.

  "He's been here longer than me," McCutchen said, grinning. "I can't compete with that."

  "The face of a franchise is the guy you put on the cover of the media guide," said Andrew Fernbach, a public relations executive at DeGennaro Communications in New York. "If he's a pitcher, you buy tickets when it's his turn in the rotation. If he's a position player, you make sure you're not in line at the concessions when he's at bat. And from a marketing standpoint, he's the guy you sign to an endorsement deal if money is no object."

  "McCutchen is the No. 1 guy now," said former Pirates catcher Manny Sanguillen, a special instructor in spring training camp. "He's got talent and personality. He's a good guy. This is his team."  (Rob Biertempfel-Pittsburgh Tribune-Review-3/27/11)

• It stands to reason that anyone who becomes a professional athlete is a competitor. And competitive people hate to lose. Thus, it is easy to understand why Pirates center fielder Andrew McCutchen is not completely satisfied with his first two seasons in the Major Leagues.

  It doesn't matter that McCutchen has the look of a future superstar and, in many respects, has already established himself as the Pirates' leader.

  The Pirates have gone 62-99 and 57-105 the past two seasons. To McCutchen's way of thinking, those hideous records have wiped out a lot of satisfaction he might be able to take from hitting .286 with 28 home runs and 55 stolen bases in his first 262 games.

  "I hate to lose," McCutchen said "I don't care if it's spring training, an intra-squad game, or two square, I'm out to win."

  Two square? McCutchen described it as a game played with a volleyball and two or four players on a court with two squares. The team that wins is the one that puts the ball in its square or sends the ball out of bounds.

  McCutchen is hopeful that the worst of the losing is over. He is confident that the hiring of manager Clint Hurdle will add spark to the team.

  "There's a different feeling here this year," McCutchen said. "We know we have talent and we're not going to settle for losing. We feel like we have some young guys here, who if we can continue to develop, can form the nucleus of a good team." (John Perrotto-Beaver County Times-2/28/11)

• In August 2012, Pirates manger Clint Hurdle said of McCutchen: "I don't think I've ever met a more intelligent, mentally tough, balanced young man in my life. I've had some conversations with him in the past month that have been awesome. Interesting. I don't know what it's like to go on the field and have people screaming 'M-V-P!' for you. I know what it's like to go on the field and have people screaming at you."

• To truly appreciate McCutchen's athleticism, you have to watch him make behind-the-back catches of 380-foot flies while shagging in center during batting practice.

• Andrew's celebrity fame began to show after a great 2012 season. He appeared on the video game cover of MLB '13 The Show, with McCutchen taking his well-earned and richly deserved place on the popular game's cover.

• He smiles when he recalls the story about the little girl who was so excited about meeting him on the Pirates' winter caravan before 2013 spring training, that she burst into tears. On that same caravan, a Pirates fan in his 20s asked McCutchen to hold the engagement ring while he proposed to his (the fan's) girlfriend.

• Favorite pregame meal: "Something from Subway," McCutchen says.

• "Cutch's Crew," begun in 2010, mentors inner city at-risk youth and baseball players in the Greater Pittsburgh area. Attending games and special clinics at PNC Park are features of the program.

• September 17, 2013: Andrew was one of 30 nominees for the 2013 MLB Roberto Clemente Award, was presented with the Pirates Roberto Clemente Award in a brief but illustrious pregame ceremony.  Vera Clemente, the late humanitarian's widow, and Pirates club chairman Bob Nutting participated in the presentation to McCutchen.

• August 8, 2013: Andrew's mother, Petrina McCutchen, belted out the national anthem prior to the Pirates game vs. the Diamondbacks in PNC Park. 

  October 1, 2013: For the second time in two months, Petrina delivered the national anthem before a Pirates game. This time, Andrew's Mom had a lot of help. Caught up in the emotion of Pittsburgh's first postseason game in 21 years, the sellout crowd of 40,487 sang along with her, part of the amped-up fans' loud and vocal pregame celebration.

• 2013 Players Choice Award: For the second year in a row, standout center fielder Andrew McCutchen of the Pittsburgh Pirates was named National League Outstanding Player. Andrew's accomplishment can be attributed to his success in all phases of the game. At the plate, Andrew attained an impressive .317 batting average, with 84 RBIs, 185 hits, 21 home runs, and .404 OBP.

• November 2013: McCutchen and David Ortiz are becoming a producer of his own MTV television show. MTV Networks and Major League Baseball said they are collaborating on a weekly 30-episode series that melds pop culture and baseball. Ortiz and McCutchen are both executive producers of the series, set to begin next spring around the start of the new season.

• In 2013, McCutchen was named the National League MVP. And he won by a healthy margin, drawing 28 of the 30 first-place votes from members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America.

  McCutchen, third in MVP balloting in 2012, got 409 points. Paul Goldschmidt finished second with 242.

  Andrew became just the fourth National League center fielder to win the MVP award in MLB history. He joins Willie McGee (1985), Dale Murphy (1982, 1983), and Willie Mays (1954, 1965).

• November 2013: McCutchen comes from a very musical family, so it shouldn't be too surprising to hear he was asked to be a presenter at the 2013 American Music Awards in Los Angeles. Cutch gave out the award for Favorite Male Artist—Country.

• December 11, 2013: Andrew proposed to his girlfriend of four years, Maria Hansloven, on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show." McCutchen introduced a video about rounding the bases in their relationship, brought Hansloven on stage, gave some heartfelt thoughts, and got down on one knee.

  "I've always envisioned that I would be on the highest mountain in the world and that my voice would be as loud as a lion's roar times a billion so the whole world could hear me just tell you how much that I love you," McCutchen said, standing on stage with Hansloven seated next to DeGeneres. "I didn't do any of this for the publicity; I didn't do any of this for the recognition. I did this to show you that if I could tell the whole world how much that I love you, I would do that."

  With that, McCutchen got down on one knee to the delight of the studio audience, and DeGeneres relayed the positive response from Hansloven to all.

  DeGeneres presented Hansloven with roses, and then broke out a veil for her and a top hat for McCutchen—both emblazoned with the Pirates' "P" logo.

• November 22, 2014: Andrew was married, exchanging vows with Maria Hanslovan during a private ceremony.

• On June 16, 2013, during a Pirates-Dodgers game at PNC Park, McCutchen hit a foul ball that looked like countless other foul balls hit every season. This foul ball was different though. This ball apparently kick-started the labor of the pregnant fan who caught it.

  "I told (my husband) that if one came my way, I was ducking with my purse overhead," said the fan, Tiffany Gardone, to MLB.com. Her due date was still two weeks away and, in fact, she was at the doctor earlier that day and was told "no way I was close to having a baby anytime soon." And yet, at 11:36 pm that night, young Jeremiah was born.

  Tiffany said she began to feel cramping and having contractions after catching the foul ball, and "it got to the point where (she) was intermittently crying (due to pain) and laughing." Tiffany and her husband Micah left for the hospital in the eighth inning. (Jason Grilli struck out Hanley Ramirez to nail down the 6-3 win a few minutes later.)

  The story came full circle in December 2013, when Tiffany, Jeremiah, and the whole family got a chance to meet McCutchen at the team's annual PiratesFest. He signed the foul ball.  

• When McCutchen was asked to identify the most significant ways he's grown as a person and as a ballplayer since he signed with the Pirates out of high school, he quickly cited changes in two different categories. "You definitely grow in a lot of ways, and one is physically. I remember being 18 years old and 165 pounds, soaking wet," said McCutchen, who weighs about 185 now. 

  "I've learned a lot of different things. Like I've learned how to deal with failure. I hit .700 in high school, and I went into pro ball thinking that I could hit somewhere around there still. I really did think that. But you learn that you can't. All of the things you experience, they all help you in the long run. And that was a big one for me, learning how to deal with failure."  McCutchen says he has no plans to rest on his laurels, and he's convinced that he can still improve. "I don't care if I'm 40 years old and still playing the game, I'll be going into the next year saying, 'I can get better,'" McCutchen explained. "That's always going to be my mindset. I don't feel like I've reached my pinnacle. Honestly, I don't."  (Lachimia – MLB.com - 2/04/14)

• McCutchen's clubhouse democracy in action: He may be the team's senior member, but you'll get no reminders of that from him. 

  "If Marte wants to say something to me, I'm not going to say, 'Hey, dude, I've been in the big leagues longer than you have. I'm not going to listen to you.' If we want to win," McCutchen said, "we have to be open to hearing other players. When you have that understanding, it creates a really good vibe in the clubhouse."

  "Everyone always looks for that one person to lead," Andrew said, "but there are others who can lead in different ways. By example, by words, by offering some good words of advice. I think we all lead to a certain extent, and that isn't something we've had in the past."

  Communication, in other words, is big in the clubhouse. It figures to be even bigger in the Pirates outfield when it includes Marte, McCutchen, and Gregory Polanco. The center fielder is as enthusiastic about those prospects as is any fan.

  "Oh, yeah, it's going to be awesome," McCutchen said. "Those guys are very talented, young, exciting. We all three feel we have the type of game that can spark a team. They can do a lot, add a lot to a game, bring a lot to the table. It'll be different," McCutchen added, breaking into a wry grin, "to be the older guy of the bunch." (Singer - mlb.com - 2/22/14)

• In 2014, McCutchen was named to start for the NL in the All-Star Game.

  LO AND TRINA

• Lorenzo McCutchen and Petrina Swan were high-school teenagers when their son Andrew was born. Five years later, his parents made a choice that would change Andrew’s life forever. They were going to raise this child right, with all the work and all the love that would be required.

  The date was Aug. 1, 1992. After time apart at separate colleges, Lo and Trina found themselves reunited in Fort Meade, Fla. That’s when they decided to get married.

  Their story—and the rise of Andrew, the 2013 National League MVP—is chronicled in a September 2014 Sports Illustrated. The union of Lo and Trina is described as a life-changing moment for young Andrew.

  “Trina decided that there was no one better to teach Andrew to be a man than his father,” Albert Chen writes in Sports Illustrated.

  When Andrew was given the opportunity to compete at a higher level but lacked the financial resources to afford a travel baseball league, a coach named Jimmy Rutland offered to help.

  “Lo and Trina saw Andrew’s love for the game, they saw this man willing to give them a hand, they remembered the pact they’d made,” Chen writes. “They decided, OK, let’s make this work.”

• In the years that followed, Trina sold spaghetti dinners for $5.50 a pop to pay for Andrew’s baseball tournaments. The community came together to raise $5,000 to send Andrew to Puerto Rico to play ball.

  His parents’ hard work rubbed off on Andrew, who “didn’t beg Lo and Trina for money; he began working odd jobs,” Chen writes. Andrew never asked his parents for anything that he knew they couldn't afford. When he wanted a pair of Air Jordans, he began working odd jobs. It took a few months but he made the $200.

  One day he brought the cash to school, and when he went to his locker, the money was gone from his wallet.

  "It was the angriest I've ever seen him, to this day," his friend Kenny Eldell related. "He knew who took it. He wanted to fight, but instead, he made a statement.

  "'It's OK," he yelled out in the middle of the locker room, "because one day I'm going to have so much that $200 is going to seem like two cents. So take my money now, because one day you're not going to be able to touch any of it."

  Lo and Trina’s decision to get married–after having Andrew–is not the norm today, even though marriage has been hailed as “the greatest weapon against child poverty.” (Albert Chen - Sports Illustrated - 9/08/2014)

• If you spend enough time with McCutchen, his artistic side will come out. He sings, he beat-boxes, he plays the keyboard, he writes poetry, he draws.

  In one of his favorite poems, "Step Up To The Plate," McCutchen describes a dream he once had, a dream that could've come true.

  "I'm in my first game in the pros. It's on TV and I'm starting in center field," he says. "And of course it ended with a home run."

  He turned a closet in his Lakeland, Florida home, into a makeshift recording studio, outfitted with a mike and a recorder.

  In high school, Andrew carried around a notebook and sketched comic book character, professional athletes and sports logos. He still sketches in quiet moments away from the ballpark.

  "When I'm drawing, I have to force myself to calm down," he says. "To get in that mental mode so I can draw something exactly how I want to draw it—it's important to tap into that mental mode every now and again. To concentrate, to lock in," McCutchen says.

• Cutch is truly beloved in Pittsburgh, for his play, of course, but also for his community work.

  In June 2014, his publicist received a text at 2:30 in the morning from Andrew, asking if he could meet some kids at Niketown in Chicago, where the Pirates were playing. At the store, he greeted nine honors students from inner-city Chicago schools, gave them each a shopping bag and told them to fill it up with whatever they wanted.

  Once, after working on a Habitat for Humanity project, McCutchen was told that the owner of the house had fallen behind in his mortgage payments because he was on disability leave from work. Cutch covered the payments, anonymously, until the man was able to get back to his job.

  "It's not just that no one gets their hands dirty like Andrew," said Maggie Withrow, executive director of the Pittsburgh brand of Habitat for Humanity. "He also wants to know about the families; he wants t know how the program works. It's important to him that it wasn't a giveaway, that the families put in the work. He follows up because he cares."

• Andrew is going to need a new hat. He arrived at McKechnie Field on March 26, 2015, sporting a newly shorn look after cutting off his trademark dreadlocks.

  Standing in front of his locker, McCutchen placed his old Pirates cap atop his head and said it felt like "shaving out the inside of a watermelon and putting it on your head and putting a hat on top of it, and then taking that watermelon off."

  McCutchen released a video on YouTube too, to unveil the news.  "It was just time. I've had [dreadlocks] for such a long time now, and they were starting to get a bit long," McCutchen told reporters. "I made up my mind: After I get married and we get settled, it was something I was going to do. So I was looking forward to it."

  Ten strands of his former dreadlocks will be auctioned on MLB.com. All the proceeds will benefit Pirates Charities.

  "It is a bit strange, but hey, I guess there could be some value in it and doing it for a great cause," McCutchen said when asked about the thought of someone else owning his hair. "I'm happy they're doing it. It'll be great.  It's going to be good. I can be like everybody else, like all the rest of the guys on the team, and get a new haircut every two weeks."

  This time around, McCutchen told his barber to give him "whatever looks good, basically," and the barber proposed a "South of France"-style cut.  "Well, it's a cool name," McCutchen said. "I guess I'll get that."  (Berry - mlb.com - 3/26/15)

• McCutchen recalls walks with his mom in the late 1990s. She, a one-time athlete, exercising to get back in shape after the birth of a daughter. He, already a young athlete of renown at 11. As Andrew remembers, "We'd walk. And sometimes jog."

  One time, the jog accelerated into a run, and Petrina McCutchen flashed back to her volleyball and track days.

  "She picked up the pace, and started really, really running," the Pirates star recalled. "And I was like trying to beat her. I either barely beat her, or she beat me—one or the other. But she definitely made me get going. So I'm thinking, 'OK, I see where I got my speed from.'"

  Andrew got much more than just his legs from Petrina and dad Lorenzo McCutchen: his work ethic, commitment to set and pursue goals, faith.

  And responsibility? One cannot minimize that life lesson from people who were in high school when they became parents but did not become husband and wife until their son was nearly 6. Petrina and Lorenzo wedded to ensure Andrew grew up in a stable, loving home.

  Andrew's baseball skills would have found daylight regardless, safe to say. But it did not hurt to have Petrina prepare and sell those $5.50 spaghetti dinners to fund his way to baseball tournaments, or for the Ft. Meade, Fla. community that embraced her to raise the $5,000 to send him to Puerto Rico for more high-profile exposure.

• After a victory over the Padres, McCutchen made a pit stop at the foot of the left-field bleachers in Petco Park and handed his batting gloves to a pair of fans wearing Pirates colors.  McCutchen said he noticed the family of four cheering on the Bucs and waving the team flag as Mark Melancon whiffed Derek Norris to end the 5-2 win. McCutchen didn't stop to chat. He quickly sprinted toward the infield for a brief celebration.

  "Story behind it? Nah," McCutchen said. "It was some kids out there in old-school unis. I ran out there and gave them my batting gloves. I mean, way out here in San Diego to have some Pirates fans? It was pretty awesome."

  Clint Hurdle said McCutchen has become a go-to leadership guy in the clubhouse, too. Accordingly, the two meet every week to 10 days to discuss the team and any particular issues McCutchen might like to verbalize.

  "The majority of what we talk about is pretty classified," McCutchen said. "We have a good relationship. I just go in and we talk about whatever we need to talk about. He just tries to let me know that the door is always open. If I have anything on my mind, he wants me to be comfortable enough for me to go in there to tell him. And the same thing for him."

  McCutchen is also a member of Hurdle's leadership council, consisting of players who meet on a weekly basis to air team issues. In his seventh season, Hurdle is also relying on McCutchen for his insight and expertise.

  "He's definitely a go-to guy," Hurdle said. "When we meet, I just ask him, 'What can I provide for you? How can I support you?' Or at times I'll say, 'Here's my read. What do you have?' He might have the same thing. He might have something different. I go to him for thoughts, for barometer readings, from time to time. Have chats about his vision of how we're doing, how he's doing. He's an integral part of everything we do." (Bloom - mlb.com - 5/31/15)

• If you call the Polk County Sheriff's office today, chances are Petrina McCutchen, Andrew's mom, will still be the one on the other end. "She has always worked, and still does, supporting my sister and her endeavors," Andrew says. Loren, Andrew's only sibling, graduated in 2014 from Ft. Meade High School and is studying nursing at Florida A&M University.

  She credits her big brother with setting a great example for her—but that is just yet another of Andrew's inheritances from his parents. Andrew and Petrina share a unique relationship, no question. Parenting experts clinically advise people to "be a parent, not a friend" to their children, but Andrew is blessed to truly have both. "My family is very young," Andrew said. "My parents are in their 40s. We we all just hang out and have a good time. It's always very relaxed, laid-back, laughing about whatever, joking around.

  Now that my wife [Maria] is in the mix with the family, it makes it even that much more special. I made Pittsburgh my home, but I still have a place in Lakeland, right outside Ft. Meade, because my parents are still there, and I get back there whenever I can. "Sons typically are challenged to express their feelings for their moms. Not so much because of the proverbial "it's a man thing," but because it's almost a rhetorical question.

  You can read the emotions on the sons' faces, however. Andrew's face is an open book when Petrina belts the national anthem prior to a Bucs game at PNC Park, which she has done a few times. "I'm proud of her, to see her on such a big stage being able to use the gift she's blessed with—her voice," Andrew said. "I've been hearing it all my life. She probably started singing to me when I was in her womb. "As a kid growing up, [your mom] is always proud of what you do, of what you've been able to become.

  In those moments, the table is turned—I can be the person really excited for and proud of her. "Partisan praise? Not exactly: MLB.com recently chose the Top 10 anthem renditions of recent years and ranked Petrina McCutchen's version prior to the 2013 Wild Card Game as No. 2—three spots ahead of Mary J. Blige. Not bad. (T Singer - MLB.com - May 8, 2015)

• July 14, 2015: Leading off the bottom of the sixth against Rays righthander Chris Archer, McCutchen launched a first-pitch slider into the left-field seats at Great American Ball Park. It was the first All-Star Game home run for McCutchen, making his fifth trip to the Midsummer Classic.

  It also put McCutchen in good company with a few other Pittsburgh legends. The last four Pirates to homer in an All-Star Game were Dave Parker (1981), Roberto Clemente (1971), Willie Stargell (1965), and Ralph Kiner (1949-51). (A Berry - MLB.com)

• August 19, 2015: Another accolade to McCutchen's growing collection. The former National League MVP was elected to the Arizona Fall League Hall of Fame.

• Andrew clearly is one of the greatest in today's MLB. When compared to two historic Pittsburgh Pirates, he also is already one of the franchise's all-time greats.  McCutchen played in his 1,000th career game in August 2015—and marked it in style with a two-run double that started the Bucs toward a 5-2 victory over the Marlins in Miami—a nice round number that offers a convenient opportunity to compare. And Cutch compares astonishingly with legendary Hall of Famer Roberto Clemente and Barry Bonds, whose Cooperstown-standard career flowered in Pittsburgh.  Benchmarks at the 1,000-game milepost:

  • McCutchen has accumulated more total bases (1,864) than either Bonds (1,783) or Clemente (1,693).

  • McCutchen's double was career No. 230, more than either Bonds (219) or Clemente (176). One other key department in which McCutchen could lap his two iconic predecessors: team wins. Clemente's tenure peaked with 97 wins by the 1971 Bucs. Bonds' 1991 crew won 98 games. Cutch's 2015 Pirates also won 98.

  McCutchen's accomplishments are not lost on Clint Hurdle, who has watched McCutchen turn into one of the game's best players over the last few years while helping Pittsburgh end its 20-year streak of losing seasons.

  "He's the face of the franchise from the player pool," Hurdle said. "He's got national recognition now, which I think is a somewhat tangible sign and evidence that the player and organization are growing together. I think he was able to send clarity to our fan base that Pittsburgh was important, the organization was moving in the right direction. He wanted to be a part of it when he signed the [long-term] contract he signed a few years ago.  When your best player is arguably one of your hardest-working players, it makes everyone's job on the periphery easier."  (Singer - mlb.com - 8/25/15)

• October 30, 2015: McCutchen's baseball career has been full of awards and accolades, but this honor he received resonated in a special way for him. McCutchen was named the winner of the 2015 Roberto Clemente Award presented by Chevrolet before Game 3 of the World Series at Citi Field, an honor named after the iconic Pirates outfielder for his positive contributions on and off the field, including sportsmanship and community involvement.

  "It means a lot. I feel like it means a bit more to me, just because of it being Roberto Clemente and him playing for the Pirates, wearing the same uniform," McCutchen said. "It just shows that I'm moving in the right direction as far as being able to do the things that I want to do off the baseball field. Just getting a prestigious award like this is very humbling."

• McCutchen has been working with the Make-A-Wish Foundation since 2012, according to Dana Antkowiak, the marketing and communications manager for Make-A-Wish Greater Pennsylvania and West Virginia. During that time, he has visited 11 children with life-threatening medical conditions.

  In Spring Training, McCutchen spent a whole day with Owen Taylor, a 7-year-old boy from Everett, Pa., who has a heart condition. In August at PNC Park, McCutchen hosted Cameron Pittman, a 12-year-old from Altoona, Pa., who is battling Hodgkin's lymphoma.

  "He has this uncanny ability to very quickly put the child at ease. Very engaged in conversation, asks questions about their interests and their experiences. It's really remarkable," Antkowiak said. "In letters and notes we receive after the wish, these families are profoundly impacted by their experience with him. "The same can be said at the Children's Hospital, where Gessner and the entire staff were particularly pleased to see McCutchen win the Clemente Award.

  McCutchen began visiting the hospital shortly after he was called up to the Majors. He and his wife, Maria, have remained a regular presence there, and Gessner said they are generous donors to the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh Foundation. "They are a wonderful team," Gessner said. "They do this because they care." (A Berry - MLB.com - November 2015)

• A simple exchange between Andrew and the McCreary family (four very loyal Pirates fans) was caught on camera, swept through social media, and became one of those feel-good moments that fans from coast to coast couldn't seem to get enough of.

  All because of a couple of batting gloves, a fist bump and one very emphatic "I love you man" exclamation by an overwhelmed 12-year-old. "It was the least I could do, just show my appreciation," McCutchen said. "I didn't think much of it. It's awesome just to be able to interact with the fans."

  The moment happened less than a minute after the Pirates secured a 5-2 win over the Padres on May 30, 2015 at Petco Park. Having noticed the McCreary foursome decked out in Pirates gear and waving their Jolly Roger flag, McCutchen raced back to the outfield wall and handed his batting gloves to the two kids who had been loudly cheering him throughout the game.

  The cameras caught a joyous 12-year-old Christopher McCreary and his 8-year-old brother, Elijah, overcome with joy. Christopher pointed at McCutchen and yelled, "I love you man, I love you." And just like that, GIF-able history was born.  

  The exchange was shared thousands of times on a host of social media platforms. At the end of the season, McCutchen was honored for it by capturing the Esurance MLB Award for Best Player-Fan Interaction. (Footer -MLB.com - 5/3/16)

• June 26, 2016: McCutchen was ejected from a game for the first time in his career. After being called out on the strikes in the seventh inning, McCutchen threw his bat in frustration while arguing the call with home-plate umpire Chris Conroy. (Sarah K. Spencer - MLB.com)

• March 2017: After winning the World Baseball Classic with Team USA, McCutchen reported to Pirates camp with a gold medal draped around his neck.

  "It was a heck of a lot of fun, so much that I lost my voice," McCutchen added. "It was a great experience, for sure. "It's a sport that speaks one language. It was amazing to see the different cultures, play against the different cultures and teams. The atmosphere is great. The fans, they came, they were loud. It was a lot of fun. I do think it's something that is very useful and needed. 'm just happy to be a part of it, being my first one and being able to win one was pretty cool."

  McCutchen said he enjoyed getting to watch Royals first baseman Eric Hosmer up close. And he enjoyed playing for manager Jim Leyland.

  "You get your sense of team camaraderie a little bit, just because you're with those guys for a couple weeks as opposed to the All-Star Game when it's a few days," McCutchen said. "It was really cool to develop some relationships with some of those guys and pretty much form a team and bond in two weeks. That's what the game of baseball does."

  It also provides moments they'll remember long after this spring. For McCutchen, that was Adam Jones' outstanding, homer-robbing catch at Petco Park against the Dominican Republic and Orioles teammate Manny Machado. McCutchen had a perfect view of the play from right field.

  "That was the coolest thing I've ever seen in person, on the field," McCutchen said. "I didn't think he had a chance off the bat, then I saw him leap and I still didn't think he had a chance. The next thing I know, it's in his glove. That was awesome. It was cool to witness that." (A Berry - MLB.com - March 24, 2017

• After every home run, Andrew steps on home plate and reaches up with his right hand to tip his cap. It's a tribute to his wife, but also to the man who broke baseball's color barrier.  The gesture is specifically to acknowledge his wife, Maria, but McCutchen picked it up from Jackie Robinson—the version of Robinson depicted in the movie "42," at least. McCutchen watched Robinson tip his cap toward his wife, Rachel, after homering in the film and decided he would do the same.

  McCutchen rounded the bases and tipped his cap, as he always does on April 15, 2017. But for the first time, he did it while wearing Robinson's No. 42. McCutchen crushed a go-ahead, three-run homer in the seventh inning of the Pirates' 8-7 win over the Cubs on Jackie Robinson Day.

  "It's something that means a lot and something I'm going to remember, definitely," McCutchen said.  (Berry - mlb.com - 4/16/17)

• Andrew lives a good life. He married his wife Maria in November 2014. The couple also recently announced they would be expecting a new addition to their family in December.   

  On Instagram, he announced he and Maria would be welcoming a baby boy to the family at the end of the year: 

  "We are proud to announce we are having a BOY! This has been the most exciting journey! Thank you to everyone who came to celebrate with us. This was a day we will cherish for the rest of our lives. Baby boy, we can't wait to lay our eyes on you!"  

  "I'm excited," McCutchen said. "I've got someone to carry the family name. From here on out, if I have a [another] boy or a girl, I'm good." Congratulations to the couple and we can't wait to meet the little guy. A mini-McCutchen is exactly what this world deserves.   (Berry - mlb.com - 7/18/17)

• Nov. 27, 2017: Andrew and his wife Maria announced the birth of their son, Steel Stefan.

• June 17, 2018: Andrew celebrated his own fatherhood on social media. McCutchen's first child, son Steel, was born Nov. 27.  "Happy Father’s Day! It’s my first one and man do I love it!" (Gurnick - mlb.com)

• Jan 16, 2018: Andrew began looking forward to his next act. But first, he reflected on the first chapter of his career. The former face of the Pirates' franchise was introduced to San Francisco media on a conference call with Giants executive vice president of baseball operations Brian Sabean, GM Bobby Evans, and manager Bruce Bochy. During the call, a reporter asked McCutchen to explain the emotional response to leaving Pittsburgh after nine seasons. McCutchen laughed.

  "How much time you got?" he said from his home in Pittsburgh's snowy suburbs. "To put it all in a nutshell, we have a lot to be excited about. We have a lot to be thankful for. We're very thankful for everything we have gone through, thankful for everything that has happened, thankful for the Pirates and the organization, for them having faith in me that I could be the player they felt I could be. We're thankful for that. We're also excited and looking forward to what's ahead of us. The emotions are high, of course, but we're excited about what's going to happen here in the future."

  Pirates general manager Neal Huntington called McCutchen twice: first to inform him of an incorrect news report saying the deal was done, then again to tell his franchise player that it was official and thank him for all he did for the Bucs. Considering McCutchen has been mentioned in trade rumors for more than a year, the news wasn't exactly a surprise.

  "Definitely the anticipation was high on my end, just because my name had been circulating a little bit. It was more of an anticipation, wondering if it was going to happen or it wasn't," McCutchen said. "When the reality of that hit, the emotions were definitely high. That comes with it. We're very excited, me and my family. We're excited and looking forward to the next chapter of our lives."

  McCutchen spoke highly of the Giants, saying San Francisco is "an organization who knows what winning is all about." He looks forward to getting to know Bochy and reuniting with former Pirates closer Mark Melancon, who joined the Giants last offseason. He even joked about moving back to right field, where he began last season for the Pirates before returning to center.

  "That's one place people can't pick on me, saying my defensive metrics are so bad," McCutchen said.

  Sabean said McCutchen was "kind of the apple of our eye in the offseason" as the Giants sought to pry him away from Pittsburgh, the only organization the 31-year-old had known since the Pirates drafted him 11th overall in 2005. Evans said he was "not convinced they would move [McCutchen] up until the last minute of our discussion."

  And yes, even Evans is still getting used to the idea of McCutchen wearing black and orange, not black and gold.

  "As I look at our roster and see Andrew McCutchen's name on there, I have to continue to do a double take, because I'm so used to seeing it on a Pittsburgh roster," Evans said. "It looks very good for us." (A Berry - MLB.com - Jan 17, 2018)

• Jan 26, 2018: One of the understated challenges for players trying to work on their games during the offseason is that most baseball activities—especially fielding and hitting—require a partner. Giants outfielder Andrew McCutchen found himself wanting to get some swings in. Just one problem: He didn't have anyone to pitch.

  So, he posted on Twitter: "Any High School coach in the Cranberry/Wexford, PA. Area want to throw a good ole pal(me) some BP today?" With a high of 52 degrees in Wexford, Penn, it was a beautiful day to join the former National League MVP for some batting practice. Clearly, many in the northern suburbs of Pittsburgh agreed, as Cutch quickly found a suitable partner.

  He later Tweeted: "Found someone!!!!! Thanks for everyone who offered! He revealed the lucky winner later in the day. He Tweeted: "A big thanks to @CoachSeanTCT @NA_baseball2017 for helping a brotha out by throwing me some bp! Nice chatting it up w/ the Seniors as well."

  McCutchen was traded to the Giants, but the former Pirate clearly hasn't relocated from Western Pennsylvania. Now that he's found someone to throw batting practice, maybe he'll feel comfortable staying in the Pittsburgh area a little bit longer. (E Chesterton - MLB.com - Jan 26, 2018)

• Buster Posey recalls watching Andrew McCutchen in awe. They were 17, spending a few weeks together as teammates on a junior Olympic team in Taiwan. McCutchen remembers Posey's immense popularity — swarmed at every single stop. Cheered when on the bus, or when fans just thought he was on the bus.

  “The one thing that I remember is all the Taiwanese natives really loved Buster Posey. I don't know why,” McCutchen said, chuckling. “But they'd be doing the whole roll call of the team, and they'd say Buster Posey, and everybody would go crazy in Taiwan. We'd get on buses, we'd be on the bus waiting to leave, fans would be coming up, ‘Buster Posey, Buster Posey,' like, ‘He's not on the bus.' But I know he's a very likable guy, so I'd always joke with him about that in the times playing against him.

  “I said, ‘You ever know or wonder why they liked you so much? He said, ‘Honestly, I don't know.' ”

  Now, more than a decade later as early 30-somethings, they're teammates again with the Giants. And McCutchen kind of understands it now. He thinks Posey is pretty cool.

  McCutchen considers the star catcher San Francisco's go-to guy.

  “I look at Posey as the captain. I look at him as the jefe,” McCutchen said, using the Spanish word for 'boss.' (AP-Feb. 17, 2018)

• Andrew is a man of many talents. Baseball star. Thespian. Choreographer. Ambassador to the legends. It turns out that you can add impressionist to that long list of talents.  The Giants had a guest behind home plate at batting practice on April 10, 2018. It was actor Mike Henry, who is most known for being the voice behind Cleveland Brown of "Family Guy" and "The Cleveland Show." Henry tweeted a video of McCutchen doing his own Cleveland impression to him, and he was blown away ...  much to McCutchen's enjoyment. 

  "I wish I could hit home runs as well as you can do Cleveland," Henry joked.

  To be fair to Henry, most of us wish that we could do things in life as well as McCutchen. However, there is only one Cutch.  (Mearns - mlb.com - 4/10/18)

• May 11, 2018: The trip back to Pittsburgh brought nothing out of the ordinary for Andrew. He ate at The Oven Pizza Co. in Wexford. He slept at home, in Pittsburgh's northern suburbs, with his wife, Maria, and his son, Steel. He took Steel to a doctor's appointment for shots. "He was a big guy," McCutchen said. "He didn't cry."

  Then McCutchen took a familiar trip to an unfamiliar destination. McCutchen drove down to the north shore of the Allegheny River, walked into PNC Park and for the first time found his locker in the visiting team's clubhouse.

  "Good to be back. Still hasn't really set in yet, being on visitor's side. A little weird," McCutchen said before the series opener between the Giants and Pirates, an 11-2 Pittsburgh win. "I felt like I needed a few more steps. You always walk by it, but you don't ever notice it. Now you notice it."

  McCutchen couldn't help but notice what happened when he took the field. He ran out for warm-ups, and the crowd responded with a standing ovation. The public-address announcer introduced McCutchen, batting second and playing right field, and the cheers were even louder.

  The day had been full of reunions. McCutchen met with the Pittsburgh media for nearly 20 minutes in a news conference room typically reserved for the home team. He saw friends and former teammates during batting practice. Before leaving the field, he spent nearly 15 minutes signing autographs for fans. When McCutchen came to bat in the first inning, the Pirates played the first of two "Thank You 22" videos on their left-field scoreboard. Jameson Taillon stepped off the mound, Francisco Cervelli stood in front of the plate, and for 90 seconds, Pittsburgh expressed its appreciation for the former face of the franchise. What were his emotions like in that moment?

  "They were intense. Something to remember, for sure," McCutchen said. "I did my best to soak it all in. They did a good job giving me that moment. I signaled to Cervelli that I was ready to go, but he shook his head, 'No.' So, I stepped back and continued to be in that moment." McCutchen tipped his helmet while shortstop Jordy Mercer and the entire Pirates outfield—Sean Rodriguez, Starling Marte and Gregory Polanco—clapped along with the fans. An "M-V-P" chant broke out. McCutchen went down looking at a called third strike, and the response was a mix of applause and boos.

  The Pirates played a longer video and another ovation ensued when McCutchen took his place in front of the Roberto Clemente Wall in right field. Fans stood and cheered before each of his five at-bats, and they celebrated his seventh-inning double off reliever Michael Feliz. The Pirates drew a season-high attendance of 34,720 on McCutchen's first night back in town. "The man off the field is a very special and significant guy. The player on the field was a special and significant Pirate as well," Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. "He'll be an iconic Pirate forever."

  For nine seasons, McCutchen called PNC Park's outfield his home. The city still is. He's a Giant now, in town only to play the Pirates for the first time since being traded in January, but his attachment to Pittsburgh hasn't been broken. "This is my home. Me and my wife got married and made that decision a long time ago that this is where we're going to live, regardless of baseball," McCutchen said. "That's not going to change. We love it here."

  McCutchen said he was only a part of that success, but as starter Trevor Williams said earlier this week, "He was the Pirates."  (A Berry - MLB.com - May 12, 2018)

• Dec 13, 2018: The Phillies announced they had signed free-agent outfielder Andrew McCutchen to a three-year deal that would bring him back to the state where he started his career. If you had any doubts that Cutch was excited to return to Pennsylvania as a Phillie, you can safely put them to rest. He posted an Instagram video that, unlike his prior work, was a cartoon. Nevertheless, it was just as delightful.

  McCutchen's appreciation for the Rocky theme song and his joyful dancing on the Art Museum steps should endear him to Phillies fans rather quickly. More importantly, though, if Cutch's contributions to cinema continue on their current trajectory, it won't be long until he finds himself inside the art museum rather than simply dancing on the steps outside. (E Chesterton - MLB.com - Dec 13, 2018).

• Dec 18, 2018: Andrew had his introductory press conference in the City of Brotherly Love. While the veteran outfielder and Instagram star is sure to become a fan favorite in Philly, Cutch's young son Steel stole the show during the presser.

  Steel, whose name commemorates his dad's legendary run in Pittsburgh, follows in a long line of good sports children who have no reservations about taking over a press conference. Few will ever reach the stratospheric heights of Steph Curry's daughter Riley, but David Price's son Xavier was a key part of his dad's breakout 2018 postseason and Clayton Kershaw's kids once won a postseason postgame interview by sharing their thoughts on how Dodgers manager Dave Roberts took their dad out of the game before the ninth inning.

  McCutchen and the Phillies have a good shot at reaching the postseason in 2019, which would only mean more press conferences that Steel can derail with his adorable table-banging, microphone-grabbing delightfulness. Andrew held his 1-year-old son Steel on his lap, where Phillies general manager Matt Klentak and manager Gabe Kapler introduced him as the newest addition to a team with 90-win expectations. Father and son both wore Phillies jerseys with the number 22 on the back. Steel banged the table in front of him while his father spoke. The proud father beamed.

  "Something you always dream of," McCutchen said. "As a guy in the game you grow up and you always dream of sitting up here or even just be in the clubhouse and on the field and have your son with you. I was blessed enough to have a kid and on top of that I have a son and I'm just excited to just hold him and be up here. I'm overly excited and happy to be here and to be able to represent this city and this franchise."

  Steel's first baseball memories of his father will be of him in a Phillies uniform. (T Zolecki & J Mintz - MLB.com - Dec 18, 2018).

• Dec 31, 2018: Andrew McCutchen has made plenty of headlines over the years, but this offseason, his son Steel has stolen the spotlight from his All-Star dad. It didn't take long for Phillies fans to learn that McCutchen wouldn't just be bringing his own stage presence to Philadelphia—Steel knows how to perform as well. But it seems that little Steel is ready for more than just the press conferences, he's ready to take his talents out onto the field.

  "Doing one handed drills. I told him to use two hands, but he insisted his bat was only made for one hand", says Andrew. Not quite the picturesque swing that his dad has perfected over his Major League career, but he's still early in the player development process. Launch angle enthusiasts may encourage the younger McCutchen to swing up, rather than hit the ball into the ground.

  Regardless of his swing mechanics, Steel certainly caught one Hall of Famer's attention - Ken Griffey Jr! "The boy looks like a lefty to me," said Griffey Jr.  (J Shusterman - MLB.com - Dec 31, 2018)

• July 9, 2019: A torn ACL in early June put Phillies outfielder Andrew McCutchen on the shelf for the rest of the season, which was unfair for everybody.

  With Cutch hanging out at home, he probably planned on kicking back on the couch for the All-Star Game presented by Mastercard. And he probably did—but with a huge smile on his face, thanks to an absolutely incredible display put on by his wife, Maria.

  As Cutch documented on his Instagram story Tuesday night, he walked downstairs and was confronted with his very own All-Star Game celebration, complete with a red carpet, his name in huge font, some great light effects, a cake (and amazing cake topper) and a banner with the phrase "You're our All-Star," which had to feel pretty great. The whole thing is just fantastic. (Adrian Garro -Cut4)

• Oct 10, 2019: Although this season has been a wild ride, it has sadly fallen short in the Andrew McCutchen entertainment department. Don't get me wrong—the Phillies outfielder is as stylish as ever and has continued to prove why he's one of the best follows on social media. However, when the former MVP tore his ACL back in June, it meant that he would miss the rest of the year.

  It was a big ol' bummer, but it couldn't dampen McCutchen's spirits forever. With an assist from his son, Steel, he celebrated his 33rd birthday by testing out some new lumber for 2020. I mean, I think this could work. Former teammate Aaron Judge always looks like he's wielding a small tree at the plate and folk hero Paul Bunyan swung an even larger stick anyway, so why not McCutchen?

  He can be an innovator in this field. Try to tell me that there's a better way to control the outer half of the strike zone than with a bat like this. You can't. If you wanted, you could even protect pitches that are wild and practically headed toward the hot dog vendor. Kudos to Steel, though, for giving his dad a hand with a smaller bat suggestion. He's the cutest bat boy you could imagine, and the important part of the offseason workout is just getting your swings in. Happy birthday, Cutch. (A Mearns - CUT4 - Oct 11, 2019)

• April 18, 2020: Isolation does funny stuff to people. And though he's not quite gone with the full "Wilson," Andrew is using this time to unveil some character work.

  Long known as one of the game's premier filmmakers, the time at home has opened a new vein of creativity. His early quarantine works focused on the strange anxiety of living in a world where grocery shopping is done in masks, and what it's like to walk the same steps in your yard day after day.

  But from these emerged a new character of McCutchen's:  A mustachioed, elderly gentleman—decked out with sunglasses and a Phillies jersey with a plunging neckline—who lives with Cutch and goes by the name Larry McCutcheon. (Yes, purposely spelled differently.)

  He struggled with McCutchen for screen time when he was introduced. And then struggled with manning the phone. But as he told us, he was here to stay:

  Larry returned, this time with his very own logo and intro music. This time, Uncle Larry yells to an off-screen Cutch, complaining about the flavorless sauce the outfielder made and how McCutchen swings a toothpick at the plate.

  "That's why you can't drop 40 [homers]. I dropped 40 at the break . . . and I only played in 24 games" before going on the IL for tearing his mustache, Uncle Larry informs us.

  Yes, as the caption reads, "Larry got jokes," but is there something more to this? Is McCutchen revealing some deeply hidden fears about himself (namely, that he doesn't hit enough home runs and his cooking isn't up to par) through the lens of this fiction? Is there a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde aspect  inherent in McCutchen's performance? These are the questions for the film scholars to debate.

  Of course, it's also possible that Cutch is simply bored and aiming for his own film, like Kyrie Irving got for Uncle Drew, or perhaps a sketch comedy showcase on Netflix, becoming the next breakout star like Tim Robinson from "I Think You Should Leave."

  We'll be watching closely, because as Larry tells us, quite ominously, at the end of the second video: "Larry is going nowhere." (Michael Clair)

• 2020 Season: Grading Phillies outfielder Andrew McCutchen’s season:

  The Phillies signed Andrew following the 2018 season with the hope that he would provide a spark at the leadoff spot. At age 32, one couldn’t expect to see McCutchen perform as he did in his prime. Nevertheless, he played very well before going down with a fluke ACL injury on the base paths. He finished with 12 doubles, 10 home runs, 43 walks, and a .834 OPS in 59 games. So, what would 2020 have in store after coming off a major injury?

  Expectations couldn’t be high for the 33-year-old entering the season and in the first few games of the 2020 season, McCutchen went just 1-for-18. He had three multi-hit games over the next nine but didn’t launch his first home run until the Phillies 17th game of the season.

  McCutchen eventually found his stroke at the plate, hitting safely in 12 of the next 14 games, including seven multi-hit games with three home runs and 13 RBI. By the end of August, McCutchen was hitting a respectable .261 after a horrendous start.

  Playing more like his old self, McCutchen hit six home runs with 14 RBI during September. On September 11, he went 3-for-4 with a bomb and three RBI in an 11-0 win over the Marlins. On September 25, McCutchen was part of a 13-run outburst, going 3-for-5 with two doubles and a home run. Although the Phillies fell to the Rays, 4-3 on the second to last game of the season, McCutchen had his best game, going 4-for-5 with a double and home run.

  For the season, McCutchen hit a respectable .253 with 32 runs, 10 home runs, and 34 RBI. Those numbers project to 27 home runs, 92 RBI, and 86 runs scored. In the field, although McCutchen doesn’t have the range he once did, he was excellent fielding the balls he got to, not committing an error in 47 chances.

  McCutchen’s overall WAR was slightly below zero, indicating a very mediocre overall campaign. However, playing in nearly every game at age 33 after coming off a major knee injury, with power production similar to that in his prime, McCutchen grades out to a solid B. (Kerry Kauffman - Oct. 17, 2020)

• 2021 Season: The outfielder, who turned 35 on October 10, hit 27 home runs – the most since his final season in Pittsburgh in 2017 – and drove in 80 RBI in 144 games. He hit multiple grand slams after not hitting one since 2017.

  The downside? Cutch also had the lowest batting average (.222) and strikeout rate (23%) of his career, and second-lowest on-base percentage (.334). And despite McCutchen still having a lot in the tank offensively, he struggled defensively. In left field, he had a -8 defensive runs saved and -4 outs above average.  (Gabrielle Starr - Oct. 20, 2021)

• Oct. 14, 2021: Andrew and his wife Maria are introducing the world to their adorable new baby girl. Avé Maria McCutchen was born on Oct. 14. She weighed 8 pounds, 1 ounce, and was 20.5 inches long.

• March 14, 2022: The implementation of a universal designated hitter as part of baseball’s new Collective Bargaining Agreement helped open at-bats in Milwaukee for a hitter like McCutchen, who could split time between DH and in an outfield mix that includes Christian Yelich, Lorenzo Cain, Hunter Renfroe and Tyrone Taylor.

  McCutchen started 131 games in left field for Philadelphia last season and could spell Yelich against certain left-handers, or help Taylor cover center in the event Cain needs time off or is injured during the final year of his five-year contract. (A McCalvy - MLB.com - March 14, 2022)

• 2022 Season: McCutchen is a few years removed from his MVP form but can still be a serviceable player. In 134 games this year, he hit 17 homers and stole eight bases. His overall batting line was .237/.316/.384, just a hair below league average with a wRC+ of 98. He also provided adequate defense, with all of DRS, UZR and OAA considering him to be average or above in the field. He’s better against lefties and would perhaps be best suited to something less than a full-time role, but he’s not going to kill you if he’s in there every day. He put up a 106 wRC+ against lefties this year and a 95 against righties.  (Darragh McDonald | October 18, 2022)

• Andrew is the greatest Pirates player to grace the grass at PNC Park, which opened its gates in 2001. He is the franchise’s finest performer since Barry Bonds, who left Pittsburgh as a free agent after the 1992 season.

  A first-round pick in 2005, McCutchen easily lived up to his billing over the first nine seasons of his career. He won accolades and awards and was the spark plug of the ballclub’s transformation from a laughingstock to a playoff contender in the early 2010s.

  After spending the past five seasons with the Giants, Yankees, Phillies and Brewers, McCutchen rejoined the Pirates last winter. At 36, he’s transitioned from All-Star outfielder to designated hitter. He still flashes elite skills, but his electric moments on the field happen less often these days.

  The twilight of a player’s career is a time for reaching milestones. McCutchen is five shy of 2,000 hits, fifth-most among active players, and probably will hit that mark during the nine-game homestand that begins Friday against the Cardinals. He’s also closing in on 400 doubles (one shy), 50 triples (one shy) and 300 home runs (five shy).

  It also is a time for reflection. When his career is over, whether that’s after this season or a few years from now, where will McCutchen fit in the pantheon of Pirates players?

  “What I’ve watched him do for baseball in Pittsburgh is second to none,” said Pirates relief pitcher David Bednar, who grew up a 30-minute drive from PNC Park.

  “There’s no doubt that Cutch is ‘that guy’ for the Pirates in my lifetime.” (Biertempfel - Jun 2, 2023 - The Athletic)

• McCutchen collected hit No. 2,000 in a 2-1 win with a single in the first inning off Mets right-hander Carlos Carrasco.

  McCutchen is the fifth active MLB player to reach the threshold. The top four are Miguel Cabrera (3,110 hits), Joey Votto (2,093), Nelson Cruz (2,043) and Elvis Andrus (2,027).

  McCutchen is the 291st player to join the 2,000-hit club, per the Elias Sports Bureau.

  “Dad asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up,” McCutchen recalled in 2015. “Every kid wants to be something huge — a firefighter, a doctor, a professional (athlete). Something big. He told me, ‘Go after it. Stick with it. It’s not going to be easy, but we’ll help you along the way.’ He always gave me the willpower to do whatever I wanted to do.”

  McCutchen did a good job handling the run-up to his milestone hit, never appearing to get flustered or rushed at the plate. Now that he’s past it, could McCutchen fall prey to a letdown?

  “Of all the guys I’ve been around, he is the one I’ve been least worried about because of the way he handles things,” manager Derek Shelton said. “He does not change. He’s a joy to be around. I don’t expect there’ll be any peaks and valleys with it at all.” (Biertempfel - Jun 11, 2023 - The Athletic)

• Who is Andrew's wife, Maria Hanslovan? 

  Andrew is a popular player for the Pirates. In 2014, the 6-time All-Star completed an important milestone in his life when he married his longtime girlfriend, Maria Hanslovan.

  Hanslovan was born in Dubois, Pennsylvania. She also has a sister named Kaleen Hanslovan. She attended Dubois Central Catholic High School. In school, she excelled in sports, cheerleading, and gymnastics. She also enrolled at Slippery Rock University. She graduated with a degree in forensic chemistry in 2011.

  Andrew and Maria met each other at PNC Park in 2009 when he was a member of the "Cannonball Crew" for the Pirates. The two got to know each other and started a romantic relationship. After some years of dating, Andrew proposed to her on the December 11, 2013, episode of The Ellen Degeneres Show. She said yes and eventually they got married in 2014. They have been together since then.

  Andrew and Maria have three kinds together. They welcomed their first son Steel Stefan on November 27, 2017. Their second son Armani was born on December 24, 2019. Finally, their only daughter Ave Maria was born on October 25, 2021. They are a happy and loving family.  (Arka Mukherjee - Jun 11, 2023)

  McCREARY FAMILY 

• July 3, 2023: Christopher, Elijah and Roger McCreary remember seeing the clip first begin to circulate on social media.

  On May 30, 2015, following a Pirates win over the Padres in San Diego, Andrew jogged over to the lone Pirates fans in the left-field bleachers, a pair of kids and their father. McCutchen handed the then-13-year-old Christopher his batting gloves, prompting Christopher to yell out, “I love you, man!” Elijah, 9 years old at the time, fist-bumped the five-time All-Star. Roger watched the interaction unfold with an ear-to-ear smile.

  The clip went viral, one of many defining moments from McCutchen’s first run in Pittsburgh. Eight years later, ahead of the Pirates' 5-2 loss at Dodger Stadium, the McCreary family, at long last, had the opportunity to formally reunite with McCutchen.

  “I didn’t think all that was going to happen,” Elijah said. “It brought tears to my eyes.”

  The McCreary family’s love for the Pirates begins with Roger, 63, who became a fan when his mentor, the late Danny Brown, brought him to see the black and gold in 1969 at Dodger Stadium. One of Roger’s first memories was witnessing Roberto Clemente throw a ball from right field to home plate on the fly, and he’s stuck with the Pirates as his team since. When Roger and his wife, Stephanie, had Christopher and Elijah, there was no question as to which team the boys would represent.

  “It was a prerequisite that they had to become Pirate fans,” Roger laughed. Roger had been taking Christopher, who turns 21 next week, and Elijah, now 17, to Pirates games in Southern California well before their interaction with McCutchen. The yellow jersey that Christopher wore that night was the same jersey that Roger wore to Dodger Stadium three-and-a-half decades prior. Christopher, Elijah and Roger were just happy to see a win that night in San Diego. McCutchen’s gesture turned a great night into an unforgettable one.

  “So many emotions were going through my head,” Christopher said. “I love the Pirates, so I was happy that we won. To top it off, I see Andrew McCutchen running up to us. He gave us the gloves. I’m the one that says, ‘I love you, man,’ in the yellow jersey. I was very, very emotional. It was a great moment. I loved it and I’ll never forget it.”

  “I remember I was throwing my fist up,” Elijah said. “We were trying to get the Jolly Roger up. I remember a San Diego fan tapped us and we turned around and we see [McCutchen] running towards us. We were cheering the rest of the night. I couldn’t go to sleep that night.”

  Roger recalls that after the clip went viral, Elijah began insisting that he was a celebrity and that he would need security.

  “I don’t know what people would want from him, but that’s what I remember from it,” Roger said.

• The McCrearys planned on making their first trip to Pittsburgh to meet with McCutchen during his first stint with the team, but those plans were shelved when the Pirates traded him to the Giants. But the family’s respect for McCutchen didn’t fade as he wore different colors. When the Giants came to Los Angeles, Christopher, Elijah and Roger made a trip to Dodger Stadium, wearing Pirates jerseys and Giants hats. When McCutchen re-signed with the Pirates this offseason, all the memories came flooding back.

  “I’m a diehard Pirate fan, but I’m definitely a diehard Cutch fan,” Christopher said. “Over the years when he was gone, I kept up with him. Probably the only other player that’s not a Pirate that I kept up with really heavy. When he came back, I was so excited. I was really happy. I knew the first thing people were going to say was, ‘Oh, this is a farewell tour.’ I thought in my mind, ‘This is not a farewell tour. He’s going to help this ballclub win.’ Sure enough, the next day, he said it’s not a farewell tour. It really meant a lot to me. It showed me who he is as a player and kind of proved everything that I knew.”

  Prior to the Pirates arriving in Los Angeles this time around, Roger got in contact with AT&T SportsNet’s Robby Incmikoski, who had helped coordinate the McCreary family’s trip to Pittsburgh before plans fell through. Roger asked if it would be possible to reunite with McCutchen. Incmikoski did the family one better.

  “You don’t realize the impact you can have on people just by something small that doesn’t seem like much to you,” McCutchen said. “Being able to realize what that may have done for them in the moment and maybe for them in the future, it’s really cool.” (JD Santos - MLB.com - July 4, 2023)  

• MLB players are often tracking personal milestones. Andrew McCutchen, for example, has crossed a few thresholds this season with the Pirates: 400 doubles, 1,000 walks and 2,000 games played. He’s one homer away from 300. (Nesbitt - Aug 31, 2023 - The Athletic)

• 2023 Season: In his five seasons away from Pittsburgh, McCutchen had a 109 OPS+ in 549 games, proving that even if he was not producing at an MVP caliber anymore, he was still a very good player. McCutchen’s comeback season in 2023 with the Pirates began with even better numbers: He had an .808 OPS with 11 doubles and 10 homers in 74 games, commanding a spot at the front half of the lineup also thanks to a 15.5% walk rate. (J Crouse - MLB.com - Dec 20, 2023)

• March 17, 2024: Andrew McCutchen and his wife Maria have welcomed their fourth child. The parents posted photos of baby Italia Maria McCutchen to Instagram on Sunday, writing, "Our hearts have been bursting this past week with her." (Madeline Bartos)
  
  

• April 14, 2024:  The ball ricocheted off of nine-year-old Toren Mehta’s Pirates cap and his dad, Vinay, was able to get it on the rebound.
  
  “I didn’t see it because there were a bunch of people, and then I just felt it hit my hat,” Toren said.
  
  Unbeknownst to them, the two were holding a piece of Pirates history. It was Andrew McCutchen’s 300th home run ball, hit in the ninth inning of the Bucs' 9-2 win over the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park.
  
  “No idea,” Vinay said. “We were actually urged by the Phillies fans to throw the ball back. I don’t think anyone knew that it was his 300th home run. Maybe they did. We didn’t.”
  
  It wasn’t until a Phillies representative came up to them that they explained the importance of the homer and connected them with the Pirates. Normally, fan demands for catching milestone homers can range from signed bats and jerseys to even more.
  
  For the father and son, they just wanted a photo and maybe a signed (regular) ball in return. But they also got a fun impromptu meet-and-greet, as McCutchen ran up to Toren for an embrace, then the two inspected the ball to see where the Pirates’ fan favorite made contact with it.
   
  "Honestly, one of the best reactions I could have gotten from a family, the dad and the son,” said McCutchen. “It was very genuine. They didn't want much. They didn't want anything. They just wanted to give me the ball. I was appreciative of that. It makes you want to do more for people, as opposed to people who want the moon, and rightfully so. For him, he just wanted to give it to me. Obviously I had to hook them up a little bit. Makes you want to do it more. It was cool being able to meet them. Him and his dad seem like very genuine people. It was a nice little surprise for us."

• Vinay and Toren are from the greater Philadelphia area, but Vinay is originally from Greensburg, Pa., located about 30 miles southeast of Pittsburgh. That explains why the two ventured into enemy territory in Pirates jerseys.
  
  It turned out to be worth the trip and a great catch.
  
  “First time I’ve ever caught a ball, and I’ve been to a lot of baseball games,” Vinay said. (A Stumpf - MLB.com - April 14, 2024)
   

   

          TRANSACTIONS

• June 13, 2005: Andrew signed with the Pirates organization for a bonus of $1.9 million after they drafted him in the first round, out of Fort Meade High School in Fort Meade, Florida. Rob Sidwell was the scout who signed him.

• March 5, 2012: Andrew and the Pirates agreed to a six-year, $51.5 million contract. 

• Nov 3, 2017: The Bucs announced they would exercise McCutchen's $14.5 million club option for 2018, his final year under team control. The alternative was to buy out McCutchen's option year for $1 million and make him a free agent.

• Jan. 15, 2018: The Pirates traded McCutchen to the Giants for Kyle Crick, Bryan Reynolds. And the Giants sent Pittsburgh $500,000 in international bonus pool space, while according to MLB Network insider Ken Rosenthal, the Bucs will pay $2.5 million of the $14.5 million McCutchen is owed in 2018, the last year of his contract.

• August 31, 2018: The Yankees sent INF Abiatal Avelino and righthander Juan De Paula to San Francisco for OF Andrew McCutchen and cash considerations.

• Oct 29, 2018: Andrew chose free agency.

• Dec 11, 2018:  The Phillies and "Cutch" reached an agreement on a three-year contract. The deal is worth $50 million and includes a $15 million club option, and a buyout for 2022.

• Nov. 3, 2021: McCutchen became a free agent. The Phillies exercised a $3 million buyout for McCutchen, rather than pay him $15 million for the 2022 season.

• March 14, 2022: The Brewers reached an agreement with McCutchen, the free agent going into his 14th Major League season.

• Nov 6, 2022: Andrew chose free agency.

• Jan 13, 2023: Cutch returned to the Pirates on a one-year deal worth $5 million.

• Nov 2, 2023: Andrew elected free agency. 

• Dec 20, 2023: McCutchen signed a one-year, $5 million deal with the Pirates. He plans on retiring with the franchise.

• Though not a very big guy at 5-foot-11 and 175 pounds, McCutchen is the complete ballplayer. He has the lightning-quick hands and strong wrists that generate bat speed to provide lots of offense. He centers the ball on the barrel of the bat very well and hits the top half of the ball quite often. He nails even the real good fastballs and even hits breaking pitches well.

• Andrew has very, very quick hands and a short, compact swing. He lines shots all around, and over the fence in any part of the park with that superb bat speed.

• Scouts have compared McCutchen to longtime Major League outfielder Marquis Grissom, because of the strong, wiry body.

• Andrew has very good strike zone knowledge, is now patient, recognizes pitches very well and has a high on-base percentage. He is able to wait for the ball to get deep into the hitting zone.

• McCutchen doesn't get rattled by anything, even a long slump. He has a calm about him that is hard to describe. He maintains that inner confidence that he will perform well next time out. He has excellent instincts and is intelligent. His pitch recognition is very impressive.

• McCutchen improved at his ability at bunting, adding that to his arsenal so that he can maximize his speed by taking advantage of opportunities when the opposing third baseman is playing back.

• You could argue that the six weeks McCutchen spent at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida before the 2012 season—a first for him—made the difference. It was two-a-day conditioning sessions and yoga and pool sprints and pushups with 50 pounds of chains wrapped around his torso.

  But McCutchen's transformation wasn't about his body. It was about spending the offseason learning not to try to hit a homer every time up. About clearing one's mind and taking what the pitcher gives you.

  Pirates manager Clint Hurdle noticed it immediately when Andrew reported to spring training sporting a new, awkward-looking stance that Andrew had worked on along in the offseason.

  The hands that used to be shoulder level are now below the letters. The bat is tight against his chest. The front leg is opened up toward the shortstop. The stance, McCutchen told Hurdle, helps him see the ball better, and his stride—coming back toward the middle as he swings instead of out toward the left—guards against any "pullitis."

• Pirates teammate Neil Walker noted: "Most guys, they are either looking for something hard or something soft. Cutch's hands are so quick, he doesn't have to. He can adjust to anything.".

• On April 30, 2015, Andrew reached 1,000 hits.  Hit No. 999 was a step in the right direction, as McCutchen ripped a two-run triple off the ivy in center at Wrigley Field in the sixth inning.  Two innings later he pulled an 88-mph slider from Cubs reliever Edwin Jackson down the third-base line and beat Kris Bryant's throw to first base to reach the 1,000-hit milestone.

  "It's a special time, absolutely," manager Clint Hurdle said. "When your best player is one of your hardest workers, it makes everybody's job easier." McCutchen is the 33rd player in Pirates history to collect at least 1,000 hits, all of them with Pittsburgh. Jack Wilson was the last player to record each of his first 1,000 hits in a Pirates uniform, having done so in 2007.

  "It's special. I feel like that milestone is a pretty big one," starting pitcher Gerrit Cole said. "It's a pretty big hit for him. You know how he started. For him to just be able to keep grinding and keep such an even keel and not let it affect anyone else on the team and stick to his approach, it's a testament to how good of a pro he is." 

  McCutchen's first Major League hit came on June 4, 2009, a leadoff single off Mets starter Mike Pelfrey in his first big league at-bat. (Berry - mlb.com - 4/30/15)

• April 26, 2016: Andrew blasted three home runs and collected five RBIs to pace the Pirates to a 9-4 victory over the Rockies at Coors Field.  McCutchen, who also hit three homers Aug. 1, 2009 against the Nationals, had a chance to become the first Pirate to hit four in a game, but he grounded out to short in the eighth. He became the fourth Pirate to do it more than once, joining Hall of Famers Ralph Kiner (four times), Willie Stargell (four), and Roberto Clemente (two).

• McCutchen reached a turning point late in My, 2017, when manager Clint Hurdle sat McCutchen for two days and dropped him to sixth in the batting order from his customary third spot. Then Hurdle sat back and watched an artist at work.

  “I’ve been around a lot of good hitters, but the month he threw up was fantastic,” Hurdle said. “It gave me goosebumps.”

  Now that McCutchen is spraying rockets all over the field, it would be easy to harbor resentment over real or perceived slights. But there’s not a lot of diva in that 5-foot-10, 195-pound frame. McCutchen is secure enough to admit that the skepticism surrounding his performance hit close to home, and realistic enough to understand that his performance will be scrutinized because he has established a certain standard. (Jerry Crasnick - ESPN.com - July, 2017)

• September 13, 2017: The 200th homer of McCutchen's career made him the fourth player to reach that milestone in a Pirates uniform.

• May 14, 2018 : McCutchen recorded his 1,500th career hit.

• In 2019, McCutchen slashed .256/.378/.457 with a 115 OPS+ in 262 plate appearances before the injury. He posted a 1.4 WAR, according to Baseball Reference. 

• May 2020: You cannot fool McCutchen easily. He knows the strike zone. And he will not chase.

  Consider these numbers over his 11-year career: McCutchen ranks 11th out of 223 qualified batters in on-base percentage (.378) and 37th in pitches per plate appearance (4.05). He makes pitchers work, which is why the Phillies will be thrilled to have him hitting leadoff whenever plays resumes. McCutchen simply does not swing at pitches outside the strike zone. Out of 299 batters who have seen at least 5,000 pitches outside the strike zone since 2008, McCutchen ranks 20th, swinging at only 20.9 percent of them, (per Statcast.  – Todd Zolecki)

• 2021 Season:

  First 14 games:   .180/.250/.200

  Last 43 games: .275/.346/.503

  In probably the most extreme example of a slow start weighing down a player’s overall numbers, McCutchen got off to 9-for-50 start with no home runs. From that point forward, he was one of the Phillies’ most dangerous hitters with 10 home runs and an .849 OPS the rest of the way. (Kyle Glaser - Baseball America - April, 2021)

• June 6, 2021:  Andrew singled and scored in the Phillies' seven-run fourth inning.  It was the 1,000th run scored of his career.  He joined Albert Pujols (1,856), Miguel Cabrera (1,470), Joey Votto (1,050) and Justin Upton (1,034) as the only active players with 1,000 or more runs scored.  McCutchen also hit his 350th career double, which is eighth among active players. Only 241 players in history have at least 1,000 runs and 350 doubles.

• 2021 Season:  In Philadelphia, Andrew slashed .222/.334/.444 with 27 home runs and 80 RBIs.

  McCutchen’s splits last season were lopsided. Against right-handed pitching, McCutchen slashed .186/.298/.352 in 379 plate appearances, but in 195 plate appearances against lefties, he slashed .293/.405/.622 with 15 homers.

• April 26, 2022: McCutchen, the former Pirates great and year-round Pittsburgher, notched career stolen base No. 200 in the Brewers’ 12-8 win over his former team to join Mike Trout as the only active players with 200 career home runs and 200 steals.

  It’s a relatively exclusive group of players who possess both power and speed. McCutchen is the 51st player to reach both milestones, a list topped by a former Pirate (Barry Bonds finished with 762 home runs and 514 steals) and that includes nine others who played for the Brewers, including Hall of Famers Hank Aaron, Robin Yount and Paul Molitor. 

  McCutchen had been eyeing the milestone for some time, and the schedule gave him a chance to reach it in front of some of the fans who cheered his prime years at the beginning of his career. (A McCalvy - MLB.com - April 26, 2022)

• Sept 23, 2022: Andrew drove in Rowdy Tellez with the 1,000th RBI of his career.

  “I’ve been doing it for a while, and for the most part, been doing it all right,” the outfielder said. “It’s something I don’t take lightly. I’m happy to be in this position to do it.”

• May 10, 2023:  Cutch reaches rare career milestone:

  Andrew McCutchen has an opportunity to reach several milestones in the coming months. On Sunday, he knocked off the first of potentially several impressive feats.

  With a walk in the bottom of the eighth inning against the Blue Jays, McCutchen drew the 1,000th free pass of his career, joining Joey Votto, Miguel Cabrera and teammate Carlos Santana as the only other active players to achieve the feat.

  “Number one, it’s not easy. Number two, the fact that you maintain an approach for that long and that consistently is impressive,” said manager Derek Shelton. “What I mean by that is, later in a guy’s career, guys have a tendency to want to get hits. They want to chase hits.

  “One of the things that’s been impressive for Cutch for me, not only this year, but going back the last couple years is he doesn’t chase hits. If he thinks he can swing at pitches and impact them, he swings at them. If not, he takes his walks. You don’t see that with guys that get later in their career, because they’re starting to chase hits. He has not done that, and that’s impressive.” To Shelton, the quality of McCutchen and Santana’s disciplined plate appearances have rubbed off on two players in particular: Jack Suwinski and Rodolfo Castro. Suwinski (137 OPS+) and Castro (120 OPS+) have both taken jumps offensively thus far, and their increased production has been due in part to their improved discipline. (JD Santos - MLB.com - May 10, 2023)

• May 22, 2023: Andrew made Pirates' history when he reached 1,500 career hits in a Pirates uniform.

• June 11, 2023: Andrew hit his 2,000th hit — a sharp single to left leading off the bottom of the first in a 2-1 win over New York.
  
  
• April 14, 2024: McCutchen hit his 300th home run.

• McCutchen is a superb outfielder. He reminds scouts of Marquis Grissom. But Andrew says he was inspired to play good defense by his boyhood baseball hero.

  "I grew up watching Ken Griffey Jr.," McCutchen said. "I admired his style of play. He was one guy whose play I really enjoyed."

• He covers a whole lot of ground in center field with his speed, especially that first-step acceleration. He gets a good jump on the ball, reading it off the bat well and then gliding to it to make the catch. He gets to balls few others can reach.

• Andrew has only an average arm, at best. But that is his only average tool. And in 2011, he was keeping the ball down, not throwing the ball over the cut-off man.

  He hits the cutoff man and throws to the right base.

• In 2012, Andrew won his first and only Gold Glove. 

• Andrew makes the game fun, loose, and relaxed.

  "I saw a stat that the average game is three hours, and for me, as an outfielder, the actual time you're moving is nine minutes," Cutch related late in the 2014 season. "Nine minutes of actual movement. It's a tricky game—your head has to be into it. That's why yo gotta make it fun."

  While he's standing out in the outfield, he says, he tries to predict the pitches, and when he's bored with that, he sings to himself. And then he starts singing in a falsetto that would make Justin Timberlake proud, "It's tearin' up my heart when I'm with you...."

• Andrew has excellent speed. He has been timed at 6.3 seconds in the 60-yard-dash. And he is clocked at 4.1 seconds getting down to first base, sometimes. Other times, he doesn't get down to first base that quickly because he has such a big swing.

• McCutchen is very fast under way. He has the speed to steal lots of bases.

• Andrew has 70 speed on the scouting scale.

  However, McCutchen is slow getting out of the batter's box, which prevents him from getting as many infield hits as his speed suggests he should.

• McCutchen is aggressive at taking the extra base.

• In 2010, McCutchen's speed impressed teammate Ryan Church during spring training. Church had signed with the Pirates as a free agent during the offseason.

  "He's so damn quick, it's amazing," Church told ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick. "It looks like he's just floating through the air."

  McCutchen also went into that season deciding to be more aggressive on the bases, particular with stolen base attempts.

  "Every time I have an opportunity, I just go," McCutchen said.

• Andrew's ability to steal bases upsets the opposition.

  "I have the green light so I'm able to run when the time is right," McCutchen said. "I pick my spots, and then I go. You don't always have to be the fastest, but you need to be smart, knowing the counts, knowing the pitcher, and knowing who is hitting. So if you know all those things, it can help you out when it comes to stealing bases."

• Fall 2003: Andrew's parents were in the stands watching Fort Meade High play the night their son, a sophomore, took a kick return, ran up the field, and instead of ducking out-of-bounds, tried to run over a defender.

  His ACL and MCL were torn with the hit. His father, Lo, sobbed like a baby that night, feeling that somehow he'd let his son down, allowing him to play football even though baseball was his real love and ticket to college.

  After the injury, it was all baseball.

• August 4-19, 2014: Andrew was placed on the D.L. with an avulsion fracture involving the costochondral cartilage of the left 11th rib. He injured it while hitting. But he was hit in the ribs by a pitch the night before.

  It was his first trip to the D.L.

• April 19, 2019: McCutchen had to exit in the sixth inning, while on the base-paths, due to left knee inflammation.

• June 3, 2019: McCutchen left the ballpark on crutches after he suffered a sprained left knee when he tried to avoid a tag in a rundown between first and second base. McCutchen grabbed the knee as he spun in the air and fell to the ground. He winced in pain. 

  June 4-end of 2019 season: Andrew was on the IL with a left ACL tear. 

  June 14, 2019: Andrew had surgery to repair a torn ACL and a torn meniscus in his left knee.

  Feb 19, 2020: Cutch believes he will be ready by Opening Day on March 26, 2020 in Miami.

  Feb 28, 2020: The Phillies had hoped that Andrew might be ready to play by Opening Day. He will not. The Phillies said that McCutchen, who tore the ACL in his left knee in June 2019, will not be ready for the season opener in Miami.

• Aug. 2-11, 2021: The Phillies placed McCutchen on the 10-day injured list due to a left knee inflammation.

• May 7-20, 2022: Andrew was on the Covid-19 IL.

• July 7-16, 2023: McCutchen was placed on the injured list on after a lingering issue with his elbow flared up against the Dodgers on the previous day.

• Sept 5-end of 2023 season: Andrew was on the IL with partial tear to left Achilles tendon. He missed the remainder of the season.