Pirates’ Andrew McCutchen Ecstatic To Play ‘Meaningful Baseball’

It’s been quite a while since the Pittsburgh Pirates last embarked on a postseason run — nine years to be exact.

Pittsburgh, for the second straight year, got bounced in the National League wild card (in 2015), squandering the franchise’s third straight playoff appearance. Before then, it had been over two decades since the last time the Pirates partook in the October hunt festivities, which for the most part, has left a very patient fanbase and very patient dugout in Pittsburgh hungry to contend. However, among those currently listed on the 2024 roster, none have seen as many highs and lows in a Pirates uniform as 16-year veteran Andrew McCutchen.

“I try not to think about the past too much because we’re not there anymore,” McCutchen said, per Stephen J. Nesbitt of The Athletic. “But it feels good to have something to play for other than yourself. We’re in position right now to play some meaningful baseball. It’s nice, man, to have a crowd like that on a Friday in August.”

McCutchen has spent 11 seasons with the Pirates, playing at the height of his career in PNC Park for a Pittsburgh team that won 98 games nine years ago. At that time, McCutchen had just slashed .292/.401/.488 with 23 home runs and 96 RBIs as an All-Star, finishing fifth in NL MVP voting while also taking home a Silver Slugger Award — his fourth and final. But now, as a 37-year-old seasoned veteran and Pittsburgh legend, McCutchen is in a position to inherit a greater leadership responsibility for the younger, inexperienced members of the team.

The Pirates (56-55) trail the NL Central-leading Milwaukee Brewers by six games and sit four games back of a wild card spot. With roughly two months left to play before the postseason bracket is set in stone, Pittsburgh needs to turn the momentum up a notch after splitting its last 10 games at 5-5 and 8-7 since the MLB All-Star break. There has, however, been one constant through it all and that’s McCutchen’s firm faith and belief in the Pirates clubhouse.

“We can do it, man,” McCutchen said back in June, per Kevin Henry of Just Baseball. “We’re in a position where we haven’t played really good baseball since, obviously, the beginning of the season. We are still in a position where we can we can do some special things, so we need to set ourselves up to be in a spot where we can get ourselves going.”

The stakes will only continue to rise for the Pirates moving forward through each regular season series until the clock officially hits zero and the stage is set for October.