Even at age 38 and in his 17th Major League season, Pittsburgh Pirates designated hitter Andrew McCutchen still has pretty good pop.
On Monday, McCutchen mashed his 10th home run of the year — a go-ahead two-run shot in the top of the seventh inning. His 329th career long ball broke a 4-4 tie with the San Francisco Giants, propelling the Pirates to a 6-5 victory and their sixth win in their last seven games.
With 10 home runs, the veteran slugger has now reached double digits in 17 straight seasons to start his career, making him just the 11th player in MLB history to do so.
Needless to say, it’s an impressive group. Seven of the other 10 are inner-circle Hall of Famers, and Albert Pujols will join them when he becomes eligible in a few years. The club also includes all-time home run leader Barry Bonds and Jeff Kent, who has the most home runs by a second baseman.
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The record for most seasons with at least 10 homers to begin a career is 23, held by Hank Aaron. Aaron smashed at least 10 big flies in all 23 of his MLB seasons en route to 755 career dingers — second-most ever behind Bonds (762). McCutchen’s streak of 17 seasons is tied with Kent and Willie McCovey for the ninth-most all-time.
The club includes seven members of the 500-homer club. McCutchen’s 329 homers are the fewest in the group, but he’s also the only player who’s still active. His career total ranks 10th among active players and 125th all-time.
McCutchen still has the rest of the season to add to his total, although it remains to be seen if he’ll continue playing beyond 2025. He’s going to be a free agent this winter but is still providing solid production at the plate, batting .248/.325/.382 (97 OPS+) with 10 homers, 15 doubles, 34 RBI and 0.3 WAR in 93 games.
If he comes back next year, the former National League MVP has a chance to tie Mickey Mantle and Harold Baines if he reaches 10 round-trippers again.
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