Newest Pirates player Andrew McCutchen addressed the media on Friday after officially re-signing with the team that drafted him.
But this isn't a farewell tour and he's not back in Pittsburgh for just the reunion.
He says "I'm here to win."
"I want to win and specifically I want to win here," added McCutchen. "I'm not here as a spokesperson or as a spokesman for the Pittsburgh Pirates, I'm not here on a farewell tour, I'm here to play and help this ball club win.
McCutchen adds he was watching the Pirates during last year when he was a member of the Milwaukee Brewers, calling the current team "special."
"There's something special about this club," said McCutchen. "They were beating us, they're part of the reason we didn't make it to the playoffs last year."
McCutchen also said he is looking forward to being back in front of the Pirates fans in black and gold and can play in the town where he lives.
While he's on a one-year deal, McCutchen says this isn't his last year. He wants to continue to play as long as he can.
"I know what it feels like to win here. I know what it feels like to lose here too, so I think I can be able to be that voice in that clubhouse to those guys, to my teammates and let them know what it feels like, what it is like," added McCutchen.
He also believes this current team is closer to success than people believe.
When McCutchen came up with the Pirates in 2009, he said they were "pretty bad," and that this current team "they're better than we were when I first came up."
"The talent is there, it's just a matter of it clicking and a matter of belief and a matter of it translating into something that you don't just see . . . you just get more of a consistency of it," said McCutchen.
McCutchen added he wouldn't have come back if he thought this team would lose 100 games in 2023.
